Announcing Bennett Whisman

Baby Boy Update – 38 weeks!

Alright folks, we’ve made it to 38 weeks and baby boy is doing excellent.  He regularly performs entire acts from Cirque de Soleil in my belly.  We are going to have another energetic son on our hands very soon – and we can’t wait!

At my 34 week checkup, they were guesstimating that he weighs 5lbs 4oz.  And with gaining .5 lb per week, would put him at just over 8lbs at birth.  I don’t believe it.  They said the same thing about Alex and he only weighed 6lbs 10oz at birth.

We do know that baby boy has some hair and that he loves to pose for the camera, er…ultrasound.

I’m feeling pretty well.  I am still working and we are keeping busy with weekend activities since the weather has been so nice.  I do tire much more easily these days and my appetite fluctuates between nonexistent and nauseated to completely ravenous. Somehow I have maintained perfect blood pressure throughout the pregnancy and barely have any signs of swelling….but I do claim swelling as an excuse to wear sandals to work. everyday.  Unfortunately, the whole sleeping thing isn’t going so well anymore, but sleep is so overrated anyway, right?  :)  I’d rather be up watching tv and eating bowls of cereal at 4am anyhow.

Alex recently told his teachers that he is ready to be a big brother.  How cute is that?!  So it seems that our entire family is all set to meet our little boy.

We’ll let you know once he’s here!

Introducing Baby Whisman!

Dearest Friends and Family!
We are pleased to announce that Baby Whisman has arrived!

Alexander Gabriel Whisman

May 8, 2008 at 4:42 pm
6 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches

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Mom, Dad and Baby are doing great!

With love,
Michael and Tracy

Overdue…Day 5

I had my regular OB appointment on Friday afternoon at which time I learned that I was making some progress, but as I am writing this on Saturday night, I am still not in labor.

I have been having some cramping, lower back aches and quite a few uncomfortable contractions, but nothing overly painful or regular, since the exam.

If I do not start labor before Monday, my OB office will be calling me with the nonstress test schedule for the week. This test will just monitor the baby for 30 minutes to an hour and make sure that my fluid levels are fine, that the baby is comfy and active and that he is healthy and can continue to hang out in utero for a few more days. The midwife seemed optimistic that I would go into labor on my own, so we did not yet schedule an induction, which is just fine by me.

Michael and I have been spending our time relaxing and sleeping as much as possible since we know that those activities will soon be rare treats.

We hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and we will post again once we have some news or blog-worthy progress.

Hugs and Kisses!

Due Date!

Well, here we are at our expected due date and I’m not yet holding my son in my arms. Sigh.

As of our last OB appointment, which was on Thursday, I was making some physical progress. If you want details you can give me a call.

I did have several hours of “false labor” on Saturday night and again Monday morning. It was rather exciting, and somewhat painful, but ultimately led no where.

Unless I go into real labor in the next few days, our next obstetrician appointment is scheduled for Friday, though I am trying to get an earlier appointment.  At that time they will set me up with a nonstress test and an ultrasound to make sure the baby is fine hanging out in his current environment and we will start discussing possible induction options and methods.

I really don’t want to be induced so I am praying that our son is less stubborn than I am and decides to take pity on his large and uncomfortable mom in the next few days. I’ve been taking walks, eating some spicy foods, drinking pineapple juice, sitting on an exercise ball, and trying acupressure all in hopes of coaxing our little boy out. The verbal bribes of money and cupcakes didn’t seem to be working.

We’ll post again after our next OB appointment if not sooner.  (Hope for sooner!)

Week 39

Well, I’m still pregnant. 

To be honest, there is not much going on with us.  No baby progress.  At my OB appointment on Thursday, everything still looked good, but baby boy was staying put for the time being.

The weather was quite a bit cooler and windier than last weekend, so we stayed indoors and spent the weekend taking in some movies and eating out.  We also took advantage of some Babies R Us coupons and got a few more baby supplies.

At this point we are just trying to keep comfortable and playing the waiting game.  My next OB appointment is on Thursday afternoon, so hopefully there will be some progress by then. 

From BabyCenter.com:

Your baby’s waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it’s likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Week 38

Look at how large I am! Now this is just for pure shock value:
Week 14 vs Week 38

Though it is getting a bit harder to get around, I am definitely trying to keep active.

Last Thursday, the kind folks at my work threw a potluck lunch and baby shower for me and another expectant engineer. It was a great time and we received quite a few gifts and supplies for the little one.

Our son is already getting so spoiled!

On Saturday, Michael and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous bay area weather and we went for a picnic and short hike amongst the San Bruno mountain. It was wonderful. And if 37 weeks of pregnancy isn’t an appropriate time to take up hiking, I don’t know when is.

I took a few pictures of the baby’s space. Its all ready for his homecoming!

From BabyCenter.com:
Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he’s over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you’ll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Week 37 – Baby is full term!

We’ve made it to full term! This means that if our baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though our due date is still almost three weeks away.

I am growing increasingly large and uncomfortable, but I try not to complain too much as I am able to relax most of the day and take naps as needed. It feels like the baby is dropping which makes standing and walking just downright painful at times, but I am assured that this is both normal and desired progress.

On Friday, the lovely and generous folks at Michael’s work threw us a Baby Shower. It was a fun time complete with games, balloons, gifts, and cake!

Our maternity pictures (taken by the talented Paul McClain http://mcclaindpw.smugmug.com) are ready for viewing, but please be warned that there are some pics of us smooching.

Click here to see our maternity photos!

The password is “BigBird08″

From BabyCenter.com:

Congratulations! Your baby is full-term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.

Week 36

So, I am officially on maternity leave, which is kind of strange. I feel like I am playing hooky from work in order to do laundry, run errands, and cook freezeable meals. I haven’t accomplished quite as much as I was hoping to in the last 2 days because the little one seems to be pushing down quite a bit which makes standing up and walking most uncomfortable at times.

We had an OB appointment last Wednesday and everything still looks good. Because the baby is still positioned quite high and my ab muscles are apparently still tight (yet stretched), it was difficult to determine the baby’s exact position and how big I am measuring….so, we got another ultrasound!

The ultrasound was this morning and it was great to see the little guy again. Yes, the ultrasound technician confirmed that he is still a he. He is still heads down which is excellent. He is currently measuring around 6 lbs 4 oz (with some degree of error, of course), which should put him right around 8 1/2 lbs if he arrives on his due date. His heart sounded great at 128 bpm and we saw all 4 chambers of his heart pumping away. We were even able to see that he already has hair and he was making cute sucking-type movements with his mouth. Surreal!

I should also mention that the estimated due date is April 28th. I think we had been using the 29th, for some unknown reason…atleast I can blame it on pregnancy brain (which I assure you is a real condition ).

Week 35

This is my last week of work before I start maternity leave! Woohoo!  I plan to be out until at least early August, but that depends a bit on when our son decides to arrive.   I’m very excited to be a stay at home wife for a few weeks before I become a mom though!

Michael and I had some maternity photos taken over the weekend. It was a gorgeous day out and we spent the afternoon at a local park. Hopefully we will be able to post or direct you to some photos of us within a couple of weeks.  I found the photo shoot quite fun, but a bit tiring and I spent the rest of the weekend resting and relaxing.

My hands and feet are bit more swollen these days (as is the rest of me really )….I finally had to give up wearing my wedding ring for more than a couple of hours at a time and even my flip flops feel tight some days. Its a very strange feeling to no longer be able to do things that are so normal in one’s everyday life…luckily this is only a temporary state.

Our little honeydew may be feeling kind of squished these days:

Your baby doesn’t have much room to maneuver now that he’s over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew). Because it’s so snug in your womb, he isn’t likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete – he’ll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.