How 'bout them Hogs

If the Razorbacks are near, we're there. Last weekend we went to see the Hogs baseball team beat up on the Cal Berkeley Bear tree huggers. It was a beautiful day on the other side of the Bay Bridge. We weren't expecting a good turn out for our Hogs, but suprisingly there were a lot of Razorback fans.

Baby blogging

So I've decided to start a blog dedicated to anything and everything related to this little thang growing in my belly.  I will still try to update this blog, but for all baby updates, please follow A TASTE OF FINE WINE...AND YOU!

Knead vs. Need

Instructing Brad on how to give me a back rub...

me: move your hands like you're kneading bread.

brad: (in a scary serious voice) uh, what do you mean? I don't need bread unless I'm making a sandwich.

HELP.

First Purchase

I know, I know...how cliché to buy a piece of clothing with the name of the city/district you live in, but I just had to. It was far to cute to pass up! First purchase for my babe and I can just tell I'm going to have way too much fun doing this. I just hope the father of my child is ready for the damage that's about to be done! I think he has a good idea...

2 Steps Forward, 2 Steps Back

This week has proved to be especially challenging. Just when I thought I had crushed this morning sickness, runny nose/cold, back aching, constantly tired phase of my pregnancy, something else has reared its ugly head. It's called TOO MUCH ENERGY. And no it's not because of caffeine. My energy during the day is like drinking 10 Red Bulls, but without the crash! It's like my heart is going to beat out of my chest 24/7. I'm not sure if it's anxiety or what but it sure is disturbing. To make matters even worse, when I do finally fall asleep I almost always have to get up to weewee and then I'm up for the rest of the night. What is up with that?!!! I'm not sure I have ever experienced something like this in a natural state.

Another thing I'm noticing is my dream cycle. It's not very normal whatsoever (well neither am I), but to have rapid dreams where you partially wake up after each dream is not cool. Each dream makes complete sense. They are not dreams that I've heard about of leaving my child unsupervised, but a series of dreams that replay my real life incidents, they just have a different twist to them. I wonder what the heck that means.

And this metallic taste in my mouth has got to go away. I feel like I've been gnawing on aluminum foil for several hours. Not very pleasant. I've learned that sour and citrus foods help with this so I'm downing OJ like it's no one's biz.

I can't whine too much as I have the honor of carrying one of God's beautiful miracles and to be honest with you it hasn't been bad at all. If this is all He's got for me then I'll be genuinely disappointed. Bring it.

So what's our little one up to these next two weeks? Goob is about 3.2 to 4.5 inches from crown to rump and weighs approximately 1 ounce now and is about the size of my fist. The face is becoming more and more developed; eyes moving closer together, ears moving up into position away from the neck, the cheeks and bridge of nose appear, if it's a baby boy, the prostate will appear and the ovaries descend from the abdomen into the pelvis in baby girls.



We sometimes get so caught up in the little things like baby names or the cutest clothes and decorations to buy or who it will look like that we don't appreciate the many blessings that are happening each passing hour. It's just amazing.

Oh baby could it be...

Nah, not us. Not the couple who just got married and moved to SF to explore a new city together. Not the ones that wanted to wait at least a year to even start trying. Not us who thought there was absolutely no way it could be possible so decided not to take any preventative measures. Hehehahahoho! After dousing 4 First Response sticks it finally settled in that yep, we're having a kid.

Although not planned, we are tickled silly knowing we have our first little goober on the way. God's best gifts in life usually come unplanned and nothing can prepare us for this sweet little thing that's about to enter our lives. We're just taking it one step at a time and celebrating each victory as it comes.

Today we had our first big triumph...we went in for our 10 to 13 week integrated screening test, meaning they take a risk assessment for Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18 (disorder of human chromosomes) evaluating the patients age, blood work and ultrasound screening. After restlessly waiting for the test results and taking a few videos, even though we were told we couldn't, the doctor finally came into the room with a little smirk on her face and gave us the news of "well, it looks like you are negative, negative in positive way!" A relief washes over us in an awesome way. She continued to tell us super-duper news, not only are we negative, but our risk is lower than the programs cutoff. Sweet! Felt like a 10lbs weight just released from my heart strings. I know we're not out of the clear just yet, I still have this Brad Fine as my childs father to worry about :)

We saw our little ones profile, arms, legs, bladder, intestines, left & right cerebral hemisphere and heart. Babes is 3inches long, about the size of a lime and was bouncing around like a little nut (just like mama) even putting a hand in the mouth. We both looked at each other just hoping that didn't indicate a thumb sucker. You can suck your thumb all you want little one, just join this world healthy, happy and ready to be smooched on!





Little thumb sucker





12 weeks, 5 days

Trouble in SF

Two of my very best girlfriends came to visit me this past weekend for an overdue birthday celebration!! The monsoon actually held out two of three days they were here so we were able to rummage through the many things this city has to offer. After our 4 hour detour to the relaxing Burke Williams resort, we continued on with a stroll through bustling Union Square, drove through the "always crowded no matter the weather" Embarcadero, got our rubber neck on down Lambard St., joined the many voyagers on the Golden Gate, and made it to several of my treasured restaurants in this city. Oh and not to ever forget our final stop to Mitchells famous ice cream before we all crashed out. I've become a great peddler of SF, going on probably my 25th visitor excursion, but I've learned to create a new experience for myself and those I'm with.

My girls have made this place feel a little more like home and I am so ever thankful for their beautiful spirit and laughter they shared with me.