Black font = 2009 blog.
Blue italics font = 2011 thoughts.
25.5 weeks in pregnancy with Sam
34 weeks in pregnancy with Baby Boy #2
Posted Feb 4, 2009 3:43pm
Hi everyone, apologies for the long delay in posting another update - but we are all doing great! The baby is approximately 14 inches long and weighs about 2 pounds (about the size of an English cucumber or a really big ear of corn). He is moving around all the time. At the last ultrasound, the doctor commented “Wow, that’s one active kid!” I love feeling him turn, kick, punch, etc - except when he uses my bladder as a soccer ball at 4am.
Baby Boy #2 is also very active, particularly at 4am. Right now he is almost 5 pounds and about 18 inches long. I love laying in bed and watching the baby move under my skin - I can really see his body moving about! Sam continues to be a very active kid and never really sits still for long!
He is especially active during loud events. He was dancing to the music at the inaugural ball and at my cousins’ b’nai mitzvah and he went wild during a Superbowl party. But then again, he was also kicking like crazy during a 3 hour snooze fest copyright law program I attended, maybe he was bored! Sometimes I wonder if he is really an octopus-baby because I feel him moving all over my abdomen all at once!
Sam still loves to dance to music! Obama's inaugural ball seems like such a long time ago! Baby Boy #2 tends to be less active when I'm moving around, he likes to kick when I'm laying down or sitting still. He loves when I eat berries - it doesn't matter what kind of berries - I regularly eat strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries and as soon as I eat them, the baby goes wild. It's a very predictable method of getting him to kick so that someone else can feel him move. Sam did this when I ate Indian food and he still loves to eat Indian food! Funny boys.
He’s gaining weight rapidly right now which means that I have some days when I’m ravenous and cannot get enough to eat! Every morning Brad makes me a big bag of snacks for the day including 2 apples (I LOVE apples these days!), string cheese, yogurt, sugar snap peas, berries, and soup. And those are just my snacks! My most recent crazy food discovery was putting honey on a bean burrito. Brad thought it was disgusting, but I loved it!
I began the pregnancy with the same love for apples and then transitioned to Asian pears (which are also known as "pear apples.") But the season for Asian pears was short-lived and I refuse to pay even the Costco discounted price of $7 for 3 Asian pears. So I've switched over to regular Bartlett pears and can't get enough of them. I eat at least 2 pears/day! I have never eaten pears regularly in my life before and now I'm totally obsessed - and Sam is hooked too!
I still love burritos. Although I haven't tried the "honey on a burrito" idea again, I'm totally in love with Taco Bell. As much as I enjoy and appreciate gourmet food and fine dining, YO QUIERO TACO BELL. Before my bedrest, I used to exercise with a mom's group at a nearby mall once the weather turned cold. Our meeting place in the mall happened to be right near a Taco Bell inside the mall...I'll admit it - on more than one occasion I ended the great work-out with a quick trip to Taco Bell for lunch. I'm not proud, but whoa - I love Taco Bell!
We had a great Christmas vacation and began by traveling to Vermont and Maine to visit Brad’s relatives. His female relatives organized a beautiful baby shower for me in Maine. They did a book theme and I learned about many of the family traditions. Among my personal favorites were: Underwear Do's and Don'ts (teaching the child to not dress the dog in your underwear, etc), Dick and Jane Speaking Yiddish, and various Red Sox outfits and books!
Unfortunately we didn't make it up to New England for Christmas this year (we were there in August though). My third trimester began the week of Christmas and given my history with Sam, we decided we weren't going to travel long distances during my thid trimester. However, we still cherish many of the Red Sox outfits and books that Sam received during that baby shower. The "Underwear Do's & Don'ts" book from Aunt Cora is among his top 5 favorite books right now. The bagel book (also from Cora) is his favorite - Sam now knows how to say the word bagel. And I have a craving for lox every time I read the book, even though I can't eat it!
We introduced Sam to the Red Sox at a very early age. Seriously, the child has been to more major league baseball games in the first 18 months of his life than I went to in the first 18 YEARS of my life! I think we could have dressed him exclusively in Democrat & Red Sox clothing for the first 6 months of his life.
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| Brad & Sam June 2009 - Sam was 9 weeks old |
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| Red Sox game with our friends and their newborn! |
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| Red Sox game Arpil 2010 - Sam at 12 months |
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| Red Sox game June 2010 - Sam at 14 months |
We then traveled to Puerto Rico for a wonderful week of doing very little but sleeping, eating, sleeping, reading, sleeping, and swimming. Did I mention sleeping? We had gorgeous weather and really enjoyed the much needed R & R. We uploaded some belly pics from the trip, I was about 21 weeks along then (I’m now about 26 weeks). I’ll post more soon.
OMG, I SO miss vacations like this. I think it's going to be a very long time before I can spend a week of doing little but sleeping and relaxing. In November we went on a babymoon long weekend trip to Las Vegas for Brad's work without Sam, and it was terrific. Vacations with a toddler are not exactly restful, although we are hoping to go to Kiawha, South Carolina this summer and bring along my parents to help with both kiddos -so hopefully we will be able to get some relaxation then...maybe?
Inauguration weekend was incredible. We were practically running a bed and breakfast at our house we had so many people staying with us! January 20th was an amazing day for us to celebrate the new administration. I bought my first baby onesie outfits - the first one says “1-20-09 Inauguration Day I was there” and the other says “Obama Yes We Can!” I couldn’t resist. It was a very very long day battling the crowds, but incredible to take part of such a historic event.
Here's a picture of Sam at 5 months old wearing the Obama shirt sitting with Judge Lee, the federal judge I worked for in law school. Judge Lee is one of my true mentors and is absolutely amazing. When we visited him for lunch that day he paraded Sam around the courthouse and introduced him to everyone as "his grandchild" and a future law clerk. Judge Lee was a Clinton appointee and a big Obama fan - he loved Sam's Obama shirt!
By the time we attended the inaugural ball that night, my legs felt like jello. But, it was worth it to see Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony perform and the Obamas and Bidens dance at the ball. I’ve learned that I just cannot be going and going for 23 hours straight any more. At one point my mom and I took a 20 minute power nap on the air mattresses in the copy center of my office during the parade watching party!
Overall, I’m feeling pretty good with some mild back pain that I’m learning to manage. I recently purchased a huge pregnancy pillow to give my belly and back some extra support in bed. Good thing we have a king size bed!
Oh, my amazing pregnancy pillow. It is AMAZING. Here's a blogpost I wrote about my fabulous pregnancy pillow back in October 2010! Brad still doesn't love it, but he's not pregnant now is he!
Our new bedroom set raises the bed off the ground quite a bit and with my growing belly, I’ve become quite unbalanced making it a bit more challenging for me to get into bed. My dad refurbished an old stool that is perfect for my short legs to help me up, it’s great!
Big shout out to my dad, this stool is a staple in our house. It is a lifesaver during this pregnancy and I use it constanty. Sam also LOVES the stool because he can climb onto the stool and then climb onto our bed. Who know it would be so incredibly helpful and used for so long!
We are still negotiating boy names - we should have known it was going to be a boy because we could agree on girl names. But no decisions yet.
We are actually pretty decided on the name for baby boy #2. I'm not sharing the names, but it's a Jewish tradition to name a baby after a relative who has passed away by using the first letter of the relative's first name. For example, Sam was named after my maternal grandfather Steven (here's a blogpost I wrote in memory of my grandfather a few months ago). So, we're planning to go with a N first name baby boy #2 after my paternal grandmother Natalie and a D middle name after Brad's paternal grandmother Dorothy.
Hope you all are doing well and enjoying the beginning of a new era in American government! I am overjoyed that our baby will be born under the Obama administration. Yes, I know - we are political dorks - but most of you already know that! Here’s to enjoying the last 2 weeks of my second trimester!
We think that baby boy #2 is already a staunch Democrat. While watching Obama deliver the State of the Union a few weeks ago, baby boy was going wild! I had never felt such strong kicks and punches! He was just so excited by Obama's speech! Yes, we are still political dorks - nothing has changed there!
7 Message(s)
Posted Feb 5, 2009 10:23am by Norm Geller
Let me tell you about my grandson... Sounds good...just trying it out and practicing.
Now that my dad is a grandfather, he never likes to talk about his grandson....hahahaha. Everyone who knows my dad knows that he is totally head over heels in love with Sam and talks about him constantly :) What an amazing Grandpa (or PA as Sam calls him).
Posted Feb 4, 2009 7:50pm by Christine Gettings
I will never look at english cucumbers the same again! haha! So excited for both of you and to share in this wonderful experience.
Posted Feb 4, 2009 7:34pm by Faith Leonard
What a great update! Would have loved to be at the shower in Maine. Glad this baby knows where he falls on the political spectrum; you can't introduce him to political dorkism too soon. Enjoy!
Posted Feb 4, 2009 6:49pm by lisa plotkin
Okay... I guarantee that I will come visit DC after the baby's born. You and everyone else are plenty to get me there, but a geller-cheney baby just tops it off for a no-brainer. love to both of you! and mr. kicky :-).
Posted Feb 4, 2009 5:58pm by Melissa Hart
Yes... it's the baby that's making your walking unbalanced... mmhmmm... and all of the years crashing into things and knocking over any glass on the table was just preparation for the baby? :)
Posted Feb 4, 2009 4:51pm by Alison Orologio
Congrats and mazel tov!!!
Posted Feb 4, 2009 4:41pm by Karen Walker
Honey is actually very common on New Mexican food, especially burritos, etc. I am totally with you on this. I am also with Brad about the Red Sox themed room! Congrats, again!
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