The Swartz Family Circus-in 3D

Well it's the last week of my 2nd trimester and we went for our monthly check up.  All seems to be going well and baby's heart rate is still pumping at a beautiful 150-some beats!  We'll go back for another midwife appointment in 3 weeks and then after that it's every 2 weeks until our little girls debut.

At the beginning of this pregnancy we opted to be a part of a research study that follows healthy women throughout their pregnancy to try to track how mood, diet and health issues impact any potential complications in pregnancy.  In signing up for the study we've been given $50, a car seat, free parking (huzza!) and 2 extra peeks at the lil' lady via ultrasound.  Today was our second free ultrasound which came in fancy 3D! 

At first it was difficult for the technician to get a good look at her because this is what she looked like (not in 3D):

The round thing on the right is her head, her chest is in the middle, butt up in the air and yes, those are her legs extended all the way over her head.  Apparently we both were learning new things in prenatal yoga! :)  Luckily, lying on my back for so long made me dizzy and in turning myself over it made her get those legs out of the way so we could see this cute little face!

So. Much. Fun!  All 3D pics look a little elephant man-like so don't worry if she looks a little strange.  That's just the image :)  We're being told that she weighs 2 pounds 10 ounces which is above the 95th percentile, proving that I just may have that 11 pound baby I had joked about.

Since little girl can hear better and better these days, we've been reading to her at night.  We started off with Goodnight Moon and Shel Silverstein, but these days she longs to hear Steve read her Walt Whitman.  "No nursery rhymes for me mom, please send my Captain O Captain!" 

She'll be her usual active self until Steve breaks out Leaves of Grass and then she becomes still throughout the entire poem (in case it's been a while, his poems are several pages in length) and then starts moving again once he's finished reading.  I talk at length with my regular clients all day, but she clearly reacts to hearing her dad and it's super sweet.

I wonder if "YAWP" will be one of her first words :D