Babies and Bikes

This week's been full!

Last weekend I went to our friend's Jan & Shawn's new house for a bbq. I saw some old friends, some little munchkins and had a great time.

This past week, I also had quite a few people tell me I look like I'm starting to show - WOW! I don't quite see it yet, but I sometimes feel like I'm getting a little bigger. I've also had people just reach out and touch my belly. I know they're excited and want to be a part, but it's a bit unnerving. If you see a pregnant woman, please don't touch her belly unless she tells you it's ok.

Baby Holm has also been moving this week. I've been feeling a sort of wave feeling in my lower belly and realized the other day maybe it was the munchkin. I paid a little more attention yesterday and decided it probably was the baby. Today I had a baby appointment and my midwife confirmed it was most likely baby!

Speaking of the baby appointment - it went great. I flew solo today for the first time. I lost another pound - woo hoo! The baby's heart rate was 150 - perfect! And the 1 hour glucose test I took last week was also great!

Looks like everything going great, and I hope the remaining 22 weeks go just as smooth!

And now we come to the bike part of this post.
This weekend is the Pan-Mass Challenge. My brother Tom is riding again and Mom, Bob,Eric and I are volunteering again. This will be Tom's last year to ride. Unfortunately, the PMC asks is riders to raise more and more money, and it's very difficult for a lot of people to raise it each year. Visit pmc.org to learn more about the ride.

WHAT'S BABY HOLM UP TO?
Week 18

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

It's been raining since yesterday. And it's been raining a lot. It's the head story on the news and it's all anyone is talking about at work.



This morning, my 60-mile commute took me close to 2.5 hours. It just sucked huge. People were driving 30 mph on the Mass Pike, where the speed limit is usually 65 and peple drive 70+. Once I got off the highway and on the street to work, there were huge puddles and flooding. You name it, I pretty much went through it this morning.


In New Hampshire today, houses were wrecked by the weather. It's unclear if it was a tornado, but a tornado warning was issued this morning. Yesterday in Rhode Island, there was an apparent touch down in the water!


The pictures on the news and the internet are unbelievable. Cars stuck in floods, trees knocked over, people stuck in the rain.

WHAT'S BABY HOLM UP TO?

Week 17

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

Daddy, Read To Me

In high school, my most favorite subject was anatomy & physiology. The human body fascinates me to no end. The way it attacks itself with cancers, the way it heals itself from a scratch or broken bone. The way it grows, the way it dies. It's all amazing to me.

As much as I understand what's happening scientifically, I'm still amazed that I'm growing a person. Seriously - there's a person growing in my stomach!! A PERSON!!! It started out as 2 little cells joining and each day, each minute, each second - something new is happening!

Sometimes it's a little freaky, sometimes it's overwhelming, but it's always amazing. Growing fingers, growing hair, creating blood and more.

To top it off, after this person is born - Eric and I are responsible for it. ERIC AND I!!!!

Sometimes we can't even take care of ourselves - how can we take care of another person??

But I know we'll be ok. Even though Eric hasn't been around little kids much before he met Josh and Emma, I know he'll do ok. And I've had more than my fair share of kids between babysitting, camp, J&E and my friend's kids.

I've been trying to get Eric to read to the munchkin since I got home from Chicago, but I think he's sort of self-conscious about it. I seriously can't wait for the day he feels comfortable enough to do it.

He asked if he had to read a kid's book or if it could be Stephen King. I told him SK would be alright as long as it was in a pleasant voice during all the killing and swearing ;-)

According to my weekly update I get emailed, I should be feeling faint movement in the next few weeks. THAT will freak me out even more, but I'm really looking forward to it. All I can think about is the alien coming out from the guy's stomach in ALIENS!

In just about 3 1/2 weeks, we'll be finding out if it's a Jack or a Megan. I've added a poll on the right - tell us what you think Munchkin Holm will be!

WHAT'S BABY HOLM UP TO?

16 Weeks

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Back from Chicago!

After a quick 3 day trip to Chicago, I'm back! I got home around 11:30 on Saturday night and slept most of Sunday morning and afternoon away until Eric got home around 3:30 and woke me up.

It was a crazy 3 days in Chi-town. It was my first Pampered Chef National Conference and it was busy! Lots of workshops, lots of people, lots of things to see! We got to see the new products coming out on September 1st - there's some great stuff coming out! Can't wait to show you all!

Unfortunately, I didn't have any time to sight see at all. I did get to see some amazing public art while we were on the bus to and from McCormick Place. I also got to see Soldier Field a number of times as it was on the way to the convention center.

I'd love to go back with Eric and really get to see the city - not just the route from the Hilton to McCormick.

WHAT'S BABY HOLM UP TO?

Week 15

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

Happy Birthday America!

It's been a lazy 4th of July weekend. I got to leave work at 2:45 on Thursday the 3rd - which was great! Eric had to work on Friday, so it was a very lazy day in bed for me. I literally stayed in bed the entire day and watched tv. I even had a little breakfast-in-bed tray set up so I could eat and play on the computer in bed! HA! Sometimes it's just nice to do absolutely nothing all day long.

Eric and I are cramming a lot of things in that will be over when the munchkin comes along. Playing computer games till all hours of the night, staying in bed all day, sleeping late, lazy days and more. We know our 2-person family days are coming to an end soon, so we're getting it all in!

We live about 4 miles from the nearest fireworks site and heard them loud and clear last night! I don't remember them ever being so loud before! The picture attached is of the fireworks over the Charles River in Boston on Friday night.

It was a nice relaxing weekend, but it's back to work for me tomorrow and Tuesday and then off to Chicago on Wednesday for the Pampered Chef National Conference. I'm really looking forward to it!

See you when I get back on Saturday!!

WHAT'S BABY HOLM UP TO?
Week 14

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon— and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.