Corinne's First Birthday (celebrated a bit early in San Diego)

On April 21, my parents threw Corinne a first birthday party:

Hanging with her aunt Jill

Slowly picking at the frosting

It's blue! Corinne is getting a baby brother!

Mmmmm! Sugar!

Clean up

Taking a nap in the Ergo by the pool

Tired after her party

It's a BOY!

On April 20, my parents treated me to a foo-foo 3d/4d ultrasound while we were in San Diego. I told the tech I didn't want to know the sex. Instead, I asked her to write the sex down on a piece of paper and stick it in an envelope.

The next day was Corinne's "California" first birthday party. Her smash cake doubled as a gender reveal cake. That way, M and I could find out at the same time. He via Facetime, and myself in person.

At first, Corinne just wanted to pick at the frosting on the top of the cake. But the gender reveal frosting was INSIDE. She was taking her sweet time, much to my chagrin, so I took her hand and stuffed it into the center of the cake.

I was VERY surprised. I saw traces of pink frosting in the kitchen (designed to throw me off) before the party, and at the NT scan, the tech guessed girl.

One of each! And healthy! We are so beyond lucky.

18 weeks

How Far Along: 18w4d
Size of baby: Head to rump, he is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces.

Other things baby is up to: He's busy flexing his arms and legs. 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. His genitals are noticeable now.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +1 total

Sex: Boy!

Movement: It started around 16 weeks. It still feels like gas, and it is centered low, around the c section site.

Sleep: Depends on how well Corinne sleeps!

Symptoms: This pregnancy has had the worse morning sickness of all. But it started earlier, and was pretty much gone by second trimester. Around 10/11 weeks, it was the worse. One day, it got so bad, I called Matt at work and asked him to come home. He found me sitting on the floor of the kitchen (next to the sink for ease of puking) eating celery and trying to keep it down.

Maternity Clothes: Yep. Love those things.

Belly Button: Innie

Milestones: None to speak of.

Looking forward to: The anatomy scan, and finalizing a name (hopefully before he is born)

Next appointment: 5/3/12 for the AFP test.

Times I used the doppler in the last week: None. I did about two weeks ago during a slow movement day.

Other: According to the ultrasound a week ago, he was measuring about a week ahead!



18w4d

For comparison, here I am at 18w with Corinne:

And, my HPTs from this pregnancy. I finally made a "memory box" for him. So far, it has his ultrasound photos and these pee sticks (I cut off the business end of them)

11 Months

Likes: Remotes, cell phones, being sung to, the book "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb". Pretty much all food, as long as she can pick it up and put it in her mouth.

Dislikes: Being ignored, strangers trying to hold her

Weight: 15.5lbs

Height: high 20-something. She's solidly in 9 month clothes now (for length).

We started out the month of April by flying to San Francisco to visit M's family. After watching the Food Network and seeing a special on the pork chops from a place called "Mustard's Grill" near Napa, we got a hankering and just had to go there to try out the chops (they were devine):

Yep, we all know who she gets those big blue eyes from (hint: it's not her momma):

After about a week in San Francisco, M flew back home to return to work, and I flew to San Diego to visit my family. We arrived on Easter Sunday. At which point, we (myself, Corinne's aunt and her uncle) searched for eggs, dyed eggs, and had a tasty Easter Dinner consisting of Mexican take out. Corinne liked the beans.

We spent the rest of the month in San Diego. I decided to go out on the edge of the pier at Children's Beach for this picture. Not less than a second after it was a snapped, a huge rouge wave crashed over our heads, soaking us both. Corinne got her first taste (literally) of the ocean. And we were soaked for the rest of the day.

Trying to ward off the diaper rash:

11 month photos:

Aunt Jill's hair is fun to grab!

At dinner one night:

At Seaport Village:

On the flight back home at the end of the month, we had a layover in Vegas. Corinne watched me selflessly donate $20 to the great state of Nevada:

Ruh-Ro. I guess baby proofing is in order.

For the past month or so, Corinne has been on the precipice of crawling. She'd get up on all fours, and lift one arm, and the other, but the legs just wouldn't follow:

Until Sunday April 22, when we were in California. Something clicked, and she went from not crawling at all, to a marathon crawler. A few nights later, I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night while Corinne was asleep next to me. She woke up and decided to go looking for me, crwling over the pillows I placed around her. I came back into the room, to see her perched on the edge of the bed (a 3 foot drop). Good thing I wasn't a second later in returning. So, first thing we did when Corinne and I got back from California was to put the mattress directly on the floor. Now, if she crawls off, it's only a 12 inch drop. Enough to stun her, but not enough to hurt her.

http://youtu.be/ZfOABFPesac

With crawling, it seems like she's much happier. Not as frustrated, since she can go after what she wants. The cat had better watch out. At least the sink is safe for now.