Okay. That smarts.

I've noticed I tend to carry babies low. I had this problem with Cam and I have a similar situation with Jordan. The problem with this trend is I can feel my pelvic bone stretching. It's a terrible feeling. It's especially uncomfortable when I need to use the bathroom... And that need has taken a step up in recent days.

I assume the fact that the more pain I'm dealing with means Jordan is growing. That's a good thing. I have interesting wiggles and kicks from time to time. But the most I'm feeling is stretching. And I'll be honest. Pelvic bones shouldn't be able to stretch as much as mine does.

Ouch!

Turbulence and Landing

Jordan made it known that she doesn't like turbulence and a hard landing.

My first flight from Edmonton to Minneapolis was bumpy in the end. It was a little wigglier than I enjoyed. I had to hold my belly just to feel comfortable. Then we landed... And just as the plane finally slowed down, Jordan kicked very hard as if she was saying: "What the HELL was that?"

So for the rest of the day, she crowded up on my right side even more than usual.

By the end of all of the travels and we finally got to the car to drive back from St. Louis to Columbia, I noticed my ankles have swollen for the first time in this pregnancy. It's ugly. Really, really ugly.

Hopefully a lot of water and rest this weekend will put everything back to normal.

The smallest traveller

I'm in Canada this week... Training on nerdy computer stuff.
As I was flying I thought about all the places Jordan has been since her conception:
Las Vegas
Maine
St. Louis
Denver
Chicago
Kentucky
Edmonton, Canada
Austin (next month)
And if the doctor thinks it's okay: Orlando

That's pretty well traveled. Cameron just had to sit through grad school with me. Jordan gets to train on nerdy computer programs and fly on a lot of planes. She doesn't seem to mind.

But she keeps hanging out on one side -- My right side. She's crammed up in there and doesn't seem interested in moving. It's a little strange... She wiggles and kicks in the same area. My belly is actually bigger on one side than the other. It's not that noticeable to anyone other than myself. But it's obvious to me.

I'm seeing things differently

I've purposefully ignored ads that are targeted towards girls.

Until now.

I was watching cartoons with Cam while we were in Kentucky. We don't normally watch cartoons... So I don't normally watch commercials. I kind of try to avoid those.

Anyway. I was watching the cartoons with Cam when I saw a Barbie pegasus commercial. It was a big horse head that had colorful hair girls could design. I never liked those kind of toys as a kid... I never owned one. That's when I realized I'd have to have conversations about Barbie and colorful toys instead of super heros and cars.

That's going to take some time getting used to.

Another appointment

We had another doctor's appointment today. All is going well. I'm gaining weight at a steady, but not dangerous pace. The blood sugar levels were stellar, my blood pressure: 100/70 -- pretty darn good for a pregnant lady.

Jordan continues to wiggle and kick... She seems awake a lot... But I'm probably just noticing movement in her sleep. I have a feeling she'll be like her brother -- Always on the move, awake or asleep.

More details on Jordan

So... Jordan is very wiggly. She stayed in one spot for 45 minutes but just never stopped wiggling. She kept moving so much that we couldn't get a good look. I remember Cameron being wiggly, but Jordan was a mover and a shaker.

She isn't very big. Right now she's about 9 ounces... 8 pounds less than Cameron's birth weight. She's in the 35th percentile in size. There isn't anything to be concerned about, she just isn't monster in size like her brother.

To be honest. I was just really excited to see a baby with a head with a normal size. Maybe she'll have a head like Mommy instead of Randy's huge cranium.

We're excited to watch my belly grow as Jordan grows. It's very different knowing a name and sex of a new baby before birth. Cameron's surprise was probably the greatest surprise we could have. But it's so cool to watch Cameron feel more connected to his new sister.

It's a GIRL

Yes. We got a chance to meet little Jordan today. I'll try to scan in a picture soon and post it.

She's healthy, amazingly active and due between January 5th and 7th. More to come.

One day away

I'm being silly counting down the ultrasound. But because we're willing to find out if this is a boy or a girl, it's even more exciting. By the time I had my 20 week ultrasound with Cam, I'd had two other ultrasounds... So I'd seen him wiggling around before. I'm also excited to bring Cameron to the appointment so he can see. It may not go well. But I think it will be interesting to Cam. We shall see.

Yoga and wiggles

I started a yoga class last night... Now that I'm moving to days, I'll be able to take evening classes. So I skipped out of work for a couple of hours yesterday to attend the first class. There are a bunch of pregnant women in the class. I have the latest due date by 2 days. We all have bellies and struggled through the first day of exercises. But I already started remembering some of the skills I learned from a similar class from 3 years ago when I was pregnant with Cameron.

On the same day, the baby started much more obvious wiggling. He or she was wiggling and poking every time I sat down and took a breather. It's kind of exciting to finally feel a more physical connection with this little one than just watching my body expand.

Oh, and by the way... The ultrasound is officially 2 days away!

4 days away

The ultrasound is coming. I'm looking forward to meeting Jordan or Kian... That's our girl or boy name. Jordan for a girl or Kian for a boy.

We went to a Bruce Springsteen concert this past weekend. It was strange to feel the music reverberate in my belly. It was strange and I'm sure the baby was rocking. Near the end of the the show, we got up really close to watch and MAN did things shake. I can't feel mega kicks yet, but I think I felt wiggles from time to time.

This won't be our last show. In the next month, we are going to a concert or two in Columbia. And Randy and I plan to go to a music festival in Austin, Texas. This baby will really know how to dance!