We're Moving

Well, not really. . . .

We are in the process of moving all your favorite Smong stories over to our newest blog, http://www.thesmongs.com. Think of it as the Smongs 2.0!!

39 weeks, 4 days and counting ...

Good news and bad news this week ...

Good news: Mommy doesn't have high blood pressure (or pre-ecclampsia) and Cletus is still developing quite nicely in utero. The baby's heartbeat is strong, he displays no signs of distress and his level of movement is quite high. Mommy has been tested for every issue under the sun and the doctors are quite confident that Mommy is not in labor and there is no need to speed up our previously scheduled date of induction (Tues, Sept 2).

Bad news: (and I repeat ...) the doctors are quite confident that Mommy is not in labor and there is no need to speed our previously scheduled date of induction (Tues, Sept 2). 39 weeks, 4 days and counting ... we've been kicked out of the hospital twice this week and it's currently 101 degrees in the shade here in Santa Clara. The 39th week is not for the faint of heart. Is this baby ever coming out???

Mommy has been tracking her blood pressure readings at home. On Wednesday night the home montitor indicated that Mommy's BP's were in the high 150's and 90's from 7pm to 3am. At 3am, Mommy called the doctor on call who suggested that she go into the hospital. When we got to the hosptial, Mommy's BP's were well below the normal range, tests for pre-cclampsia were negative so she was released to recoup at home. Instructions at that point were to lay down on her side for 6+ daytime hours a day. (gag).

On Friday ... Mommy's BP's skyrocked again and the doctor again sent Mommy back into the hospital for another "check". Similar to Wed, as soon as Mommy got hooked up to a BP machine, her readings showed up well within the normal range and doctor started to wonder. Either I am one of the few rare people who is more relaxed in a hospital than at home or there is something wrong with my home BP machine. Turns out ... Mommy arm is so fat that the BP arm cuff on her home machine is too tight and gives off false high readings. Nice. Now not only do I have cankle to obsess about, but my arms are now deemed too fat for a normal BP cuff. Dang ...

Suffice it say, everyone at the hospital was super nice, the doctors and nurses were very happy to see that Mommy's BP's are normal and there were no signs of distress to either her or the baby. This is good news ... yes. Mommy is happy that baby is doing well, but she sure wishes that her water would just go and ahead and break.

BTW, while Mommy was hoping to deliver early, she's kinda glad that the doctor on call this past Wed will not be one to deliver Cleet. After reciting her BP readings to the doctor over the phone the doctor said, "so I understand that your readings are high but why are you awake and checking your weight at 3am in the morning?" ... Nice, 7 years of college, 3 years of residency and the guy thinks that when I say my readings are "155 over 90" that I'm talking about my weight to height ratio not my blood pressure ...

Happy Birthday Mom (oops I mean Emma)

The Baby's Heartbeat at Week 38

Tomorrow is our Week 39 pre-natal check-up so this means that Mommy is a week late in posting this picture of Cletus' last NST results but here it is anyhow.

The top line graph depicts the baby's heartbeat and shows that he has good "range" and is progressing quite nicely in utero. The NST tech makes Mommy Smong drink ice cold water and eat a serving of carbs before the test to "wake" the baby up. Baby was certainly awake during this test.

The middle black line (really more of a broken line) depicts the baby's level of movement (kicks, pushes, yawns, etc) during the test. As you can see from blocks that are so close together that they form a line, the baby was suuuuuper active during the test. We usually see a few black blocks scattered across the page (nothing that really forms a long line) ... last Tuesday, Cleet moved pretty much alllll day long ... and certainly all throughout this test. Dr. Clawson kinda did some stuff to "agitate" Mommy's cervix so this could be why the baby was awake.

The bottom line graph shows the level of contractions (or lack there of) that Mommy's uterus is going through. No visible contractions as of yet ... sigh ... on to week 39.

Happy Early Anniversary Rob

Since there's a good chance that I'll go into labor early and will miss putting together an anniversary celebration for Rob, my best friend and the loooove of my life, I've been racking my brain trying to come up with a good anniversary gift. While I think that my hubby would smile and be ever-so emotionally touched if I wrote him a sappy poem, I knoooow that he'd love this gift even better. At 37 weeks pregnant I'm not venturing too far away from home, so the gift is more of an I-O-U gift certificate for when we get a post pregnancy date night and can head down to Marini's candy shop in Santa Cruz. Happy Anniversary honey ... I love you !!!

Yeah I'm still crazy ...

The Smong blog appears to have to turned into a baby centric "all about Cleet the Feet" kind of page but alas ... never fear ... the really good posts are back : )




Here is a link to my latest find : ) The Bacon Alarm Clock.

Place a piece of frozen bacon on the metal tray that fits inside of the piggy's head. Set the clock to go off the next morning and WHAH-LA ... as the sun comes up, you will be gently greeted by the lovely fragrance of cooked bacon. I've never eaten bacon in my bedroom but I have no doubt that Uncle Rob and I would be literally arm wrestling over the tasty strip that the alarm clock professes to cook. In the words of the annoyingly perky, Rachel Ray ... YUM-O

It's Week 36

And Cletus has started to give Mommy Smong signals indicating that he's getting ready for the big day ...

Cleet is faced head down and has "dropped" lower into mommy's pelvis. He is currently 5lbs-8oz and in the 40% percentile for size (another great rating for a baby being born to a diabetic Mommy). Cletus is suuuuper active at night, 11pm is his witching hour, and he responds by wiggling his butt against Mommy's belly when he hears Daddy read him a book or tell him a story. Miffy the Bunny and Dr. Seuss novelas are his all-time-favs.

As you can see from this picture. Cleet's mullet is growing strong. Beth our ultrasound tech showed us how his inch-long hair floats in his amniotic fluid when she pushes on Mommy's belly ... so rad. Cleet's head is the blob on the right side of the pic. Cleet the Feet ... can't wait to meet ya !!!

Yeah, I think we'll let Cletus' first real meal take place at Grandma's ...

Found this pic on the web ... rice rice baby

34 weeks and still going strong ...

Dr. Clawson is happy to report that we are a mere 2 weeks away from yet another big milestone. Mommy's glucose levels and weight gain are good ... she has gained only 13lbs so far. I, baby Cletus, weigh just under 5lbs and have hair about an inch long in the back !!! Mommy could see my hair flow in the amniotic fluid as I twirled around on my last ultrasound. Aside from a little elevated blood pressure and some swelling in her hands and feet all seems to be well for Mom.

As mommy/baby duo, we get a lot more sleep ... naps seem to be better than night-time sleep as mom tends to get insomnia ... and I move around alot at night. 11pm -midnight seems to be my witching hour ... wonder if I'm gonna be a nightowl when I pop : )

My nursery is built and Mom is relaxing on the couch. Can't wait to see you alll soon !!!

Love,
Cletus your fetus

Hmmm ...

2008 marks the second year that I am working at the City of Sunnyvale's Summer Express Day Camp. As I'm presently 7 months pregnant, I decided not to teach full time and opted to work in the office ... greeting parents, handing out ice packs and bandaging up skinned knees.

As we are now week 3 into camp and I've had a lot of time to watch parents interact with their kids, I can't help but wonder "what kind of parent will I be?"

Will I be the hard core mom who says to her son ... "I understand that it hurt when the basketball bonked you in the head and I know that you have blood on your shorts from when you fell and scraped your knee but you HAVE to stay at school until I come and pick you up at the end of the day. The band-aid is all you need ... you will walk again - without a limp, one of these days ..."

Or ... will I be the over protective mom who, in the process of pretty much dragging her son to his first class, stops smack dab in the middle of the courtyard full of kids ... pulls up her son's shirt ... tells him to hold it ... while she re-ties the neat little bow on drawstring of his pants and then proceeds to tuck his shirt back into his recently adjusted pants/shirt/drawstring dealybobby ...

I am personally hoping that there is some kind of happy medium between the two types of moms but I have my suspicions that Cletus is still gonna seek counseling as soon as he's of age : )

Three cheers to impending Mommyhood ... lookout world here I come !!!

3D Ultrasound - 30.5 Weeks

You know you're 7 months pregnant when ...

• when your calves, ankles and feet swell to form one big "cankle"
• when your "inn-ie" becomes and "out-ie" and the secret birthmark that was hiding inside the cave of your belly button appears on the outside of your belly
• when your favorite pair of rubber slippahs become just about the only pair shoes that you can wear comfortably
• when you can no longer remember a night when you didn't have to get up to pee at least 4 times
• and finally ... when a task that requires you to alphabetize a stack of name cards nearly brings you to tears because you can no longer remember if the letter O comes before the letter P or vice versa

Rob was wrong ...

Daddy Smong surmised that it's a good thing that we are having a little boy, because if we had a girl ... he thinks that Mommy Smong would steal all of her Hello Kitty toys and lunch containers ... and the poor little baby would have nothing to use or play with.

Sigh ... I think he has underestimated me ...


I'm planning on stealing Cletus' lunch containers and toys too !!!

Check out the cool stackable snackie-lunch container that my friend Marissa gave **US** as a gift : )

I loooooove snacks !!! I am sooooo all about putting together small quantities of little things to form a meal. Tapas ROCK !!! I looove this packing system : ) I can't wait to fill it ... Mahalo Marissa !!!

P.S. The next time you are in San Diego, check out our favorite tapas bar - Cafe Sevilla

And they're off ...

The crib is here ... the rocker/glider is due to arrive any day now ... and the Smongs have FINALLY decided to put down roots and set up the nursery in their apartment here in Santa Clara. Cletus will NOT have to sleep in a cardboard box. Yippee !!!

As most of you already know the Smongs have been knee deep in negotiations to buy what would have been their first home. Long story short ... the condo was a short sale and subject to not only the seller's but the both of their lien holders' bank approval. Our real estate agent once quoted us a 4-8 week time line to close on short sale aka "soon to go into foreclosure" type properties but we frankly didn't believe him. Two months into the process ... (and 1 month past our own drop dead date for building the nursery) we realize the errors of our ways.

While everyone tells us that the home would be ours if we just waited a liiiiiittle bit longer ... the days have drawn into weeks ... the weeks have drawn into months ... and Mrs. Smong is going hormonally crazy and antsy that her baby's stuff is sitting in the corner collecting dust. Since no one, especially Uncle Rob, wants to be around a super nasty-antsy pregnant woman ... we have postponed the home buying process and submerged ourselves knee deep into Project-Build-Me-A-Friggin-Nursery-2008.

Mrs. Smong is happy ... (and a little sad that her cute little condo on Winepol Loop will need to find a new family to love him) but we know what our priorities are. Bye bye little condo. We love your Hello Kitty pink walls and attached 2 car garage but alas ... you were not meant to be. Stay tuned for nursery pictures soon !!!

Cletus at week 29

It's week 29 and Cletus' school pictures are back to giving off that alien from X-Files vibe again. This picture is a head shot of Cletus' face and in particular, the lens of his right eye. Beth, our ultrasound tech, seemed really happy that she was able to capture a shot like this so I guess I should be glad that she got it for the doctor's files, but ... part of me had to admit that I'm a little creeped out thinking that my baby looks so alien-esque. Picture #2 is better ...

In this picture you are shown a side profile of the baby's head, jaw bones and teeth. I am fairly certain that the baby won't be born with teeth that have already popped out of his gums but apparently they are there.

Here's an interesting fact that we don't have in picture form ... Cletus has hair. Beth was able to point out on her screen, the area of Cletus' head where there were little spikey things protruding out from the back of the head. I had no idea that you could see things as fine as hair, via an ultrasound picture so this was a good meeting for us. Daddy was present for this ultra sound and it was his first time hearing the baby's heart beat.

We are progressing nicely and the baby is right on target for his height/weight class. The baby is in the 46th percentile this week (it's a drop in metrics compared to where he was at during the last ultrasound but it's a still a good height/weight for a baby being born to a diabetic Mommy. The doctors don't want the baby to be too big when he's ready to pop.)

Stay tuned for more info in 3 weeks.

XOXOXO,
Cletus Your Fetus

Best Week Ever

It's week 27 and Daddy finally got to feel Cletus kick!! Baby Smong was super active this morning and his legs made really good contact with Mommy's belly. Daddy felt the baby kick 3 times ...

What a a great day!!!

Story of the day ...

I wore my backpack as Rob and I walked into Stanford today. Noting how nice it was to be hands-free, without a purse, I said to Rob ...

"I think I might want to get a second diaper bag that is in back-pack form. On days when I don't want to haul around the stroller, I can strap on the back pack and not have to worry about carrying or pushing anything."

Feeling quite proud of my ingenuity, I look over to Rob only to have him say with a smirk

"so if you don't wanna carry anything ... how is the baby gonna get around?"

yeah ... that's sooooo not my problem ...

Cletus has hit his 6 month milestone

Cletus ... aka Baby Boy Smith weighs in at 1 pound, 12 ounces and is approximately 13.5 inches long. Cletus is presently in the 62% percentile for his height/weight class which is good, as Mommy has diabetes and the doctors really don't want him to get too big before his big day arrives.

The baby's 6 month ultrasound pictures are a little grainy however, the ultrasound tech and Dr. Clawson were pleased with his growth progress and what they saw during the ultrasound session. Mommy Smong has been advised that she carries very low and that Cletus is already positioned head down. At this stage, Cletus still has a fond attachment for Mommy's bladder and likes to sit right on top of it at all times.

As the ultrasound tech was viewing Cleet in Mommy's belly, we got to see him climb the walls of Mommy's uterus, using only his feet. Mommy and Aunty Diane's sides of the family all have super human strength in their toes. I wonder if this means that Cletus will fall in our footsteps? Only time will tell ... 3 more months to go !!!!

Why I love my husband ...

Rob is a loyal fan ... tried and true.

Around 3:30am I got up to make our unborn baby-boy Cletus a midnight snack ... my belly was growling and somehow I sensed that my glucose levels were low. Suffice it to say the house was pretty cold (Californians don't turn their heaters on in the middle of May) so my footsies got super cold as I tooled around the kitchen making my snack. When I finally got back to bed my feet felt like ice and I had no choice but to use Rob's body warmth as my toe-jam heater. Knowing that Rob has a "thing" about feet ... I decided to own up to my sneak attack when he awoke this morning. Our conversation when something like this:

Chrissi (in a cheerful tone): "Oh hey honey, when you take a shower ... you might want to scrub your left leg a litttttle extra good this morning ... giggling under her breath"

Rob (questioning my logic): "Whyyyyy do I have to scrub extra hard this morning??"

Chrissi (still cheerful): "Ohhh well ... do you happen to remember me getting up to have a snack last night? Well ... it took a while for me to make the snack and my feet got super cold from the kitchen linoleum and when I got back to bed ... welllllll I kinda had to use your leg as a space heater to warm up my feet. Thanks for the help !!!!"

Rob (still groggy, some what pissy): "So you made me your ton-ton"

Chrissi: "ton-ton?? what's a ton-ton?"

Rob: "a ton-ton ... you know from the Empire Strikes Back ... its the wooly thing that Han Solo and Luke used to keep Luke warm when they got caught out in the snow drift"

Chrissi: "Ohh ok ... so a ton-ton is that big woolly mammoth-elephant like thing"

Rob: "Nooooo. A ton-ton is a cross between a camel and kangaroo. Han cut it open and shoved Luke inside to keep him warm."

Chrissi (slightly grossed out): "So they killed the ton-ton????? So Luke came out of the ton-ton all bloody???? He got shoved INSIDE to get warm (and bloody) ... while Han stayed OUTSIDE and got all cold?????"

Rob (huffy and letting out a BIG ole sigh): "Noooooo ... ghod !!! They don't show him coming out all bloody. The ton-ton was already dead. Han-Solo HAD to cut open the ton-ton open and shove Luke inside to keep him warm. He had just got done meeting the ice monster!!!

Yeah ... it was at this point, when Rob was looking at me all accusatory and carrying a tone of "god woman don't you know anything about ton-tons?" that I bust out laughing and totally lost it. Welcome to my world. (And to think ... most of you out there are of the opinion that it's Rob that has to put up with soooo much in this relationship ...)

Update from Cletus the Fetus - Week 24

BabyCenter is Mommy's favorite baby information website. The baby books that everyone recommends are helpful but Mommy likes to use this site to explain all of the crazy changes that are happening to me and her body. She has got the dark line on her belly ... her fingernails are growing crazy fast and crazy long ... her feet have started to swell ... etc. etc.

Long story short the BabyCenter site is good because it gives a weekly pictorial view of what my body size is like. When I started out I was the size of black-eyed-pea. At week 12, I was the size of a lime. At week 16, I was the size of an avocado. And now, at week 24 ... I am the size of Mommy's favorite food !!! Apparently they sell this Halloween costume at K-Marts in the midwest. Mommy tried to buy it for me online but she couldn't find it ... bummer !!!!!

I wonder if one of my wonderful grandmas will make it for me. (Looks kinda complicated but I know the both of my grams have sewing talents !!!) Maybe Aunty Carolyn will knit one for me and one for Matteo. Ohhh that would be so awesome !!

Daddy and his son ...

As Daddy Smong was talking to the baby (aka "my belly") last night, he proceeded to rattle off a few father and son activities that he would like to do with Cletus. The baby was quite active (he's awake at night and sleeps during the day -- gag) ... so Rob asked him what sports he would like to play first.

Do you want to play soccer Cletus?? -- no response from baby
What about hockey?? -- again no response
Basketball?? Baseball?? Football?? Bowling?? Cricket?? -- silence, complete lack of movement

Well. what about Darts?? -- kick thump kick !!! Instant movement as soon as the word "darts" was said.

Sigh ... something tells me this is not going to be an easy ride ...

Cletus has an appetite ... that's fo sho

During her first trimester, Mommy's diet centered primarily around pale-beige or pastel colored foods. Saltine crackers, instant oatmeal, yogurt, eggs, and english muffins made her top 10 ten list for weeks. Plain entrees (gasp -- lots of sandwiches) dosed out in small quantities, were her friend.

Now that we are knee deep into our second trimester, Mommy Smong is back to being her normal "spicy-exotic-food-lovin" self. Last week we had Korean food (spicy kim chee-tofu soup and BBQ rib eye) four times in 3 days. Today we are all about Indian samosas and Mexican chile rellenos.

I think Cletus will have his Mommy's cuisine taste buds ... but only time will tell ...

Here is my new favorite food blog: The Tasty Island
Here is a link to the restaurant that my chefy friend Terrina is interning at Chez TJ

Happy Saturday ...

"Proud to be an American"

September 1st is Labor Day ... it's also 2 days away from Cletus' due date.

As I was making notes in my calendar this morning, I chuckled to myself ... "Gee wouldn't it be funny if I went into labor on Labor Day?? It would be kinda fun if the baby was born on a national holiday ... Dad was born on Flag day ... wouldn't it be so fun ... blah blah blah."

Rob chimed in to say that he highly doubts that I will be "chuckling" and/or reveling in the fact that I will be laboring on a national holiday ... but somehow I think it would be funny if I went into labor on a day when the whole country takes a break and honors those who "labor".

--- Latest update on Cletus ---

Mommy Smong saw Dr. Clawson again this morning. The doctor confirmed that all is well and that she is happy to see that we have come this far (over halfway) into the pregnancy without any issues. Mommy asked Dr. Clawson how long the baby would continue his teddy bear grip like "hug" on her bladder and Dr. Clawson sadly advised that it's a possibility that the two will remain friends for the duration of the pregnancy. Sigh ... at least I'm no longer nauseous and my appetite is back : )

Latest update on Cletus our Fetus

Aloha everyone ... here is a side profile view of Cleet the Feet at 5 months. As you can hopefully see from the picture, our little one has taken to sucking his thumb ... and his fist : )

The picture is a bit grainy but if you look closely you can see his nose (the pointy thing on the right) and the fist that he is actively chomping on.

At this stage, Cletus is very active, healthy and on target for his height and weight class. Baby Smong comes in at just under 13 ounces, 3 ounces shy of a pound love : )

Today's ultrasound tech confirmed what Mommy Smong has suspected all along ... Cletus is all boy : )

Cleet's little wee-wee and his scrotal sac were completely visable during the ultrasound so we are confident that we'll be shopping for baby boy blue, not Hello Kitty pink.

Hope you enjoy the pics ... more to come in 1 month : )

Cletus is on the move !!!

Mommy Smong started to feel Cleet's little feet move on Friday of this past week. She thinks that she might have felt him earlier in the month but who knows ... that could have been gas : ) As Aunty Jenni has taken to telling her friends ... "Chrissi is sooooo gassy lately??" Thanks for sharing the news with your friends Jen ... (yes it's normal ... yes they stink ... no it's not stopping anytime soon : )

Anyhow, back to Cleet's little feet ... Mommy Smong is fairly certain that the pushy "waves" that she's been feeling since Friday are all Cletus. If you make a fist and rub your knuckles against the lower part of your belly (under the belly button) that's what Cletus' dance moves feel like.

Cletus is pretty much dormant during the day ... lucky Daddy won himself a daytime napper and a night-time attention hog. Daddy's home !!! Pay attention to me ... pay attention to me !!! Hee hee ... lucky Daddy : )

Oops ... I must correct myself. The baby just moved (and it's only 10:23 am). I wonder if the baby can telepathically understand the words I'm thinking and typing. Perhaps Daddy will get super lucky and Baby Smong will be an attention hog all day long. Hmmm ... I wonder who he gets that from : )

Happy Monday ... Love, Mommy

How Mommy Smong is feeling these days ...

1) Imagine that this is my baby.

2) Now imagine that he is sitting literally on top of my bladder ... sigh

It's always nice when you can hang out with friends ... don't you just love the little guy in the middle : )

Thump, thump, thump ...

I heard the baby's heartbeat via our doctor's tummy amplifier this morning. Doctor Clawson says that Cletus' heartbeat is strong and right on target for where it needs to be at this stage. Little Cleet is 4 months, and 1 week old. He is moving around a lot and the doctor says that it could be any day now when I'll feel his little arms and legs making contact with my belly. My friend Diane has advised to be on the look out for faint little kicks that feel like a single piece of popcorn popping in your belly. Diane is expecting her own little munchkin about a month before Cletus is born. Aunty Sandy is expecting a sibling for two year old Brandon in a few months as well. It's going to be so nice for Cletus to be born with an instant circle of friends.

We can expect our next ultrasound in 2-3 weeks. Hopefully by this time Cletus' will reveal if **he** is truly a little "he-Smith" or a little "she-Smith" : )

Happy Easter, circa 1978

Random thoughts ...

I worry when ... I'm at an intersection and I see a cop pull up behind me.
I stop worrying when ... I look in the rear-view mirror and see the cop picking his nose.

Happy Easter Everyone !!!

Another update from "Cletus the Fetus"

Aloha family and friends

It's Cleet the Feet and I'm here to give you my 4 month review. I am approximately 4 1/2 inches long and 3 1/2 ounces in weight. While I'm really only the size of a avocado, Mommy thinks I'm much bigger because her pre-pregnancy pants no longer fit. According to the docs, in the next three weeks, I will be going through a tremendous growth spurt, doubling my weight and adding inches in length. My lower limbs are developing, my eyes have moved toward the front of my head, and my heart is now pumping 25 quarts of love each day. My big milestone of the week is that I'm growing toenails!

Mommy's appetite is strong and I remind her to eat every few hours or so. My favorite foods seem to be lemon yogurt, spinach dip and toasted english muffins ... mmmm mmmm good.

All is good in the hood for now. Stay tuned.

Love,
Cletus the Fetus

Bella Band

Are you pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant? Well if you are ... I highly recommend (if not insist) that you go out and buy a Bella Band.

Don't wait for your second trimester to start. Don't wait for a sale.
Heaven forbid don't be like me and envision sewing multiple bands in various shades of black, khaki and blue so that they will match your pants. Go buy one. Put it in your junk drawer and shut the door. Its day will come ... trust me.

I am not sure why I waited. I think I envisioned having so much time to sew, nest and surf for one online that I just kept passing them up in the stores. I am at the point in my pregnancy where I am in denial about my size and resentful that my regular pants are too tight. Stuff just doesn't fit me right now. My materinty pants are too big and my regular pants are too tight. My waist changes daily !!!

On Thursday, (my birthday no less) I had to wear a summer weight, light as air, thin as a t-shirt type skirt to dinner because none of my real clothes fit !! The outdoor temperature was probably between 45-50 degrees that night. Since I have become obsessively vain and hypersensitive about the shape of my body, I didn't feel like throwing a big jacket over a cute skirt so I teamed the skirt with a thin black cardigan that only buttons on the top (the last 4-5 buttons make the sweater pop open when I sit). Suffice it say, while I was frigid as an ice block, I looked somewhat cute and "slim" as my outfit was all blank and everyone says that black makes you look thin : ) Don't tell Rob, but I had goosebumps on my belly, boobs and arms ... my toes felt like they would fall off ... yeah I had to wear sandals to match the skirt.

BTW, I know when Rob reads this post he's really gonna flip out because he hates the fact that I am in denial about my body changes and my maternity pants. He is not a girl tho ... he does not look like a cow who is carrying 50lbs extra just by simply putting on a maternity outfit. Maternity blouses make me look like I'm sooooo much bigger than I really am. For some reason, I am growing bigger in places that are slightly abnormal. The area under my boobs have expanded at the same rate as my lower waist ... I look like a can of soda. Maternity clothes make me look 50 times more pregnant than I really am.

I need a bella band. I know. I'm going out to buy 2 or 3 as soon as the stores open today. Crisis averted (for now).

-Mommy Smong

P.S. Here's a happy note ... my boobie growth has finally evened out. When my boobs first started to take on weight, the right boob seemed to be growing at a faster rate than the left. (I am not dreaming this, Rob confirmed). Not sure why I seem to grow at an uneven rate but I'm even now so it's all good.

- Always nice to end a post on a happy note : ) Have a good weekend.

Best holiday ever !!!

Easter is coming !!! Easter is coming !!!












Yippee !!!












Aren't I just so cute ...

I'm sooooooo happy !!!!!

Last night ... for the first time in MONTHS, I slept pretty much the whole night through. I kinda vaguely remember getting up to pee but I must have fallen asleep right after I got back into bed because the next thing I remember was hearing the sound of Rob's alarm. Yippee !!!!!!!!! Sleep is wonderful : ) I know I can't expect to get much sleep once Cletus arrives but ever since the start of my pregnancy, I've been sleeping in 3-4 hours spurts. I get up to go to the bathroom or to eat a snack and then I lay in bed for hours tossing and turning.

The second trimester of my pregnancy has been soooo good : )

My appetite has returned, my nausea is pretty much gone (knock on wood), and I only get heartburn when I eat crazy foods or take my fiber pills without enough water. If my sleep pattern stays on track I think I'll start feeling right as rain in no time.

Does anyone want to run a marathon with me? I'm feeling so good right now, I think I'll sign up for two : ) Katie Holmes ... eat my dust.

Me again ... here I am at 13 weeks

This is a picture of me and my big ole head full of brains. This pic is a side view of my head. It's kinda hard to tell but my jaw is on the lower left, near my thumb.

Which thumb you ask??

The one I'm sucking on : )

Yup, just like my mom, I am a total thumb sucker. Some day down the line, Dad is going to have to cover my thumb with cayenne pepper, lemon flavored nail polish or some kind of duct tape.

I wonder how you really break kids from a thumb sucking habit???

In this picture you get a really good view of what my side profile looks like. Isn't my nose just sooo cute !!! I have my mommy's nose, it's flat and wide.

In this pic, I'm practicing my dance steps by doing the running man. If you look closely, you can see an outline of my ribs and spine. Nurse Beth says that it's a good sign that I move around and am so active at this stage. She and Doctor Clawson were pleased with what they saw during this ultrasound.

Until we meet again ...

--Cleet The Feet

And the saga continues ...

More friendly bits regarding how different my hubby Rob and I are ...

Today as we sat in our doctor's lounge, waiting to take yet another ultrasound, Rob and I find ourselves looking around the room. Since he's quiet, I know he is being just as snoopy as I am, so I ask "what are you looking at?"

Rob's reply ... "ohh nothing I guess. When I'm in a new room, I like to take a general look around ... check out scenery ... where the emergency exit is ... imagine what is behind door "X" ... sneak a peek to see what the forms on the table are for. Nothing special ... what are you looking at?"

Chrissi's dumbfounded reply ... "What am I looking at? Dude screw the emergency exit, didn't you just see the lady that walked past us? She was wearing a knee length black dress and ankle length black socks. The dress was something a Marketing chicky would wear to a board meeting and the BLACK SOCKS ... well geez ... why is she wearing socks? The socks were slouchy and faded. They didn't match her dress or her overall look. Why would anyone wear socks with a dress?? Where did the socks come from? Do they go under some kind of boots? Where are the boots? I wonder if the ultrasound lady gave her the socks to wear during the procedure? I have my own socks. I DO NOT want to wear used socks during any procedure. Ghod I hope she comes out wearing boots."

Back to Rob ... "ohhh did a lady just walk out of the room??"

My Uncle is Famous !!!

Attention fellow foodie friends and fans ... my Uncle Kirby made the front page of the Honolulu Advertiser's Dining Out Section. Here is a link to the full article. Congratulations Uncle Kirby !!!

It's a Chicken Viking Hat .... soooo cute

An update on "Cleet the Feet"

It's week 13 and we're diving head first into our second trimester. We have our fingers crossed that Mommy's nausea and fatigue will come to an end. Everyone says that the second trimester is a breeze so we have high hopes.

Sidenote, Chrissi received a clean bill of health from her doctor and found that even though she is a twin, the chances of her actually having twins of her own is really only 1 in 250. Cletus has had 3 ultrasounds and the doctors seem to find only 1 sac so we are confident that Cleet will not have a shadow.

Rather odd tidbits you may find interesting.

• Cletus has started to form fingerprints
• He is now in the same weight class as a medium sized shrimp, and
• While he is still looking quite alien-like, his head is really only 1/3 the size of his body
• Cleet moved around alot during his last ultrasound. At times it appeared that he was standing on his head.
  
• Mom predicts that she has a future Cirque du Soleil artist on her hands.

** We still don't have confirmation on the baby's sex but Aunty Ali has her doubts about the "leg" depicted in the ultrasound pic below. If you ask Mommy to guess ... she still thinks that Cleet is all-boy.

Cletus at 12 weeks

I'm not sure why ...

But Cletus my fetus sucks the heat right out of my core. I am sooooo cold. Always cold ...

I wear double layers of shirts under my sweaters in attempt to keep my belly warm. I walk around the house in two pairs of socks and I keep a lap blanket on top of me whenever I'm sitting down. My favorite jacket is a vest that keeps my belly warm but gives my arms room to breathe. It's so odd but before I got pregnant my feet use to serve as magic space heaters for Rob's frigid ice blocks and I ran around town in slippers 365 days out of the year.

Sorry for the short post but I have to go put on more clothes. I just felt my belly and it's cold to the touch !!!!

Halloween 2008

In effort to pay homage to his parents respective first loves ... enclosed you will find a picture of Cletus's first Halloween costume. In a galaxy far far away, Kitty chose her signature color to redecorate the Death Star.

Hello my name is Cletus the Fetus and I am not a twin

I am 10 weeks old and I am due on September 3rd. I weight just a fraction of an ounce and I am an inch long, about the size of a grape. My heart has recently divided into 4 chambers of love and my teeth are starting to grow. I have arm buds, leg buds and a big ole' alien-like head.
My doctor says that I am "cute and photogenic"
(Mommy loves this doctor).

Side note, apparently up until this week I had a tail !!!!
I don't think it had any fur or wagged when I got all happy but Mommy thinks it's cute. My external boy/girl parts aren't visible via ultrasound so my name may change from Cletus to Cleopatra in the near future. I will take another ultrasound in 4 weeks (let's hope I show my "stuff" then). My eyes are fully formed, but my eyelids are fused shut and won't open for another 4 months.

My Mommy is feeling good for the most part. I give her "morning" sickness in the early afternoon and evening. Car rides, stuffy rooms, and fast moving shows on TV (**Sharks games**) make her feel nauseous but crackers seem to help settle her upset tummy. Daddy has broken out his video game stash and relishes the nights when Mommy and I go to sleep right after dinner.

Stay tuned for my next update.

Love, Cleet The Feet