The Pregnancy Journal - Question #2

Question #2
What were the best things your parents did as parents?

As I type this, Steven is snoring (softly) beside me so this is strictly my own answer.

Among many, many, many things, the best thing my parents did for me was to raise me within very strict, defined parameters. It was always clear what was acceptable (behaviour, clothing, speech...you name it) and what was not. They were so consistent so it was very easy for me to decide between right and wrong. Why on earth would I want to do something rebellious if it only meant bad things? That being said, of course I did bad things but I was never judged or questioned about the decisions that I made, only punished. If I did good things, only rewarded. Not a lot of discussion ensued. My dad was a psych major so maybe he was thinking of Pavlov's dog... Hahaha

I guess it's like this: They made up the rules, I played the game and sometimes I'd pass Go and sometimes I'd go to jail and miss a turn. It was what it was and I hope to be able to do the same. Offer consistency, clearly defined guidelines for life and continued support - without criticism or "advice" - regardless of my decisions.

Then again, maybe I'll just buy my children's complacency through technology and offerings of cash.

Leg Cramps and Other Things - 107 days to go

I'm really feeling like the bliss and beauty of the second trimester is quickly being overshadowed by the pain and discomfort of the third... and it's still 3 weeks away!!

Last week, my calves were clobbered in the middle of the night my these monstrous leg cramps! Moms out there will know what I'm talking about. Fist sized balls of searing hot lava implant themselves into your legs. Mine sit high up on my calves just under the knees. They hold on tight and just don't let go!! Apparently, there's just no escaping them :(

My brain is also turning into mush and I seem to have developed a glassy stare. My ankles haven't swollen up but my feet don't like any of my work appropriate shoes by about 1pm. If no one is around, I scoot about by waddling like a penguin. My appetite is insatiable and, if there was a cupcake that was lemon, curry, french fry and chocolate flavoured all in one, I would inhale it (and a dozen more) in an instant! My wedding ring still slides off but my hands cramp up something fierce. I need about 8 pillows to make me comfortable in bed and even then I wake up intermittently. Finally, I sometimes get this nasty jab in my ribcage.

What in the world is going on?

Oh...yeah...I'm pregnant. And it's FABULOUS!

Registry

We're already getting questions from friends & family about what we want for our little bean (other than diapers, diapers and more diapers). Well, here's the beginning of our registry... I'm trying not to register for too much since, let's face it, we just don't have room for a whole lot!

http://www.babyproofingplus.com/registry/find.php

It's under the name Steven Brown or Maria Brown.

We also have our eye on a few things at a store called ella+elliot so a gift card or two from there wouldn't hurt either...

http://www.ellaandelliot.com/

Of course gift cards to Shoppers Drug Mart and The Bay are fantastic, too! We've got both in walking distance for us. Perfect for when we have to send Papa to the store late at night for an emergency diaper run!

Wishlist - NO DISNEY ZONE

I spend a lot of time Googling baby things in search of the perfect "__________". Every now and then I come upon some things that I think BBB just has to have. Here are some of those things... I'll update this section every now and again with other things we think are just swell.

http://www.kidrobot.com/Toys/PlushToys/

The Stache Labbit is a MUST HAVE. It'll remind BBB of his Pops!

http://rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com/

http://store.sub-studio.com/prints/nursery.html

These prints will go really well with the "nursery" that we have planned.

http://www.babygeared.com/uglydolls.html

We just LOVE the Marty and all of his ugly friends

http://www.thetexthook.com/

Perfect for Papa!

http://www.canadamaidservice.ca/index.html

Perfect for Mama!

22 Weeks & 6 Days

Still fits...

The Pregnancy Journal

Steven's Aunt Bernadette gave us this great little journal called "The Pregnancy Journal". In it are blank pages with random pregnancy related questions along the top. Some are easy (Q: What are your favourite baby names? A: Anything not top 500 so the likelihood of our kid having a common name in grade school is slim to none.), some require more thought (Q: Are there any political issues you care about more now that you're pregnant? A: Uhhhhh...) but all are important to reflect upon and, when this child is ready to be a parent himself, would offer great insight into where he came from and the thought put into raising him.

Question 1:
Which stage of childhood will be the most fun and which will be the hardest?

I have always LOVED the mischief, knowledge, curiosity and mayhem that the twos and threes bring with them. I love how they do naughty things to test but are easily forgiven because they are still practically babies. I love their jerky motions, their exaggerated facial expressions and their fanned out fingers. I cannot wait for the twos and threes!

Since we're having a boy, I'm not sure what stage would be the hardest... I know that as a 14-17 year old, I probably stressed my parents out A LOT for a myriad of reasons(as did most of my girlfriends/cousins). I don't know what a boy child does as he ages that would make parenting them more difficult at one stage than the next. As I understand it, adolescence becomes easier when you have a boy because he is far more enthusiastic about doing his own laundry (especially his own bedding) in his teens ;)

I think I'll need Steven's help for answering this half of the question...

21 weeks & 3 days - Can you see my face?

Back for our follow up! Heart - all good! Baby - still a boy!

Let's start taking polls: who does this guy look like?

New Year's Bellies

20 Weeks...still growing

Terrible camera angle. I need a new photographer.

19 Weeks - It's a Boy!

This was a very traumatizing ultrasound.

My Mom was in town so we thought it would be nice for her to see the bean on the screen. It was pretty cool for her since she didn't get to have an ultrasound of her own when I was born. She couldn't stop talking about how she saw the baby making sucking motions. Thankfully she was with me since poor Papa Brown was super delayed due to the stupid subway. I was really anxious that Steven was going to miss everything so it was nice to have my mom with me.

The U/S technician was getting very impatient with the Brown's. First of all, she was getting frustrated with me for texting with Steven constantly and then she was upset with the bean for not showing off his heart! He was pretty quick to show off his *ahem*, though, which is how we found out he was a boy.

About 45 minutes into the U/S, still no Steven to be found, the tech told me to do jumping jacks so that BBB would shimmy around and she could verify his healthy heart. Stubborn little guy was just stalling so his Pops could make it in time for the last bit of the appointment.

Steven arrived an hour after the appointment and he got to see the little bean kick and squiggle. Apparently, BBB also mooned the camera. Like father, like son. Anyhow, after ANOTHER 30 mins of trying the U/S tech gave up and rebooked us for another appointment.

11 weeks and growing...

We bought this funky top from a street vendor in Buenos Aires in Feb 09... Let's see if it'll last the whole 9 months!

12 Weeks 2 Days

At this point, we didn't yet know if we would be having a BBB or a BGB. We were just glad to hear and see that all was growing as it should be.

9 weeks 3 days

We actually had an ultrasound that confirmed the little bean at about 7 weeks but there was no photo... too small. Steven was pretty excited about this! Little did we know that the ultrasounds would give him so much joy (and frustration as there is always so much waiting around in waiting rooms!).

127 Days To Go

For all of our friends & family who live far away... a journal of the Evolution of Baby Boy Brown.

At this point we are thrilled to announce that we are 21 weeks and 6 days along. BBB is bouncing regularly and growing at a normal pace. He has 10 fingers, 10 toes and 4 chambers in his beating heart - phew!

BBB, Mom & Dad are all growing accordingly.

More to come as more interesting things happen. For now, enjoy these photos!