Twenty-Six, Wait . . . Twenty-Seven Weeks

This is what they told us was going on last week:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take two to three days.

This is what they tell us is going on this week:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

As for us:

Things have been super busy since our last post - hence the gap in time. Hum... where did we leave you last. Oh yes, that's right, we had just returned from the beach. What a great vacation.

Since then, we visited Enterprise for another baby shower. We also took the opportunity to celebrate my mother's birthday, which was last Wednesday. We enjoyed another full weekend!

Leslie planned this shower, and she did a great job. Everything turned out well, although it started with me being late (to my own shower, I know). I had a wardrobe malfunction. The dress I planned on wearing happened to be see-through, which I didn't realize until the very last minute. Oh well - at least we noticed before I went out into the world inappropriately dressed (although it wouldn't have been the first time).

By the way, when I told Leslie on the phone that we were running late because I had a wardrobe malfunction, she responded (in true Leslie fashion) - "Oh hell, did your boobs leak or something?" hahahahaha! No, they did not. Is that something I need to be worried about? (kidding)

We finally arrived, and, it turns out, we weren't that late after all. Several people were having trouble finding the house. Luckily, my sister was willing to stand by the road and flag people down, since we neglected to get balloons for the mailbox. In the interest of full disclosure, I was positive we didn't need balloons, but, alas, I was proven wrong. Leslie relieved my sister of her flagging duties by running across the street and "borrowing" a pink bow from the mailbox of her mother's neighbor, which was being used to celebrate the arrival of their new baby girl. Too funny.

Some shower pictures-

I was blown away by Leslie's creative handiwork when I walked in and saw this beautiful diaper cake (which she made herself). Impressive. I know. And, useful!

And, notice the real cake behind the diaper cake - also impressive. This was not made by Leslie, although she did put sweat equity into making sure that it was exactly as she wanted it to be. Apparently, the cake people, not realizing who they were dealing with, gave Leslie crap about her vision for the cake. Listen, people, don't try to cross Leslie. You will lose. The end.

I am certainly glad Leslie put her foot down with the bakery - because the cake turned out wonderfully! Bradford and I took the giant rattle off the top home to eat later. And, eat it we did. Delicious.

I enjoyed seeing those people I hadn't seen in quite some time, as well as spending time with those people I see fairly often. I don't see any of these people enough - that is for sure.

Getting bigger! Of course, standing next to my tiny sister makes me look even larger than I actually am.

We had an excellent group of people. Fun times. We played a few games, ate delicious food, opened gifts, and laughed, a lot - especially when Melissa told me that our baby could get "cradle crap." Hilarious!

Thank you to everyone who came and to everyone who couldn't come but kept us in their thoughts. And, thank you to Leslie for planning such a fantastic event!

After the shower, Mom and I made Mike and Bradford bring in all of the gifts so we could look at them all - again. BB is accumulating a lot of things, which isn't a bad thing! Apparently, we need this stuff! People have been so generous in their gift giving - we really have almost everything we need. I love looking through it all and thinking about using it for BB.

As I said before, Mom's birthday was Wednesday, so we celebrated over the weekend. It was great that the timing worked out so well and that everyone could be there on her birthday weekend. We had fun and so did the dogs (who enjoyed mom's large backyard). Happy Birthday again Mom! We love you and hope that this next year is a great one for you and for the family.

Bradford and I headed home on Sunday, after having lunch with Mom and Mike. We stopped by our Montgomery house on the way to Birmingham and checked it out. Some minor repairs and things still have to be done. Other than that, it looks like the house will be a great place to live until March. Bradford has started moving stuff down already - getting ready to make the move is another reason we have been so busy lately.

Monday morning I went to a regularly scheduled doctor visit and got a good report. Things look great. I gained one more pound. Dr. Stone commented on what a smooth pregnancy I have had thus far - let's hope it stays that way!

Finally, (sorry for the slight disorganization and major lack of flow of this post - that's what happens when you fail to post for a few weeks), last week my co-workers surprised me with a baby shower at work. It was great! We had a lot of fun, and I got several more things for BB. Judge didn't join us - I don't think baby showers are really his thing (not surprising). I will miss the people I work with - they are a really fun group. True characters - all of them. We spend a lot of time laughing and cutting up (and acting unprofessionally generally). Good times.