Peaceful "Pebble" or Active "Animal"?

I woke up at 4 o'clock this morning to some fetal version of this happening in my belly. 






Luckily I didn't catch on fire at the end, or maybe the fire represents the constant heartburn that is associated with having an "Animal" growing inside of you.

Comparing Bellies at 26 weeks

This is a belly*

This is a belly on week 26 of pregnancy

This is a belly on week 26 of TWINS pregnancy.

Any questions?

Kudos to my sister Camille for all the hard work she did growing her beautiful twin girls 3 years ago!  I wonder how long it will take my belly to get as big as her's was at 26 weeks.  I'm sure I am much more comfortable at 26 weeks than she ever was during her pregnancy.  She still is doing an amazing amount of wonderful work raising Sara and Caroline.

3 1/2 year old twin nieces Sara (left) and Caroline (right)

 I can't wait to get out to Oakland to see them in April.  We skype every one to two weeks and it has been fun to be able to see them and show them my growing belly.  Yesterday Caroline agreed that my big belly was probably just because I ate too many eggs and avocados for breakfast, but Sara thought that it was big because that is where Pebble is.  They are eager for Pebble to come out so they can feed him (Sara wants a boy) or her (Caroline wants a girl) a bottle.

There isn't a lot to report at 26 weeks.  All feels good and my back has stopped hurting since I decided to hang up the downhill skis.  Pebble moves all the time, especially at 2am. I guess it is just preparing me to be awake with the baby in the middle of the night.  Tim and I are getting ready to go on our last desert camping trip before a baby makes that endeavor much more complicated.  Looking forward to hiking in slot canyons and exploring the ruins in the Grand Gulch area.

My sister Brittany sent me a lovely birthday gift.  My very own keepsake Baby Stone.

 My neighbor sent me a photograph of a similar rock with a baby etched into it.  I sent that photo along to my sister telling her how much I liked it and she had one commissioned for my birthday.  She is so sweet!  I love it!!

*The first belly does not belong to anyone I know.

Raising a Righteous Baby

Pebble went to her/his first concert this week when we took a little road trip down to Ft. Collins to see one of my favorite feminist musicians Ani DiFranco.  I hope someday the little one is proud to say that her/his first concert ever was Ani DiFranco!  Planting the seeds of social consciousness and feminism early!

I was hoping to get a photo with the Righteous Babe (Ani) and the Righteous Baby (Pebble in the belly) but the venue was much bigger than I expected, and I was too nervous to get up close to the stage with all the dancing/moving energy.  So we hung back and enjoyed the show from afar.   Pebble seemed to enjoy the music and my dancing and was joining in with some kicking/dancing of her/his own.

Here is Ani performing the title track to her new album "Which Side Are You On?"

and this is my favorite line from the song...

"Feminism ain't about women,
No, that's not who it's for
It's about a shifting consciousness
That'll bring an end to war

So listen up you fathers
Listen up you sons
And tell me which side are you on now
Which side are you on"

Six months pregnant, time to put away the skis :(

Six months....24 weeks...viability!

Six months officially marks the end of the 2011/2012 ski season for Alethea and the beginning of viability for Pebble!  Pebble is currently just over a pound and about 12 inches long, but amazingly, s/he could theoretically survive if born prematurely now.  This feels like an important milestone for this labor and delivery nurse who has seen babies born this early.  However, let's pray that I do not follow my older sister's path of preterm labor and delivery at 31 weeks.  We want Pebble to stay in there a full 40 weeks!

I had one final power day this week with Auntie Pam, my lovely friend Cathryn and her niece Bianca this week.  Pebble got his/her first taste of steeper terrain with lots of fluffy Champagne Powder when we hiked to East Face and Second Pitch.  I think s/he is going to be an adrenaline junkie!  I felt what seemed like a baby flip as I was descending the steep pitch on East Face.  This kid is going to have to love to ski if it is going to fit in with this family!

For those of you not familiar with Steamboat Mountain terrain, East Face is a short hike from the top of the mountain, but still officially in bounds.  It is a bit steeper than the other available terrain on the mountain, and after a big storm it can be Epic!  In fact the skiing was so amazing on Wednesday that I skied from 9:30-3:30!  I haven't done that in years!!! The down side of skiing until 6 months is that my lower back is has been hurting since Wednesday, so I think it is officially time to hang up the skis and focus on yoga and walking instead with a little cross country skiing thrown in on good days.

Alethea modeling her 24 week belly and her Kiku skis with AT binding.
24 weeks marks the end of skiing for this season.

 Tim got me AT (alpine touring) skis for Christmas this year because I was worried about falling forward onto my growing baby belly if I skied with my telemark gear.  With tele skis your heals are not locked down onto the skis, and my typical way of falling when tele skiing is straight forward onto my face.  The AT skis have a mechanism to unlock the heals so you can climb and get access to back-country terrain, but then you can lock the heals down when you are descending.  They also have the added bonus of being lighter and much less strenuous for a pregnant chick to maneuver.  I have loved every minute on them and can't wait to get more use out them until next year.

The photos below are of our cat Moose, whose new favorite place to sleep is curled up on my big belly.  The baby seems to like it too because s/he is very active when the cat is purring on my belly.  Tim and I were discussing this morning how we might keep Moose out of the crib once the baby comes.

Moose loves to snuggle up against the baby belly.

Human/animal bonding starts in utero for Moose and Pebble.

And now, what about the Garden????

Believe it or not, even though the garden is currently buried under growing piles of snow, we are already discussing what seeds to start for this summer's garden.   We need to order seeds and get them started inside in April so that they are ready to transplant into the greenhouse in May.

The green house under loads of snow... I wonder if we should shovel some of it away?

The very top of one of the raised bed covers barely visible above the snow line. 

And finally, a chicken update.

We currently have 4 laying hens living in the chicken coop.  Sadly they are literally cooped up all winter because there is no bare ground for them to free range on until May in the Clarktic Circle.  We are getting 3 eggs of day from these ladies.

The chicken coop.

We also have the seven chickens that Tim hatched back around Thanksgiving.  He tried to put them in the coop a couple of weeks ago, but they were getting beat up by the bigger girls, so they are currently living in a make shift coop in the garage.   Unfortunately we ended up with two roosters in the mix, but it is funny to hear them crowing from the garage.  Thank goodness the neighbors can't hear them.

The young chickens in their make shift garage coop.

A rooster among the young hens.  

These chickens are mutts, and not nearly as pretty as the full breed Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds that are currently laying.

That's all for this week's update!

23 week baby belly

This week marks 23 weeks of pregnancy.  According to the pregnancy books Pebble is about the size of a small baby doll now, and weighing about one pound.  

Sorry for the blurry images below.  I guess there was a smudge on my lens last night.

Here I am belly to belly with my friend Caitlyn who is 31 weeks pregnant.

and back to back with Caitlyn.

I have been trying to stay as active as possible despite my growing belly.  Steamboat had record breaking snowfall this past week with 27 inches falling on the mountain in 24 hours last Monday.  Tim got to take advantage of the powder day (oh the pleasures of owning your own business), but I had to work all day.  By Wednesday there was 4 feet of new snow total and I went up for what might have been my last powder day before baby.  The snow was heavy and thick that day and I really struggled, especially when trying to get up from falling in the deep stuff.  My back hurt terribly for the rest of the day and it totally exhausted me for the next couple days.  

Tim got to feel Pebble moving for the first time this week.  The movements are often quite subtle and he was having a hard time feeling anything with his hands.  He squished his face into my belly and Pebble responded with a swift kick right to Tim's eye.  Since then he has been able to feel some of the movements with his hands as well.  Pebble is especially active in the mornings and evening, or maybe that is just when I'm sitting or laying quietly and I notice the movements more.  

The baby also seems to respond to the purring of a warm kitty on my stomach.  When one of the cats curls up on my belly the kicks seems to get more frequent and more intense.  Not sure if the baby likes the purring or is trying to kick the cat off my belly.

Pebble's Ultrasound Progression: 9 weeks to 20 weeks

After falling off the blog wagon for the past 2 months, I was trying to decide how to catch up on what has happened since I last posted.  Obviously our little one, who we have nicknamed Pebble (as in little Stone), has been doing a lot of growing.  So I decided to post the progression of ultrasound photos.

Little Pebble is 9 weeks in this image and is upside down.  You can see his/her little foot at the top.  I also think it is amazing how you can see the amniotic membrane (the faint white line) within the chorionic sac (the dark fluid filled cavity where the baby grows).

 The next couple of ultrasound images were taken because the hospital where I work needed a test subject for determining the capabilities of the ultrasound machine we have on Labor and Delivery.  These were at 13 weeks gestation.

On the left of the photo is the placenta, which I think looks like a pregnant abdomen.  You can also see Pebble's arm bones and fist in this image.

A 13 week silhouette of Pebble.  You can also see some loops of umbilical cord near the top of the frame.

 The next series of photos are from our 20 week full anatomy scan.  At this doctor's appointment a comprehensive anatomical survey is done to look for any problems or defects.  Most people (80% according to some recent reading I've been doing) find out the sex of the baby at this appointment.  Tim and I have chosen to allow Pebble's sex to remain a surprise until the birthday.

3D image of Pebble's face cradled in his/her hand.  You can see that the latest in utero fashion is to wear the umbilical cord like a scarf.  My sister Camille thinks Pebble looks like Tim in this photo.

Another 3D image of Pebble

and another....

Pebble's legs and feet, crossed at the ankles.

Hopefully Pebble inherits Tim's legs, rather than the Gaufankles (Gaume fat ankles) from my side of the family.

The 20 week ultrasound is typically the last scheduled ultrasound in uncomplicated pregnancies.  We will actually have at least one more ultrasound around 26 weeks to follow up on a potential problem with one of Pebble's kidneys.  Sounds like it is a minor concern that only needs watching and hopefully will resolve in utero.

And here are some belly shots...

19 weeks pregnant with Pebble

21 week baby belly

Tim did some studio shots of my baby belly today.  I will try to post some soon.  I'm currently 22 weeks pregnant and hoping to take weekly photos of my growing belly to post to the blog.

We are growing another Stone! Part IV in the Series: What are the Stones Growing this Winter

What? What's that you say?  How does one grow a Stone?  

In Alethea's belly!  That's how!

Flower pot filled with soil and a little pebble.
Flags are the labeled with the typical growing conditions needed for growing a Stone.
This is how I told Tim we are having a baby Stone.

The above "harvest" date is a little off, so don't mark your calendars based on that.  The baby should be sufficiently grown for extra-uterine life somewhere near the end of June or possibly even early July.  It's up to the baby, we are just along for the ride.