The Last Christmas

Without our baby!

Christmas is always an exciting time of year, but it is especially exciting this holiday season as we anxiously await the arrival of God’s most precious gift to us.

This is what baby is missing this year:

Tropical Weather
We’ve had snow this season, but not for the past two weeks. It is actually so warm here that it’s difficult to decide which coat to wear. We’ve been enjoying warm days with temperatures in the mid-50s during the day. The weather has been fantastic compared to normal winter days in Cleveland, but we are all disappointed that it won’t be snowing on Christmas Day this year. We are hoping this is a sign of a mild winter to come, which would reduce the likelihood that we will go into labor during a snowstorm.

Church Celebration
The Sunday School is presenting a program for the Christmas Eve morning service this year. Mommy is helping by narrating part of the nativity story. Specifically, I was volunteered to tell the kids about the journey to Bethlehem. The other Sunday school teachers thought I would be the best person to demonstrate the penguin-waddle walk that Mary most likely used to cross the desert.

Deck the Halls
Our Christmas tree is looking better this year, since we finally got rid of the pink ribbons and replaced it with red ribbon. The pink ribbon was a tradition started by Kayla and Erica and they were very sad to see it go. The tree was designed to resemble the tree from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Christmas. Dad and I were very happy with the change. Finally!

Also, Squirt’s first gift to Daddy this year is a Snow Man ornament that reads “Most Loved Daddy.”

Tradition!
We’ve started talking about new traditions that we would like to start for Squirt’s first Christmas next year. Starting in 2007, Santa will visit on Christmas Eve. We will celebrate the next day with the Austrian tradition of receiving gifts from the Christkinde, or Christ Child, on Christmas Day. We will bake cupcakes instead of cookies in celebration of Christ’s birthday. We’ll read the story of the first Chrismas. We’ll have a nativity set, but baby Jesus won’t arrive until Christmas morning.

It’s exciting to dream about Christmas seasons to come, but we are very thankful for this Christmas season that we have spent anticipating the arrival of God’s greatest gift!

Thirty Weeks

What Baby is Doing:

Making headway
Your baby's brain continues its amazing development. Up until now, its surface has been smooth. This week, the brain begins to take on its distinctly wrinkled appearance. These wrinkles are called convolutions, and they allow the brain to hold more brain cells.

As some things develop, others disappear, like lanugo, the ultrafine hair that covered your baby's body. He may still have patches of it on his back and shoulders, however.

A Shared Meal
Eating well is tremendously important in the third trimester because your baby is taking nutrients directly from you to build up his internal stores and to gain weight. The calcium from the milk you drink goes directly to building his bones, and the iron in your prenatal vitamins and iron-rich foods boosts his iron supply, which will last until he's 6 to 9 months old. Protein is also crucial in these last few months, because it supports healthy cell growth throughout your baby's body.

Measuring up
Your baby weighs about 3 pounds this week and is a little more than 10.8 inches from crown to rump. His total length, including his legs, is about 17 inches.

Dawn's Notes:

Squirt is such a good little baby! I'm incredibly comfortable, despite my size. I haven't suffered from many of the common complaints of pregnancy, for which I am truly grateful. I'm still sleeping well, I'm not any more tired than I would have been about this time a year ago, and I'm still running around like nothing has changed.

I am starting to become increasingly excited with every passing day. Sometimes, I can't imagine that our baby will be with us so soon, and other times, I don't think I can possibly wait any longer!

Baby Moon

We had our 30 week prenatal appointment yesterday.

The doctor said that Squirt is already head down!

She showed me where baby’s head, butt and back are situated. Now I know what parts are poking me when Squirt rolls around in there and I can spank that little butt! Can’t wait to see it!

Squirt has been mooning me all this time.

Chris and I are both predicting an early birth. Hopefully, our baby is just as anxious to meet us as we are to meet him!

Only a couple more weeks!