A jicama and hopefully T-8 weeks!

Your pregnancy: 32 weeks

How your baby's growing:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama (A WHAT???)) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus (WHICH MEANS I KNOW WHERE EVERY BATHROOM IS AT ALL TIMES). You're gaining about a pound a week (FABULOUS) and roughly half of that goes right to your baby (WHERE IS THE OTHER HALF GOING? YUCK!). In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails (YES, I KNOW...I THINK I HAVE FELT THEM), and real hair (HENCE THE AWFUL HEARTBURN) (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth (I CANT WAIT TO TOUCH HIS SOFT, PLUMP SKIN).

So, really, what exactly is a jicama? I love the comparisons to food every week as the baby grows but maybe it's time to go to sports items like a footballl, soccer ball, baseball??? A jicama! In case you are interested or concerned about the baby's growth see below:


Jícama (Spanish: hee-kah-mah, from Nahuatl xicamatl hee-kah-mahtl), also Mexican Potato and Mexican Turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. Jicama is one species in the genus Pachyrhizus that is commonly called yam bean, although the "yam bean" sometimes is another name for Jicama. The other, major species of yam beans are also indigenous within the Americas. It very much tastes like a sweet pea pod.

And, NO, his name is NOT DENNIS!!!

I've had more people ask so I had to clarify the insanity circulating around the little booger's name. No names yet. For real...none. We are no closer to a name for this little child than we were last fall. Actually, we were probably closer to a name before we learned of our surprise news of pregnancy than we are now. We have now eliminated every name I ever liked as a growing young lady for various reasons - mostly unreasonable reasons but somehow they make sense to us......too many "B's" in our family already, too few letters in a name, too many boys in his class with the same name, too many syllables in case he has a speech impediment, too many celebrities with tainted reputations with that name, too girly, too long, too short, too rare, too known.....you name it. We've used the excuse and now we are down to nothing. No genuine options. Who knew this would be so hard? A co-worker of mine mentioned auctioning off the ability to name him on Craigslist. We could maybe raise $10 or $20 and be done with the process?
Kidding! We are so honored to get to name this little boy. It's crazy to think that this is the one thing that will literally follow him and precede him the rest of his life. What pressure!

But, NO - there will be no Dennis or Rascal or Lucifer Bagwell!

April showers bring May flowers!

I know it's not quite April but I am pretending. I LOVE the month of April! April and October are probably my two most favorite months. April in Athens was always so heavenly. Everyone did everything outside and I was able to extend my long runs and run the whole city just to see everything in bloom. April's at the Terrace were just the same. There were birthday's galore to celebrate and we needed no solid reason at all to sit in the front yard on a blanket in our 12+ inches of grass just to soak up a little vitamin D. October is a favorite for other reasons but the most recent one on the list is that it is the month of our anniversary not to mention cookouts and football and perfect evenings on a porch somewhere in the metro area.
This April though will be no exception. Actually, I don't think there has ever been such hype around an April as there is this one. The weekends are packed full of baby showers for baby B and trips from all of Baby B's favorite "aunts" plus a mini-trip to the Florida panhandle. Baby B already loves to travel I can tell so he, too, can't wait for mama to enjoy some seafood and sunshine at the shore!
It seems that all of the April "showers" should certainly bring a May flower in the form of a baby! But that is the question......will baby B make his grand entrance in May as we have been told? Or does he think he might follow in our fashion and be super late by arriving in June? When carrying around nearly 20 extra pounds the earlier the date the better but of course we want him to come when he is good and ready.....go figure....that's how Brad and I work anyway! So I know April will whirl by and then it will just be a few weeks of waiting and "nesting." By the way.... I've always thought the nesting instinct was just a term women gave themselves to account for extra spending on things around the house that aren't needed. Now I can confirm that this is true but I think it is more than just an instinct - it is a disease. I spend hours aimlessly wondering about the internet for antique things that I didn't know came in antique. I write lists galore and list every task down to making the bed and I try hard to check all the things off in any of my free time. I search for recipes that I may never cook and I look through magazines looking for something that I might need to want. I am your ultimate gullible pregnant consumer right now - paying attention to all adds and and shopping around for unnecessary things! HELP! I am glad that I am still working for the most part or we would be in trouble with any extra time on our hands. This instinct/disease truly does cause severe side effects. I dream about organizing things! No joke...last night I was on an organizing high in my dreams and I woke up just smiling and probably drooling- but still with messy, chaotic drawers!

What an exciting season this is for us! Thank you to our sweet friends and family for your phone calls, emails, and prayers over these last 7 months! I can't believe we are beginning to near the end! We take a tour of the Women's Center at Northside tonight. You know you are old when you are so excited about your date with your mate to tour a hospital!

New things we like

Since Baby B nestled himself inside of my no-longer flat tummy things have changed around our household. Here are a few of the new things that Brad, Amos and I enjoy fairly regularly. Don't judge us....
*Pop-tarts. You haven't seen me eat a pop tart since 5th grade but the last 31 weeks have invited low fat strawberry pop-tarts back into the diet and my taste buds rejoice!
*Late walks with Amos at night around the golf course. We figure we won't be able to do this as freely come the summer so we should take advantage now. Some of our best conversations, ideas, dreams are born around the golf course. And of course Amos is a very important part of these monumental conversations.
*Cold sips of beer. It's true. I was never a beer drinker before this thing set up residency inside but now.....watch out! I LOVE a cold sip of beer. Just a sip - no worries. Brad really hopes this hankering hangs around so he has a buddy enjoy a cold beer.
*Confession. Baby talk. All I know is I hope this goes away. I haben't said a word with a "V" or an "L" in it to Brad since earwy wast year. It's much more fun to go to the "moobies" and go to "seep" on the sofa! Brad, we have to stop this! We have 9 weeks to kick it!
*Playing house. Brad and I could be thoroughly entertained playing with the empty stroller and figuring out all of the different kinds of pacifiers. On more than one occasion Mr. Brad has asked if we could take our stroller with us around the block without a baby. I draw the line somewhere.
*Bubble baths for mama. I take a bubble bath every night and sometimes in the morning too. This is truly my favorite time of the day. Brad gave me the best bubble bath for Valentines day, too, so I smell so yummy afterwards. I don't think these will go away.
*Desserts after every meal. The kiddo is definitely going to have a sweet tooth that is all I can say. Don't blame just me!
*Stopping anyone and everyone with a bump under their shirt or a kiddo in a stroller. I love hearing people's stories and more so, seeing how this amazing miracle of pregnancy changes people. We've met so many fun new friends due to the approaching idea of a new person in a family and you know I love meeting people!
*NAPS! I've always hated sleeping when it wasn't time for bed but I have grown to LOVE a good 30 minute nap! Why does the couch have to greet me so perfectly when I really should be getting things done? Amos and I love a nap on the couch.
*The motto - if we want to do it - do it! Even though we vow to not let our lives be dictated by an infant's schedule I know the reality - our lives are going to look completely different. So, for now, if we want to do it - do it! This has been the best motto and has lead us to impromptu trips to the beach, lots of dinners with friends, driving all over Atlanta to meet a craving for dinner...you name it!
*Talking to a bulging belly. I know this seems instinctual if your belly stuck out past your toes but I never thought the growth of a belly would have me talking to my body but I was wrong. I just can't help talking to him everywhere. He has started to know my patterns during the day and I am convinced he kicks and gets excited after a good kickboxing class, a pop-tart or a walk with dad! So, naturally, I talk to him throughout the day and especially when I am in the car. Pregnancy will certainly make you do the strangest things but I am so grateful for these crazy changes.

The biggest thing is my (at times) stubborn heart just softening to make room to love this new life! This is just one of those changes that I can't explain and can't control but I welcome the change. We are getting so anxious, baby.......

Dennis, Rascal, or Lucifer?

I think after nearly 7.5 months with a nameless child meandering through my belly we have narrowed down the options for names....and they are all very fitting. The process began nearly 72 hours ago but ended easily this morning. Friday we met a couple friend of ours for what other's are claiming as"Atlanta's Best Burger." The verdict is still out but it was pretty dang good but we'll save my reviews for another post. Needless, after we got home I was a bad mama. I ate nearly a whole log of homemade cookie dough that I made for Charlsie's arrival (she was staying with me on her way to New Orleans). The calories and gobs of fat aren't the problem - it's the raw eggs that our 30 week old still forming child didn't seem to like. From that point on baby decided he wasn't going to talk to me.

We wake up Saturday and I head to the gym for some kickboxing. Baby usually loves kickboxing! He even keeps kicking after I have stopped and he typically doesn't let up. Not this Saturday. He was still hungover from the sugar I guess so he still didn't budge all day Saturday. Now, I was busy and working so I wasn't too alarmed. Maybe I just didn't notice him throughout the day?? Well, Brad takes me out Saturday night for a nice dinner complete with appetizer and the perfect piano bar. We both thought baby would like some fish because he hadn't had any in awhile so I order salmon. I only finished half the dinner because I was a little hesitant that the salmon was still swimming and I surely didn't think baby would like that. So now it is Sunday am and baby still hasn't even elbowed me or made any slight movement in 36 hours. We headed to church and I just knew he would start dancing around because that is when he normally likes to shake it....right in the middle of a 35 minute sermon. A quick jab to the ribs is his favorite move on a Sunday morn. The music was especially loud this morning which I thought would have had our little rhythmic baby bouncing but still - nothing. Brad said the music was just too much for him this morning and he was just scared. Anyway, Sunday continues and I poke my abdomen where I think his little head is.....I even push my entire belly to one side and nothing. I mean, not even a twinkle of the toes. By Sunday night I am noticeably alarmed so Brad steps in and tries to push on baby from all angles. I call my soon to be MD (yay, Matt!) brother and my dearest doctor friend and ask for any tricks of the trade. Brother MD says there is probably nothing wrong but I should call my doctor in the am. My dearest doctor friend in Charleston says I should lay on my tummy and just make the little booger mad.

So I do everything I know how to do. I lay on my belly. I eat way too much sugar. I massage my belly and yes, at one point for maybe 4 minutes I tried to relax and not think about the fact that the thing that has been causing such a ruckus in there the last month hasn't even winced in the last 48 hours. No worries, right? I figure once I get to bed he'll start tossing and turning like he usually does.

I don't like doctors. Though two of my favorite people are doctors I still don't like them. I always feel like I am in the way because I tend to be seeing a doctor for problems that don't seem to be problems to them. I know there are people with real conditions out there and I just hate to waste their time. Needless to say, when I woke up this rainy Monday morning and realized baby hadn't awakened me with his dance moves during the night I did begin to worry. I pretended to be calm and lay on my side for an hour to try to count his movements but after 50 minutes with no signs I started to fall apart. I fake-calmly called the doctor and they asked for me to come in right away. Brad and I both begin to pray all morning for our sweet little baby that didn't seem to be very happy as of late. And admittedly, I was really worried. But I also didn't want to be "that lady" in the Ob/GYN office. You know the overactive one that you watch out of the corner of your eye as she acts like the only female to ever had had a child in her? There is always one in the waiting room when I am there and I didn't want to be that one. So, I sit. I read. I write a few cards and inside I panic. And what do you know.....I get hit with an uppercut to the ribs. Ouch, baby! Within a quarter of a second my fear turns to humiliation as the nurse calls my name and my unborn baby's footprint is noticeable in my side.

The staff treats my with extra care as they all know that I haven't felt the little menace move in a few days....like they were awaiting the dreaded news. I had mentioned the 1/2 bowl of raw cookie dough and the half cooked salmon and they gave me half smiles telling me everything should be fine. I told them my entire routine over the last few days. They proceed in giving the baby a stress test. At the mention of this I get a roundhouse kick to my left side and I just smile as the nurse hooks me up....thinking "yes, baby, you are in trouble....you are going to be stressed when I get a hold of you!"

Sure enough - she hooks me up and leaves the room and says she will return in 20 minutes and before she could get the door shut our precious little angel kicks my belly so hard that the apparatus falls off of my stomach. Are you kidding me? This kid is going to breathe his first breath and be sent straight to timeout! I am not kidding. I am growing furious at this little stunt. He hasn't moved an inch in 3 days and the moment I get to the doctor he throws a party in the womb! The nurse and doctor come back in and assure me that they think everything is fine and that our baby was just being stubborn. Of course, I am more than apologetic and offer to send them cookies or take them to lunch and I beg them not to add me to their list of crazy soon to be mothers. They said they wanted to do an ultrasound just to check on the fluids. I was happy about this because I haven't seen our little rascal since he was 17 weeks grown so this was a good treat. But wouldn't you know that as the doctor is trying to find him she has to make several attempts because he is moving around so much!!!! Aghhhhhh......I am going to tell his daddy when he gets home and the little kiddo is going to be grounded I just know it!

So there you have it. This is how we named you, son. You were a little stubborn one rainy March day and we just fell in love with the name Dennis! Dennis Rascal Bagwell - you are sure to turn heads and break hearts in your day and I am sure it is going to start with mine. I have a feeling this little stunt is just a hint of what is to come. I just don't know if I am ready for this!

Truly,
Your crazy mama

Amos and his playmate Cody