Rib Kicks and Hiccups and Somersaults, Oh My!!

Jon's family really loves to listen to Bill Cosby and they've got all these hard to find audio recordings of his stand-up routines on their computer. Well one of them has this really funny bit about babies in utero and how hard it must be for them. They're in this tiny room and it's really really humid, and then he says (and this is funnier the way he says it, with sound effects and whatnot), "the last 2 weeks or so they just start to go crazy in there man, punchin' and punchin' and writing their name on the walls..."

I know what Bill's talking about. And I have 2 months left, not 2 weeks! This baby boy of mine has been a very active baby for the last several months but for the most part the action was gentle, and amusing. Except when he'd make a direct hit to a few spots on my lower anatomy that would usually make my eyes roll back in my head--but that was pretty rare. Then he went really quiet for 2 days and I started to get worried, but he moved a little still, so I decided that things had gotten a little too crowded in there for his usual aerobic workout and this was going to be the way it was for the rest of my pregnancy.

Ha! Not exactly! My new theory is that he had a major growth spurt for 2 days that required some serious sleeping because my active little boy is back with a vengeance, and the strength of his movements have multiplied threefold. I no longer have to tell Jon what hijinks the baby is up to; he can see them. I've now had my first rib kick and a few breathless moments that were possibly resulting from lung kicks. I can feel him actually turn, which is really strange, especially this one day where I swear he was laying sideways for a couple of hours. Whenever I've laid on my side in bed he's always had a fun time kicking at the bed. Well those were the good ol' days because now I'm pretty sure he turns sideways and is jumping on the bed. And about once a day he gets a good case of the hiccups. For the most part it's a bit like having Jerry Lewis or some other physical comedian in my stomach. He keeps me company and he makes me giggle and he has impeccable comedic timing.

In other news, it has been brought to my attention that my referring to my little miracle as "the kid" really irks some of my loved ones, so I will try not to do that anymore and instead use the the universally acclaimed "li'l bit". My other nickname for him is "Roo" as in Kanga & Roo from Winnie the Pooh. I think it's pretty appropriate! Except I guess that makes me Kanga...

So that's the news! I'm off to start dinner and pretend like Roo isn't trying to dig some kind of escape route right now! I'll keep you posted!

What's In a Name?

A lot, apparently, because I feel just frozen with indecision practically. I do trust that it will be a little easier when I finally meet my baby boy (I hope, I hope!), but at the moment, my list of names is at a whopping 10! And I think it will be easier if I could get it whittled down to 3 or 4 before I get to the hospital and have to make a final decision! So here's my list of 10, feel free to tell me your favorite 1, or 3. Input is always welcome!*

(these are not in any particular order)

1. Luke
2. Dane
3. Seth
4. Elijah
5. Charles
6. William/Liam
7. Connor
8. Jack
9. Cole
10. Benjamin

* We reserve the right to change our minds completely and pick something not on this list!

Sweet Things

*Warning! Megan's blog will sometime's include posts about topics she cares about!! Some slight soapboxiness may occur!!*

1. I recently read an article about how honey is a really good natural antibiotic and works well smeared on wounds. Of course the FDA is regulating it and there will soon be an actual product on the market, not unlike Neosporin, except with honey in it! Kinda cool, I think, and I bet that actual honey will do in a pinch!

2. Today I read this cool article about how honey has now been medically proven to soothe coughs better than cough medicine! It's an old folk remedy, and now science backs it up! And it's very timely because now you can't give little kids cold medicine. Definitely DO NOT give it to babies under 1 year of age (that infant botulism risk is still very real) but after that, a spoonful of honey doesn't just make the medicine go down, it IS the medicine. I've always had a testimony of honey as a healer for sore throats (when I have a sore throat I live on hot water, lemon, and honey. It feels so good.) but I've never tried it specifically for coughs. I'm excited to try it! Not that I'm excited to be sick again, tee hee. Here's the link for the article if you'd like to read it yourself: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cold-and-flu/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100182476

3. This is a weird one. I apologize in advance. But I am not a product princess, and I love to find alternative ways to be pretty and clean, and most of all (I hate winter) moisturized! So I also recently learned that you can WASH your FACE with honey and I had to try it. It's antimicrobial and antibiotic so it actually cleans your face, gently, and is very moisturizing. I love it. But, um, make very sure that your hair is completely secured away from your face!! And use it very sparingly. Too much is, well, too much!

4. Last one: I also just read an article about recent research on artificial sweeteners. It's not majorly conclusive evidence as it's only been conducted on rats so far, but definitely interesting and worth a read, especially if you are like me and you try your hardest to eschew "fake" sugar. Which is quite the task, let me tell you. I basically can't buy normal yogurt anymore, what a trial. Anyway, the rats given yogurt with fake sugar ate lots more than the ones who just had normal sugar! I guess it just confused the rat's body and slowed down their metabolisms. Here's that link, if you want more than my measly synopsis: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/diabetes/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100192569&GT1=10908

p.s. has anybody heard anything more about the big mysterious decline in honeybees? i've been wondering. i guess i should just google it! what did we do before google?

I'm using you.

Here's what's on my mind: I just quit my little part-time job for various reasons, one of which is that I have so much to do before Bitner Jonathan Richardson arrives (no? but we could call him 'Lil Bit for short! still no? tee hee) that I was just not getting done while I was working. But, the thing is, it's called a "To Do" list, and not a "To Think About Doing Someday" list. So I thought that if I published the highlights of the "To Do" list, I could use good old public humiliation as extra incentive to get this all done. Plus writing it down makes it more real, etc. etc. So yes, I'm using you all as my personal accountability, because I think maybe I was born without any of that, anyway. Or at least I have a deficiency...

To Do Before the Baby Gets Here:

1. Finish moving in to our apartment we moved into last September!
2. Clean everything in sight. A couple of times.
3. Shop till I drop. Basically.
4. Paint bathroom and stairway.
5. Start some kind of baby book so I have a safe place for all my ultrasound pics, etc.
6. Stretch and exercise frequently.
7. Practice my hypnobirthing stuff. Every day.
8. Help my mom plan a rockin' baby shower.
9. Thank HF for my mom. Daily!
10. Decide on a baby name. Or at least whittle the list down to 3 or 4 before I head into the hospital.
11. Make a million more lists with titles like, "Things to Learn How to Do" and "Stuff I Need to Start Gardening" and "Books to Read" and "Stuff to Put in my Hospital Bag" .
12. Do some token decorating of what I like to call "The Nursery Nook" since the kid's not going to get his own room for a while.
13. Not to overshare, but--Get as much husband and wife special time as possible before baby makes 3.
14. Related to 13--Come up with some wonderful plans for our upcoming first anniversary!!
15. Look into digital video cameras so we can be those annoying parents that video tape their first child's entire life and then forget we own it when kid #2 comes along. Just kiddng.
16. Get off this blog and start doing some of the stuff on the list before it get's even longer and sends me back to bed in desperation.

Thanks for your help!

oh my goodness! my very own blog!

Leaping lizards!

I was going to wait until after the kid arrived to start this up, but I decided I'd better at least get it set up now, and I guess there are some things to post before he comes along, although I think the blog will get more *exciting* when it's full of cute cute baby pics. And there are still 2 and a half months until that time, give or take a week or two. So be patient until then!

Oh, and, as lovely as this green blog template is, bear with me whilst I tinker around with the look of my blog, with the help of the husband.