The Robbins' Nest: Now with Pictures!

I know it may seem, at times, that I have lost interest in blogging due to the length of time between posts, but rest assured, I do plan on sticking with it, and creating the longest run-on sentences I possibly can. I suppose the reason for the lack of posts over the last couple of months is because... well... not much has happened.

Jun is still pregnant (thankfully), but there's not much more on that front to report. She is slowly but surely feeling better and her "evening" sickness is now only occurring once every 3 or 4 days. I'd say she's almost into the "feel good" period of being pregnant. Her appetite has returned lately and she's been able to eat three good meals a day. Actually, as of this morning she has gained a net total of 1 pound! (After having lost about 5 in the first trimester.) She's still frustrated that no one can tell that she's pregnant just by looking at her. I mean, I can tell, but I see her quite a bit more than most people do and I hear her complain that her pants are starting to fit snug. You can definitely feel a hard spot under her belly button, so it's growing, just not showing yet.

For reference, here's some pictures we've taken to show her progress:

(Note: All "week" calculations are actual baby age [weeks since conception]. Add approximately 2 weeks to convert to the "conventional" way of counting weeks [weeks since last period]. I will be using the actual baby age from here on out to avoid confusion.)

11 Weeks:

15 Weeks:

Not much of a change, right?

As of today, she's somewhere around 16/17 weeks, so she'll be due to take another progress picture in about 2 weeks.

Jun had another doctor's appointment last Thursday, but since they didn't give her a sonogram, there isn't much to say about it. Puff had a heartbeat of 149, which is still good and strong and Jun and Puff are still doing great. According to Dr. Internet, Puff is now around 5 inches long which is approximately the size of a large avocado. She has another doctor's appointment on November 10th which is going to be the appointment where we are able to determine gender (hopefully... if Puff isn't too shy). We're really looking forward to it.

In other baby-related news, we made our first nursery purchase. Jun noticed that Babies 'R' Us was having a sale on a set of baby furniture that we really liked so we went ahead and ordered it. It came in to the store last week and we brought it home to get it set up. I'd like to send out a thank you to our good friends Mandy and Jeromy who were nice enough to help us move the incredibly bulky boxes to our house from the store. A special thanks to Jeromy, who's strength and masculinity are beyond reproach (no homo), who risked muscle tears, spinal dislocations and/or tendon and ligament injury to help me lug the ridiculously heavy boxes inside. We wouldn't have been able to get it done without you guys (and your pickup).

Here's a couple of pictures of the assembly process and the finished products.

This is the box the crib came in. It was as heavy and unwieldy as it appears. In this picture I'm trying to wedge a box cutter into the joint to cut the box open without somehow opening my femoral artery instead.

All the crib parts laid out.

Assembly. I've got my tongue sticking out and my mouth held just the right way, which is just the way my dad taught me how to get work done. Jun, who refused to have her picture taken that evening, was dressed the way my dad taught me to dress to get work done... in teal sweatpants and a bright orange shirt. :)

...and completed!

Having some furniture in Puff's room makes it seem a little more real and exciting, but just sheer amount of stuff we have to buy is a little overwhelming. Looking forward to getting started though!

I know I promised a video from the last ultrasound Jun had, but the video the ultrasound tech gave to Jun at her last appointment was in some strange format and I've got to get around to converting it correctly and uploading it to YouTube. Hopefully I'll have it up in the future.

Until next time!

On Travels, Careers, Visits and Bumps

I realize that it has been awhile since my last blog post, but it's not without reason. Several changes have been occurring in my life in relation to my career. Life has been hectic and I haven't always been in the mood to blog after work.

A little of what's going on:

When I started this blog, I was between careers. I had lost my previous job and was actively pursuing another. My urgency increased when Jun found out she was pregnant. At the beginning of my job search I was looking only for jobs that were closely related to the one I previously had. After our big news, I started branching out, looking for ANY kind of job so I could support Jun and my future family.

A few days after my last blog post, I got a call saying I had received a job offer. I was extremely happy to be gainfully employed again and even happier to just get out of the house during the day. I think I may have been getting cabin fever during those extremely hot months of summer.

The main drawback to this new career is that I will have to travel more than I'm used to. I'm currently in my 3rd week of employment and I've already been to Toronto and I'm currently in New Orleans. I think the travel will die down eventually once I've "learned the ropes," but right now it's something that Jun and I have to deal with. I'm not crazy about leaving a pregnant wife at home, but we both realize that right now, a job is a job and we have to make the best of it. I'm lucky that Jun is by nature a very independent person and is smart enough to take care of herself, but I still have a guilty conscience like I abandoned her.

I've joked with Jun that this job was perfect for me four years ago when I wasn't married and not expecting a baby. Hopefully in my travels I'll get to go somewhere "interesting" and Jun will be able to work it out in her schedule to join me.

Enough about me...

Jun is still doing well and our little Puff is now 14 weeks old, this means that Jun has now finally crossed into the second trimester. The second trimester is supposedly the time period in which pregnant women feel infinitely better. They are not plagued by morning sickness constantly and they aren't big enough to be over-encumbered. So far that has been the case. Jun hasn't been as sick as before and is now only "sick" every now and then. She's starting to get an appetite back and is actually putting on a little weight. No baby-bump yet, but you can definitely feel it coming if you place your hand in the right place.

I think she's ready for a baby-belly because then when people view her they will immediately think, "Oh, she's pregnant! Look how cute she is! She's absolutely glowing!" instead of thinking to themselves, "Is she putting on weight?" Don't worry Jun, it will get there soon enough.

We haven't had a doctor's appointment since the last blog post, but she will have another one next Thursday. If the books we have are to be believed, Puff will have almost doubled in length since the last visit.

Last weekend, while I was not yet back from Toronto, my mom was nice enough to come and visit Jun and keep her company in my absence. They went shopping for baby-related items and hit all the usual stores including Babies 'R' Us and Buy Buy Baby and also went to a consignment sell. Although they didn't come away with anything, they did bring home a few ideas for what we should by in the coming months. Thank you mom, for hanging out with Jun while I was gone and taking care of her. I appreciated it and I know Jun appreciated you taking time to come down.

I know this post was woefully boring with no pictures, but hopefully we'll have some soon when Jun goes in for her next appointment. Hopefully a video as well!