Sorry for my recent AWOL status. Incubating a baby is a lot of work and thus, I have found less time to devote to bubbling on the blog. Between work and napping and milking pregnancy for all it’s worth, this whole being with child gig has really consumed my time. I am just shy of 20 weeks pg and am seriously smitten with the second trimester. I have nearly forgotten how wretched I felt for the first 16 weeks and am embracing the oh-so-scary reality that not only do I get to partake in the preggo game for another 20 weeks and then push out my little precious one from inside of its cozy little cave but also be in charge of a whole human?! Okay, so I am slowly embracing these realities. But, embracing just the same. This is the reason that God provides 9 months before baby comes to town…
Adam and I celebrated week 19 with visits to the midwife and fetal specialist. Jearlyn, our midwife (aka- best person ever), was unfortunately out on a little vacay so we saw midwife Nancy Peterson instead. The visit was quick and dirty and proved that I have put on the poundage with 10 points added on the scale to date. The one thing that always freaks me out just a tad (not to say that my father freaks me out) at the midwife’s office is when they bring in the jello mold baby to show us how big Snowball has become. Imagine, holding in your hands a little jello-like doll and thinking…”ah, my baby.” It doesn’t look like a real little babe and it feels like rubber. It’s nearly as freaky as those life-like dolls recently featured on the TODAY show (I love you, Matt Lauer, but that was disturbing).
Our visit to Dr. Kenny’s was very festive as we were able to truly invite Snowball to our little soiree with a watch party for the little tyke. We had a fantastic tot finding tech, Claire, who politely put up with all of my ridiculous questions. We were able to see all parts in tact and that baby Brehm has passed the first test … having all of his/her limbs. I thoroughly enjoyed the ultrasound because it mentally reassured me that my blossoming bossom and belly are directly related to our little doober’s development. The babe weighed in at 2/3 of a beer can (or pop can, for us preggo persons) and is just right where it should be. I was beyond thrilled to get the memo that all is well as I have been perpetually fearing the whole development deal due to my own deficiencies in the smarts department. True to his/her name, Snowball was rolling and tumbling and having a merry time entertaining the masses throughout the entire show and so, there is no doubt that this child is a combination of Adam and myself.
Again, the ultrasound was all fun and games until sweet Claire started to show us the 3D version of Snowball. Talk about freaking out a first-time momma… holy crap… seeing my baby swimming in a sea of stomach was a little too much for me to take. I took one look at the baby and asked “Are the lips really that large? Is that what the nose looks like? What’s with the globs of goop around it?”. Claire responded, ever so politely, “Well, it’s really not a clear picture or a realistic view at this stage in the pregnancy… just think of the lips having baby botox”. And what came to mind next was that our child… our perfect little combination of Adam and myself, might very well pop out looking like a fish. I became consumed with the face… checking out every angle and every little feature… and I determined that I would rather just see Baby Brehm when he/she arrives… sans aminiotic fluid. While I am sure that once we set our sights on Snowball in 20 or so weeks we will believe him/her to be the most beautiful Brehm to grace the earth — I would prefer to view the babe in good old-fashioned ultrasound mode from here on out.
This was, indeed, the appointment where we could determine whether Snowball has two lumps of cole or none at all… and… we have determined that it is definitely a boy or a girl! I made sure to ask Claire if she could tell one way or the other in order to rule out any potential problems. Sure enough, definitely one or the other. Apparently, opportunities will abound to look in on our little lad or lass as we take to the screen again in four weeks and then four weeks post-that and then once or twice a week up until the release date. Snowball is seriously going to feel like a paparazzi-stalked celebrity when all is said and done. I just hope it doesn’t go to his/her head. This is what happens when mom has too much pressure:).
