Melon, Melon, Bo-Belon

Oh my. I have a little boy roughly the size of a cantaloupe in my belly. And I thought the orange sounded big. Next week he'll be even bigger! At this point, I can't help but reference one of my favorite movies:



I know I keep going back to this, but I can't believe how much he's moving now. I love it! I'm still not used to it, though. Honestly I hope I never am. It's just so amazing. The kid has a strong enough kick now that Collin can feel it, too, when he puts his hand on my belly.

This past weekend was tax free weekend in Texas. We ventured out into the crowds in search of new clothes. (I'm gettin' bigger, Collin is gettin' smaller.) It was madness! Worse than Christmas. Seriously. Nobody has anything better to do than go spend money. Talk about the perfect set-up for crankiness ... 100 degree temperatures, terrible traffic, rude people. In the end I don't think we even saved that much money. BUT, to have pants that fit and do not cut off the circulation to my feet is a glorious, glorious thing. (Collin looks cute in his new pants, too. Extra bonus.)

Side note: These belly panels they put in maternity pants are kind of like having an extreme version of granny panties attached to your jeans.

Baby NOT fetus!

Mango Tango

Slowly but surely, I am losing my belly button. See you in a few months, belly button ... along with those size 4 corduroys (hopefully).

A mango! I love mangos. That is a much better image than the sweet potato, for many reasons.

BABY not FETUS!!


Along with the change in my size, I have definitely noticed the change in Baby's size. I feel him moving around on a regular basis now. It certainly is strange, but in such a delightful way. And I am thankful for it. Double bonus: it indicates he is a growing, active boy and it helps my excitement build. I may not experience too many things greater in life than the movement of my very small child in my very own belly. During a completely boring, monotonous day at work I will feel Baby move more times than I can count. Metering the mail? Kick, elbow, headbutt. Now me and Baby are metering the mail together. And that's just SO much better.

God certainly knew what He was doing in the design of this process. I can see His hand in so much of it (aside from the obvious). Ah-hah! So that's why He did that! Clever. He really is grace-filled, all-knowing, ever-present. Again, I find myself so thankful.

Pregnancy Doesn't Have to Suck

During a recent visit to Barnes & Noble I took a friend's advice and read about half of a book cleverly entitled Pregnancy Sucks, thinking it would provide both information and humor. Big mistake. There were certain sentences and descriptions in that book that will be with me for quite a while. Sigh.

From the beginning, I knew I needed to prepare myself for the wealth of questions, opinions, stories, advice, and comments that would come my way. (Given the recent growth spurt of my belly, I feel I need to kick that preparation into overdrive.) Despite my best efforts, I still find myself frequently UN-prepared for some of the things people throw at me. Please, don't tell me the horror story of your pregnancy/birth, nor that of your sister or your best friend. I'm fairly aware of the things that could go wrong and the various discomforts that may be headed my way. But thank you for reminding me of just HOW bad it could get.

The only reason I broach this subject is because of the super awesome comment I received today from a female co-worker ... "I can tell that your hips are spreading." Followed by, "And they'll never go back." No, I don't expect they will. But back to the original comment. "I can tell that your hips are spreading." Huh? What?

The lesson(s) I think I have learned? As they say, take it all with a grain of salt; be patient and be a good sport; don't totally discount it all because someone may have a gem of advice; think twice before I share my own pearls of "wisdom" with other ladies.

But, seriously, please ... don't EVER tell me my hips are spreading.

Not Sure How I Feel About That ...

This week we have a sweet potato. Which is unfortunate since I've pretty much despised sweet potatoes my entire life. Except for the sweet potato chips at Blue Mesa and sweet potato fries (specifically at Village Burger in Dallas). But other than that ... YUCK. And why the ugly picture again?! Though I suppose this is better than the prune. I'll just pretend it's a giant blueberry. That suits me better.

I will remind you every time, he's a baby not a fetus.



And while we're on the subject of ugly pictures, I have a great one for you. One of the websites I have been frequenting is thebump.com. Lucky for us, they now have a "baby morpher" where expectant parents across the country can get a glimpse of what they're precious child will look like. (I love that the example they use at the top of the web page is of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Because THAT'S relatable.) Feast your eyes on the future Baby Massey ...



So I'm diggin' the hair color, but why does he look like he's our age (30, for those of you who aren't keeping track). Do the circles under my eyes look that bad?! From which side of the family did he get those pursed lips?! Is he mad, bored, discontent?! As with the sweet potato picture, I am disappointed ... and also a little creeped-out. We thought this would be fun but we both just want to hurry up and delete the picture. Not before sharing it with you, of course.

The Obligatory Belly Picture - Month Five

This week I begin the fifth month of pregnancy! And I finally have the bump to prove it! I'm thrilled to have some evidence other than the gas and indigestion. I'm loving the baby bump (though it is frustrating to not be able to wear some of my favorite clothes anymore). Small price to pay I suppose. I think the bump totally agrees with me. So far, we're getting along just fine.

Oh Boy, Oh Boy

Had another visit with my super fantastic doctor on Friday. Everything looks good! I've gained 9 pounds so far and now have legitimacy to the tightness of ALL of my clothing. Baby's heartbeat is strong and all the tiny organs are growing and looking good. Amazing watching that little heart beat like crazy. And, well ... it would seem we have ourselves a little boy.

For your viewing pleasure, a series of photos of our little guy. Granted these are not the clearest, most definable images but you get the idea. And it's always good to see him, even if you can't really SEE him.


Leg is on the upper left, head is towards the bottom right.




Unfortunately, this is the best shot we could get of his face. Though really all you can see is his skull. (Only slightly creepy.) You may have to tilt your head sideways for this one.




This is the clearest of them all. And this is actually my favorite. I love how you can see his little bones. That little arm was waving all over the place during the entire ultrasound.




I can't help but feel weird posting this without Baby's permission, but here it is nonetheless ... Baby's boy part. We'll let you figure it out.