Week 15

According to the Mayo Clinic, this is what Sparky would look like if he were a drawing and not a real boy (or girl).

My belly grew a half-inch this week and Sparky went from about 1.5 ounces to about 2.5 ounces. Some day soon we should start feeling Sparky moving around. Other than that, it was a very uneventful week.

Sparky was the only person who got a present from Grandma Lorraine's trip to China. He is now the proud owner of a small stuffed panda bear from the Chinese Panda breeding facility.

Much Ado About...

Not much. That would pretty accurately sum up the 14 week checkup with the doctor. A little warning from one of the many mother's I know would have been greatly appreciated. Here I was expecting at least something...

A summary of the doctor's visit:
8:35 Arrive & give the desk clerk my new insurance card from the company. Watch Babe the Pig on the tv in the waiting room.
8:45 Sign the financial forms. Visit the nurse. Get weighed in. Do blood pressure test. Go to exam room. Sit and watch Babe the Pig on the tv in the exam room.
9:10 ish (I think, I had no watch on) Doctor walks in. Asks if I have been feeling well. Listens to Sparky's heartbeat. Says "see you in 4 weeks". Hands me chart and says to sign the hospital consents on the way out.
9:12 ish Sign hospital consents with front desk staff.
9:15 Leave doctor's office to go to work.

So... nearly an hour at the doctor's this morning for a two minute visit and a large bill to my insurance company. Classic.

And for the record - Doctor said Sparky was doing fine. Next visit is in 4 weeks and the ultrasound to give Sparky a gender is in 6.

Week 14 Starts Tomorrow

Time for the week 14 update - pictures to follow at a later date.

Belly circumfrence - 39 inches (no change from last week)

Sparky's length - around 5 inches (slightly longer than a sheet of toliet paper)

We took Sparky on a road trip to visit Hastings over the weekend. Maize tried very hard to ride up on the car seat with Sparky and I, but it was getting harder and harder for her to stay on the seat. Steve and I went crib shopping with his folks. It was a little overwhelming but hopefully we will find Sparky a bed sometime soon. We also made the first trip to Babies 'R' Us - the WalMart of baby stuff. We were on baby overload.

Beyond baby shopping we got to spend some time visiting family. We took Sparky to his first Hastings High School football game, which Hastings won, making them playoff eligible. My cousin Luke was the star of the football game. Everyone decided that Sparky may have been the good luck charm. We also took Sparky to his first dinner at Grandma Jennie's house and he got fed way too much food and pie.

We go to the doctor's office on Wednesday for Sparky's next checkup. Details to follow.

Week 13 Update

Tomorrow (or today, depending on whether you listen to the nurse or the doctor) is the start of week 13 - the end of month 3 of pregnancy and the beginning of month 4. Lots of big changes for Sparky this week. We have now officially gotten past the most critical part of pregnancy (and most of the risk of miscarriage). Sparky's primary teeth have all formed by the time this week starts, so I've been getting extra calcium and keeping up on floride to give our little one the best teeth posssible (for his father's sake).

Sparky received his first gift from someone besides his grandmas and great-grandmas. Today a co-worker brought me a very cute little chicken suit. Of course, she didn't have any idea about our little chicken thing - so it was even better. After all, one doesn't really advertise that they were the champion chicken showman at the Barry County Fair. We will have to make Sparky wear his chicken outfit on a visit to the farm next spring to see his Aunt Emily's little rooster.

And now... for the information you've been waiting all week for. My belly is 39 inches around during the evening. I still lose an inch or two during the night, but it only takes an hour or two for the belly to pop right back out the next morning.

We survived the Cirque Du Soliel, the Michigan football game, and the baby shower for baby Roth last weekend. Next weekend will be Sparky's first trip to Hastings and his first Hastings High School football game. We are looking forward to seeing all of our friends and family and a weekend of some rest and relaxation.

A Cousin for Sparky

Sparky already has two cousins, Connor and Noah, but he will also have one more, very close in age. We found out yesterday that Sparky's newest cousin is due only 7 days before Sparky. We are sure Sparky would be very excited about this if he knew. He will probably have to share birthday parties at Grandma Obreiter's, but that is a good trade off for a cousin so close in age to be friends with.

Tomorrow Sparky will be accompanying us to the Cirque Du Soliel. Of course, he will not be able to enjoy the acrobats and contortionists, but we will be sure to tell him all about it someday. Maybe he can even visit the show at Disney World someday.

Milestones

My waistline is now officially more expansive than Steve's. I have him by a good inch at his widest spot. To protect his dignity, this week we will not be releasing the waistline measurements, but starting next week, we might as well keep track.

We also had the first person, outside of family, come up and decide to put their hands on my belly. Steve's classmate Ben, whom I've met before and spent some time with, went straight for the belly on Saturday at the football game. Now that it has started, the not-so-welcomed touching will probably become a frequent occurrence. Oh well... such is life as a pregnant woman.

Hearing Impaired

Hopefully Sparky's little ears can't hear much of what goes on outside of his little hiding place. If they can, he may now be hearing impaired. Today was test the fire alarm day at work. The fire alarm is right above my desk and it was working quite well, for a good 30 minutes on and off. It was all I could do to read the contract I was working on, what with my fingers in my ears and all. If Sparky can hear things from the outside world he was probably wondering why his host didn't have enough sense to leave when the fire alarm was going off. That's probably a good question.

Teaching Sparky Some Things

First, Sparky is learning that he already has a very nice dog named Maize who would very much like to play. Maize wants to be by Sparky as often as possible.
Second, Sparky is learning that Maize does not always pay attention to her "Mom." Sparky is being told not to learn this habit from Maize.

Finally, I am trying to convince Sparky he would rather work with his mother than his father. Wearing the Toledo gear may be an important first step.

Learning at Work

Since we were all bored of working at work today, some of the gals in the office decided to look up our relevant stats. This is what we learned this afternoon.

1. Sparky is about an inch and a half long.

2. Sparky weighs in at about an ounce.

3. I may have extra saliva production for the next few weeks.

4. The ladies I work with are really into pregnancy (probably as long as it is not them pregnant).