Blowing kisses and running laps!

At our OB appointment on Saturday we were FINALLY able to get a better look at Stephanie's face. She is still in the head-down, ready-to-blast-off position, but she did turn her face a little bit. I talked to her beforehand and asked her to please let us have a look at her face, so I guess she felt like obliging. We could see her swallowing and she puckered her lips a few times - it looked like she was blowing kisses at us! It was too precious.

I am now at the point where I will start seeing my doctor every two weeks, instead of once a month. Starting at the next appointment, I'll spend time hooked up to the fetal heart rate monitor to see how she is doing and how she responds to contractions or whatever. At the appointment after that, he'll start checking for dilation and effacement changes. Whoa - it's really coming down to the end. On Wednesday, I hit the third trimester, and it's the homestretch from there on out.

It's amazing how we are able to bond with her and get to know her while she is still in utero. Sometimes, she will even respond to her name with a swift kick. She will "dance" to certain songs, and seems to like church services. At bath time, she is strong enough to make the water ripple. She has a set schedule for feeding time, and she will give me no rest until I get up and feed her. We have a new game where we play "footsie." She likes to shove her foot as far out of my belly as possible, and I'll say "Is that your footsie?" and give it a little tickle, and she'll take it back, then shove it up again, and we go until she gets tired of it. Watching and poking my belly gives me hours of entertainment (I know, I know, I should get a life). Now, I always wanted to run cross-country in high school, and I think she is gearing up for a meet in there. Sometimes, when I am laying in bed, it feels like she is running from the top to the bottom of my belly! It's like a pitter-patter of little feet that travels up and down. It is SO FREAKY! Like an ALIEN running around it's cage. And I know I'm a crazy cat lady, but sometimes, her little jumps remind me of my cat. I try to tell Steve his snores are bad - he doesn't believe me, but his snores are sometimes loud enough to make her jump - which then means that I have to roll out of bed and rush to the potty, since her head is right on my bladder. And speaking of rolling out of the bed, I really almost rolled right onto the floor last week, thanks to my new sliding pelvis. I bet I could get into a split again! Of course, the problem would be getting back up off the floor once I'm down there. : )

Of course, I'm sure it is much easier to take care of a baby *inside* my belly than outside, but I still look forward to having her with us. She already seems to show so much personality already, I'm sure it will be so much fun to get to know her "on the outside" (sounds like she's in prison, huh).