Hmmm... how to bend like that

I read that at this point in time (26 weeks and 3 days), we might be able to hear the baby's heart beat through mommy's belly. And since I doubt I can figure out how to bend myself in half to put my ear on my tummy, I guess we'll have to put this on the list of things that Michael can do that I can not. I try to tell myself that it's only fair because he can't feel the baby move as much or as often as I do, but still... I wanna hear the heartbeat! (did that sound as whinny as I wanted it to?)

I'd love to write more to tell you about my weekend, but sadly I have a really big presentation to give in 10 minutes and the last thing I should be doing is reading up on my baby's progress. =)

Huh. Would you look at that!

I do believe my belly button is getting more and more shallow. I wonder when it'll pop.

The Future is Here!

Not that this has anything to do with the baby, but I thought it might interest some people to see the project that I'm working on.

PBS recently aired a pilot documentary titled "Science Investigators". In the pilot segment, there is a brief overview of the DARPA program I'm working on with some nice human interest coverage of the Walter Reed Program and of Jesse Sullivan (the patient who will be evaluating our limb over the next few weeks).

Anyway, check it out...
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/si/
Chapter 5 "Building a Bionic Arm"

It's strange to think that I'm involved in something that seems so "out there" when it comes to cutting edge technology. Do you know what I mean? This is one of those things that you never think you know the people working on it because they must be the smartest people in the world. Yet, here I am... one of them... or at least I'm trying to convince people I'm one of the smartest people in the world. lol. Do you think my baby will believe my act?*


* Sneaky, eh? Did you see how I twisted this around to make it about my baby after all? Hehehe.

It's different from this side

I remember two different women at work who were pregnant last year and I remember my reactions to them well. I do not work with either of them, but pass both of them relatively often in the hallway.

I apparently saw one girl relatively often because every time I saw her I found myself thinking "Damn! She's still pregnant? Hasn't she been pregnant for like a full year now??"

The other girl took me by surprise and apparently I didn't see her as often as I thought I did because when I did see her, I thought "Damn! How long has she been pregnant? Didn't I just see her yesterday with a flat tummy? She looks like she's going to pop!"

Well, it's interesting to be on the other side of that story now. I'm sure that there are people who see me often enough that eventually they will start to wonder just how long I plan on continuing this pregnancy thing.

And today, I experienced the first example of someone being surprised by my pregnancy. I walked into the lobby and the security guard did a double take of my tummy and exclaimed "Damn, girl! When did that happen?!" Apparently this would be an example of the second scenario from above, where this security guard probably feels like she sees me often enough that me being this far into my pregnancy should not be a surprise to her.

I had to giggle because I knew exactly the thought process that was going through her head.

Smart Baby

Today's Baby Progress:
Over the next few days brain wave activity will begin!

Uh, maybe I'm missing something here, but I've been reading for quite some time now that the baby is sensitive to sounds, and every now and then the baby seems to be really active when strange sounds (like running water in the bathtub) are present. So, tell me how that's possible? How can my baby be reacting to sounds without existing brain wave activity?

Anyone? Anyone?

$$$ (Cha Ching Cha Ching Cha Ching)

When Michael and I were planning for our wedding (which by the way, was a blast - both the wedding itself and planning for it), we were constantly surprised at how much people were getting rich off of the whole wedding concept. For example, if you buy little bottles of bubbles, they're easily 2-3 times more expensive if you buy the wedding ones. Buying little white flowers? Make sure you don't buy them from the wedding section of the store.

I'm beginning to realize that the same is true for pregnancies. I recently bought myself "Mozart for Mothers-to-be" because I had heard good reviews on it*. However, when it comes down to it, it's just Mozart, right? It's not like the picture of a pregnant woman on the cover changes the music. So yes, I'm beginning to see that I am a sucker for baby stuff.

Why was it easier to say "no" to the unnecessary wedding themed stuff? (no need to really answer.... I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I was aware of the entire cost of the wedding back then, whereas now I'm still ignorant of the overall cost of the baby).

So... here I am at work, listening to my Mozart for Mothers-to-be and trying to not be disappointed in the fact that I do not hear anything lullaby-like about the music (though I do love Mozart).

And just for an additional little chuckle, I'll share with you the selection of CDs they advertise inside the cover of this one:
Mozart in the Morning
Mozart at Midnight
Beethoven at Bedtime
Mozart for Meditation
Mozart for Your Mind
Debussy for Daydreaming
Chopin and Champagne
Rachmaninoff for Romance
Bach for Breakfast
Mozart on the Menu
Bach at Bedtime
Vivaldi for Valentines
Baroque at Bathtime

Do you see the pattern? Your baby will stay clean if you listen to Baroque music during bathtime. However, I would not attempt to listen to any Chopin because "bathtime" doesn't start with the letter C. If you listen to Chopin during bathtime, you'll end up with God knows what.

In for a romantic evening? Well your only option is to listen to Rachmaninoff. If you listen to Mozart, you'll either fall into deep meditation or your mind will begin to wander off to other things. Of course, if you don't like Rachmaninoff, you can always put off your romantic evening until Valentine's Day.

Besides, the thought of listening to Chopin at breakfast does make my stomach turn. Maybe we now know why.


* Though More Mozart for Mothers-to-be did not get good reviews because people were surprised that it was full of opera music. Uh... hello? Do people really not know that Mozart was known for his operas?

Pregnancy should affect the workplace more

I had a friend ask me to let her know how my pregnancy affects me in the work place, and though I intend to let her know as soon as I know, I have not yet seen much of a difference (other than an occasional comment of how I should try to take on less now that I'm pregnant).

Anyway, this isn't completely related, but today I've decided that I wish my pregnancy had more of an effect on my work. However, I'm thinking in terms of process efficiency. All I had to do to make this baby is start the process (no, I'm not going to go into details), but as soon as the process was started I am basically able to just sit back and trust that the design will work out.

Eventually my baby will end up with all the necessary inputs and outputs, without me having to verify specification details. Images will be seen as inputs to the eyes. Ears will conveniently input sounds. Mouths are dual direction signals... inputs for food and oxygen, but outputs for noise and carbon dioxide. Food goes into the mouth and out of the other end. And imagine all the sensors spread around the body just in the skin alone! How many analog inputs does that require? Who cares? It's all taken care of in the effecient process known as "gestation".

It's really a shame that more things do not operate like the human body. More specifically, and more relevant to me (it's all about me anyway, right?), I wish the design process for the stuff I'm doing at work could be "that simple". I'm constantly being told new information that I have to incoporate into my design, and am constantly being tossed curve balls in this design process that make me wish I could just press "start" and assume the end result will meet all specifications!

And to think that my critical design review is in less than a week! In case you don't know... that's the review where I get up in front of everyone and convince them that not only do I know what I'm doing, but I have a plan and that plan is solid and will not change. Ha!

Uh... I don't get it.

First, let's give you the update... yes, the baby is still doing well. I had my monthly appointment again yesterday, and the heart rate is somewhere in the 140s. This time, though, we were actually able to hear the valves closing. They made a clicking sound with every beat. If you've ever heard shrimp while snorkeling, then you will know what I'm talking about. Well, maybe not completely, but that is what it made me think of.

Second, I don't understand today's baby update.
"Air sacs will develop in baby's lungs"
Huh? I don't get it! How is that possible? It's not like the baby has free access to oxygen. Or even not-so-free access. OK, so this is probably going to demonstrate to everyone why I did not go into biology, but the way I understand it is this:

I breathe in oxygen. My lungs transfer the Oxygen to the blood stream. The blood stream transfers oxygen to the organs in my body. The placenta is one of my organs and acts to filtrate and transfer nutrients, including oxygen, to the baby*. I find it amazing that the baby does not share the mother's blood. Anyway... this oxygen is in the blood. It's not in air form. So... how on earth do the lungs develop the air sacs when there is no air???

It's amazing that any babies are actually born. There is so much that happens! It baffles my mind.


* And please, no need to comment on how most mammals eat the placenta after giving birth because it has so many nutrients. And yes, I already know that some exotic cultures do this as well, but believe me when I say that I have had enough people tell me this already. And my reaction has yet to change. Yuck.

Meet Miss Sexy Tummy

Remember my first obsession with Miss Gorgeous Tummy?

Well, here's another one... Well call her Miss Sexy Tummy. Oh and believe me, as soon as I find myself a sexy little red piece that looks similar to this, and as soon as my belly button turns inside out, I'll be trying my best to duplicate this one as well.

Wish me luck!

Christmas Tummy

I wanted to post these pictures as well, but I figured I'd do it in a separate post from the ones with Michael. I don't think I like them nearly as much, but they are cute non-the-less.

Did I mention how beautiful Colorado was when we were there? I barely even notice the pregnant woman in these pictures when I look at them. All I can see is purty snow!

Well, OK... I guess I also see a red nose. It should come as no surprise that standing out on the porch in the middle of winter is not exactly a warm place to be when you're wearing silk PJ's!

The cold didn't bother me, though. Life is good. I am happy. Besides... I'm pregnant, which means I am my own furnace!