The Mothners – Page 53

June Showers

Last week Brittney and the baby had their first showers – one in Irvine, thrown by family friends, and one in Utah thrown by relatives. Shlomo got lots of fun books, adorable outfits, cuddly blankets and stuffed animals, rockin’ cds, a Sesame Street table setting featuring our neighborhood, and useful baby care items we didn’t even know we needed. Brittney’s relatives in Utah shared baby advice ranging from “remember to eat after the baby is born” to “enjoy your family, they grow up so quickly” (these ladies would know – they all have three to six kids each). We also got a cute picnic blanket from Brittney’s Grandma Turner, Aunt Janet, Aunt Joni, and cousin Angela. More photos coming soon!

A highlight of the trip was seeing both Grandmas. Though this will be Grandma Turner’s 29th great- grandchild and Grandma Thomas’s 31st, both these wonderful women are as excited as for their first. Brittney’s glad she got to visit them before her flying days come to a (temporary) end (and celebrate Grandma Turner’s 93rd birthday, along with her brother Jeff’s 30th). It was also fun to see Jeff’s twin girls Sophie and Breanne, who are nine-months old and just learning to crawl, or their version of crawling which often involves scooting on their stomachs and running into walls or each other.

Sophie and Breanne in Grandmas Turner's beautiful backyard — Sophie and Breanne in Grandma Turner's beautiful backyard

We feel so lucky to have such loving, generous friends and family and can’t wait for our baby to meet everyone!

Shlomo’s New Home

Big changes last week — we sold our apartment and were lucky enough to find a great three-bedroom on 63rd street, about 9 blocks south. We’re moving July 2nd. It will be sad to leave our apartment (Mark’s been there 16 years!) but it is a great space for our growing family (with a washer/dryer in the apartment — a huge luxury in Manhattan). It was a model apartment that wasn’t selling, so we lucked into a (relatively) good deal on a 14 month lease. We will be across the street from Lincoln Center, not far from Columbus Circle and Whole Foods, and Mark’s commute is a tad shorter. Shlomo (for some reason, our preferred nickname for our baby-to-be) kicked a little when we were in his/her nursery. We are looking forward to sharing it with visiting friends and family.

Other news, a press release on Mark’s new job

Also, the short film Brittney worked on a while ago (1 & 2) got into the HBO New York Latino Film Festival in late July.

The kitchen - Brittney can reach the microwave now! — Our new kitchen - I can reach the microwave now!

The view from our windows . — We think Shlomo will enjoy watching the leaves change colors in the bit of Central Park we can see from our windows.

poolonroof — There's a club on the roof with a pool with a retractable roof, gym, outdoor deck with daily happy hours, playroom and lots of other incredible amenities.

Kicks…

24 weeks
Over the past weeks, we’ve been taking the baby to lots of live music performances to see if we can get him/her kicking –- ballets, a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta Brittney choreographed/assistant directed, free opera in the park — but what finally induced movement was an old French film at the MOMA. We’re not sure if he/she loves or hates French, but there was definitely a reaction.

Since then there have been one or two movements a day, and Mark even got to feel it one morning in bed. They’re very subtle, almost like a big bubble popping or an omelet being flipped inside the tummy. This photo (24 ½ weeks) was taken before a New York City Ballet performance of four different pieces — the baby liked dancing to music by Donizetti and Benjiman Britten. We’ll see if he/she remembers them after birth!

Brittney’s Belly

As the baby grows, so does Brittney’s belly. Here it is sticking out at 22 weeks, which was also our 4-year anniversary.

Belly and rest of body

20 Weeks

We had our 20 week ultrasound/anatomy scan on May 5th. Everything looks really good. We saw really amazing detail, and they said all the organs, bones, fingers, toes etc. look perfect. The ultrasounds said the baby’s spine could be in a textbook. It is almost a full person now with all the parts, it was weird to see pictures of that inside me. Still haven’t felt any kicking yet though, probably in the next week or two. We decided to keep the gender a surprise (though Mark has a feeling it will be a girl).