Pregnancyweekly is one of the 17 websites that I've signed up with to send me little emails every week about what the baby looks like and can do and what I look like and can do. This one always has a paragraph about your "partner", but they don't really mean it. Here is this week's blurb...

Hope, I don't know how Megan is holding up, but many dads-to-be are nervous and insecure about your pregnancy, labor and delivery, and impending fatherhood. Give him some idea of what he can be doing while he's waiting.

Click here for this week's helpful list: Dad (or Partner) To-Be Checklist

BTW - Don't read the list, it will just make you sad at the low expectations that they must think people have of their "partners". I would like to think that 95% of the stuff on the list would happen anyway without handing over a list...

Auber is still rotating around in there and has had a really active 24 hours or so. I've been feeling actual kicks again instead of that barrel roll sensation that I'd been having for a week or so (mamajoan calls it plate tectonics, which is perfect). I'm guessing that she was facing inward and now she's turned so that the movements are directed outward. Last night there was something big and round up under my left boob. Megan and I poked at it for a while, but we weren't able to tell if it was a head or a butt. It is gone now. I think the kid might be laying sideways right now because there is nothing at the top and my belleh seems especially wide.

According to my various email messages and my reading, I guess the kid weighs about 3 1/2 pounds right now and is focusing more on plumping up rather than getting longer. Her eyes open and close and supposedly if I shine a flashlight on my belleh she can follow it. I know how much I dislike having flashlights on me when I'm in a nice dark place (long story), so that seems kind of rude. I guess her lungs are starting to do whatever it is to make them plump up and not stick together. This is especially important because the lungs are the fine line between the NICU and going home.

We went to Ikea yesterday (a 3 hour drive each way). We got a ton of stuff, including a dresser(read: changing table), bookshelf and computer desk for the baby's room (to match the crib sort-of) and 2 bookshelves to go upstairs so that the books that are currently in the room can be moved somewhere. Once those books are gone, there is nothing to stand in the way of painting!

( Pictures )

It was a great trip and we got a lot accomplished, but I really did myself in. When I got home last night my ankles were almost twice as wide as normal. There was no sign of where any ankle bones or ligaments were. It was all just skoosh. I drank a ton of water and tried to prop my feet up some. It is just so hard for me to sit and prop -- I always want to go do something. Anyway, by morning my left one looked somewhat like an ankle but the right one was still pretty icky. If the swelling doesn't go down by tomorrow am, I guess I'll have to call the doc and make sure everything is ok. Swelling is pretty typical for pregos, but can also be a sign of preeclampsia (which my mom had with me).

We FINALLY picked a crib. YAYAYAYAY! Hopefully the place we got it from (babycave.com -- not kidding) is real and will really mail it to us. We finally decided on this one because it converts to a toddler bed, day bed (as if...) and full size bed. Everything you need comes with the bed. You don't have to buy any additional conversion kits or anything. We almost bought it in cherry b/c all the other colors were sold out. Then we were going to buy natural when it came back in stock. Then we discovered honey this morning. babycave.com price matches just as an FYI for those of you who are still shopping. I believe the total damage was a tad over $300.

Thanks honey for ordering it! It should arrive in 21 days, which is around Feb 9th. I would love to have the room all ready for it when it arrives. FX!