It's a.................

It's official...Lil' Bean is a BOY!! We had our 'big' ultrasound on Thursday and it truly felt like Christmas all over again. The ultrasound tech said our little guy is quite active and not at all shy :) Daddy noticed Bean waving his arms and rocking back and forth...so completely amazing.

We found out that our little one is as healthy as can be at this point, and is right in the middle of where he should be growth and size wise. There is a possible chance of placenta previa (we will have another ultrasound in 2 months), but most likely, it will move and be normal. We are so thankful he is doing so well.

And below, Bean's first debut as a Lil Dude...

(the photos had to be scanned this time, the ultrasound machine was older and we couldn't get a CD :( - the photos are a bit harder to see, but we hope you enjoy!)

Week 17

P and I enjoy reading the mini weekly updates, so we thought y'all might like to read them too ;-)

Fetal Development in the 17th week (baby-gaga.com):
Guess what? Your amazing baby is getting EVEN bigger, more beautiful, and smarter every day! As you’ve come to expect, there’s no shortage of growth and development this week: your fantastic little bean stalk has added yet another half inch to its overall height (which makes them about 6 inches long). Their little limbs have reached (or are within one week of) their relative proportions, and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body after this week. Reactive listening has begun for your baby, even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of their astonishingly complex brain are developing to process your little one’s hearing and other five senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch). Mind boggling factoid of the week: if you’re having going to have a little girl, her ovaries have already produced millions of primordial egg cells, which, within a few weeks, will develop into actual eggs! Phew… just wait till she’s a teenager eh?

Five Senses in the Womb

It wasn't until we became pregnant that absolutely everything baby became completely fascinating to us (it's a cliche - but isn't it funny how your world literally changes in an instant!) I don't think I have done this much research except in my career, and even then, it's a close tie :-)

One article, "Babies remember womb music", talks about a study done that found 'babies can remember sounds they heard in the womb more than a year after birth'. Amazing!! And the article mentions a woman who used to play jazz while pregnant...and then found out that when the baby was being fussy, Ella Fitzgerald would calm her.

Being the 'type A' person that I am, this article made me go on a Baby Einstein downloading frenzy...our music collection now includes 'Baby Mozart', 'Baby Bach', 'Baby Vivaldi', 'Baby Beethoven', and for Daddy's listening pleasure, 'Beatles Lullaby', among others. Even though the Baby Einstein series is a marketing gimmick aimed at gullible parents, just because it is not technically proven to work doesn't stop me from doing everything under the sun that could potentially help Lil Bean's development :-)

And for our overzealous Baby O fans...here is another interesting article on when our baby will be able to taste, smell, hear, feel and see in the womb.

Hilarious expecting blog

We don't read many blogs (except for Abby & Wyatt's and Velcrometer), but this one (baby focused of course, since this is baby bean's blog :-) is hilarious and exceptionally witty. It is written from an expecting father's perspective and is aptly titled "Blame it on the babymaker"...

Names

We agreed on names pretty early, although we have a couple of options for each sex. P wanted to look up meanings, but I was just happy it was such a fun and easy process :)

Could our name be on the top 25, according to this daily changing list or on this list of the top names of 2006 ? Not telling...yet :)

Baby O: The Beginning

It might be hard to see (okay...so you can't really see much of anything) but Daddy pointed out that lil' bean is waving at us :) Can't wait for the "big" ultrasound!

Cute poem to the grandparents

I do not have a face to see,
Or put inside a frame.
I do not have soft cheeks to kiss;
I don’t yet have a name.
You can’t yet hold my tiny hands,
Nor whisper in my ear.
It’s still too soon to sing a song,
Or cuddle me so near.
But all will change come September,
That’s when they say I’m due.
I’m your new grandson or granddaughter;
I can’t wait till I meet you.
All I ask between now and then
Is your patience while I grow.
I promise I’ll be worth the wait,
Because of all the love we’ll know.
So what I have to give you now,
Is a wish to you from me.
I cannot wait to be a part
Of this wonderful family.

Waiting patiently for Baby O...

This is our blog to post only and everything baby - and we will try not to put too much (or any) P&J activities in it :-) We hope this keeps our long distance "Baby O" fans up-to-date...although we are planning to be back in our home state sooner than later. We can't wait to fill this blog with baby photos!!

Disclaimer (aka the fine print): the content of this blog is only for the really die hard "Baby O" fanatics...don't say we didn't warn you! ;-)