Bodily Functions

Don't be scared by the title- I promise that the video contains hiccups and a sneeze! Tobias certainly was a hiccup-er before birth, and has now added sneezing to his abilities!

Tobias Gerrit

Freezer Cooking

One of my goals in preparing for the baby is to have some "easy" food in the freezer. However, I got sick of looking for recipes and only finding things that were: a. made from pre-packaged or canned foods anyway (that's not saving me time or money), b. had lots of cheese, milk, or creamy soup, or c. would fill up my freezer with pasta and rice (I'd rather save the freezer space and add the bulky things later). My solution was to just make up my own recipe: so now my freezer has one container of "Creamy Crouton Chicken Bake", and my fridge has a smaller container to test out this week. The not-so-secret and wholly untasted recipe is:

1. boil some chicken (take off bones if not boneless), chop, and place in freezer-safe baking dish
2. make a sauce with some of the broth, flour, margarine, and crouton-like spices (thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, chicken bullion, basil etc.)
3. pour the sauce over the chicken
4. freeze
5. thaw and bake when ready to eat
6. serve with pasta or rice or biscuits, and cheese to sprinkle on top for the lactose-tolerant

Well, it smells good. I'll let you know if it actually works. 

Any other freezer meal suggestions that don't violate principles a., b., and c. ?

Warmer...warmer...

It is getting warmer here in Sunnyside. Bushes are blooming, also pink flowering trees, and some white ones. The garden space is tilled and a few things are planted. We're also getting closer and closer to the arrival of the baby! To prepare, we've been taking pictures to record the process (Holly is great at reminding us), discussing names (don't even ask, it is very hush-hush), trying to clear the empty boxes out of the "baby room", and we went to childbirth class on Saturday. It was not very in depth, since it was just for one morning, but it was good to tour the rooms and I did learn stuff. I was encouraged that the hospital was very breastfeeding friendly by strongly encouraging nursing during the first hour after birth, and they don't give out pacifiers. 

Even with all the to-do lists flying around my head and computer, it is still good to find time to take walks by the canal, make bread, and update my blog every once in a while!

Ultrasound II

It takes a while to upload the videos, so that's why I didn't share them all right away. This is the same ultrasound, just didn't want to be adding to the same post days later. 

Below: little feet swimming around

As you can see, he or she is very active. Keep in mind that I could not feel movement during the ultrasound. Makes me wonder what we would see when I'm feeling kicking.

Ultrasound

Today we got to see our baby! 

The measurements gave a due date of June 23 (doctor thought 16th by his primitive calculations, I said more like the 26th). It is allowed to come whenever it is ready, I guess.

I think the brain looks like Nate's. Just kidding.

Above is a profile of the baby's head. You can also see the heart beating, and fingers moving above the nose.

Baby feet!

Do you see where he or she punches me right there at the beginning!

16 and a half weeks

Nate and I had a great trip to the midwest for Christmas and New Years' and we got to see both of our families. Some of the highlights for me were tubing at Inspiration Hills, singing Christmas songs with my family (no one sings like you guys!), playing "door pong" (a variation of ping pong), and finally meeting Heather's boyfriend Jon.

As far as the baby-growing work, I'm almost 17 weeks along and feeling less tired than the beginning weeks. We're thankful to have found a nice, more baby-friendly, house to rent and plan to move there in a few weeks.