Hyper baby?

This kid is so active, I wonder if I'm in for a really hyper child...

I feel the baby move a lot now, every day.  It seems like late at night, right before bed, is its favorite time to dance.

This past weekend Lix (Lisa and Lux) came to Chicago for a visit.  Friday night we went out for tapas (still full) and then went to Sluggers to listen to the dueling pianos.  Baby was moving up a storm that night and Damon, Lux & Lisa got to feel the baby move.  Shortly after Damon felt the baby move, the pianists played/sang Damon's request (he had put in for the song earlier in the night and they finally go to it), Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone."  I wonder if that was a hint from above that the baby is a boy, since Dylan is at the top of our list for boy names.

We'll know in 48 hours!!!

Time to go finish eating my stir fry, the baby is moving a lot, I think it likes the spicy food.

Dreams

Twice in the past week I've had a dream about the baby's gender.  Both times, the baby was a boy.  In a week and a half, we'll know, but today I think it's a boy.

I'm almost half-way there, which is crazy b/c it's gone by so fast.  And with a wedding, a trip to Boston and another wedding coming up, all that followed by the holidays, baby Mooren is going to be here before we know it!

Approaching the big day...

And by the big day, I mean the day where I get an ultrasound and we should be able to find out the gender of the baby.  2 weeks from today we should know!  Damon and I are unbelievably excited to find out what's growing in my belly.  Even though we originally said that we wouldn't find out the sex of our first baby, I think those of you who know us well know that the likelihood of us actually being able to wait was about as realistic as us not opening all our Christmas presents before Christmas.  It's true, we have that horrible habit.

I had my 4-month appointment this past Tuesday and found out that I'm now the same weight as I was before I got pregnant.  Funny though, because most of my pants don't fit me anymore.  It's good though, the baby is growing, the heartbeat is strong and I feel great.  

I'll be 18 weeks on Saturday and in the words of my co-worker, I've "really popped this week." Ha, I think, or at least I hope, she meant that in a good way. 

I feel the baby move more distinctly now and the other night when I laid down to go to sleep, Damon and I could actually see which side of my belly the baby was resting in.  It was so cool.

Last night Damon put together the first piece of furniture for the baby's room... a cube organizer that we'll use for books and toys.  Gnarly is already jealous of the baby's toys and sat in the guest room whining and reaching for the stuffed animals.  I think it's good that we're slowly starting to make changes, not only for Gnarly, but for me.  As Damon and Lux say, I like to be the foreman, but I also like to be able to do things myself... a little bit of change at a time is good.  I'll save the big changes for a few months from now.

Definitely Showing

Damon and I went out to dinner last night (nothing new there) but the funniest thing happened.

I was washing my hands when a little girl and her Mom stepped out of the stall next to me and up to the sink.  The little girl was staring  at me for a good 5 seconds before she said "Mommy, is she having a baby?"  The Mom was beyond mortified and frozen, probably in anticipation of what I was going to say.  I waited a couple seconds, smiled and said "yes I am."  I'm sure that was a huge relief to the Mom, now safely knowing that her daughter did not basically just call some girl fat. 

It was really cute and made me smile to know that my belly looks like a baby bump and not just like a few too many beers and desserts. 

I'm 17 weeks today and the baby is the size of an onion.  I can feel it move sometimes and last night was the first time it felt like a little more than just a flutter.  The baby is going through a growth spurt the next few weeks, which I can only assume means that my belly will be growing too.  I haven't bought any maternity pants yet, but that's not to say that my regular pants still fit me (only a handful still do).  Good thing it's Summer b/c my dresses and skirts are coming in handy. 

I know we still have 5 months to go, but we started packing up some things to make room for baby.  City condo living does not equal mass amounts of space, but I think we'll be okay for a while.  I'll post before and after pictures of the guest room closet (as soon as I can walk in that room to get to the closet).  I think I'm driving Damon nuts with my nesting, but I'd rather get this stuff done now before I'm too big/uncomfortable to help. 

It's lunchtime now, which means I'm starving!  I'm going to start with a bowl of ice cream and then eat my meal :-) 

What's new with baby?

I hope the baby likes music, b/c it has already been exposed to all sorts of live music.

In May, we saw Joan Jett and the Blackhearts at a private show in Cabo.  In July we saw Tom Petty, Kings of Leon and The Dead Weather (3 concerts in 3 weekends).  This past Sunday we went to Lollapalooza and saw Yeasayer, MGMT, Cypress Hill and Arcade Fire.  In September we're going to Dave Matthews Band at Wrigley and finally, in October we'll see Social Distortion.

In addition to the live music, Damon made a playlist that I try to play before bed (when I remember).  I put the headphones up to my belly and play a couple songs.

At just over 16 weeks, the baby is growing toenails, eyebrows and eyelashes and is about to go through a growth spurt.  He or she is the size of an avocado now and taste buds are forming in it's mouth.  I sure hope it loves cheese and ice cream b/c I've been giving it plenty of those.

Baby Mooren attended it's first wedding this weekend... Uncle Mike and Aunt Jackie got married!  It was a perfect day and because of my renewed second trimester energy, I was able to stay out until 1 in the morning.  Thank you baby and congrats Jackie & Mike!