- Her eyes are forming, and his eyes will soon start to open.
- And her eyelashes are now grown, too.
- She's getting her immune system ready for life on the outside by soaking up your antibodies.
- She's taking breaths, too. They're of amniotic fluid, not air, but it's still good practice.
Preggo Update: Leg cramps. I had calf cramps in high school during soccer if I got dehydrated. It's kinda like that... but much much worse. My legs continue to hurt for at least one day, sometimes 2-3 afterwards. I try to stretch, but I think it's just a circulation issue. I've always had muscular calves (my least favorite physical trait about myself) and that doesn't help the issue. Besides that, I think I'm getting used to my belly! I continually think it shrunk when I wake up... but when I look in the mirror it still looks just as round! It's surprising how used to it I am. I am constantly cradling it, so maybe that has helped. When I look at the pictures from my first few weeks of pregnancy I can't believe I was that skinny! And to think, I wasn't overly content with my shape back then. To think that I still have 14 more weeks until due date... where is this child going to grow? I know my belly will continue to get rounder and stick out way more... but he's already poking and kicking my ribs and pelvis. There's not a lot more room in there for him to go. Oh baby, my body will be aching with his movements soon! I have always enjoyed being short, but this is one time where being vertically challenged is not an asset! With the growing belly, it's been harder and harder to stretch or crack my back. Well, I found the miracle cure! I told Matt it was my new best preggo friend. Our loveseat has these large rolled armrests. I was sitting with my back against one watching 24 and I leaned back and whammo! Huge back crack! I pushed a little harder and the crack rippled down my back. I twisted just a little and my shoulder and sternum cracked. Such a huge relief! It felt like so much pressure had been relieved. I thought it was "normal" for all these areas to have such high tension. But no no, I can be relatively free minus the middle area. Such a delight! At my last doctor's appointment I was asked if I had experienced any Braxton Hicks contractions. Have I? My abdomen does pang every once in awhile. Definitely not a kick. But also not painful. Is that a contraction? If so, the first stages of labor won't be so bad. Until they get stronger and closer together! I'm planning on resisting meds for as long as possible. If I go over 20 hours... we'll see how I feel then. But if those are contractions, then it weirdly makes me happy! Just another part of pregnancy!
Cravings and Aversions: This is not strange to most people, but it is for me. I have been putting pepper on things! Not strange things, but eggs or macaroni and cheese, etc. I don't care for pepper generally. So that is a new taste I have developed. Fruity Pebbles is still the cereal of the week. But I also happened to see Rice Krispies Treats cereal in the aisle... and picked some up. Love it. Another craving, I get these sour cherry candies in Michigan that are delish. My mom regularly mails me a bunch of them (and they don't last long!). Matt and I both got some in our stockings this year. He gave his to me (even though he likes them too, what a good husband and daddy) and I thoroughly enjoyed the sour snack. They are great desserts. I've also been craving Breakfast sandwiches... at midnight! I've either been asleep and wake up or never fell asleep fully in the first place and suddenly crave a breakfast sandwich! Thankfully, I have been eating these microwavable croissant sandwiches made with cheese and ham for the past year or so. I grab one of those from the freezer, zap it, and voila... instant midnight snack. No major aversions, thankfully. I don't always care for the smells of other peoples food from the staff kitchen (since I sit right next to it)... but that's generally true even when I'm not preggo.
I didn't realize I had never posted this. I posted it to the baby website, but thought I would share here too. So Matthew and I chose the name "Jackson" either before we started dating or shortly after. We were basically a couple for 5 months before we officially started dating, so we could have decided that name in that time. I have a detailed journal of that time so I'll have to look it up sometime. Anyways, the next year was the year "Jackson" became a popular name. Several times I heard or saw on webpages that it was the #1 Baby Boy name of the year. That made me sad because I didn't want to just jump on the bandwagon. While i have met a lot of people with boys names Jackson or Jack who are 7 or under... it hasn't been as popular as expected. Below is the Social Security ranking of the name for the past decade.
| Year of birth | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 25 |
| 2009 | 25 |
| 2008 | 32 |
| 2007 | 33 |
| 2006 | 35 |
| 2005 | 44 |
| 2004 | 48 |
| 2003 | 52 |
| 2002 | 50 |
| 2001 | 60 |
| 2000 | 72 |
| Note: Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth. Name data are from Social Security card applications for births that occurred in the United States. | |
While it obviously has increased in popularity, it is not the number 1 boys name. That makes me feel a little better. On the other hand, Daniel is one number one choice currently for baby boy number 2... and that has been in the top 10 for the past 10 years. Ah well, when you go with a good ole Biblical name that's what you get. Daniel is one of the few characters that had nothing negative written about him in the Bible. Joseph is the other, and I'm sure Jesus as well. Plus, Daniel had amazing faith. But... that's another story for another baby!
Pregnancy has still been an amazing time in my life! Jackson has been kick kick kicking away. He should be close to 2 pounds now. Little muscles are filling out so he'll be big and strong (hopefully not too big!). Sometimes it feels like he's running in place in my uterus! When I lie down on my side it's almost like he knows the mattress is below him because he kicks it so rapidly! Matt got to feel that the other night. So funny. We have a funny little baby!
We love him so much already. It's amazing how that works. I can't imagine what an explosion of love we'll feel when we see and hold him for the first time! I can hardly wait! Come on, Baby Jackson! Mommy and Daddy are so excited to meet you!
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