Baby birds

The baby theme abounds at our house. Even the wildlife is getting into the act.

An empty planter outside our front door is occupied by a mommy bird and her babies. She set up shop a few weeks back and now we hear the babies chirping all the time. For now, replanting flowers will just have to wait until they depart.

Ironically, our baby's room is on the other side of the wall.

Week 25

Mommy and baby are back from their week at the UNITY convention in Chicago. I've never been so tired in my life. Waking up at 6 a.m. and staying out until midnight is not the way to live when you're six months pregnant. Luckily I have a lot of great friends who did a terrific job of watching out for me.

After a couple of days on my feet at the convention, my legs and feet were so swollen that I was forced to slow my pace and turn in earlier each night. I guess it was a way for my body to tell me to slow down and it worked. By the end of the trip, Brent insisted on upgrading my flights home to business class and I was thankful he did.

On the baby front, she's about 1.5 lbs this week and is still doing quite a bit of kicking. I think she kicks when she's bored. She probably takes after me and hates to do nothing. So during the convention she was pretty quiet when I was running around, but whenever I was in a session or listening to speeches she would kick. She also likes to kick as I'm falling asleep at night.

By this week her hands are fully developed with mini-fingernails and she can curl them into a fist. Perhaps punches are accompanying her kicks.

Baby's room is coming along. Brent and his dad painted the ceiling green and the walls pink and started installing wainscoting and chair railing. The armoire and ottoman have arrived and we are planning on picking up the crib, mattress and glider this week. By next week we should have some photos ready to post of the room. Brent's parents are buying us the ottoman and glider and my grandmother has purchased the crib and mattress. (Thanks, everyone!)

Also this week we have an appointment with the OB. We're meeting the last doctor in the practice.

In the next couple of weeks we'll also need to make a final decision on a pediatrician. We've interviewed two so far and liked them both. We have one more interview to conduct. We've also started contacting nannies, although we're hoping to arrange our schedules so that we won't need one.

Our last exciting note is that a couple of weeks ago we received a baby gift from my parents. They bought us a new energy star washer and dryer so we can save electricity and water while washing all of those tiny baby things. I can't believe what a difference they already have made. Our laundry time has been cut down and our clothes smell yummy. (Thanks, mom and dad!)

Nesting is so exhausting

We spent part of Sunday cleaning out the baby's room. Apparently it was just too much hard work for Herald.

24 weeks

Phew. As of today, the baby has a chance of survival outside of mommy. Somehow that's such a relief to know even though we keep telling her to stay in there. After all, as long as she's inside there are no diapers to change. :)

Today we're having our traditional British Open Sunday breakfast in bed. Brent always makes breakfast (sweet potato pancakes this year) and we watch golf. Or at least Brent watches golf while I doze in and out. Just think, next year baby will be joining us in this tradition. At 8 months she'll be eating a few solid foods.

Baby room update: The wainscoting has been purchased from Lowe's. They usually don't do a bunch of special cuts for customers, but Tim the Lowe's Man was generous enough to help us out. With an assist from Dad C on Wednesday, Brent is hoping to get a bunch of work done on the room this week.

WELL-TRAVELED

So far, baby Conklin has been to so many fun places. Within Florida, she's been to Disney and to the beach. She has also been to Las Vegas and last week she was in Macon, Ga. Next week, she'll be in Chicago. Phew. This daughter of ours is taking after her mom and racking up the miles. When I was a baby (less than a year old) my family moved to Korea. Not an easy flight for my mom, I'm sure.

Anyway, next week at the UNITY convention, baby Conklin will get to listen to the presidential candidates speak. Perhaps the early start with politics will lead her into a political role someday. Of course, she'll also be spending the week surrounded by journalists. I'm not sure that mom and dad would really encourage either as a job.

As for more trips, the only other thing baby Conklin has planned before she enters the world is a work trip to Columbus, Ga., in August. Then we can settle in and wait for her arrival. Can't wait.

Day of fun

We had a wonderful day Saturday enjoying some time before I head out of town. We visited the South Florida Museum, where we watched Snooty get fed. He is our resident manatee and the oldest known manatee. He turns 60 in a couple of days and still acts like a kid. After Snoots, we went to the planetarium to watch a show. Sadly, a dark, cool room + 23 weeks of pregnancy = a nap. So, I slept through most of the show, but Brent says it was great and I enjoyed the opening credits and my nap.

At that point we were starving, so we headed to the beach and had lunch at Rotten Ralph's on the pier. For dessert we went to an ice cream parlor across from the beach and shared a sundae. We walked off our lunch and sundae on the beach and frolicked a little in the water. In the end, we both got a lot more wet then we intended, but we had a great time watching the sea life and looking for shells. Baby kicked a lot while we were at the beach, so she must be a beach girl like her parents. :)

23 weeks

Slowly, but surely, the weeks are melting away. Just 17 until delivery! Mommy and baby have a busy two weeks ahead. First a trip to Macon, Ga., to set up our newspaper's new publishing system. A return trip home for the weekend will be followed by a week in Chicago for the UNITY journalists conference, where baby will get to hear Barack Obama and John McCain talk. (For all we knew, she could be born on Election Day!)

Mom has been having major pain in her tailbone, aka coccydynia. Doctor says baby is pushing up against the tailbone. Nothing to do now except deal with the pain. Fast forward: Doc says if baby can't come out because of the tailbone, it will have to be broken during delivery. Gulp!

22 weeks

The baby is now 22 weeks old, which according to our reading material, means the baby is one pound and one foot long. This could explain why she's been kicking mommy A LOT. Trying to make more elbow room, we guess :)

We can't imagine how's she gonna be in a few weeks when her weight doubles.

Happy Fourth!

Baby was kicking quite a bit yesterday and she's starting out again this morning. Brent was able to feel his second kick. That's the baby's way of saying Happy Fourth of July (!), I guess. Happy Fourth, everyone!

Dick Vitale weighs in

We were talking to Dick Vitale the other day (no big thing, he's a neighbor) and I explained to him how Jennifer was expecting our first child in November. "Oh, congratulations," he said. I continued, "My wife's a Jayhawk and I'm a Volunteer, so who do you think the baby should root for?" He didn't hesitate. "Jayhawks, baby!" OK, chalk one up for Rock Chalk Jayhawk, straight from Dickie V.

For the record, Vitale is a resident of Lakewood Ranch, Fla., and he eats at his favorite restaurant, The Broken Egg, every day he's in town. We've seen him twice there now.

21 weeks and counting

Today we visited our OB for our monthly visit. Brent was able to use the doppler to find the baby's heartbeat. Looks like her heart is in the perfect range. The doctor also measured my tummy and pronounced that the baby is the perfect size. So, it's official, she's perfect all around.