What's in a name?

A few of you may have wondered sometime over the last 28 weeks or so the name we had picked out for our pending addition. Or, maybe you assumed that we intended on calling our little guy "Baby G" for the rest of his life :)

In any event, now that the cat is OFFICIALLY out of the bag, as in, on invitations to the Babygate party we are having, there is no reason to keep it a secret from my blog any longer.

From here on out, Baby "G" shall be known as Michael Patrick. Or Mike? Mikey? MP? MPG? Hmmm... so maybe we haven't worked out exactly what he will be called, but the first and middle name on the sweet baby's birth certificate will be Michael Patrick.

Husband (otherwise known as Josh) expressed his desire to name his first son Michael pretty much the moment we started dating, and we haven't wavered from that decision once in the last 7 years. Michael is my Father-in-laws name, and we could not think of a better person on earth to name our son after. Of course, that is where Patrick comes in. The middle name is intended to honor my best friend's father, who has always been like a father to me since his daughter dragged me to her house in the 8th grade. Two great men, one great name :)

I am so incredibly happy to know that our son will get to know such great people, and will be surrounded by love from both our family and friends. This kid is going to have more aunts and uncles than he can count!

And what exactly is Michael up to at this point in his development? Read on...

Week 29 of Pregnancy: Baby Fat

Your baby is almost 17 inches tall now (nearly as tall as he or she will be at birth), and close to three pounds (a weight that will likely more than double — and may even come close to tripling — by delivery time). His or her wrinkled skin is smoothing out as more fat is deposited under the skin surface. This fat, called white fat, is different from the earlier brown fat that your developing fetus accumulated. Brown fat is necessary for body temperature regulation while white fat (the fat you have, Mom) actually serves as an energy source.

Which explains why your energizer baby feels so…well…energized! Space in your baby's living quarters is now at a premium, so you'll be feeling jabs and pokes from elbows and knees mostly. But those kicks will be more vigorous than before (and also less erratic) because your baby is stronger and excitedly responding to all sorts of stimuli — movement, sounds, light, and that candy bar you ate half an hour ago.

Luckily, your baby doesn't have teeth yet that would need a brushing after that sugary treat, but it won't be long before you'll need to buy that first baby toothbrush! You'll recall that your baby's baby-teeth buds formed weeks ago, but now the buds for permanent teeth are forming in his or her gums as well.

And back to those kicks, who's counting? Actually, you should be. Now's a good time to start doing a kick count twice a day to make sure baby's doing just fine (plus, it's a good excuse for a rest). Lie down (preferably after a snack) and keep track of your baby's movements. You're looking for at least ten movements in an hour's time (don't forget to count movements of any kind — kicks, flutters, swishes, rolls, and so on).