Week 22, Jan. 15 - Jan. 21

Thursday, January 15th
We're back from our trip. I'll give a little recap of each day.

Sunday the 11th. We had the best plane trip yet. I was able to get preboard status so that I could sit near a bathroom. All of Southwest's flights are on 737's, which in the front and back have these seats that face each other. We sat in the back and had 6 seats to ourselves. The flight wasn't full, which helped. Sunday night we headed to downtown Las Vegas. It was to be our buffet night. Unfortunately for me, the place we chose was having their seafood buffet. There was still plenty to chose from. After that we saw a free comedy show. It was really bad. The big deal in Vegas while we were there was that Binion's Horseshoe Casino was closed because they didn't pay their employee benefits, and they didn't have enough money on hand to cover all potential bets. It made the news every night we were there. The casinos there are like Boeing to us. Looks like Harrah's will be buying it.

Monday the 12th. A long and tiring day. All of the them were. It's getting harder to walk for a long time. My hands kept swelling up which made them feel tight and sore. We took naps every afternoon as well. This was the day we saw 2 shows. We saw Magician Rick Thomas at the Tropicana in the afternoon. He has 3 assistants and uses lots of animals, including two white tigers, and two regular tigers. Then that evening we saw the musical Mama Mia (music from the group Abba) at Mandalay Bay. It was really good. And I'm pleased to say that Ella seems to have some of the same tastes in music as her mama. She was awake and moving throughout almost all of the 2 1/2 hour show. I will say that a big perk to being pregnant is how considerate people are. I got offered seats on the bus and stuff. Only once did I take some one up on that offer though. I'm trying not to abuse my pregnant status.

Speaking of things "pregnancy" related, I have really ballooned out. There's no doubt now to those who look at me that I am indeed pregnant. I got comments all of the time. Here is a picture Isaac took of me at the Flamingo... looking pretty pregnant.


Tuesday the 13th. We saw another show today. We saw "America's Neil Diamond Tribute" at the Riviera. It was sooooo much fun. Isaac and I are big fans of Neil Diamond. I've never seen him in concert, but I'm pretty sure that Jay White is just as good. He is actually the only Neil tribute artist that Neil Diamond himself endorses. Definately a huge highlight of the trip. (Ella wasn't as impressed as she was with Mama Mia - we'll have to work on that).


This was also the day that Isaac felt Ella move for the first time. She's still right side up so her little kicks are pretty low. Hopefully she'll flip over soon and Isaac will get to feel that more often. An aside... she likes to kick me in the bladder. Not fun.

Wednesday the 14th. Our last day. We saw one more magic show today... Mac King at Harrah's. He's a one man show, and he does the same style show as Isaac. The first few minutes of the show I could have sworn I was watching Isaac's show. It was pretty entertaining.

On the flight back we got to sit in the back again, and the flight arrived in Seattle 20 minutes early. Amazing!!

All in all it was a good trip. The only souvineirs we bought were for Ella. We got some cool "name art". It's the letters of her name, but each letter looks like a picture. It's an asian art form that's supposed to bring good luck. Mostly, it's just pretty. Also bought her a couple of outfits and a minnie mouse from the Disney Store at Caesar's Forum Shops. And since I didn't bring the doppler Ella was a good baby and moved a lot for me.

Baby Update: During this week, the baby's brain will begin to grow rapidly. This rapid growth will continue until the child is 5 years old. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Friday, January 16th
Baby Update: By today, the baby's eyebrows and head hair will be visible. No matter how dark [her] hair will become, the baby's hair is now completely unpigmented. The eyebrows look like white streaks, and the hair on the baby's head is also white and very short. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.


Saturday, January 17th
I only have a little to add today in addition to the "baby update". We've had a couple of inquiries as to where the name "Ella" came from. Nowhere special. Basically, I really liked the name "Emma", but it's very popular right now... a top 10 name. "Ella" is a top 100 name right now, but it's near the bottom of that list, so there won't be too many other "Ella's" running around with ours. And Isaac liked it too. :)

Baby Update: At this point the baby is very lean. Only about 1% of [her] body weight is due to fat. This proportion will change in the next weeks and months, as the fat the baby accumulates becomes food reserves to draw on after birth. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Sunday, January 18th
Here is Baby Center's take on 22 weeks. I think we'll be going to register for baby things this afternoon. Yea!!

Baby Update: Sometime during the next three days, lanugo covers the baby's body. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Monday, January 19th
We did indeed go register yesterday. It was much fun. We're registered at Target and the "R" Us stores. Visit the baby's things page for more info.

Here is a heartbeat sound for this week. Three cool things happen simultaneously now whenever I use the doppler. I can hear her movements, feel her movements, and see her movements (via the convulsing of my belly). It's so nice to have more than one way to know she's okay in there. Tomorrow is new belly pic day.

Baby Update: If [the] baby [were] a boy, by today the testes would have begun their descent from the pelvis into the scrotum. Remember that ovaries and the testes are formed from the same tissue. The ovaries will remain in place, however. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Tuesday, January 20th
I said that today was new belly pic day. Today we'll take the picture, tomorrow it'll be up here. It's a two man job to take the picture and Isaac is working at the store today.

I've noticed my appetite is definately getting "healthier" (as the pregnancy books like to call it). I still have my 3 main meals, but just before dinner and then again at about 10 I'm pretty hungry. The thing about the late night hunger is that with food, you usually need something to wash it down with. Which means I'm getting up in the middle of the night again to go to the bathroom. The last 2 nights I've gotten up 3 times at least. And I'm at that stage in pregnancy where I'm supposed to gain an average of a half a pound a week. But the books all say "try not to gain more than that". It's hard satisfying my hunger without feeling like I'm eating too much.

As I wrote this entry, Ella was up and bumping around. It's the best feeling in the world. She says "hello".

Baby Update: Even though [her] eyelids are fused, the baby is now making blinking movements. Much of the baby's skeleton has hardened into bone. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.

Wednesday, January 21st
Check out the bottom of the baby's things page to see a funny picture.

Belly pic day! I do this every two weeks. Compare this picture to the previous weeks.



Baby Update: The size and strength of the baby's hands have improved so that by now, it can grip with some force. If the baby is a female, her uterus is completely formed and has just undergone its most rapid period of growth. - "The Pregnancy Journal" by A. Christine Harris, Ph.D.