27 Weeks Pregnant

Amazingly enough that's where I am. 27 weeks pregnant. I have had a pretty easy going pregnancy up to this point. Nausea at the beginning, but that was more annoyance than problem. No major cravings, unless you count ketchup.

This past week my feet began to swell. My toes looked like Little Smokies, and I felt like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man when I walked. But I have only had one or two other swelling spells, especially since I'm hydrating and keeping my feet up any time I am sitting. My hips were killing me because I was sleeping so much on my sides, but then we got a new mattress. No more hip pain. Bending is taking more intention, but I can still tie my own shoes. I have to hold my breath, but that's beside the point!

We officially have another 13 weeks until the Jellybean joins our family, but we are starting to get ready. Yes, we are just now starting. We have a crib that needs painting. We've finally picked the bedding and such for the baby's room. We're working out childcare for a few months from now. We scheduling our hospital visit and newborn classes. There's so much to do, but I'm sure it will get done. Right?

Belly Buds

On Sunday nights before I go to bed, I always read in my pregnancy book the info page about what week I am in of my pregnancy. It's just nice to know what's going on in my body with me and the Jellybean. Last night I read that the baby can at this point distinguish light from dark, can taste, and can distinctly hear voices and music.

As I was falling asleep, I had this hilarious thought that both woke me up and made me laugh hysterically, waking Vince with curiosity. I was thinking about how I should play more music for Jellybean and thought, "Maybe I should put one earbud in my ear when I use my mp3 player and one earbud in my belly button." Hence...belly buds. Then I thought about what this would look like as I ride on the El.

Did I forget to mention that I was absolutely exhausted and would have found anything hilarious?!

My First Father's Day

I know that I'm about a month late on this, but I just had my first father's day. It's kind of a surreal feeling when there is no visible kid yet. Of course, we've seen the ultrasound photos (see below), but it still doesn't quite seem real yet. Though feeling the jellybean kick is certainly helping things along.

At any rate, I got my first father's day present as well. April thought it would be great to give me a "onesy" for father's day, the first one we had (though some friends have given us another great one now). Now, anyone who knows me even the slightest bit will understand that this particular onesy was perfect for my child.


For the little pooper.


A happy daddy to be.

Of course, my first question was, "Where's the helmet?"

Baby Brain

I have often heard my pregnant girlfriends talk about their experience of "baby brain." While I could conceptually understand what they were describing, I never really got it. That is, until now. Some research says it's a myth, some says it's a reality. All I know is that my brain ain't workin' right!

Some of you may not know what baby brain is, but here's what it is in my case. Normally, I am a bright, intelligent woman who has good reasoning skills and can adapt to new and changing situations. Now I find myself extremely forgetful, even ditsy, in situations which any reasonably intelligent person could easily navigate. These two situations happened in the last two days.

Yesterday, I went to get the car washed. I pulled in, and the guys immediately started spraying my car. I felt paralyzed when I realized that one of the workers was trying to get me to open the car door. I needed to get out of the car, and yet somehow I could not figure that out. It was like sitting in a fog. Then, when I got inside, I froze at the desk. The man asked, "You want your car washed, right?" "Yes, yes, that's what I need." It was as if I had never gotten my car washed before. I'm sure the clerk thought I was nuts. I even put my head on the counter at one point, trying to figure out what I needed.

Just a few minutes ago, I went to get the oil changed. I got to the bay door and proceeded to drive in, when attendant stopped me. He would drive it in; I just needed to get out of the car. (This I just attributed to the fact that I had never been to this site before.) The rest of the time there was an absolute blur. I just remember that the attendant came into the waiting room and said my car was done, and I proceeded to walk out and get into the car - trying to drive it out of the bay. The attendant then reminded me that he would drive it out, so I just walked outside and waited for my car. Then the attendant reminded me that I had not paid for the oil change.

Talk about TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT! I could not believe that I had just unintentionally tried to skip out on paying for my oil change. The fog thickens.

If I am this ditsy and feel this incompetent at 24 weeks, how I am going to feel at 38 weeks! Oh my...the next 16 weeks are going to be interesting!

Pregnant or formally pregnant women...tell me your stories of baby brain and make me feel better about my predicament.

Jellybean McGel

Vince and I are super excited to finally announce on our blog the newest edition to the McGel family. We are affectionately calling our baby Jellybean until we see him/her face to face. We have decided not to find out the baby's sex until the birthday.

Here is his/her 21 week photo.



My official due date is November 8th. Vince does not want the baby to arrive on his birthday (the 4th), but Bridget would be happy to have a birthday buddy on the 9th. Regardless of requests one way or the other, I'm sure this baby will come when the baby is ready.

This picture shows the baby touching his/her face. My interpretation was, "Hey lady, stop taking pictures of me." While Vince's interpretation was, "Just 10 more minutes, mom!"

The Trouble with Gumbo

Our dear dog Gumbo is a fabulous family pet. He's laid back when he needs to be laid back, and he's rambunctious when it's called for. He's an absolute pleasure. However....sometimes his name gets us into trouble. I had two situations last week which so aptly made the point.



Situation number one: We were in Detroit last weekend, and we stopped by our friend Mary's place to pick up some baby stuff. (Yes, we realize that I am 22 weeks pregnant and have somehow not yet blogged about that! We will do so soon.) Mary greeted us at the door and asked if we would stay a while. I said, "Sorry, we can't stay long because we have Gumbo in the car." Her very appropriate comment was, "That's ok. Do you want to bring it in and put it in the fridge?" I was only a bit taken aback before I realized that she was talking about a different kind of gumbo! We had a good giggle when I explained that we meant Gumbo the dog, not gumbo the New Orleans delicacy.



Situation number two: The back story - Vince and I have been talking about getting a second dog. We know that Gumbo would love to have a buddy to play with, but we knew that we would need to get just the right dog...one who is about his size and with his energy level. We mostly talk about this without much action.

Now the real story - We have a new intern at IWJ, and she was joining us in our typical Monday lunch on the block. We crossed the street when I saw two dogs about the same size as our dog, and I thought out loud, "Those two dogs would be the perfect size for Gumbo." The intern turned to me with a puzzled and slightly disturbed look and said, "What?!?" I started to repeat what I had just said when I realized she didn't know that I had a dog named Gumbo. My co-workers and I started laughing histerically, and once I caught my breath, I explained.



I guess naming your dog after food isn't always the best idea.

Monks did it by candlelight...

Recently, I was given a taste of what it must have been like in the days before electricity was widely used. One evening, while translating Greek for class, our entire neighborhood suddenly lost power. There was no storm that night, so I have no idea the cause. But I needed to finish translating several verses of the Bible for class the next morning. We scrambled around trying to find our candles. We have many, but they are not all kept in the same place in our current home. Though not nearly as bright as the overhead lights, we were able to light enough candles for me to finish my work.




April thought it would make a good picture.










Of course, I was immediately reminded of the images of scribes hunched over a writing desk copying or translating some passage or other.











At least this way I can prove to my professor that I did not let anything get in the way of my studies.