28 Weeks and a Visit with Franklin & Martha

We have officially entered the final leg of this pregnancy journey by beginning the 3rd trimester this week! Baby Girl is kicking like crazy, and Kate is feeling all the reminders of a swelling uterus: side stitches, back pain. shortness of breath, etc.  But none of that is too bad (writes Paul) as this pregnancy keep sailing smoothly.

What to Expect tells us Baby Girl is up to 2 1/2 lbs and is 16 or so inches head to toe. She's blinking, coughing, and her lungs are developed enough to do some breathing.  We need those organs to keep maturing and she's got to pile on the fat if for no other reason than we (Paul) intend to keep house thermostat set to 61 degrees even after she arrives...Baby Girl will be hardy.

Franklin took these pictures in front of their lovely Christmas tree. It's meant to create the illusion that the NC Drydens have their own, but we don't.  With December here, we won't be home for a single weekend this month.  Who needs a tinder box shedding needles on your living room floor when you won't even be around to enjoy it? Ba-hum bug.

Finally, as we see from the picture, Paul's uteral envy has not yet subsided.  Though the competition was over a couple months ago, he doesn't quite know when to gather his things and get off the field of play.  There's just no beating the true mama's belly. 

Thanksgiving 2008

This was our third straight Thanksgiving at home, as Kate was on call and we both wanted some down time before the December travels pick up.  Deidra whipped us up the decadent sugar turkey (on the left), and we put our own turkey (a 6 pounder...a weight Baby Girl is striving for) in the crock pot.  

Time traveler note to Donabel for Thanksgivings past:  put the turkey in the slow cooker!  It's easy. It comes out moist!  You don't require the ladles full of gravy and tall glasses of water to wash down every bite.   

Virginia Drydens Come For a Visit

The NC Drydens had a very nice visit today from the VA Drydens on their way down see the SC Johnsons for Thanksgiving. Believe it or not, after 3 1/2 years of living on Frank Street, this is the first visit from the Dryden side of the family. Perhaps we were a bit anxious that our small house couldn't fit everyone comfortably, but we're talking about Drydens here!  Where ever they lay their heads is their home.  The kids flung themselves onto each cushioned surface and slept a solid 8, 9, 10 hours.  

Here we have a pile-on to Aunt Kate after plenty of belly rubs to greet Baby Girl, their cousin in waiting.

27 Week Video

We purchased a camera/video recorder for early-Christmas, in anticipation of much snapping away when Baby Girl gets here. This is one of the early shots from it. Subject: Pregnant Belly.

Grandma Barb in Town

Kate's mom is in town for a few days while Paul travels to Indianapolis on business. Baby Girl has grown quite a bit since we saw the McKnights several weeks ago, so Barb is greeted by the belly of swelling girth.


It's Barb's first time feeling Baby Girl kick, and we hear Ted is jealous he'll have to wait until Christmas before having that pleasure. Baby Girl has a little stage fright when Barb gets to town, but by the next morning she's kicking up a storm for her grandmother.


The two ladies will spend Friday shopping for Baby Girl and scheming about everything they want Paul to do to the nursery. He's finding that the hunny-do list swells in proportion to Kate's belly.

26 Weeks & a Proper Church Photo

Look at the Dryden Family getting all proper. We joined First Presbyterian Church a few weeks ago, and now we get all purtied up for the family photo after church. Kate is at 26 weeks and feeling great (except for the occassional pain in the side and ribs as her body makes room for the growing baby). Baby Girl is kicking up a storm in the evenings.

The books tell us she's nearly 14 inches long and could weigh up to 2 1/2 lbs! Her eyelids have opened, and her lungs are actually capable of taking in some air. From this point on, it's mostly about incubating and putting some fat on those bones. One trimester left before we meet this sweet child o' mine...

Pre-Natal Football (24 weeks in...)

What are the sounds, in utero, of UNC football handing Georgia Tech its lunch? I'm sure the stadium sounds had no meaning to her, but we'll still count it as Baby Girl's first college football game. (Her first LIVE college football game will have to be Auburn, of course...but we're saving that for a better season than the current one.)

Afterward, in Durham, Franklin snaps away and Paul distends his belly in yet another sign of uterus envy.

Here's what we're reading about Baby Girl's progress:

• She will grow rapidly this week, gaining about half a pound.
• Her brain and nervous system continue their rapid growth as they become more complex.
• She is making breathing movements, but cannot fully take in air at this point.