Six weeks to go and we've been keeping very busy. Last weekend we had a great visit from my parents, and now we're working to make sure we have all the necessities- enough diapers and onsies and such to last us until we move back to MN in late June. I'm thinking of buying a shirt with the answers to the following questions:
"When are you due?"
"Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"
"How are you feeling?"
as it would save me about half an hour each and every day. I've had requests for more belly shots, so I begrudgingly supply this one, although it's harder than you might think to take a decent picture of yourself in the mirror.


Baby T has started to get the hiccups on a regular basis, which was cute for about five minutes, and since then has become less and less cute. But that just means he's practicing breathing in there! Here's what else he's up to....

Week Thirty-Four
-Your baby acts completely like a newborn, with his eyes opened when awake and closed when sleeping. You may also find him settling into more of a routine for sleeping & awake times.
-He has learned to blink. He can also see more clearly when there is a bright light on your stomach and probably has the outline of all your organs memorized!
-Antibodies from your blood are being tranferred to him. These immunities continue to build until birth. Then breastmilk will add even more protection against disease.
-Your baby may have already turned to a head-down position in preparation for birth. If he is your first baby, he may be settling into the pelvis with his head pressing against your cervix.
-Fingernails have reached the end of the fingertips now. He may scratch his face even before he is born!
Your little one's length is 17.7 inches (45cm) and weight is 4.7 pounds (2146 g).

Happy Easter!

It's hard to believe it's Easter when it's hovering around freezing in Chicago. We had a lovely visit this weekend from Savanna and Dave, and their friends John and Liz. We had a great time going to see "Wicked", seeing Jay and Jody, and eating lots of good food!

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Lily discovered tonight that she is a big fan of the Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" series. The polar bears and killer whales were interesting enough to watch from the couch, but the birds required closer inspection. Peanut on the other hand was not interested in the least.

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What's Baby T up to this week?

Week Thirty-Two
-Your baby is up to 3.75 pounds (1702gm) now and is 16.7 inches (42.4cm) long.
-You might notice he's not moving around as much now. Don't worry! He's fine -- just running short on room. He still has plenty of growing to do though, believe it or not!
-All five senses are working. Your little one is fascinated and practicing testing these out as much as possible!
-He may move to the rhythm of music. Studies with heart rates show that he also prefers some types of music to others -- already!

- Brain scans have shown that babies have periods of dream sleep (REM) starting around the eighth month. What do you suppose your baby is dreaming about?

My 30th birthday has come and gone, and it doens't feel a whole lot different than 29, or 28 for that matter. Well, aside from this giant protruding belly. I had a great day- breakfast in bed, party at work, and one of the most delicious meals I've ever had with our great friends Erin and Sam.....


In a strange development, in the last two weeks or so I've had three complete strangers walk past me and announce "it's a boy"! Really weird.

On my 30th birthday I hit 30 weeks. Auspicious perhaps. Here's what Baby T is up to this week:

Week Thirty
-Did you know your baby is nearly three pounds now?
-His head is getting larger to accommodate a period of rapid brain growth.
-A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him. As he grows and fills your uterus, the amount of amniotic fluid will decrease. Funny, you certainly won't feel any lighter!
-He spends more and more time practicing opening and closing eyelids. His eyes can move from side to side, following a light source. He may even reach out to touch the light.
-Early lanugo is beginning to disappear that served to protect your baby's skin from the water in the womb. Your little one's own hair may begin to appear.
-Toenails are entering their final growth stage.
-Your baby has the capability now to produce tears -- yes, within the womb.
-By the end of this week, your baby is now 15.7 inches (39.9cm) long and weighs 2.91 pounds (1319gm).

Spring Break 2007...We returned last night from our "last hurrah" trip to Vegas and the surrounding area. We put nearly 2000 miles on our rental cars and had a really great time. There were a few unplanned adventures including one trip to the emergency room at 1:00am (Isaac dropped his only bottle of insulin on the bathroom floor), once being pulled over, randomly running into Isaac's Ole friend Sarah Paulson at the Hoover Dam, and a midnight desperate search for lodging in Yosemite after finding no one on staff at the hotel we were supposed to stay at. But it all only added to the experience, especially since we ended up staying in a "yurt" in Yosemite, which was basically like a glorified tent with electricity, running water, and a gas fireplace. For the first half of the trip we rented a car and drove east to Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, and Lake Mead, home of the Hoover Dam. We then returned to Vegas for two days and stayed at the MGM Grand. Isaac gambled away the beginnings of the baby's college fund. To be fair, he started the fund by putting a quarter in a slot machine saying "this is for baby's college fund" and promptly winning $5. However, by the next day the fund had been returned to the slots. We rented a convertable for the second half of the trip and cruised out to Death Valley and Yosemite. Totally awesome. We had phenomenal weather all week, warm to hot and dry. Here are some pics...

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Isaac has been busy wrapping up the quarter with final papers and projects, and I've been busy testing out my new camera. Here's some pictures for those of you who haven't made it to visit...

Our 'hood- we live in the white-ish building in the middle, right on the Chicago River!

The view from our apartment, looking out on Navy Pier and Lake Michigan. Okay, I confess I cheated, this is an older picture that I took, but I'm not sure I can do better, even with my new camera.

"The Bean" sculpture in Millenium Park- we live behind that pointy building towards the center of the picture.

Here's a shady looking Isaac at Navy Pier.

And last but not least an updated belly pic from me.

This week I hit the third trimester! Less than three months until the due date!! Here's what Baby T is up to this week...

Week Twenty-Seven
-He has eyelashes on his eyelids, his eyes can move in their sockets, and he can distinguish light and dark, but he cannot discern specific objects yet.
-His senses are becoming fine-tuned and more responsive to light, sound, taste, smell, and touch.
-His skin is becoming smoother as body fat accumulates beneath the skin.

-His brain is developing further, and he can direct breathing movements.
-Your baby's hearing continues to develop, he may start to recognize your voice as well as your partner's.
-Your baby will grow over ½ inch this week alone! Average size is now 14.4 inches (36.6cm) and 1.9 pound (875gm).

Everyone is super excited to meet Baby T with the exception of one- our cat Peanut. Okay, granted she lacks the comprehension to understand what's going to be happening, but it's not too much of a leap to guess that she won't be too pleased with competition for petting, squeezing, and attention. Right now her favorite place in the world to be is between Isaac and I. Our other cat Lily we're not so worried about, as long as the baby doesn't get in the way of her getting fed Lily really won't care.

This weekend I got a new toy- a fancy-pants camera. Here are some pictures I took...

Peanut
Lily

Me and Peanut

I could have posted a picture of Isaac and Peanut in order to make a point, but thought this would be funnier
And finally, my sister Mary is in town this week at a conference on youth ministry, and I got to have dinner and margaritas (nonalcoholic for me of course) with her, which is good because not only did I get to spend time with my sis, but I got a margarita, which Isaac can tell you I've been craving for about a month now (which is extra weird since I never drank margaritas before)!!

Here's what Baby T is up to this week..

Week Twenty-Six
-Your baby may weigh about two pounds now (average is 1.7 pound, 760gm) and is 14 inches (35.6cm) in length
-Air sacs in the lungs form now. Lungs begin to secrete a greasy substance called surfactant. Without surfactant the fetal lungs would stick together and couldn't expand after the baby is born.
-Although they've been sealed shut for the last few months, your baby's eyes are opening and beginning to blink this week. Depending on ethnicity, some babies will be born with blue or gray-blue eyes (which may change color in the first 6 months of life) and some will be born with brown or dark eyes.
-Brain wave activity for hearing and sight begins to be detectable.
-Fetal brain scans show response to touch. If you shine a light on your abdomen, your baby will turn his head.

This weekend was the GSB's Winter Formal. I had the honor of being the guest of the chair of the formal committee. Isaac put a lot of work and time into making sure everything came together, and it was pretty amazing. The theme was Chinese New Year's, and it was quite an impressive soiree. Here's a picture, although not my favorite.

I think I look more swollen here than I do in real life, but who knows, maybe I'm kidding myself!

Curious as to what Baby T is up to this week??

Week Twenty-Four
-Bring on the bulk! Baby gains about 6 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs.
-His body begins to fill out with his appearance increasingly becoming more like a newborn.
-Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing his distaste.
-Little creases have appeared on his palms. The muscular coordination of his hands has improved as he sucks his thumb.
-Over the next seven days the sweat glands will be forming in the skin.
-This week your baby is officially considered viable! Babies born as early as this can sometimes survive... but they need a lot of intensive care, and a long stay in the hospital.
-Baby weighs 1.3 pound (600gm) and is 11.8 inches (30cm) long -- almost the length of a ruler!

It's a sad day in Chicago after the Bears lost the Superbowl, but a happy day in our apartment since I won $100 at the party we were at! And no, I didn't bet against the Bears, we just had picks for the last digits of the score.

Last week I felt the baby move from the OUTSIDE for the first time! It was awesome, but a little freaky. I keep half-expecting an alien to burst out of my stomach. It wasn't just a little nudge either, but a big ol' bump, like the baby was turning around or something. I've felt it a few times since then, and every time I tell Isaac to put his hands on my stomach, and our stubborn little guy sits perfectly still. He better give his daddy a poke soon or he'll be grounded for at least four months.

With no other news to report I will share with you a few words from probably the funniest person I know, my brother Tom. Here was his response to the news that we had created a blog...

Following the announcement of Kayt and Isaac's blog about the pregnancy, I've decided to embrace the current trend in internet media by setting up a blog for me to offer my perspective and insight into Kayt and Isaac's blog. Check out www.theinsidestoryonkaytswomb.blogspot.com for posts such as:
"Kayt's Lovely Lady Lump, Not So Lovely From the Inside"
"Will Isaac Need a New Blue Buttoned Shirt for the Day the Baby is Born?"
"How Do We Know That's Not Just A Pillow Under Her Shirt?" (guest column by Oliver Stone)
"The Delivery: Live Web Feed vs. YouTube"
"The Alien Inside Kayt, A Threat to All of Mankind?" (in collaboration with the National Enquirer)
++Plus++ -Exclusive Interviews with Peanut and Lily!! -Instantly Updated Sources For All 8000 Daily Calories Kayt is Consuming!! (Yesterday's totals: 6000 calories of cheese-whiz, 1500 calories of smarties, 500 calories of decaf coffee)
-Tom (PS: Everything I just said is total BS, I didn't set up a blog about their blog)

Ha-ha-ha! I told you he's funny!

Just over halfway there!

As of today we are 20 weeks 6 days into this pregnancy. So if Isaac has his way we are about two days past halfway to Baby T's birthday (which would put his debut at June 10th).

We had our ultrasound today, and there's no doubt that we're having a boy! A pretty immodest boy at that, he was flashing us enough that the ultrasound tech said it was a good thing we weren't hoping to be surprised because she wouldn't have been able to hide it! The baby is measuring right on target and everything is where it's supposed to be! Here's a couple of pictures...

I'm feeling the baby kick and move more consistently now, which is really cool. And I think I must be past that "is she fat or is she pregnant" stage because I've been having strangers ask when I'm due and such. Here's my growing baby belly...

We're still at a total loss for a name for our little guy, and are completely open to suggestions! I will take anyone who can come up with a name that Isaac and I can agree on out for a beer, and since I'm not drinking you can have mine too!

-Kayt