Merry Christmas Baby Carly!!!

First of all, Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

Baby Carly hasn't been born yet (obviously) but she already had presents under the tree for her this year.

Her Great Aunt Ruth gave her a cute book about a Christmas tree along with the Tiny Love crib mobile off my Babies R Us registry. (Mary - don't you love that this was one of the first items purchased off my registry? On Christmas morning I told everyone the story about you and your 5 mobiles.)

Her grandparents Jody and John gave her a couple of Christmas CDs -- "Christmas Eve Lullabies" and "Christmas in the Crib", which have already been burned onto Baby Carly's iPod and turned into playlists.

Mandy even gave her a present (with a little help from Grandma Jody), which was a very cute book called "Tails Are Not For Pulling" to teach Baby Carly proper pet etiquette.

And she also received a very special teddy bear that belonged to her Great Grandma Betty.

We are all looking forward to Baby Carly's official "first Christmas" in 2008, but this year certainly was a good warmup for her!

What Does That Scale Say?!?!?

I really did ask the question, "what does that scale say?" at my doctor's appointment with Dr. C today. Logically I knew how to do the math, but I just couldn't immediately process the fact that I have gained 21 pounds so far.

Especially since I only gained 5 pounds in my first trimester, which means I've gained 16 pounds in the last 2 months. Eeek gads!!!

Dr. C said he's not worried about it and that I shouldn't be either. He said it is going to be impossible for me to stay within my original goal range of 25-30 pounds because of the fact that I'm not allowed to exercise at all. I guess he has a point that turning the pages of books and watching Netflix after Netflix doesn't exactly burn a lot of calories.

So my new goal is 35 pounds or less. Let's see ... I've got 18 weeks until my due date and only 14 pounds leeway? I wonder what the Vegas odds are on that?

Anyway, everything else with the checkup went fine and I'll see Dr. C again in 4 weeks. Stay tuned...

5-Month Belly Shot

Here I am 21 weeks pregnant, back in that same red leotard.

Anyone notice a difference between months 4 and 5???

For the record, I can't wait until Baby Carly is old enough to ride in a baby jogger, at which point I'm going to run her, and those legs, all around Fort Lauderdale!!!

Another Checkup With Dr. R = Another Sonogram Picture

I had a routine 4-week checkup with the specialist Dr. R today and he said everything looks great! He said there has been no change in my cervix from the ultrasound images taken 4 weeks ago, and that is what we want!

As my Dad would put it, we need to keep the oven door closed long enough to bake the bun!!! I couldn't agree more, and I'm pretty sure Baby Carly wants to stay put for a while as well.

During today's ultrasound we got the best picture to date proving her girlhood. This particular picture was very detailed ... almost pornographic ... so I'll spare Baby Carly the future embarrassment of posting it on the web.

In the sonogram picture above you can see that Baby Carly has found a new position ... she is kneeling, leaning forward and then hunched in the classic fetal position.

My next checkup with Dr. R is scheduled for 1/16.

Baby Carly Standing On Her Head Today

I had a routine checkup with the specialist Dr. R today and he's very pleased with how everything looks since the surgery. He did a thorough ultrasound of both Baby Carly (she was standing on her head!) and my cervix. He was very pleased with how strong the cerclage was holding while he was applying pressure on my belly.

He also gave me a prescription for a medication called Prometrium, which is progesterone that will relax the walls of my uterus as an additional effort to avoid preterm labor. I asked him so many questions about the medication that he made photocopies of 2 medical journal articles that he gave me along with the script.

My next appointment with Dr. R will be on 12/18.

Doesn't it look like Baby Carly is blowing bubbles in the sonogram picture? I guess she has to do something to entertain herself. I've been able to feel her moving inside me now for about 4-5 days.

Thanks So Much to Anita, Silvia & Sarah for Helping Me with the Baby Registries!

Thank you so much to Anita, Silvia and my goddaughter Sarah (all pictured above) for helping me get my registries set up at Babies R Us and Target today!

Getting pushed around these stores in a wheelchair with a scan gun and 3 enthusiastic helpers going, "Awwwww ... look how cute!!! Jen ... scan this!!!" was SO MUCH FUN!!!

Also pictured above is the nursery theme we collectively selected, which is called "Jungle Luv." (Any fans of Morris Day and The Time out there?) We are hoping that Baby Carly likes giraffes, because we scanned a bunch of em today.

A few people have already asked me how I feel about baby items as Christmas or birthday gifts, since both of these events will precede Carly's birth in April. My reaction to this is that I think it is a great idea because I truly have everything I really need for myself.