Baby Update

I'm sure I'm not the first to say that the world of pregnancy changes 10-fold when you can finally feel that little baby moving around. Over the past 7 weeks (yes, that's right, since week 16) I've gone from a basketcase of worries to a much more well-balanced pregnant momma all thanks to those movements. You see, after I was done being sick, and up until I could feel him moving around there were days I wondered if everything truely was alright in there. Alas, not any longer. We have a very active (and according to the ultrasound tech, "long legged") little boy on our hands who confirms to me each day that he's doing just fine.

Jonathan and I had a wonderful day off for MLK day and spent it up in Omaha registering at Babies-R-Us. If you've ever created a wedding registry, you know what a long process this can be... multiply that by like 10. How in the world do I know what this baby is going to need? They give you a checklist but half of the things on there I'm almost certain are not necesseties but rather expensive things the store would like you to think you need. So, we made it out in under 4 hours and you can peruse our wishlist at your leisure here if you'd like.

We also registered at Wal-mart, a store whose prices don't make me choke nearly as frequently as those found at Babies-R-Us. It may surprise many of you that I would choose to register at Wal-Mart (a store with whom I have become quite distraught based on ethics... I could go on, but I digress) but unfortunately Target's regurn policy has become so stringent that I can't bring myself to register there and risk the inevitable "you can't exchange this, you don't have a receipt". While the walmart registry is rather slim due to their small in-store baby department, the prices are more affordable and their return policy is friendlier. You can check out that registry here

In response to the many of you who have asked me why Jonathan and I have chosen to use a midwife instead of a doctor, I am on the hunt for a good pre-written description of just what a midwife is. I could explain on my own, but I lack the ability to express fact in light of my own leaning opinion. I'll keep you posted on what I find.

My personal bread scandal

I eat whole wheat bread. Why? certainly not because I think it tastes better than smooth, chewy, sweet, soft white bread. No, I eat whole wheat bread because I know it's full of fiber, and complex carbohydrates, and reasonably devoid of excess sugar and fiber-less starch.

Bread, as we all know, is not cheap these days (well, it isn't where we're at anyway) Generally I go to our local "bakery outlet" and pick up 6-8 loaves of nothing-special whole wheat each month but alas, and to my chagrin, when I went to purchase it on Saturday I found that our outlet location had closed. To give you a rough idea of the savings we get here I can tell you that the cheapest loaf of whole wheat at our local wholesale grocer is about $3.25. That's your standard, small, square loaf. At the outlet the same loaf would cost about a dollar. That's right, one dollar. So, it's well worth the trip to the North side of town.

So, without an outlet to go to, what did I do? I was coerced, nay, forced to purchase a loaf from our local grocer to get by. Wanting to make the best choice for our health and our budget, I looked for a happy medium. I was delighted to find the loaf pictured below.

It was on sale none-the-less for a measly $2.56, a steal! The first words I noticed on the package (looking, of course, for what I wanted to see) were those famed two: "whole grain". Below that was honey something (which I wrongly assumed said wheat). As I grabbed a loaf to put it in my basket I realized my error. Not only was it "Honey White", but just above the words whole grain, in what I'll deem to be ultra-fine print, were the words "made with".

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? This is bona fide WHITE bread. I felt a little guilty as I dropped it into my cart, unable to sacrifice another dollar for the good stuff... well, the good-for-us stuff. But can you believe the audacity of manufacturers these days? The average consumer (one with relatively little experience reading and evaluating nutritional claims) likely wouldn't have noticed their blunder until they were half way through the loaf, if that!

Needless to say, I'm peeved. Not only at the fact that bread (and every other grocery item for that matter) has to be so dog gone expensive, but also that there are loose regulations for consumer labeling. So off I go tonight, to find another outlet, which I'm told is on the far East side of town, to find reasonably priced whole wheat bread. Let's hope for my sake I can find it, because I shop for bargains and, man, that white bread tastes good!

It's A...

BOY!!!

Coming in at just under a pound, Levi Michael Hnosko is growing very quickly! We were both just extatic to see his little squirming body on the screen yesterday afternoon. The ultrasound tech said he couldn't have hidden his gender from us even if we'd wanted him to (aparently we don't have a modest child on our hands, as you'll see in the under-side shot below). She went on to measure the ventricles of the heart, the kidneys, bladder, head, brain and stomach. It was such a blessing to watch her write "normal" next to each one of those on her chart. Needless to say, we have a healthy, strong baby boy growing inside me and we CAN'T WAIT to meet him (in about 20 weeks that is... please, no earlier.)

Forgive me for my ignorance regarding blog photo-posting. I'm afraid some of thse might bridge their borders, but you'll applaud me, at least, for putting them up so quickly. Enjoy!

The third one down there might be my favorite, such cute little feet! The last one is definitive proof we have a boy on our hands. It is a shot of him from underneath, legs wide open of course. We'll have to teach him one day that it's rather impolite to pose that way for a photo, but this time around we were rather hoping he would do a little showing off for our beneift.
That's all we have for now about our sweet little Levi. For the time being I'm qutie enjoying pregnancy (now that the pesky first trimester is over, praise the Lord) and we are both excited for what lies ahead. Keep us in your prayers, Levi has a LOT of growing to do... and I think that might mean I do also, but again, I'll keep you posted.
- Melissa

So close I can taste it!

After a WONDERFUL Christmas holiday with family and friends back in Seattle we are thrilled to say the day of our big ultrasound is very near! Next monday (the 12th) we'll find out whether we'll be collecting pink or blue. I'm 20 weeks along now (half way) and as you can see below, baby is definitely making things a little more evident. Sad to say, even my jacket doesn't fit quite right anymore.

So, We'll let everyone know what our little rascal will be once we find out Monday afternoon. Until then, HAPPY NEW YEAR!