Gender report

"Ross and I did not find out Bucky's gender at our last appointment. Though Ross wants to know, he's being very patient about it.

We had a few moments of fear that the ultrasound technician had slipped up. She kept saying 'he,' but would then say 'the baby,' so I think the 'he' was a result of our saying 'he... or she' and because it's sometimes hard to talk in a non-gendered way -- saying only 'the baby' all the time. We don't think the technician was giving away any secrets. As far as we all know -- it's not definitely a boy.

Nor is it definitely a girl, as we suspected when we saw the organ check list. There was a box for gender, and it had some notes written in it. We feared that the beans had been spilled, but when we asked our doctor at the monthly appointment, she said 'Oh, no. Those are notes about Clare.' The doctor also confirmed that if you ask not to know the gender, the technician doesn't make a note of the gender so the surprise will continue to be a surprise."
--Clare, 9/21/05

Using sound waves to monitor Bucky's progress

"We finally had our sonogram/ultrasound appointment at the beginning of this week. It was a sight to behold.

The entire process took just over an hour. The radiology technician had a whole list of organs and limbs to check off on her list, so I just laid back and let her work (straining my neck to see the monitor). Lucky Ross got a front row seat for the entire show!

Head, check; body, check; arms, check and check; hands, check, check; Fingers -- yup! Legs, check, check; feet, check, check (and toes!).
Brain -- check! Stomach, check; kidneys, check and check; bladder, check. Spine -- looking good. Heart, check and pumping! It's a baby!

The lead technician wasn't quite satisfied with the picture of the right ventricle exit track (or something like that) so we're going in again on October 18 to see if Bucky will cooperate and let them take a good picture. At this appointment, Bucky decided to flip over and block the valve with his/her spine when they tried to get a second look. Though the heart looks perfect, and he's not worried that anything is wrong, the doctor wants solid verification. We're not worried (nor should you be) and the fact that he wants to double check makes us feel like we're in good hands.

Also, though I was at 21 weeks and one day when the ultrasound took place, developmentally Bucky was at 22 weeks and three or four days! I think we're going to have a big baby.

Some of the best news from the appointment was that I've gained weight! I was so relieved. A wonderful seven pounds I'm on track and should gain the 'right' amount of weight during this pregnancy. Since we now know Bucky is growing strong, and big, I hope all those pounds keep going toward baby and baby-room-and-board, instead of my hips, thighs, etc."
--Clare, 9/21/05

Exclusive first pictures of Bucky

This may be our most exciting posting, yet! The Bucky Blog has acquired exclusive publishing rights to the first images of Bucky ever to be made public.

By arranging for the release of the images, the expectant mother hopes to put to rest persistant rumors, stating, "These pictures confirm that it's not an-alien-looking thing, but an actual baby!" In response, many fans noted that often babies do resemble "alien-looking-things." Some even believed it to be a part of their appeal. All were agreed that alien-looking or not, Bucky is clearly the cutest fetus around.

Check out pictures from the ultrasound/sonogram appointment that Clare had last week, below. You can also read about what happened at the appointment, or what Clare and Ross found out about Bucky's gender. Don't forget, you saw it here first!





It's pretty easy to see Bucky's profile here. Clare thinks he/she looks like Ross. The big round ball on the right is Bucky's body. You can just make out an arm and hand reaching out right above Bucky's chin. At least, it seems like that's an arm.





In this picture, Bucky is facing you. The big round blob on the right side of the picture is Bucky's belly. You can see Bucky's face on the left side. If you stare at it for awhile you can make out where the nose, eyes, and mouth are growing. The chin is the easiest body part to pick out.

Ross: future Daddy Extraordinaire

"Though I married Ross for a myriad of reasons, lately I've been congratulating myself on falling for a guy who is going to be an excellent dad. I really have nothing to do with the following proofs of his parenting potential, but I take pride in them none-the-less.

Proof 1:
Our friend Hunter was visiting the city (and her family and friends here) with her seven month old daughter, Viola. Viola has got to be the cutest little blondie with blue eyes I've ever seen. If we didn't like Hunter and her husband, Jeff, so much I think Ross and I would be tempted to keep Viola for our own (it would have saved me all the pain of delivery, that's for sure).

During this visit with Hunter and Viola, Ross couldn't focus on anything else but Vi. He constantly wanted to hold her. He fed her. He burped her. However, he did not volunteer to change her... he's not that daring just yet. Viola had a great time with Ross. She was all smiles the entire time she was with him.

The best part of the day was when we all decided to head to the open air market. Ross timidly asked, 'If you want, I could take Vi in the Baby Bjorn?' It was a casual offer, but there was no questioning that Ross really, really wanted to walk around with Viola strapped to his front.



People couldn't get enough of Ross and Vi. They came up, cooed at her, talked to Ross about her. It made me realize that I'm never letting Ross out of the house with our baby alone -- complete chick magnet!

When Vi's pacifier dropped on the ground, Ross dutifully rinsed it off before letting her suck away on it again. When I pulled out money for our ice cream Ross admonished me for holding it so close to her, 'Get that dirty money away from her, it's covered with germs.'

Viola enjoyed holding on to Ross's fingers with her strong little hands, and floating above the ground securely attached to him. Ross will do just fine if we have a little girl!

Proof 2:
Ross has magical powers. If Bucky is tap dancing away as I'm trying to sleep, as has been the case the last few nights, all I have to do is ask Ross to put his hand on my belly. As sad as it is that he doesn't get to feel the kick-kick-kicks, we don't really mind because Bucky stops, for the whole night. I think Ross's hand must radiate different heat or pressure than mine does, and it puts Bucky right to sleep. Which puts me right to sleep, which lets him get to sleep as well. He's a real family man.

Ross will definitely be the one to put our baby to bed each night. I tell you, he's got magical dad-powers."
--Clare, 9/20/05

Is Bucky a boy?

"Ross and I have taken to referring to Bucky as a 'he.' I'm not sure how this happened. I remember thinking after we heard the heart beat a second time, and it was 130 beats per minute, 'I guess it's a boy.' I think that's when I joined Ross in referring to Bucky as male. I have no idea if this is in fact true, but somehow it feels correct. I have a strange intuition that Bucky will be a boy (though I was convinced at the start of the pregnancy that Bucky was going to be a girl). Either way, I'm trying to get myself to use both pronouns, in case we end up having a Buckette. I don't want us to be let down if we don't have a Buck, since we're getting really comfortable calling the baby 'he' and 'him.'"
--Clare, 9/12/05

Baby Boden

Look at this little munchkin'! Really, they don't get much cuter than Baby Boden, Maija and Jeremy's first son.

Dreams are contagious

"My friend Mary sent me this in an email today. I love it!

'Hey, so I checked out The Bucky Blog the other day and read about your dreams about your impending child -- makes total sense -- but, now I'm having dreams about it, too! No kidding, last night I dreamt that you called me to tell me you had a girl (but you called like literally right after you pushed her out, so you were all tired and breathy), and that you named her Louise Best (Best as the middle name). In my dream I thought that was the best name, EVER. I was already calling her Lou.'

Mary, I love the name. But I don't think that will end up being the winner. What a funny dream!"
--Clare, 9/13/05

Halfway there!

Today I am at twenty weeks. I am halfway through my pregnancy, though not nearly half the size I'll end up being at forty weeks. There's a site called Babyfit.com that I like to check out. Here is what they have to say about what's going on during this milestone:

'You and the baby have really been growing! By now, you have probably put on 12 pounds plus or minus a few. While much development remains, the rapid growth rate of the baby is going to slow down just a little near this time. To aid in muscle development, the amniotic fluid is supporting the baby's movements. Your baby is quite the little gymnast and is getting busy with twists, turns and forward summersaults!'

I'm hoping I've gained that much weight, but I think by the time I go in for my appointment in a week I'll only have gained about ten pounds. Without a scale in the house it's really hard to gage.

'Other changes that are happening:  The baby's eyebrows are now forming; your baby is sleeping and waking much like a newborn at this time; permanent hair is now growing on the scalp, but even this hair will fall out the second week after birth and will be replaced by thicker hair.

Baby's Size this week: About 5.3 to 6 1/2 inches (head to rump)
Weight: Approximately 9 ounces'

I think Bucky is going to be a swimmer, because now I can feel the kicks in two places at once. Practicing that freestyle!

The hormones finally rear their ugly head

"I'm a late bloomer. I know this, and have accepted it as a fact of my being. I didn't, however, think my tendency to lag behind would impact my pregnancy. Yet, I have only just now fallen prey to Madame Estrogen, "the mother of all pregnancy hormones," source of the irritability and anxiety from which pregnant women are known to suffer. I think I'd add irrationality as another side effect.

Twice this weekend I inexplicably felt slighted and abruptly left the room, completely hurt and confused. Luckily (not so luckily for him) it's only been Ross who has witnessed this somewhat embarrassing new development. We'd be talking, calmly, about nothing important when an innocent comment would come out of Ross's mouth. Suddenly I'd think 'How could he?!!' and leave.

I'm totally serious when I say that the comments Ross made in these scenarios did not warrant my upset reaction.

After each episode, Ross very smartly let me cool down for a little bit before coming to find me to apologize and tell me that he should have known better. To which I'd say that no, it was my fault and that there was no need for me to get upset. He'd hold me and I'd begin to feel less and less imprisoned by those irrational feelings.

'These hormones don't play fair, Clare,' Ross told me. I think he's right on the money."
--Clare, 9/12/05

Even more grandparents-to-be get the big news

Here's Clare's story of what it was like to tell her own dad the happy news that she's expecting his first grandchild:

"We were able to break the big news to my dad and my brother in person when they passed through Washington DC on their annual summer motorcycle trip.

We had been anxiously looking forward to their arrival for over a week. As soon as John and John (yes, more Johns) arrived we began dinner preparations to feed the hungry travelers. The day had been longer than they expected.

Ross set the table with three wine glasses and while we were all seating ourselves my brother John asked, 'Why aren't you having any wine?'

When asked point blank, and in person, it was harder than I thought to make up an excuse. I could only stammer, 'You'll find out.'

'Do you have some news to share with us?' He grinned.

At that moment, Ross and Dad joined us and I was saved from having to disclose more information. Dinner began.

Sometimes it's tough to find a segue way into a conversation, especially when you really, really want to say something. It took a while, but eventually the talk turned to photography, and I ran to get the ultrasound picture. Presenting it to them, I said, 'I have a picture for you.'

Dad lifted it up and stared at it. 'Really? Does this mean what I think it does?'

'Yup!'

'Oh, this is so great!' There were hugs all around and many congratulations. I think my dad was the most caught off-guard by the news. He had this look of excited amazement on his face for the rest of the visit.

He kept saying, in total disbelief, 'My baby's going to have a baby!'

The next morning I talked with my dad's new wife, Ann, and she was just as giddy with excitement.  It's so nice to know that along with my mom and dad, and Ross' mom and dad, both Jim and Ann are also looking forward to being Bucky's grandparents. This child is going to get a lot of love!"
--Clare, 8/5/05

Supersmell

"One of the fun things being pregnant is my heightened sense of smell (which, depending on the odor, can also be a very, very bad thing). It's wonderful when I walk past my coworker's office and she's just applied her vanilla-tea lotion to her hands -- it smells delicious. It's amazing!

I can pick up on licorice, even when it's still in a sealed package, and I can tell when the fruit in the Un-safeway is getting ripe enough to buy before I even see it. I feel like I have a super power. I only hope it'll dull down a little before those little diapers start getting used."
--Clare, 8/10/05

Baby dream number three

"I had another baby dream last night. It was very strange.

I dreamt that I 'woke up' to find my baby in bed with me. Now in the dream I was still pregnant with this baby, but it had emerged for a bit. I paused for a second and wondered how it was going to return to complete the nine months, but decided not to think about that and focus on figuring out why my baby was 'outside.'

In a diaper and about the size of a three month-old, my child needed changing. While still in bed, and trying not to wake Ross, I took the diaper off. By doing so, I inadvertently found out that we were having a baby girl (mind you I had not given birth to this baby yet, she just came out to get her diaper changed). I felt like I was in a bit of a pickle, knowing the gender of our baby before Ross -- especially since I am the one who wants to keep the gender a surprise until the delivery (Ross would rather know now).

I was trying to figure out if I was going to share the news with Ross when, upon re-diapering our child, she was actually a he! I got nervous because of all the stories I've heard about baby boys accidentally squirting the person changing their diapers. Low and behold he looked at me with impish eyes and let loose! Though I couldn't block the spray with the diaper, I didn't get hit because I chose that moment to wake up to real life. No baby, no diaper, and I still don't know the gender."
--Clare, 9/8/05

The first kick

Below is Clare's description of the first time she felt Bucky kicking. It happened about a week ago.

"I felt it. I felt Bucky.

After dinner I was sitting on the couch watching news about Hurricane Katrina, with my hand resting on my belly, and I felt it! It was a little movement that was very subtle, like butterflies, yet noticeable both internally and on the palm of my hand. And then again. And then once more. Then the show was over.

Imagine that you can place your hand on the inside of a blown-up balloon. Now imagine that something very small bumps or rubs the balloon from the outside. I think that's a good comparison to what this feels like. A little flutter, a little pressure (but not painful at all), a little movement, and a little something else all at once.

While it still seems a bit early (I'm just now five months pregnant) I'm guessing in a few weeks Ross will be able to feel Bucky kick, flip, bump, and somersault, as well!

It's gonna be a soccer player!"

Anchorman: a real tear-jerker

" 'They' say that a pregnant woman is more emotional, more irrational, and more irritable. The increased hormones pregnant women have cause nasty reactions: progesterone brings about those PMS-like feelings including some depression and fatigue; prolactin also promotes mild depression and fatigue; and estrogen, the mother of all pregnancy hormones causes that oh-so-attractive irritability and anxiety from which pregnant women are known to suffer.

I decided I would not fall prey to weepy feelings or outbursts of anger caused by common, day-to-day trivialities. It's true, touching commercials and movie scenes had been making me feel a little more tender hearted than usual, but I would not let myself cry. I knew those feelings were just from the pregnancy, and I could beat them! If I was unhappy with the status of the dishes by the sink, I knew blowing-up wouldn't solve the problem.

'Push, Clare,' I'd tell myself. 'Push those pregnancy-induced-emotional-reactions down and act reasonable.'

And I did, until one seemingly normal Saturday evening a few weeks ago. Ross and I put in the movie Anchorman. We began by watching the out-takes, bloopers, and audition clips included in the special features available on the DVD. We were primed for slap-stick, sophomoric comedy. We chuckled. We laughed. We laughed so hard we had tears in our eyes. We laughed so hard that suddenly my ability to suppress was no longer there. We laughed so hard that what came out of me next caused Ross to rush to my side, wrap his arms around me and hold me close.

Sob, sob, sob! The dam had opened and there was absolutely no stopping it. I was crying, full-fledged pregnant-woman crying. I just had to let it happen. Ross just had to stare at me in amazement until I could catch my breath to answer his, "Honey, what's wrong?"

When the flood subsided to a trickle of tears I replied, "That's what I get for fighting it for five months! I told you this would happen," (as if he hadn't believed me). Then we laughed and chalked it up to one of those stories that will live in our family's history. That time Clare, pregnant with our first child, sobbed over Anchorman out-takes."
--Clare, 8/29/05

A picture of Clare (and Bucky)

Doesn't she look great?! Clare and Ross got a digital camera, so hopefully The Bucky Blog will feature more regular visual updates of their growth.

Congratulations Maija and Jeremy

"In other baby news, one of my fellow mommy-to-be buddies just delivered a beautiful baby boy. Maija and Jeremy now have little Boden Noble to welcome into the world!

Get this -- the baby was two weeks late, Maija was in labor for a little more than two hours, she didn't have any drugs, and the baby weighed ten pounds! Jeremy said that the entire time he just wanted to make sure Maija and the baby were doing well, but once he heard the little fella and saw his wife was okay, he just let go and cried.

A whole new chapter has begun for this little family -- it's so exciting. My favorite part of the delivery story is that when their baby boy came out, his little hand was on his cheek! How cute it that? It's like he was posing for birth, 'Here I come, aren't I a cutie? Sorry it took me so long.'

I can only hope to have as smooth a delivery as she did, but I might opt out of that weight class if I can! Like I have any choice in it."
--Clare, 9/2/05

It's gonna be a soccer player!

Clare told me earlier this week that she's been trying to get Ross to be able to feel the baby kick. By the time she actually manages to get his hand on her belly, it seems that Bucky has already quieted down.

Today, she sent me this news:

"This morning I wasn't feeling well (Ross had passed a head cold on to me) and it was my turn to stay on the couch. While Ross was sweetly getting me breakfast, Bucky began moving about. There seemed to be more movement than ever before so I called to Ross to hurry and come feel the belly. A few seconds after he placed his hand on my stomach, his eyes got wide and he started grinning. 'Oh, WOW!' he said, as he looked at me.

He finally felt it! When I asked him what he thought it felt like, he replied, 'Like someone kicking me through your uterus.'  Good answer...

After eating breakfast, we were sitting there staring at the bulge and it moved! It was just a little spot -- a quick outward punch. But, we saw it! It's so incredible. Bucky is creating all this entertainment for us and I'm sure the kid doesn't even care.

A new thing is happening, as well. Usually the movements are quick and pinpointed, just kicks or punches, but lately I swear Bucky's entire body sometimes presses against my stomach all at once. It makes my entire belly tight and a little bulgier. It's pretty funny. Next time it happens, I think I'll rub the spot to see if I can get a reaction."