Peanut at 33 weeks

How your baby's growing:This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and measures 17.2 inches from the top of his head to his heels. His skin is becoming less red and wrinkled, and while most of his bones are hardening, his skull is quite pliable and not completely joined. This will help him ease out of your relatively narrow birth canal.

Another two-week appointment

Enz had another two-week appointment yesterday, and amidst all the chaos in the doctor's world, everything is coming up roses! It appeared that our little peanut has gone through a growth spurt as of late, and that was verified by our doctor. Of course an indication on my end was the fact that Enza's belly has really started to protrude and that she's been more vocal about how heavy it is, but hearing and seeing the measurements from the doctor really cemented it for us.

All is well, and the baby is in a great position at the moment. We've been feeling different body parts moving around and Enz is always having everyone feel whatever it is the little peanut is pushing out against her belly. She's been kicking or punching a lot more lately, but what I've just recently started to feel is the actual movement or shifting she's doing in there. Maybe it's because I haven't been patient enough to keep my hand in one spot for a LONG time, but now that I've felt it, that's all I want to feel. It's like she's doing tai-chi or some basic dance steps. Whatever it is, it's a strange feeling, but in a good way. Not too long now, somewhere around 50+ days and counting...

Enza at 32 weeks

It's hard to believe that Enza has reached the 8 month mark. It seems that she's getting tired earlier, and that she's starting to find that the weight of the baby is becoming more of a chore to carry around. There have been times where she's had problems moving around, or when she's lost her balance, so it's definitely a little different for her. Here's how beautiful she looks at this milestone in her pregnancy, while the "jealous pup" sneaks into the photo and attempts to ham it up!

Peanut at 32 weeks

How your baby's growing: By now, your baby probably weighs almost 4 pounds and is almost 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. She has tiny toenails now, and her fingernails have grown in, too. Some babies have a head of hair already; others have only peach fuzz.

Hee-Hee-Haaaaaah.....

Last night we attended the first of three birth preparation classes. We met an interesting mix of couples who were all fairly close to us in regards to due dates. Out of the 15 couples in the class, 9 were expecting girls, 4 were expecting boys, and 2 were unknown.

While we had an idea what this class was about, we had no idea of the immediate effect it would have on us. As we sat through the initial presentation, we felt like it was just an overview of the stuff we've read in books. We went on to break up into two groups; one group was expecting in February, while the other in March. We met a couple whose due date was on the 7th, and even one whose due date was the 22nd. For those of you who know, those are our birthdays! What a small world. There weren't any other babies due on March 4th, making our peanut's due date a little more special, to us at least! Then again, it's not guaranteed that she'll be born her due date anyway.

Once the ice-breaking exercise was over, we watched a couple of preparation videos. As the videos went on explaining the different stages of labor, it seemed like Enz got a bit overwhelmed. Reality seemed to set in, in a big way. Gone were the thoughts of "I can't believe we're pregnant." It was almost as if they were replaced with thoughts of "Oh my god, how big is 10 cm???" Afterwards, we got on the floor and practiced breathing techniques, as the expectant fathers got a taste of being a support system. We were also teased about not really knowing what pain our wives would go through, so our wives were asked to place clothespins on our ears to give us an idea of what it's like to focus through pain. Yeah right, like that's the same!

Nevertheless, we made it through the first class with flying colors. Not only did we meet some nice people, we were left with a strange feeling inside. A feeling that was telling us just how real this experience has become, and that there's literally no turning back now. Hah, like we'd really want to anyway!

Happy New Year

Wow, 2007 is finally upon us and that just brings us closer to our baby's due date. Although we still have a couple of months to go, we can't believe that the day is rapidly approaching, and we constantly find ourselves wondering just where the time went.

It seems like it was yesterday when Enz & I decided to share the good news with everyone, and that was way back in July. While the family was preparing for the arrival of a second grandson, we were so excited to share the news of a third grandchild for the Aveni family, and a first grandchild for the Camero family. 2006 was a very eventful and blessed year!

Much like the days leading up to our wedding, Enz has a countdown leading up to the baby's due date. Believe it or not, the count is already down to 60 days! To this day we're still in a state of shock that we will soon be parents, or that we'll finally have a little one to be responsible for. Our life as we know it, is no longer just about the two of us. That being said, we are more than ready for life's future challenges!

Peanut at 31 weeks

How your baby's growing: This week, your baby measures about 16 inches long. He weighs a little over 3 pounds and is headed for a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and he's beginning to accumulate a layer of fat underneath his skin in preparation for life as a newborn. As a result, his arms, legs, and body are filling out.

We're at a loss for words at the moment. We are in total disbelief at how quickly this time has come and gone. Only around 9 weeks left and we can't wait to meet our little peanut!

Peanut's first 2 week appointment

We had our first 2 week appointment this past Wednesday, so this post is a few days late. It's funny how the holidays can make you lag on things or "re-prioritize" but that's life!

Anyway, the doctor went through her routine checks of Enza's belly, and judging from her reactions, we're right on schedule. Whew! It's always good to know that things are going the way they should. We received our hospital registration packet and that in itself made this experience seem much more real. The doctor went on to verify that our little peanut was in the correct position. She was able to feel where her head was, and she pretty much figured out where the rest of her body was. Of course Enz agreed with the positioning because she gets kicked exactly where the doctor said the baby's legs were!

So our next appointment is in a couple of weeks, and we're both in disbelief as to how much time we have left. At the time of this post we've got something like 65 days left. Wow, it's true that time really does fly!

Thank You for your generosity

It's the day after Christmas and we're sitting at home, staring at a pile of gifts from our wonderful family and friends. While I would love to say that all these gifts are for us, I am not disappointed in the least when I say that none of the gifts were for us! That's because all of these presents were for our little baby Peanut!! We never thought we'd receive gifts for her so early, then again, she'll be with us in no time; and we literally mean NO TIME!!

We just wanted to take this time to express our gratitude to all of you, our dearest family and friends, for being so warm, thoughtful, and generous this Christmas season! You have all been an integral part in making this a very enjoyable experience for our family. We can't wait to share our bundle of joy with each and every one of you!

Thank you again!

Peanut at 30 weeks... WHOA!

How your baby's growing: Your baby's a bit more than 15 1/2 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and fills out your uterus. Her eyes open and close, she's able to distinguish between light and dark, and she can even follow a light source back and forth. Once she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have a visual acuity of only 20/400 — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. ("Normal" vision in adults is 20/20.)

Wow, talk about fast! We're getting into the home stretch now, and it doesn't seem like we have much time left before our little peanut is here with us. Not to belabor the point, but these are really exciting times for us at home! Merry Christmas to all!

Patty cake or Pat-a-cake... Whatever it's called...

So Peanut's got a new game she plays with me when she's up early in the morning, because that's when she wants to play. When Enz tells me she's kicking or punching, I'll put my hands on her belly and tap back. What she's doing now is answering whenever I tap, which is kinda trippin' me out a little. So now Enz asks her if she wants to play "patty-cake" with her Daddy. Pretty cool!

We also had a new experience this morning. Enz was awake and rolled from her side onto her back. All of a sudden she said "whoa, that was weird." Initially she thought I had placed my hand on her belly, so she was actually reaching for my hand but found that it wasn't there. What she felt was the baby's hand or foot moving across her belly, only this time she said it really felt like a hand or foot. She woke me up and had me watch her stomach, so I immediately started with the whole patty-cake thing, and sure enough, it got the little one going! What a trip!!!

Random pics from the Camero's 3rd Annual...

We were having too much fun to remember to take pictures! We only got to take a few, but the ones we took are priceless. Sorry if we didn't get a picture with everyone, but amidst all the chaos, it's always easy to forget to take pictures! Maybe next year?

Click on the link below to view the pics. Enjoy!!

Camero Holiday Party 2006

3rd Annual Camero Holiday Party

Just a short post to say Thank You to everyone for making it out to our 3rd Annual Christmas Party. We had a great time seeing and spending time with you, and hope to keep this yearly tradition going!

Since this was the last party before the arrival of our little peanut, we decided to host a "Toys for Tots" charity, in honor of our future daughter. A special thank you to everyone for helping to make this a great success. Although we didn't have a specific goal to meet, we did end up with a lot of toys that we will be donating to our church. Your generous contributions will put smiles on the faces of many children this Christmas!

Again, many many thanks to everyone for helping us to start this Christmas season on a good note! We look forward to seeing you again at the 4th annual event!

Peanut at 29 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to accommodate his brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester. To keep yourself and him well nourished, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, and calcium. (About 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton — which is now hardening — every day.)

Special thanks

As we move forward at a steady pace, we're noticing that a lot of people have already started in helping us to "spoil" our little peanut. Whether it be money in her little bank, a cool little "peanut" onesie, one of her stuffed toys, or even one of her little dresses, she's already getting that sense of belonging to such a warm and generous family. We can't even begin to thank everyone for these kind gestures, but hopefully you all know how truly grateful we are! And if our little peanut could talk, we're sure she'd be just as speechless as we are!

Enz is now in her third trimester, in fact, we have our final monthly appointment today. Peanut's movements are as consistent as ever, but now Enz is noticing a lot more of the full body movements as the little one continues to grow and stretch her limbs. The appointments will now move to every two weeks, and with that, we just inch closer and closer to the birth of our little one.

Still pushing forward...

Finally a divisional win! This one's worth mentioning, even though hopes for the post season are pretty much down the toilet. Oh well, nice effort!

Peanut at 28 weeks

How your baby's growing: By this week, your baby weighs a little over 2 pounds and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can open her eyes — which now sport lashes — and she'll turn her head toward a continuous, bright light from the outside. Her fat layers are beginning to form, too, as she gets ready for life outside the womb.

YIKES! We are now into the THIRD trimester!!!

Another hump day...

Happy Hump Day! UGH, just another day in paradise I guess. Anyway, it feels like the days are flying by faster than ever. I don't know if it's because of the holiday season or if we're just getting older. Nevertheless, there's only 25 days left in 2006.

What's harder to believe is that our little peanut is "scheduled" to arrive in less than 3 months! As much as Enz & I talk about it, we're still in a bit of a state of shock. We've pretty much got the baby's room completed, and the furniture is all set up. We're working with getting the pup to behave more calmly around us, preparing him for the presence of another person in the house. But no matter how much preparation we go through, the mental aspect is one that's out of our control. Everyone gives us advice on what to watch for or what to do when this or that happens. That's all well and good, and while we do understand that there are general things to look for, we also realize that every baby is different. So what worked great for Billy Bob and Anna Mae, might not work at all for our little peanut. It's more of a "learn by doing" kind of thing.

Peanut is becoming more and more attentive in Enza's belly. She's reacting and responding more to both of our voices. We like to think that she's answering us whenever we call on her. Whenever I put my hand on Enza's belly and talk to her, she responds with a little kick-although sometimes not so little according to Enz! It's almost as if she's giving me a little pound! Wut-wut!!

Fire's out...

Oh well, at least the Phins had a nice four-in-a-row streak going. It had to end sometime...

Peanut at 27 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby is really starting to fill up your uterus. This week he weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14.4 inches long with his legs extended. He can now open and close his eyes, and he sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. He may suck his fingers, and although his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if he were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and isn't bothersome to him, so enjoy the tickle. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Wonder what he's thinking?