Future Mom & Dad take Future Baby to Ballgame

I'm a huge baseball fan. Always have been. Ever since my Aunt Cathy took me to see Brooks Robinson play third for the Baltimore Orioles when I was 4 years old.

Mere enjoys baseball also. Greg Maddux was her favorite (Further proof of our age difference!).

We took our future little gal/guy to an Orioles Spring Training game on Saturday. We think she/he is a good luck charm. God knows the Orioles need it.

The score doesn't matter -- O's won 11-0 but we introduced the great American pastime to our impending arrival. There will be many more games in she/he's future.

And a big thanks to Aunt Denise for providing the tickets to our Spring Training festivities!

For those keeping score at home, Mere is officially 33 full weeks today. By the way, 33 is a great number. Eddie Murray wore it for years while manning first base for the O's.

Nursery Work

The transformation is nearly complete.

We are slowly transitioning our guest room into a nursery. We traded our double bed for a lovely dinner of scallops and shrimp (Thanks again, Mere & Rene). The black and white photographs of Ali, The Beatles, London, NY, Rome and San Francisco that adorned the walls are in the attic. They will be replaced with drawings of jungle animals and baby pictures.

The books -- dozens of them -- are packed in the closet.

Plus a big blog shout-out to Dr. Rick and Kelli Behar for the awesome Bellini changing table. We hope it treats our family as well as it did yours.

There is a room darkening shade. There is a glider. There is a beautiful crib (thanks Dad).

Miles to go before we sleep - actually I hear our sleep patterns will change slightly -- but we are making progress.

Welcome to the Third Trimester!!

Well, we've made it to the third trimester and preparations for Baby Codd are in full swing. We inherited a changing table/dresser from my boss, Dr. Rick, and ordered a matching crib that should arrive in a few weeks. We're also gearing up for our childbirth preparation class in early March. There are three showers planned in the next two months and one is even virtual; happening via Skype since Carey and I are unable to get to Baltimore before the due date.

At our last doctor's appointment everything looked good and my belly was measuring several weeks bigger than average. Carey thinks this is a sign that baby will come early. Our midwife said it could just mean that baby had a growth spurt. I guess we'll see at our next appointment how things are going. Meanwhile we are working hard on coming up with possible names for this kid. Since we don't know the gender, we obviously have to pick two names, boy and girl, which seems so daunting since picking just one is harder than we thought.

The next three months are probably going to fly by while we finish up getting this world ready for baby. We can't wait to show off our nursery and pics from our upcoming showers. Stay tuned...

Getting Bigger...

Today Mere is officially 24 weeks. Her tummy is expanding and the little guy/gal is kicking, flipping and making his/her presence felt. What fun!

Meredith and Carey Lasso Stork

It's a ??????????

Here is my first attempt at this 'blogging' thing. Carey is the writer so bear with me as I attempt to express my experience in a few paragraphs...

I can't believe we are over halfway there. I am 21 weeks and 4 days today. While the first trimester went by with little morning sickness, fatigue, and other less than pleasant symptoms of pregnancy, the second is turning out to be much the same: negative symptom free. I'm truly having the 'honeymoon' period of pregnancy where I feel great. One thing I think is the most exciting new development is the amount of movement I've been feeling. This baby loves to move and groove!! Carey's had the privilege of catching a few punch/kicks but baby still gets a little performance anxiety as soon as Daddy's hand goes to my belly. Who would have thought Carey and I would have a baby with stage fright?

We went for an ultrasound yesterday and, as to be expected, were both mesmerized by the tiny human body being knitted together inside me by the grace of God and the miracle of science. They checked the brain and all of the internal organs and everything looks perfect. Baby weighs a whole 1 lb. 1 oz.! As far as finding out the gender, I was very tempted to have the tech tell us. But we resisted and the mystery of boy/girl remains. I like knowing that in this technologically advanced day in age when a question of gender is easily answered by a quick wave of the ultrasound wand, Carey and I have opted for the old-fashioned method of waiting until the baby's first cries are met with, "It's a _____!!!!!" I can't, therefore, go out and buy any of the adorable pink flowers or truck covered onesies until after that happens. Bring on the green, yellow, and khaki.

21 Weeks and Counting

Our little boy/girl is moving around more and more inside Mere's tummy. Mom's and Dad's across the world have experienced that feeling for centuries and now it's our turn!

Amazing.

Mere's tummy is getting bigger and bigger and we have an appointment this week to see more pictures of our little one.

We've spent lots of time clearing space for our arrival. We've made at least half a dozen trips to Goodwill as we cleaned out the closets and the attic.

We know the next four months will speed by and we're prepping for lamaze classes, gift registry's and furniture buying. Can't wait.