24 Weeks- LIVE from New York!

Well we survived our first flight with baby boy DeCook!  It was a long one, and was filled with a local choir group consisting of AT LEAST 75 16 year olds (most of which had never flown before and were extremely excited and vocal about the experience), compression socks to ensure that my legs and feet didn't swell too badly and me watching Todd sleep while the baby kicked me to say, "What is going on out there?"  We are now in New York and beginning phase 1 of the babymoon!

New York is a special city for Todd and I- it's where we met 3.5 years ago. Todd is working during the week while we are here, and I am just going to relax and waddle around the city while he is in the office. Over the weekend, we are going to go to a couple of our favorite museums and revisit some spots from when we first met.  Then Tuesday, we are off to phase 2 of the babymoon- the Dominican Republic!  We are both ready for some sun and relaxation!

Supposedly, baby boy DeCook is 15 inches long and 1.5 lbs this week.  I can feel him stretching out to the full extent of my abdomen, both horizontally and vertically, so...I'd say he is definitely growing!

Here we are at 24 weeks, in our hotel room in Soho:

23 Weeks- Stay at Home Mommy???

This has been an interesting and eventful week for our family.  Those of you who have known me for a while, know that I have had a healthy focus on my career in financial services for the last 12 years.  (Healthy meaning not obsessed with it, but focused and driven to do well.)  I have always known that my industry is "an old boys club" but honestly, I have rarely seen the effects of it personally.  Sure, at times there were inappropriate jokes and comments but that's just part of being a woman...you roll with it, turn a blind eye and it doesn't become an issue. You move forward. I always felt like I was provided ample opportunity to succeed, and keep my career moving forward and truly enjoyed my industry.  I had assumed that these opportunities would continue and that even when I planned on having a family, I would continue working and moving forward in my career.

It wasn't until I became pregnant, that I realized that my being a woman was actually still considered a liability or an inconvenience for the people that I work with.  At that point, I had been a full-time consultant with company that provides private placement insurance and investment products for over a year.  My boss had been pushing to hire me on as a full-time employee for the last 6 months.  By November,  I had completed the interview, and application process.  In early December, I was told that we were just waiting on the final word from HR.  Then, I screwed up.  I was honest, and I didn't want to enter into employment without disclosing something very important- I was pregnant.  The next day, I was told that they were no longer interested in moving forward with the hiring process.  Things like, "well, you probably won't want to come back", "you are going to be distracted by your pregnancy and new baby" and "you clearly aren't the bread winner in your family, so I am sure you will be fine" were part of this conversation.

I was devastated, but I also considered that there might be some truth in my not wanting to come back full time right after the baby was born and that when I was ready, I was sure they would find a spot for me.  I felt that I had proven myself to be a valuable asset, and had this reinforced numerous ways by the organization.   In the mean time,  I was told I could continue consulting for as long as I wanted to.  When I told people the situation, I made excuses for my boss and pretended that I wasn't horrified that my pregnancy had been used as an excuse not to hire me.

Until this week...on Tuesday I was told that they hired a full-time, male employee (so someone who obviously can't get pregnant) to replace me.  I am welcome to come back do project manager work, as needed, but I am no longer needed on a day to day basis.  Needless to say, I was shocked, angry and completely disillusioned not just with this company, but with the all the progress that I thought we had made in terms of treating women fairly in the work place.  While there are obvious moral, and probably legal issues with this situation I am not going to dwell on it.

As of today, I am moving on and starting a new chapter in my life.  I will not resent the fact that the decision to be a stay at home mother was made for me by the old boys club, but rather look forward to all of the little milestones that I will be able to enjoy by being at home with my husband and new baby.  Pregnancy has been one of the most eye opening and amazing experiences of my life.  I am just going to sit back and rest through the remainder of it and enjoy every little kick, marvel at how my belly and body are growing and changing, enjoy the last few months of it just being Todd and I and plan for the arrival of baby boy DeCook!

Here we are at 23 weeks:

22 Weeks- Lots of Cuddles!

We had a good appointment with Dr. Ono on Friday!  We listened to the little guys heart beat, reviewed the ultrasound results and measured my uterus.  Todd and I also bombarded him with a million questions.  :)  He said my uterus is a little over 22 cms, typically you account for a centimeter for every week of pregnancy so I am still running a little bit big, but nothing alarming.  He also said that everything with the last ultrasound looked great and that everything was developing as it should be.  The little guy weighed a little over 7 oz. and typically at 18 weeks the baby weighs 6.5 oz.   So he is a little big, but again, nothing to be alarmed about.  We have some homework from the doctor over the next few weeks- find a pediatrician, determine what parenting classes we want to take and make a final decision about where we want deliver.  (Eeek- delivery!!)

I am feeling exhausted these days...I don't sleep very well at night and even on the rare occasions that I do get a decent nights sleep, it never seems to be enough!  Everyone I talk to says, I need to get used to it because there isn't a whole lot of rest in my future!  The only plus to my increased need for rest is that I get lots of time cuddling with the two babies I already have...they are thrilled that Mom is tired all the time and spends lots of time in bed and the couch!  Vivian definitely knows I am pregnant- she likes to rest her head on my belly or cuddle up next to it.  (The doctor said she can probably hear him or feel him moving around!)  Sable is appreciative for the extra cuddles but is pretty annoyed I won't let her walk across or lay on my stomach anymore.

 Below is a photo of Viv cuddling with her brother:

Here I am at 22 weeks:

21 Weeks- Life with the Wiggle Worm

The amount of activity from this little guy has really picked up in the last week!  As I write this, Todd and I are watching him stretch either his rump or his head into the left side of my abdomen making my belly look totally lopsided!  He is responding to Todd's voice when he talks to him, seems to get excited when I turn on the juicer and the blender for his morning protein shake and even started kicking in response to Todd's whistles at the dog.  (The last one I am not totally thrilled about.  I don't really want the dog and the baby responding to the same cues but at the time when we realized what he was responding to, it sure was amusing!)

We have a doctor's appointment on Friday morning, so I will give a brief update after that.  Until then, here is what the wiggle worm and I look like this week:

Don't forget you can compare the bump photos from the last 2 months if you click

on the "Bump Alert" Page from the right hand column of the blog. :)

20 Weeks- Helllloooo Daddy!

The last week flew by!  Besides my disappearing waist, not a whole lot has changed.  EXCEPT that Todd can now feel his little guy kicking and punching!  He is so active and strong with his movements that you can see him moving if you stare at my belly, so I knew that if Todd was patient enough he would be able to feel it.  So last Sunday, while we were lying down watching TV, I made him put his hand on my belly just to see if he could feel the baby and after a few minutes- baaam!  Baby boy DeCook gave his daddy a good kick to say hello.  This is now our nightly ritual, I lay there while Todd tries to communicate with this son and get him to respond.  :)

This is the week where the baby uncurls his legs, and the way you measure him changes.  Prior to this week, you measured the baby from head to rump.  This week, you can measure him from head to foot because his legs can stretch out.  So, on average a 20 week old baby goes from 6 inches in week 19 to 10 inches in week 20.  Which explains why one second I feel him kicking above my belly button and the next it feels like he is punching down by my pelvis- he is just stretching out and enjoying all the room he has in there!  I read somewhere that he is the size of a cantaloupe this week.  I am thinking more of a watermelon, especially if you look at the photo below!