Week 32

One week closer to Baby Dubbs; today is the start of Week 32.  I can tell we’re getting closer because there’s a stroller in the dining room, a car seat in the kitchen and, thanks to a generous baby shower, there’s lots of new stuff in her room:

Post-shower, we are now working on buying some of the odds and ends that we still need. At work today, Amanda called and asked if I wanted to shop for some baby clothes tonight.  Being a good husband — and looking for any excuse not to go to the gym on a cold Tuesday –I happily obliged. And now, I currently have a pregnant woman in my home strongly suggesting I show you a picture of what we bought:

This week Baby Girl is 3.75 pounds and almost 17 inches long. When she’s movin’, Amanda and I can see big ripples across her belly. She now has toenails, fingernails…and to get the full effect, here’s a Week 32 drawing I whipped together for you.

And here’s the real deal:

Exclusive Baby Bump Video!

Hi All!

I had SO MUCH FUN yesterday at my shower and just wanted to say thank you again to everyone that made the trip out as well as everyone that wished me a happy shower day! Baby Dubbs is a very lucky girl to have such caring friends and family!!

Now here’s a fun video compiling all of our bump pics so far! Oh how Baby Dubbs has grown!!

Baby Dubbs: Week 8 – 31 from Zack Walter on Vimeo.

BUMP DAY! 31 Weeks :)

It’s bump post time! Tonight was also our tour of the hospital which was a lot of fun – it’s crazy to think that we will be heading there for real soon. Our countdown to baby has reached single digits people!!!! 😀

Now for the bump pic and some facts about the baby this week:

Your baby is about the size of a coconut: Weighing in at three-plus pounds and measuring 18 inches long, she is quickly approaching her birth length — though she’s got to pack on another three to five pounds before D-day. Also developing at an impressive clip: her brain connections (she’s got to make trillions of them!). She’s now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses.

A Really Awesome Date

Buckle up, this is a long one, guys.

Would you go on a date if it included the following?

• video games
• margaritas infused with Coronas
• sharks and turtles
• empty beaches (with no sharks)
• heated pools and hot tubs

This weekend Amanda and I went away on a “babymoon” … and it involved all of the above. Since we weren’t fans of the term “babymoon”, we kept referring to the weekend as a really, really, long fun date.  And it was. Since neither of us had ever been to the Hamptons before, we set off for Long Island for some R&R before Baby Dubbs.

We kicked things off on Friday, leaving work an hour early (already a fun date). We got to our hotel around dinner time and then headed off to a nearby Dave & Busters – a place Amanda has been wanting to go to since I’ve known her, but the closest ones have been outside of CT. Food, drinks and arcade games were not a bad way to spend a Friday.

After dinner, despite this amazing drink you see above, I managed to get behind the wheel in an immersive Mario Kart video game and beat Amanda in a head-to-head race. It was a photo finish and was one of the greatest moments of my life. This Coronarita may have made my feat seem more amazing than it actually was, but that’s okay. If you know Amanda, you know she is amazing at video games.

The rest of the night was spent playing hoops, air hockey, trivia, video games with giant guns, and the like.

The next day we got up early and headed to the Hamptons. Along the way we stopped at an aquarium where we were definitely the oldest people there without children. So, we really enjoyed ourselves. Our favorite exhibit was the shark tank.

I enjoyed guessing what the sharks’ voices would sound like in a Pixar film. This one: Kanye West. Who wouldn’t see that movie?

This was no ordinary day at the aquarium, I paid extra for us to see the butterfly farm. Big spender. It turns out, being in a confined room with a bunch of butterflies hovering around you is a lot scarier than it seems. Amanda really enjoyed it and remained calm, but I described it as feeling like you’re inside a screen saver. In truth, it was a really neat and memorable experience! Despite my irrational fear of gentle butterflies, I did manage to snap some pics.

I decided this fella would also be voiced by Kanye West.

After the aquarium, we stopped for lunch in the nice town of Southampton – where everything and everyone is really expensive. Now we’re getting the Hamptons experience! Amanda liked looking around in the swanky shops and trying on some classy outfits.

“Zack, it’s an Amanda…Panda!”

After lunch we reached Main Beach in the Hamptons, our final destination. I called ahead and rented out the entire beach for this special weekend. I assure you it’s not empty simply because it’s February. Don’t be ridiculous.

If you were on Main Beach on Saturday, you got to see our baby’s name! The old guy jogging with his dog had no idea how lucky he was to witness it.

But then, things took a turn. With impending fatherhood weighing on me, I suddenly decided to leave all my responsibilities behind and run away for good.

But, realizing I promised Amanda that I would take some bump pictures for her, I stopped. I also underestimated how much running would be involved in my escape.

Bump Pictures! Cue the montage music!

We capped the evening back at our hotel by spending some time in the pool and I was able to enjoy the hot tub too (Amanda stuck her feet in, just for a minute).  Not a bad way to close the really, really awesome fun date!

30 Weeks… 30 Weeks!

We all know I am not a math whiz but… our big colorful countdown blocks tell me it is officially Week 30. So, I am pretty sure it is Week 30. And, if I understand this correctly, that means only 10 more weeks to go!

We have an ultrasound tomorrow, so I am hoping to sneak a few pictures of our girl.  It has been over 2 months since we saw her last…and it will be our last time seeing her until the big show.

I have been passing the time by crafting her bedroom furniture from a fallen oak tree in our backyard. Using my bare hands and general woodworking know-how, I cobbled this together. It took a while to sand and paint, but I think she’ll enjoy it.

 

 

Meanwhile, Chloe has no idea what’s going down in a few weeks. She has been thoroughly enjoying the new, large boxes that keep appearing, the new, large items that come in them, and how they’re all a comfy cat bed.

 

B Dubbs is almost 16 inches long (what!) and weighs 3 pounds. If you’re a weirdo who measures size increments in fruits and vegetables, she is currently a large cabbage.

Her eyesight is getting better but will be about 20/400 vision when she is born. Sadly, this is about the same as her father’s current vision. At first, she will be able to only see objects a few inches from her face, which means she will see Amanda and I perfectly!

Here she is, trying to get a glimpse of her rad Dad.  People say rad, right?

 

Week 29

We were supposed to have our 7th month check up today but the snow pushed it until tomorrow. Luckily for you, blog reader, the snow did not delay our Tuesday post.

Who needs a doctor when you have the world wide web? According to the internets, Dubbs weighs 2.5 pounds and is just over 15 inches long. And her head is growing bigger at this stage to make room for her developing brain.

This week we saw Amanda’s friend Gretchen, who was featured previously on this blog, but perhaps more importantly, is due later this month. Here they are in October and this past week. We are both having girls and during this visit we learned that the first letter of Gretchen’s baby name choice is not the same as ours. Crisis averted!

 

 

During the same visit we caught up with our niece, Charlotte. As you can see, she had a keen interest in Amanda. Babies just smile all the time, right guys? Right?

 

 

Only 11 more Tuesday posts!

Week 28: High-Stakes Legos

My latest binge watch on Netflix is the show New Girl (h/t to Nikki for that one).  In one recent episode, a character described the thrill of putting together IKEA furniture as “high-stakes Legos” and that’s a feeling I can relate to lately  As you can see, our dresser needs some work, as it came in a box of approximately 500 pieces:

 

But enough about that.  Week 28 and the third trimester are here! 

Dubbs is just under 15 inches long.  She is blinking her eyes and starting to react to light that filters through to the womb.

Did she blink when this flash when off?

Camera Roll

So, no bump picture tonight. We will have one tomorrow. I bet you’re all like:

But the good news is, we will pass the time by strolling though my phone’s camera roll for baby-related pictures. Don’t all leave for Leila’s blog at once….

A few weeks ago Dubbs caught her first UConn men’s basketball game:

She added things to her registry:

Like this! Thanks Gretchen.

After touring some daycares, we took Dubbs to get some classic Pepe’s pizza. We studied the menus really hard.

We practiced writing the baby’s name:

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We sat in a waiting room during the sugary glucose screening test and read an Entertainment Weekly from last October.

And we hung out with Dubb’s future friend Lena! Here’s a glimpse at what the blog might look like with, you know, an actual baby around.

Week 27

Today isn’t just any cold Tuesday in January, it’s also the last week of the second trimester! Yes, apparently, my post from last night was incorrect, today’s not the start of the third trimester. According to the internet (when is the internet ever wrong?), the last trimester starts Week 28.  Sorry guys! I never really understood how math works.

This week IS the launch of our Fairfield County Daycare Center 2014 Tour. Anticipation is so high, they’re already selling bootleg t-shirts along the Merritt Parkway for $5. We’re hitting some venues near our home and where we work – so we’ll see what that brings.

Our girl isn’t ready for daycare yet, but she is just under two pounds now and she’s 14.5 inches from head to toe. She’s sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes and even sucking her fingers.

What’s the word from the couch?

“I’m really sore, I can’t get comfortable. Ah, maybe that’s better. Ugh.”
– Amanda, actual quote just now

Amanda and Baby Dubbs are celebrating on the inside that it’s the last week of the second trimester, I promise you. Despite how the quote above may read, Amanda has been doing a great job nearly 2/3 of the way through it all. She’s getting really excited about the baby room and upcoming shower while also still kicking butt at work.

Here’s what mother and daughter look like today:

And…although we’re keeping it to ourselves, we wanted to share that we’ve picked a name.

Second Trimester Send Off

With mere hours to go, you might be wondering how does one properly close out the second trimester?

Four scoops of strawberry ice cream, chocolate syrup, sprinkles and The Bachelor premiere.