Growing and growing and growing

Hey everyone....
I figured I would leave a quick update on our little peanut. Right now I'm 22 weeks along, which means she is about 7 1/2 inches long and about 12 ounces. She is moving around a lot, especially at night...either because my movement during the day lulls her to sleep or because she is taking after her night-owl dad. She can also hear the outside world by now, so I have been sure to indoctrinate her to the joys of Motown the way a proper McCarthy should be raised. While I'm cooking, I'll get down to some Aretha or Stevie....I just know she enjoys it. Bruce has also been on the playlist, of course.

I've gotten a lot of help and advice from my two new-mom girl friends, Jessica and Kara. Jessica's peanut is about 10 months old, and Kara's is 4 months. They've been great about giving me the honest truth about what John and I are about to experience, while still enjoying watching me marinate in the total happiness I am in over this pregnancy. They have been great new-moms and I appreciate it so much. Kara told me about a moment she had in which she realized the amazing/terrifying physics of pregnancy and birth....I had one of those recently, but it was more a picture that just popped into my head while looking at my belly in the mirror. Here is that picture:

Appropriate name for the boat, coincidentally.

Not to be ignored, John has had his own dad-things to think about during the pregnancy. I can't always read his mind, but I do see a lot of head scratching when he looks at my belly. Importantly, he's kept his distance from the many many boxes of Girl Scout cookies that I've attacked in the last week, which may be more self-preservation than will-power. If I give birth to a 7-pound Thin Mint, I accept all of the blame.

It's a....

It's a girl!! John and I had a wonderful time today getting our 20-week ultrasound. We are very excited about our little girl, and cannot wait to meet her. Everything looked great, and it is clear that she is already very advanced. Her mouth was open, which I assume means she is already either talking (if she takes after me) or singing (taking after John). I think the idea of a daughter may scare John a bit more than a son, but as Brian pointed out today, she will have John wrapped around her little finger within minutes of her arrival.

I'll update everyone on anything else, once I get down off of Cloud 9.

Baby update

I'm 19 weeks along, and feeling fantastic. Up until recently, all of this baby business has been a very abstract thing to wrap my head around. But now, I'm starting to feel little kicks and movements of our little peanut. This has not only been amazing to feel, but also makes this whole transition that much more real. And, on Monday, we find out if I'm cooking up a little boy or little girl in my belly. I think that will give John and I an actual baby to picture in our heads (sort of), as we start to think of names and our life with a little girl or boy. We are so excited to find out, and know that you guys might be too. We'll be sure to post Monday or Tuesday.

And, not to be ignored, Winston appears clueless about it all. He does seem to want to cuddle in my lap more than ever, but I don't know if that is because he senses something different about me. He did extremely well when sweet Eleanora came over to watch the Super Bowl with us...he was curious about this 4-month old little girl at our house but kept his distance and his cool.

I figured that I would post a few baby pictures of John and I. Feel free to picture your own Campbell-mashup.

John (maybe about 18 months or so?) and Mary-Mitchell

Me on my first birthday with Mom and Dad