Aptly Named Cletus

I can't tell you how slowly the past few weeks have crept by for me while anticipating the ultrasound and the discovery of Cletus' gender. Contrary to polled opinion and "maternal intuition", CLETUS IS A BOY!! And let me tell you, he's proud of it (and so are we)! He wasn't the least bit modest in displaying the family jewels. Tears slipped out from excitement and mirth at this surprise as I lay on the ultrasound table. Not only is Cletus a boy, he's a big boy...the ultrasound tech said he's above average size in every measurement. While we'll love him no matter what, it was also wonderful to see his normal brain, spine, heart, kidneys, and mouth. We even caught him taking a sip of amniotic fluid. With his legs flexed to the point that his knees were level with his eyes most of the time, we're hoping for athletic flexibility and agility (definitely not from me!). At one point, he was playing with the umbilical cord between his fingers--Chris was quick to point out how he likes to fidget with his hands too. The tech tried to show us a glimpse of Cletus' face with the 3D ultrasound, but Cletus kept his hand over his face and quickly turned away--a little camera shy, I suppose.

After the appointment, we went to Target and Babies R' Us to update our registries with 'boy stuff'. I've been so convinced lately that it was going to be a girl that I had a pretty clear vision in my head of what I wanted the nursery to look like. Having a boy has thrown me for a bit of a loop in the design arena, but it will be fun finding new ideas.

To answer the question many of you have already asked: no, we don't have a name picked out yet, but we plan to keep it a surprise until he arrives. We've laughed to ourselves thinking that after several months of referring to the baby as Cletus, that name just might stick whether we like it or not. Cletus Perry Starnes--has a certain ring to it, huh?

Below is my 20 weeks belly shot.

Rocker for Cletus

Judging by the poll, it's evident that most of us think Cletus is a girl. Hopefully you weren't too influenced by my prediction...my "mother's intuition" could certainly be off. Nonetheless, it will be fun to see what God has in store (or should I say, in the oven).


The crib we ordered came in on Saturday, and while we were at the store to pick it up, I sighted the Amy Coe rocker I blogged about quite some time ago. I couldn't believe it--I was convinced that rocker was nowhere to be found as it had been discontinued; not only was it there before my eyes, but it was 20% off the retail price. We had actually bought a rocker from Pier 1 last week, so I was a bit torn as to what to do. The Pier 1 rocker wasn't what I'd had in mind, but it was affordable and we felt it would work after a paint job. We decided to go ahead and ask the sales lady about the Amy Coe rocker, and she informed us their floor model was the last in the store, and that it was an additional 20% off the sales price. We both immediately said we'd take it, and we (actually Chris) happily returned the Pier 1 rocker that same day.

Sunday we took down the full-sized bed in the nursery and put the crib together. Chris is planning to pick up the antique dresser we purchased sometime next weekend, so the nursery is quickly coming together. It's still a pretty blank slate as we're waiting to find out the gender to pick out bedding, curtains, and such, but it's nice to see changes taking place. With that said, the down side is that any guests in the interim will have to choose between the pull-out couch or the air mattress...sorry!

18 Weeks--Guess the Gender

I don't have any pictures to post this week, but Tuesday marked 18 weeks. Chris has given our baby a new nickname: Cletus the fetus...haha. I told him it will probably be a girl now just to spite him for calling it Cletus.

I've definitely felt Cletus' movements more prominently over the last week. He/she likes to get really active when I'm trying to fall asleep at night or after I eat a meal. I checked the baby's heartrate with the Doppler today in clinic, and it was in the 150's. My blood pressure and weight were on target too, so all continues to be good news thus far.

I thought it would be fun to ask everyone to guess the gender of the baby sometime this week or next. We have the ultrasound that should tell us the sex in two weeks, so it will be neat to see if the majority of us predict correctly. I've created a poll on the blog (see at right), and you can also post a comment if you want to stake your claim.

MY PREDICTION: GIRL

17 Weeks and Counting...

I'm now 17 weeks (and one day) along, and there's no mistaking the + bump sign I have. I'm amazed at how fast the weeks have flown by so far. In no time we'll know the baby's gender and be decorating the nursery and picking out baby clothes and such. Yah!! I think I'm feeling the baby move now...I've probably been feeling it for a week or so, but it's hard to know at this point because it only happens occasionally and I have no prior experience to compare it to.

I'm not sure if the feelings of inadequacy in motherhood are supposed to start this soon or not, but I already often feel that I'm not doing all I could or should for this baby. I haven't read past the first trimester chapters in my pregnancy book, I'm not eating a very healthy diet, I'm not reading parenting magazines, I'm not blogging or journaling frequently...and the list could go on. If my pregnancy attitude says anything about my parenting style, I'm going to be one laid-back momma. Now for those of you who know me well, you probably wouldn't choose 'laid-back' as one of your primary descriptors of me. I wouldn't either, but I think I've become that way about pregnancy because I'm having to focus my current attentions on applying for residency and studying for my board exam. So many life decisions and events in such a short time!!

I'm in Jackson, TN now doing a rotation in family medicine. It really stinks to be away from Chris again, but I'll get to go home over the weekends and I'm not far away if I ever need to go back during the week. In fact, staying in a hotel room by myself has probably allowed more time for focused studying, and considering I take part of my licensing exam in a month, that's a good thing.

We ordered a crib today, but it's not the one I previously posted about. It's pretty similar to the last one, as you can see in the picture below, but it has cleaner lines. I was looking online for crib bedding, and spotted this crib as one modeling bedding for sale on Etsy. I couldn't tell what brand it was or anything by the picture, so I had to search several different store websites until I found it. An hour later, Chris was driving to Babies R' Us to order it for us. For the girl who used to cry over the difficult decision of choosing one type of candy in the store, that's pretty stinking decisive.

Thanks for your interest in our lives as we continue along this journey. Please keep my brother Jared and our family in your prayers as Jared leaves Saturday for training prior to deployment to Iraq.

15 weeks

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. I am 15 weeks along now, and I'm feeling pretty good. I'm past the queaziness and constant snacking, so that makes life a bit easier. I still get fatigued pretty easily, but I suppose that's just expected. Here's what the BabyCenter says about Baby Starnes at this stage:

"Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light."

Here's a picture of my belly now, though it looks awfully similar to my belly at 13 weeks:

Things are going well in Charleston. I'm really enjoying my Dermatology rotation here, though I hate being away from Chris and home this long. I haven't done much around the city yet because it's just not that fun to explore on my own, but I'm hoping to get in at least a few of the big sites before I leave on the 31st. Unfortunately, I won't truly be back in Memphis full-time until late August. I'm doing a Junior Internship in Family Medicine in Jackson next, so I will be there Mon-Friday for the first three weeks I'm back in TN.

While I've been away from home, Chris has been diligently painting the nursery and the trim in our house. We picked out a neutral color for the nursery (Mesa Tumbleweed) that will go with any decor and make it easier to sell the house when the time comes. I think poor Frankie is feeling neglected already, though...Chris has to put up a baby-gate to block Frankie from the room he's painting in, and Frankie just lays on the other side staring in and occasionally knocking items off the shelves in the hall to get Chris' attention. I'm afraid this is probably only the start of Frankie getting less attention, but I'll always have a place in my heart for that cute, blue-eyed Cocker.

Something to look forward to when I get back: we have our big ultrasound that should tell the gender of the baby on August 26th. Yah! Stay tuned...

13 weeks in Charleston

I was 13 weeks yesterday, and above is my new belly shot to prove it. I had to use the self-timer again, so sorry for the poor quality. I went shopping for maternity clothes at Target and Motherhood Maternity yesterday because I'm having trouble buttoning all of my pants now. I found a neat belly band that will allow me to wear my regular pants longer and help hold up any too big maternity pants. I was the only customer in Motherhood Maternity most of the time, and there were two sales-ladies working--I've never had more undesired help in my life. I felt like they had me try the whole store on!! I imagine they were disappointed when everything I purchased was on sale.

We had a nice vacation at Myrtle Beach last week with Chris' family. We mostly enjoyed sitting by the ocean and reading. On our drive down to Charleston on the 4th of July, we stopped in North Litchfield to see some Memphis friends, Jacob and Tricia Cartner, who were there visiting family. They took us out on their boat and we did some fishing--Chris caught an 8 foot shark!! Okay, actually it was about 8 inches...he wouldn't even let me take a picture of it.

I'm pretty well settled in Charleston now, and my family here has already been spoiling me. Everyone I've worked with in Dermatology has been really nice, and I'm finding my way around pretty well now. My only major complaint is dealing with the traffic around the medical center--I have to allow an hour for traveling to get there on time in the morning. I haven't done any sightseeing here yet, but I hope to soon.

Anniversary and Vacation

Yesterday, June 25th, was our four year anniversary. It's amazing to both of us how fast the past four years have flown by. It's been a great four years and remarkably easy on the marriage front. Chris has been more supportive than I ever dreamed, and he's made the challenges of school much easier to bear. The next year holds many new frontiers for us--parenthood, graduation, possibly moving, and eventually two incomes :) We're excited about what the future holds and trusting God in His wisdom to guide us.

Today we'll be leaving for Hickory, North Carolina. We'll spend a few days there visiting his family, and then we'll travel down to Myrtle Beach with his family for a short vacation. Chris will come back home on July 5th, and I will start a four week rotation in Dermatology at the Medical University of South Carolina on July 6th. I'm not excited about being away from Chris that long, but at least I'll be in a neat city with plenty to do. I'm also sad to be leaving Frankie behind--we're putting him in a kennel this week, so he won't get to enjoy the beach with us. The picture above is to show you what I'll be missing while I'm gone--two peas in a pod.

I'll try to keep the blog updated while I'm gone. I imagine there will be a more obvious bump by the time I come home. Please pray for traveling mercy.