Dear Baby - 3am? Really??

Dear Baby,

You woke me up at 3am again last night. And wouldn't let me go back to sleep until 6am. I'm fine with that on the weekends when I can sleep in or take an afternoon nap, but on a work night?? Not cool, dude. Not cool at all.

Seriously though, what were you doing at 3am? Somersaults on my bladder? That's the only explanation I can come up with for feeling the urgent need to go to the bathroom yet having the output of a thimble. I wonder if this is normal behavior or if you are already showing signs of being a troublemaker? Perhaps I'll ask the doctor at our big appointment tomorrow.

What big appointment is that, you ask? Well. If I understood the receptionist lady correctly, we'll be getting the fancy ultrasound treatment tomorrow. Rumor has it the machine is not the normal one used on the last two visits but a super special one that allows you to see things in 3d. This is equal parts terrifying and exciting for your dad and I. In the terrifying corner is the fact that of the handful of 3d ultrasound pictures I've seen, a very high proportion of the babies come out looking like aliens. Scary, misshapen aliens!

You think I'm joking? Look:

(While I'm confident you will look positively human, even if you do come out looking a bit extraterrestrial, never fear, we will love you all the same. In fact, given my love of all things sci-fi, I might just love you a little extra...)

On the flip side, the prospect of a 3d ultrasound is incredibly exciting because, provided you behave and pose nicely for the cameras, we may just find out if you are a baby girl or a baby boy!

Ahh! I just can't wait to find out! There's so much we'll be able to do.... The first of which will be calling you something other than "the baby." (a perfectly fine moniker but kinda on the generic side...)

If you are a boy, we'll start using your first name and playing around with nicknames and middle names to see what "fits." (In case you are curious, your name will be Louis [something] Keppler the 47th. Or something like that. You have no say in the first or last name but, I may let you vote on the middle name. We'll work out a system of kicks or something.)

If you are a girl, we'll start trying to find a name we both like. There are millions of names in the world, I'm sure we'll find something suitable. It just might take 20 weeks.

So. Baby. Feel free to do as many somersaults as you'd like between the hours of 3am and 8am. Just try to settle down and be calm around 9:15am... and be sure to smile for the cameras...

20 Weeks = Picture!

Happy Monday everyone!

Now that we are past much of the first trimester craziness and my moods have (mostly) leveled out, all anyone asks about is THE BUMP. Do I have one? Are there pictures? Is it big? Do your pants fit? Are there pictures? Does it get bigger every day?

Are there pictures?

Sadly, up until this point, we haven't taken any pictures. Well, that's a lie. I did take a few around week 12 or so but there was nothing to see. I just looked like I needed to do a few hundred sit-ups pronto. And cut back on the carbs. So I deleted those.

But now, at 20 weeks, there's a definite bump. It's HUGE. Monstrous.

It's so big I've had to hang up my work pants. Don't have a prayer of wearing them until I pick up the belly band and button extenders offered to me by a friend.

As this sudden growth coincides with the all-important 20th week of pregnancy (per the baby books and baby sites, that means we are just about halfway there. 20 weeks down! 20 to go!), I took a picture. And didn't delete it immediately.

Hoewever. Before looking at it, you should know a few things about the super weird process of taking "belly pictures":

1. You stand sideways against a neutral backdrop that will emphasize your stomach and turn to face the camera. This all feels very awkward.

2. You have to forget, no, actively work against everything you've learned about picture taking since college. Instead of sucking your tummy in, you have to let it just sit. You can't turn 3/4 towards the camera. There is no adjustment of the hip to minimize the size of your waist. Basically, you have to TRY to look fat. This also feels very awkward.

3. Then. You take a picture with your shirt down and your husbandsays "Yeah.. that looks dumb. You can't see anything." So you pull your shirt up. Like some teeny bopper trying to be provocative. This feels the most awkward of all.

So. Do you want to see the most awkwardest picture ever? Do you? Here you go. A very pale (yay Belgian summers!) me with a 20 week old bump:

See what I mean about the size? It's so big you'd almost think there were twins in there.