sick day

So we're just four days away from the little one's due date, and Mama and Ryan are sick! Boo! We have the cough, sore throat, running nose, sneezes, and tired kind of bug. I started feeling it on Thursday, it was "here" Friday and I am now past the sore throat part and on to the deep chest cough. Ryan just showed signs last night with a fever and cough. Not fun!!

The silver lining is that we get to spend the whole day together, snuggling, staying in our p.j.'s and vegging out with books and t.v. (a very rare treat for Ryan - we don't turn the t.v. on for him as a general rule). He got to see his first episode of Sesame Street this morning and seemed to enjoy it!

Here's the snuggle bunny!

All else is well. We're so looking forward to meeting our daughter (name still not 100% confirmed).

I have a lot of photos from the past couple of weeks I will try to get up today so you can see what else we've been up to.

Back to snuggling with my little peanut for now :)

Tonight's Fortune

38 weeks today, and here's the fortune I get after dinner...

take me to the river

It's about a three minute drive to this great spot we discovered a few weeks ago!

36 weeks (9 months) here

33 & 37

A quick photo of my dear friend Heather (33 weeks pregnant) and me (37 weeks pregnant) from my baby shower earlier today. I stole these photos from her blog, but will have more photos from my camera soon!

Auction

Last weekend was the Charles Wright Auction.  Much of the planning is coordinated by my office, so it kept me very busy last week. I have more photos of Ryan to post soon, and now that the auction is behind us I'll have some time to do it!

Here is a photo of Rob and I on March 20th (baby Judgie at 36 weeks!)

Week 32: 8 Months!

Funny how things have changed already with baby number two! My regular updates on "How big is Baby Judge?" are few and far between with this pregnancy. The good news is, all is still going well and baby is growing as expected. I am feeling good too as I have recently discovered digestive enzyme tablets as well as papaya extract enzymes (in place of horrible-for-you TUMS). I had been having some pretty major indigestion that kept me up at night and had me scared to eat, but am back on track. I am getting to the stage where my back is aching some and I can't always get comfy etc...but I'm not complaining one bit! I am feeling blessed, excited, and am so curious what this little girl is going to look like!

As I'm sure you've noticed, my blogging has been limping along since the holidays. But mark my words, that will change! Part of that was that my camera bit the dust (we just got a new one, so fear not!) and part of it is that I am busy with a toddler for some reason!

Speaking of our toddler...Ryan is doing great. He is 17 months, very busy, very happy, and so much fun. He is talking a blue streak and it is awesome to communicate with him in this way. It's also ADORABLE to hear some of his pronunciation and some of his one-on-one conversations with his buddies "Hippo" or "Monkey."

So just how big is baby Judge? She is the size of a honeydew!

Baby Judge weighs about 4.5 lbs and measures 17 inches in length. She's starting to get ready for her big debut and in these last eight weeks, it's all about practice, practice, practice as she hones the skills she'll need to survive and thrive outside the womb, from swallowing and breathing to kicking and sucking. All five senses are now working and when light peeks in through my belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate, she can now recognize and react to simple songs, and she has developed sensitivity to temperature (I can really tell if I eat ice cream as she immediately gets very active). Baby's fingernails and toenails are grown, and she now has eyelashes, eyebrows and hair on her head. Baby J sleeps 90-95% of the day, much like she will once she is born.

What else? There is something surreal about watching a tiny foot move across my belly (and something uncomfortable about getting jabbed by a tiny elbow in the dead of night). She is getting bigger and stronger and reminds me most often when I lie down to go to sleep! My body is pumping as much as 40 to 50 percent more blood than before getting pregnant and I'm often "hot" - especially at night. We finally felt her hiccups about two weeks ago and Rob (who has supersonic hearing) can put his ear to my belly and hear her tiny and fast heartbeat. I'm super jealous I can't put my ear to my tummy too!

We are planning another home birth and as long as we stay on course, Baby Judge will be born in water (birthing tub) in our family room just like Ryan was. We're still unsure about names and hope to get progress made on her room this weekend (haven't I said that before?!).

Happy Friday,
Love,
The Judge Family

Smorgasbord

Hello!!! I think about posting so often, but get home from work and just want to play with Ryan, so I don't turn on the computer. By the time Ryan is in bed...I'm exhausted and just snuggle in next to Rob and again...don't turn on the computer! I have smorgasbord of December photos I will be post below, and some new ones from January I hope to get up soon.

In the meantime, Ryan is officially 16 months old, talking non-stop (there isn't much he won't at least try to say at this point), testing, snuggling, and smiling. He LOVES to be outdoors (rain or shine), devours frozen raspberries, is sensitive, belly laughs when you push him in his swing, says the words wet, hot, and work only in a whisper, knows what a time-out is, smiles and pulls up my shirt when I ask him if he wants a baby sister, often wakes up asking for Dada, Boppa, and/or a ball, got his first haircut, loves baths, keeps us laughing, and is teaching us daily on parenting a toddler.

One funny thing to mention about the funny things kids say - Ryan can say "p" when it is at the end of a word such as "up" - but if it's at the start of a word it comes out as a "b." Up until a few days ago, we would ask Ryan to say "please" and it would come out "but" every time! Just recently he has corrected himself and says more of a "peese" - but the "but" for please made us laugh every time :)

I am doing well...we are on the countdown as I am 7 months pregnant this Friday. I'm feeling good overall, but this pregnancy has been different from my experience with Ryan in many ways. First of all, I am busy raising a toddler, so my focus on the baby is much less than before. Up until the last six weeks or so I would honestly "forget" I was pregnant for several hours at at time. I was often surprised at this reality when I looked in the mirror, got kicked by the babe, or had Ryan try to sit on my lap to read a book and had to move him to the side to make room for him and my belly. It is also different in how I am carrying - I think she is higher than Ryan was (I haven't taken one belly shot so far so I haven't compared yet! But I will take a photo this week). My clothes fit differently and I feel like I'm constantly pulling my pants up. She also "feels" different than Ryan. When he moved it was often big, rolling movements. She feels like a little chicken in there! Jabbing and pecking with quick, sharper movements than I ever remember having with Ryan. Lastly, I have been nesting! Not the usual "get her room ready" nesting...instead I'm doing the: washing the doors inside the house / reorganize the cupboards / constantly vacuuming kind of nesting! I'm loving it! :) But it's strange to have a nearly uncontrollable urge to wash off the deck or scrub the shower.

Baby Girl Judge will be here in less than three months and there is so much we would like to get done! He haven't started on her room yet - I'm hoping to make progress this weekend. It is currently home to our office but won't take much to disassemble. Like Ryan's room, I'll probably keep it fairly simple until she is born and we know who she is. Ryan's decor has evolved with him and it seems to work well for me to put the adding touches on spaces around our home once we've lived in them a bit.

We're still in conversations about names...I would like to decide soon as I think it would be helpful for Ryan to start hearing her name.

Anyway, on to the best part...here are some photos of Ryan!

Ryan lounging on and driving his car on Kai (just WHAT is the dog doing up on the couch anyway?!?)

Playing with the keyboard with Dada.

A recent family gathering with some of the "Judge family"

Ryan and Dad at "Zoolights"

Ryan sitting with all the kiddos at the Pennell's annual Eve of Christmas Eve party

Ultrasound photos of our little GIRL

Side profile: head and abdomen

Side profile:  head, abdomen and leg

Side profile: head and ribs

Foot

Foot and skull

 It's a girl - I know it's probably hard to see but the buns are on the right and the legs sticking out to the left.

This one is also a buns on the left and the legs are lifted up.

100%

Just back from our ultrasound and it's 100% certain we're having a baby GIRL! I'll post photos soon from the ultrasound. YAY!

5 months

Yesterday I stacked several books in this basket in an attempt to clean up...only to find it moments later full of baby buns and books. I snapped these with my cell phone...

 

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We sure did! We were at my mom's house this year and my Uncle Jack and his family joined us along with my grandma Nana. It was a scrumptious, family-filled day. We have so much to be thankful for.

A quick update on Ryan...he is just over 14 months old now and is changing so much! He is really into climbing right now and his comprehension astounds Rob and I. He understands 90% of what we are saying and is really participating in our family now. It's wonderful! He is working on a couple of new sounds...a dog bark and a crow "caw" of sorts. It's adorable to see him "talking" to the neighbor dog or crows overhead. He is full of smiles, laughter, and now, a few antics. He likes hide-and-seek, chasing the dog (preferably with a stick-much to my dismay and instant intervention), and is slurping down mandarin oranges as quickly as I can peel them.

As for baby #2...we're half way there!

We're still working on getting a second ultrasound to see if our little baby will give us a better answer to "is it a boy or a girl?" But, if it doesn't work out or if we still can't tell, we'll have a surprise come April. We're still leaning towards a girl, but a little more evidence would be helpful! A surprise would be fun too though! For "updating" purposes, I'll refer to Baby J. as a girl...

Our baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, most measurements are taken from the top of the head to the bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, baby is measured from head to toe.)

She's practicing breathing and swallowing on a regular basis. She will continue to grow and fill out, with the head becoming slightly more proportional to the rest of the body. Baby J is also starting to grow hair on her head! Other fetal development that typically takes place around week 20 of pregnancy includes the following:

• A protective, waxy skin covering (called vernix caseosa) is forming to protect the baby's skin from the amniotic fluid
• Delicate eyebrows are forming
• If our baby is a girl, her uterus is starting to develop
• Our baby's skin is thickening and developing layers, including the dermis, epidermis, and subcutaneous layer
• Nail growth begins

They are sayin'

...it's a girl!

The tech wasn't 100% sure so we're hoping to have one more ultrasound to confirm. I'm not sure when that will be yet, but Rob and I are feeling 75% sure it is a girl and are both thrilled and a little nervous (what do you do with a girl!? Only, kidding!).

If this baby surprises us and is in fact a boy we will be equally thrilled, but would prefer to not have all pink clothes hanging in the closet! We'll keep you posted in the coming weeks after we have another peek at the baby.

The BEST news is that the baby was healthy and right on track. We feel very blessed and look forward to another 21 weeks of pregnancy.

Much love,
Brooke, Rob, Ryan, and Baby Girl J.

Week 18 - Our lil' Sweet Potato!

Week 18:  Baby J. is the size of a sweet potato 

Hi all! It's been a couple of weeks since I updated on how big Baby J. is getting! I'm now 4 months and really starting to pop! I have also been feeling flutters for a few weeks and it's now common for me to feel the baby throughout the day. I can tell he or she is getting bigger and the "flutters" are going to turn into "kicks" soon!

So here is the latest on the babe:

Baby J. is about as long as a dinner fork - eight inches - (5-6 inches if you are measuring only the crown to rump) and weighs a little more than six ounces (that's as heavy as three extra large eggs or one hockey puck). 

Although baby is enveloped by the familiar sound of my beating heart and rushing blood, he or she is conscious of noises from the outside world, too. They filter through the bones forming in the ears and to the developing brain. Our little one's sense of sight is evolving as well; the retinas are more sensitive to light, and if (and that's a BIG if around here!) I basked under a hot sun, the baby could perceive a red glow. Pads are forming on the fingertips and toes, and the eyes are looking forward rather than out the sides of the head. 

Our baby is capable of moving, flipping and turning somersaults.

Other skills include:

1. Startle movements
2. Slow gradual movements of the entire body
3. Hiccups
4. Breathing movements
5. Opening of mouth
6. Sticking out tongue
7. Moving arms and legs
8. Rotating and lifting head
9. Sucking
10. Yawning
11. Stretching
12. Swallowing
13. Making faces

I wish this was an image of our baby...but it is a baby at 18 weeks gestation so you can get an idea of what our lil' sweet potato is looking like. Our ultrasound in next Thursday and we are so looking forward to seeing the baby and hopefully finding out the gender. We won't hold back any surprises and will announce the news of "boy" or "girl" as soon as we know! :) I know, isn't that nice of me? 

Aside from contemplating baby names, thinking about decorating the new nursery, and feeling baby flutters all day long - we're also gearing up for Christmas around here. The first gifts have already been purchased, wrapping paper is on stand-by, and I was ready for the tree and house lights as soon as Halloween was over! We'll see what we can get done in the coming days, but I feel a surge of Christmas heading our way. It is the best time of the year! 

Happy Friday!

Week 15: Navel Orange

We had a midwife appointment yesterday and all went well. Heard the heartbeat (about 140 beats/min) and my blood pressure, blood work, weight, etc. is all looking great. We also went ahead and scheduled our ultrasound for late November. I will be approx. 19 weeks along and we're so excited to see our little baby. I asked Rob if we could wait to find out the gender until the baby is born and he vetoed that idea! So then I asked if we could have the radiologist put a photo print out from our ultrasound of the gender (isn't technology so cool!) into an envelope and we would wait and open it on Christmas morning. Nope, nada, zilch! He says I can wait, but he wants to find out. How would that work? Him knowing and me not?!?! That would be hard! So I guess we will find out the gender if Baby J. reveals it to us at that time.

As far as the development of the baby goes...this is where Baby J. is at!

Our growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces. Baby J. is busy moving amniotic fluid through the nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs begin to develop. Legs are growing longer than the arms now, and Baby can move all his or her joints and limbs. Although the eyelids are fused shut, Baby J. can sense light (if we shined a flashlight on my tummy for instance). There's not much for our baby to taste at this point, but he or she is forming taste buds.



Will our baby be bald as a cueball, or emerge with a mop of hair? That's now being decided, as hair sprouts on the scalp. Hair also appears as eyebrows and on other parts of the baby's body, too. Baby's legs, back, and belly are covered by a downy fuzz called "lanugo," most of which will disappear before birth.

Mind-blowing fact: Like a tiny sea creature, our baby is able to breathe "underwater." Beginning anywhere from ten to fifteen weeks, the fetus inhales and exhales small amounts of amniotic fluid. This helps the lungs to develop and grow.

Week 14 - Fluttering Lemon!

We're in the so-called "honeymoon phase" of pregnancy. I'm feeling great and am amazed at how much energy I have. I have needed far less sleep than I did when I was pregnant with Ryan. It may be in part because I don't have the option since I have a 13 month old to keep up with. But so far things are going great!

Also, I am feeling flutters!!! It's so exciting! It is just now and again (mostly at night when I'm lying still). I can't wait until Rob can feel them too - probably in another month or so.

What is Baby J. up to? Growing by leaps and bounds! And so is my uterus by they way, which is why you can now see my little bump. I'll be getting out the maternity clothes soon. Most of my regular jeans and clothes all still fit, but I can tell it won't for much longer!

Anyway, back to the baby!

If you make a fist--that's how big our baby is now. At week 14, our baby is about 3 1/2 inches long from crown to rump and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. If you measured from head to toe (instead of to the rump) Baby J. is about 5 inches long!

Like you, he or she can make a fist, too, with fingers that have a unique set of prints; an epidermal layer in his skin shows genetically determined ridges on the tips and palms.

Our baby's arms have almost reached the length they'll be at birth and his/her neck has become more defined. Red blood cells are forming in our baby's spleen. Baby J. also continues to practice breathing the amniotic fluid in and out of his/her lungs.

Our baby has tiny, soft finger and toe nails, is growing hair and may even be doing a little thumb sucking. Expressions begin to flicker across his/her face -- little winces and grimaces. This is simply a flexing of muscles, not an indication of mood. Mouth-muscle flexing is especially important: these sucking motions is our baby's most basic reflex and will enable him/her to eat.

Our baby's blood is beginning to form in the bone marrow and blood vessels are beginning to connect various parts of the fetus to another. The joints and muscles allow Baby J. full body movement so he/she is able to move around. The baby's neck is getting longer and his/her chin is no longer resting on his/her chest. The eyes and ears continue to move into place. The hands are becoming functional and reflex movements often occur.

Well, those are the highlights...
what a miracle!

Week 13: Our little Peach!

We've made it to the second trimester!

Although I still can't feel any movement, Baby J. is all over the place at this point, arms and legs waving, body wriggling, and sometimes even getting the hiccups. Enjoy your brand-new powers of motion while you still have the room little one! By the end of the next trimester, your living space will be much more cramped.

Our baby can make a fist and even suck his/her or her thumb this week. Eyelids are fused shut to protect eyes as they develop and bones and skull are solidifying and soon itsy-bitsy ribs may appear. Baby's intestines have moved to his or her belly instead of poking out into the umbilical cord. All twenty teeth have formed and are waiting to emerge sometime after birth. Vocal cords and larynx are also complete now. The pancreas is even secreting insulin and meconium, the baby's first stool, is developing.

Baby J. weighs about 1 ounce and is three inches in length, and would fit cozily into the cupped palm of your hand. This happens to also be about the size of a Nutter Butter, covered in chocolate. OK, it doesn't have to be covered in chocolate, but isn't everything better that way?

We are already discussing names and the list has begun. We have a lot more options for girls names so far, so if you have any suggestions for boy names...we need 'em! We won't know the answer to "boy? or girl?" until around Thanksgiving. We will be sharing the news with all of you as soon as we know!

This weekend will be a busy and fun one. Rob is golfing tomorrow, Mama is meeting the gals for game night tonight, has movie night with different girlfriends tomorrow night, and we all are going to the pumpkin patch with the Stokers on Sunday after church. I hope to have some fun photos to share with you then. The weather should be sunny but chilly...and the company will be great! Happy Friday everyone!

How big is Baby Judge #2 and other ramblings...

Starting with this week, the baby is now called a fetus. The most critical part of our baby's development is over. This is a period of rapid growth, and he or she is about an inch or so in length at the beginning of week 11 and will be about 2 inches by the end of the week. 

Our baby now weighs a third of an ounce, about the same as two small, Starbucks-sized packets of sugar.

Other exciting developments include:

Baby's ears are assuming their proper place this week and the fingernail and toenail beds are beginning to form. Baby Judge's head is nearly as big as the rest of his or her body.

While testes or ovaries are completely formed now, we won't be able to see baby's gender for a few more weeks (around Thanksgiving probably).

Our baby is really on the move now. In an ultrasound you might be able to see our little acrobat flailing his or her arms and legs and doing somersaults worthy of Cirque du Soleil. I still can't feel any movement at this point though.

 

This week eyelids will fuse shut, and the irises will begin to develop. Sometime during this week or the next week, blood will begin to circulate between the baby and uterus and the placenta starts to function.

In the next nine weeks, our baby will increase 30 times in weight and almost triple in length. 

________________________________________________________

Our first midwife appointment was yesterday and all went well! We got to hear the heartbeat for the first time too. Our ultrasound a few weeks ago showed us our baby's heartbeat, but we couldn't hear it at that point. I'm passed feeling queasy and I am looking forward to the second trimester! We are so thrilled to be expecting baby #2!

________________________________________________________

Ryan got his first bee sting yesterday (thankfully it was a honey bee, so it was only one sting). Rob was gone at a golf tournament and Ryan and I were at home playing INSIDE (how did that little bugger get into my bedroom?!). Ryan bent down to pick something up and started bawling. I was just a couple feet away and went to see what on Earth was wrong and there was a stinger sticking out of the fleshy part of his thumb. The bee was "running" away...I pulled the stinger out, gave the area a squeeze to try to get any venom out, and put a drop of "Itch Eraser" on it - less than 2 minutes later you would have never known he has been stung. That was a relief! He didn't seem too phased and bounced right back from the sting. Gotta love that about kids. I just hate it that he got stung at age one!! That's WAY too little to have had a bee sting. Poor little guy! 

 

Adding to the fun

8/28/09 UPDATE!

Our ultrasound last night went great! Tiny baby and tiny heartbeat. Based on the baby's measurements, our due date was changed to April 16, 2010.


Original post:

We are adding to the fun around here!!



Baby #2 is on the way and we expect to meet him/her around April 11th!

Neigh

A recent conversation I had...

Neighbor Guy: "Congratulations! He is beautiful. So how long were you in the hospital?"

Me: "Oh, we had him at home."

Neighbor Guy: "Intentionally?!?"

Me: "Yes, he was born in our living room in a birthing tub. It was wonderful!"

Neighbor Guy: "Well I don't know what to say! You're a horse!"

Hmm...any idea on how to respond to THAT? Neigh!

____________________________________________

Here are some photos from breakfast this morning with my mom, Julie Kangas, and Andie Merlino. It was wonderful to see them and introduce them to Ryan!

Reunion

Here are photos from a reunion with the other parents from our birth class. It was so great to see everyone!