Most Popular Names of 2005

Here's the list:

Of our final list, Isabel is # 27 (but it's really the spelling with an exta "le" on the end that is that rating). Zoe makes #32 (our spelling version). Ella makes #15.

I had a dream last night that we decided to call her Madeline (#35). Although the rest of my dream regarding it was weird, The daddy was not himself, he was that guy from "Married with Children" that was married to Marcy (neighbors & friends of Al & Peg) and who everyone thought was gay. You know what guy I am talking about...don't you.....and he was also a doctor. I don't know, I have been having LOTS of weird dreams the last few weeks,

Although, as I was talking with a friend, who is also pregnant but due almost 2 months after me, she was considering Isabella because she likes the nickname Ella (her husband doesn't though). So, if we really liked Ella and were calling her Isabel, I think we could still call her that. Or we could call her El/Elle or Bel/Belle or the daddy like the nickname Izzy (I think we have to see if her personality fits that.) If we name her Zoe, that is pretty much it, unless she gets a nickname that has nothing to do with her name. Who knows, maybe we won't do the nickname thing either.

I never liked my name shortened, well maybe before age 5 I did, but once I realized the shortened version of it was a gender neutral name and I had to play that character when we would play "Dukes of Hazzard", well, I wanted nothing to do with that play or that name.

None of our boy names made the list, which we are more than fine with. With a popular last name, we don't want a hugely popular first name.

24 Week Dr. Appt

Everything looks good. My belly measures where it should be. Heard the heartbeat again. She's beating at about 140 bpm.

Next month I have to do the glucose testing, where they give me a sweet orange drink and then check my glucose level after an hour, my appt with the doc is in between.

24 Weeks

Wow – we’re getting there. The baby is supposed to be just less than a pound & a half now and almost a foot long. When we were at the science museum we were looking at this exhibit of what the baby looks like at 5 months in the womb and 7 months in the womb. She gets really big in those 2 months, of course they didn’t show 6 months, which is where we are at right now.

Today I can REALLY feel my skin stretching. Those stretch marks are coming soon ‘cuz my belly has got no more room to stretch.

Now that we are at 24 weeks the baby’s organs are fully developed and she has a chance of surviving outside the womb, but let’s just keep her in there for another 12-16 weeks. Please – not more than 16 weeks.

I am sure starting to feel pregnant. I let out this little sigh when I sit down and when I get up, as if it takes my very last breath away to do those things……I know, I know, I am only about 2/3 done. The energy level has been fading, which is too bad.

Well, we ruled out Kendra as a name and are still considering Isabel, Ella, & Zoe. Seems like the top runners (from others’ votes) are Isabel & Zoe. I don’t think we’ll decide her name until we meet her and decide for ourselves what we want to call her.
I have to say I have been having a bit of fun buying baby clothes, not sure that I will need too many from others. Some things are just so darling (the daddy says I never used that word before we got pregnant), like this little hat I picked up from The Children’s Place.

Another Belly Shot

So, here is a better belly shot. You can tell I got bigger just in a few days. This was taken before we went to the daddy's work holiday party. The dress is this great stretchy velvet maternity dress by Mimi maternity. I love it. It's so comfortable. I am thinking about finding some other places to go out to just so I have a reason to wear it.
So, if any pregnant (or future pregnant friends) out there are in need of a more formal, yet super comfortable dress to wear, let me know. It's so comfortable that you want to wear it to bed.

As of today I am at 23 weeks. We're getting there. I think my ass is starting spread now and I'm not exactly thrilled about that. Hopefully it's just the joints loosening and spreading to prepare for birth and not the addition of added fat.

It's Official.....

I can no longer see my toes when stand up straight. I swear this kid is growing like a weed in there, my belly is getting huge. I think it even sticks out an extra inch since that picture on Sunday. But I gotta say -- look much better in the maternity clothes now and they are really starting to fit.

A Friend's Baby

So, I posted about being thankful last week. I have a friend who is pregnant right now, due around the same time as me. She had to have a 2nd ultrasound because they only found one artery from the umbilical cord (babies normally have 2 ateries and 1 vein.) They have to have a 2nd ultrasound right away at Mayo Clinic to look again. They only found one.

Only 1% of single births have one artery in the umbilical cord. And 25% of those with one artery have birth defects, which is comforting to know that 75% develop into healthy babies. But that is still a high percentage of a risk. They can do an amnio to check for birth defects.

The good thing is that her baby appears to be developing normal in every other way. She will have to have ultrasounds at every appointment now and will have to be hooked up to some special machine when she delivers and won't be able to walk around at that time.

I have seen a lot of posts online about women who had children with a single artery and were born without complications and are healthy babies. That makes me feel better.

Showing.....

Ok - I am not exactly a fan of pictures.....but I figure I am at 22 weeks now and am showing (finally!). So, why not. Keep in mind that my chest increased as well, so my stomach may not look as big as it really is. They seem to have increased proportionately.

I may post another picture or 2 later on in my pregnancy.

With my center of gravity changing I've actually noticed that I have had to push myself up like a pregnant lady -- you know what I mean.

BTW - this was taken in the upstairs hallway, so you get a glimse of what we did to the floors and walls & pictures on the wall are from trip to Costa Rica and Minneopa Falls.

Thankful

I have been very thankful that all I have had to deal with is my awful morning sickness. I have had students (from the CC, not from HS) that are due ahead of me and have had emergency room visits because of spotting and pre-term labor. I also know someone who is currently pregnant and they couldn't find both arteries on her ultrasound and now she has to go to the Mayo Clinic. I am nervous for her and can't imagine the worry going through her mind.

I have been pretty thankful that my little girl has been pretty active and have felt her moving every day since that first day I knew she was moving for sure. And if I want to feel her move I just need to eat some sugary item and apparently she gets a little jolt and starts moving around a lot (mental note to self -- sugar makes the kid active) or I just need to gently massage my tummy and she starts pushing back after a while. Those 2 things I have figured out.

I have just been very thankful that I haven't had the deeper concerns that so many around me have.

Narrowing the List

Ok -- we have decided it is much easier to pick out a boy's name than a girl's name. We did pick out lists for both, as there is always a chance it could be a boy yet, the doctor sid he was 99% sure it was a girl.

Anyways, for the boy names we like all 3 of these names and would use them as either a first or middle name:
Isaac
Henry
Rhys

Now, girl names are a little harder for us. We chose hardly any names off our original list. Here is what we have for girl FIRST NAMES:
Isabel
Ella
Zoe
Kendra

And for girl MIDDLE NAMES:
Ana
Eva/Ava
Emma
Isabel

Isabel was my late grandmother's middle name and it is important to me that we use that name. The daddy gets to give the kid his last name and I want a family name to pass on as well. It's only fair isn't it?

A couple of other things about names we picked out, Ana is the name of our sister-in-law who lives in Spain, and Kendra is a dear friend of ours (we would probably not have thought of it if I had not have had that dream -- is that a sign?) Zoe, Ella, Eva/Ava, & Emma have not significance (yet!)

So, what do you think? Let's take a poll.