Christmas

It is hard to believe last year Madison was just a little blob inside of me causing me to be in a constant fog and quite the bah-hum-bug. This year I got to snuggle her and stay up all night with her. Even though the sleepless nights are beyond rough, I was so thankful to get to share her with family this year. When she was not tired, she was very entertaining. She is enthralled with nearly everything and a Tupperware top and wrapping paper kept her attention for so very long.

1. My lovely husband and me waiting in the airport. There was a horrible snowstorm that hit the morning we were leaving for Texas. We were so relieved to make it the airport safely and on time, only to find out that the pilot was unable to leave his house, ten minutes before we should have taken off. So after a two hour delay, we made it to Texas. Madison is also on a sleep on the airplane strike, so that is fun.

2. We finally got her to sleep in the airport by walking her around. But when we were sitting down below the stroller, we looked up and saw some very curious eyes staring at us. Turns out she had pooped huge, but we did not discover this until takeoff. I am talking, she needed a new onesie, pants, and blanket, it was everywhere.

3. Madison is enthralled with her new sock monkey. Eating its foot is much more important than looking at the camera.

4. Look how happy she is on Christmas morning. Its this smile that makes waking up every hour during "vacation" worth it.

5. She loved being in new toys.

We were also able to squeeze in a visit with Claire. She is living in a beautiful new place and it was great to be able to see it. It was even more lovely to see Claire. I am sure it is just as strange for her as it is for me to see how much life has changed in the ten years we have known each other. Weren't we just eating lunch in a rat infested locker room, dreading volleyball off-season?

People keep asking what our plans are for New Years eve, my response is just laughter because that is a joke, right? There will be no fancy dress for me to wear or exciting place to go this year. But I am pretty sure I will be right where I want to be, snuggled on the couch with Will, crossing our fingers that our baby love won't wake, and crawl into bed around ten o clock.

grandmother came to town

My mom came into town last week to visit her up all night granddaughter. We really enjoyed our visit with her, but I am not sure how relaxing it was for her. The first night the air mattress deflated and she ended up sleeping on the floor. Then the following nights she was woken up by our needy dog's constant licking.



We went out to sushi one of the nights. I wore my new glasses that I ordered from a company called Warby Parker. They cut out the cost of the middle man in prescription glasses, so they were only $99. They also give a pair for every pair purchased, much like Toms. They are super trendy, but for a third of the cost, I can justify them. My mom also fed Madison 9 ounces of milk, an amount she has never had. We were all eager to see how the night would go, turns out the number of times she wakes up is equivalent to how many ounces she consumes, fail.




Another hopeful endeavor to get her to sleep more, introduction of food, fail again. She slept so horribly. We think food has shocked her intestinal system and we are paying for it big time at night. We are holding off on the food for a bit, despite how much she enjoys it. She took to eating like a natural (Will says that is because eating is natural). The only real mess was when I would accidentally brush the spoon on her bib, girlfriend swallowed every last bit of that avocado.

One of our few adventures out of the house, was to the Denver Botanic Gardens for a Christmas light stroll. Madison stayed awake the entire time taking in all of the beautiful lights. She cried all the way home because it was an hour past her bedtime, but at least she was well behaved while in public.

Now, we are just resting up for our big trip to Texas on Thursday. We are going to assume she will refuse to sleep and then be pleasantly surprised if she decides to sleep longer than 30 minutes at a time. I am loving getting to celebrate Christmas with Madison.

five months

Five months just seems so old. It is almost six months, which is almost a year, which is almost eighteen. Hopefully, at some point soon I will come to better grips with how fast time is passing by. But for right now, I am still in shock time has past since July.

- Baby girl is no longer a sedentary blob. Everything from changing a diaper to eating is similar to unhooking a cat fish from a fishing pole. You best make sure you have a firm grip on her or she will wiggle herself right out of your arms. If I put her on the floor, I will come back to her facing the opposite direction.

- She is a grabbing fool. Nothing is safe within her reach. I have come in to check on her from a nap and she has unswaddled herself and pulled the blanket into her mouth. She is a great glasses grabber, aspen hair puller, bottle holder, pacifier picker uper, you get the idea. She is actually coordinated now, which is amazing to watch develop. She has also started reaching for me with both arms out straight, so great.

- She had her first taste of solid foods. I decided to skip rice cereal and go straight to the good stuff. Like avocado and bananas. Will thinks that it has messed up her sleep, but I mean she was not a champion sleeper before, so who knows. We are not feeding her a "meal" everyday, just few bites here and there. She is beyond excited for food though, which might break my heart a little bit.

- She always has a wide open mouth. It is hilarious that is the way she expresses herself. I tell her that it is a good thing we do not have flies in our home.

- We are still always being told how alert she is. This is the one comment that we have received since she was born. Everyone asks how old she is and then immediately replies, "oh, really, she is just so alert, I can not believe she is that young."

- She sleeps, just not exactly at the times I would like her to. She has been a mess the past two weeks at night. I try and follow everything the "books" say, but every baby is different, right?

- She has been left twice with non family member babysitters. She did wonderfully, except one of the times where she stayed up until ten, ha.

- She is very social and loves to be around people. She is usually always well behaved if we are out and about. She is mesmerized by all the new sounds and faces. She always makes eye contact if someone new approaches her to get a look.

This month has been really great. I have loved how many times just Will and I could get out with out Madison. It is such a freeing feeling to know I do not always have to be the one to take care of her.

She has been very entertaining with her constant learning and how fast her abilities are developing. I am thankful I get the opportunity to watch it all unfold.

Here are the outtakes. She apparently was not feeling very creative and stuck with the legs in the air pose.

another catch all

Our adventure to the Denver Art Museum. Madison explored with her mouth. I just focused on how strong her immune system will be after being exposed to so many germs. I had really wanted to back out and just let Will take Madison, but I decided that sleep can happen some other time and to make some memories with my family.

Just some pictures in our down time. Madison focusing on her toes and Aspen making sure I give her just as much attention.

This our wee little Christmas tree. Having a baby changes things and there was not going to be any forest excursions to chop down our own. So we did the next best thing and pushed our jogging stroller to Whole Foods. I did carry it back to our apartment myself, through the Target parking lot, past Gap, around the movie theater, and up our stairs, so it was pretty much like I braved the wilderness.

My mom has been in town these past couple of days, so I will many more pictures to share. Like my super duper trendy glasses that came in the mail and Madison having her first meal of avocado.

videos of Madison

The quality is probably not that great, but hopefully they will give you a glimpse into our little girl's personality. I know that photographs only go so far, but now you can hear her little (ok, loud) noises.

her five second trick

My wee little nugget is now strong enough to support that noggin of hers, for a few seconds at a time. She will be sitting up all on her own in no time. While I am happy she is getting so strong, I do not want to be too anxious for what comes next (except for maybe the sleeping through the night thing).

date night

(Oh, silly Madison, the camera is not on dad's belt buckle or at the tip of your toes.)

(yes, I did change the color of my hair. It should wash out after 28 days. I also do not know why I am posing in a, I am about to do some lunges, pose. I must be watching too many episodes of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Training Camp.)

Madison had her first non-family member watch her last night. I do not think she had any issues because when we were walking out the door she was squawking and grabbing our friend's face with both hands (her way of showing affection).

I had bought a groupon for a restaurant downtown and we headed out in the snow for some alone time. Everything was wonderful except I was freezing the entire time and never took off my unflattering, puffy jacket.

Amazingly enough we have a lot to talk about still, discussions that do not always include our little baby. Topics that range from Tim Tebow, marriage equality (or whatever the pc term is), group of six business men seated behind us, you know, the usual.

I think the discussion that stood out most in my mind, happened to be about parenthood. Several of our friends have found someone they intend on marrying and most likely have children with. So I asked Will what his words of wisdom would be about fatherhood to some of his friends and pretty much asked myself the same question about motherhood. Will said, "It is a lot of fun. I could try and get her to smile all day long. I can not think of anything else I would be ok doing all day long. Even the few inconveniences do not come close to outweighing the positive things of being a father. And the love you get to experience is unlike anything else." (So I do not remember word for word what he said, but this is pretty much the gist) Pretty sweet, huh??

I think my natural tendency is to explain motherhood as, "it is all worth it." But, what exactly makes it worth it, her smile, her giggles, all the things she is learning? Are those enough reasons to have a child? I think the biggest thing that makes the continual self-sacrifice worth it, is getting to experience life in a way I never would have if I had not become a mother. All of a sudden, I have this view of the world, my life, my parents, my God, my husband, that can only be attributed to having Madison. I have emotions I did not know existed; emotions that cause me to truly grasp the tragedy of losing a child, emotions that overwhelm me when I think of having a front row seat to someone's life unfolding, emotions that allow me to finally enjoy the moment and realize how fleeting time actually is. Being a mother is continually refining me. I will learn lessons that would otherwise go untaught if it had not been for Madison.

So, I am not sure I should be a spokesperson for the power of mothering, because I just re-read my paragraph and it pretty much says, "become a mother, become an emotional basket case."

Just know that, by becoming a wife and now a mother, a whole new world has opened up. A world I would have never known existed if I did not get to experience it first hand. Plus, it is a lot of fun, like what Will said.

Hopefully this weekend will entail visiting Santa, getting a tree, and being full of Holiday cheer.

Thanksgiving or maybe just Zoo

Turns out I have been slacking on the picture taking lately. I had high hopes of getting some pictures on Thanksgiving since for the first time in a long time we had someone else to take pictures of us, but that did not happen. Just imagine us all looking super cute and put together. I did remember to take pictures when we went to the zoo the day before Thanksgiving.

The biggest attraction seemed to be the giraffes. I loved getting to pet the giraffes instead of just staring at them behind cages. I wish that they had this option with some of the other animals, like the adorable gorillas or ginormous hippos. But I am sure there is a bigger liability with animals that do a bit more than outstretch their necks and lick crackers out of people's hands.

We did get one family photo, thanks Becca! We were keeping warm inside the hippo, penguin, and reptile exhibit. It was a bit colder than I had expected and my choice of sandals was probably not the brightest.

Madison was wiped out after have two screaming fits in the car and looking at everything at the zoo. She did not move for thirty minutes straight.

Madison also has a new trick of blowing bubbles. I captured the face she makes mid-blow. We think it is hilarious.

Just another picture of Will being super dad and carrying Madison around for me.



It was really great to have friends from out of town here. I realized again how hard it is for me to get out of the house with the baby. I get overwhelmed with trying to balance the outing with her nap, feeding schedule. It is nice to have people here who encourage me to get out. Even though doing things with a baby is a lot more difficult, I am always thankful that we got to experience one more thing with Madison.

I was so incredibly thankful for everything God has given me this year. It is hard to believe that last Thanksgiving the idea of Madison was just being introduced to our family. So glad that she gets to celebrate the holidays outside my tummy this year.

week catch all

We had another play date this week. I really love having some place to be during the week besides just staying inside and cleaning. I mean, play groups are mostly for the moms, but a part of me thinks Madison really enjoys herself also. The baby girl Madison is laying next to in the bottom pictures is the one who was born two days before Madison. I tried to catch them holding hands, but I was not fast enough.



1. Will had a statistic event to attend on Tuesday so I had evening duties with Madison. We just danced to the oldie music channel and she fell asleep on my chest. I tried to get a picture but of course she woke up.

2. More mommy and daughter play time. I have been putting her on her belly as much as possible because she has created a bald spot in the back of her head from sleeping at night.

3. Saturday morning Will and I attempted to do some yoga together. About half way through, Madison woke up. Luckily, she really enjoys watching us move around and sat happily in her chair.

4. Aspen decided she needed to assist Will in is forward folding triangle.

5. Aspen and Madison decided to join me in my ending stretches, silly girls.

6. We are all bundled up to take an evening walk. Madison is wearing her adorable Patagonia jacket.

We are having Will's friend, wife, and five year old come and stay with us this week. It will be a full house, but should be a lot of fun. So, I am busy sucking up all of Aspen's hair and scrubbing our floors. I am not really looking forward to doing any sort of cooking, but the company will be nice.

a girl and her dog

It is really neat to see Madison really take notice of Aspen. They often have stare offs and seem to mutually enjoy each others company. Madison is officially a part of Aspen's pack. I decided to slowly start warming Aspen up to the pulling and tugging that will be taking place soon. Aspen seemed a bit uncomfortable and the cuddle session abruptly ended when Aspen jumped straight up and Madison landed flat on the ground.

Four Months

- She has still not learned how wonderful sleep is or much better of a mommy it makes me. One week, she will fall asleep on her own and go back to sleep if she wakes up. The next week, she will scream for over an hour when I try a little bit of "crying it out." Every day its a gamble, and we still go to bed with hopeful expectations, that tonight is the night she will only wake up once.

- She loves to be around people and other babies. She makes sure her voice is known above every other noise and is extremely content to look at everything around her. We left her for the first time in the nursery at church and she just sat happily while all the other kids screamed around her.

- She is trying diligently to suck her thumb. But that dang pointer finger keeps going right up her nose, she can not figure out how to correct that issue. She only tries to suck her left thumb. Is this the first sign we will have a lefty?

- She is reaching and grabbing now. This should make our life even more interesting. Pulling Aspen's hair, pulling cups off tables, ripping lips right off our faces, all will be future occurrences.

Four month check up is today. That means shots. But I will be prepared this time with Tylenol and appointment at a time when Will can attend.


Now, for the outtakes.

Happy four months little one! Can not wait to see what all you are going to discover this month. Sleeping through the night, maybe??

our weekend

1. I had this bright idea I would dress Madison up in Hawaii attire and send a picture to my brother to lift his spirits and show how eager Madison is to visit him in Hawaii. Well, I think these two pictures pretty much sum up how it went. Putting a bikini top and fake lei on a wiggling baby is not easy and once again things did not go how I had envisioned them in my mind.

2. Madison has really gotten the hang of grabbing items and pulling them straight to her mouth. Will's cheek is no exception. The funniest part was how she would launch herself forward and make this incredible "aaagghh" noise. I video taped it, but it is probably only hilarious to us.

3. We struggled with getting Madison to nap this weekend. So when we had finally had enough we decided to just bring her out to hang out with us. Little stinker was as happy as a clam (are clams happy??) once we removed her from the crib.

4. My baby has grown so big she is finally able to ride in the carrier the proper way. We went on a fairly long walk with her and she finally fell asleep, once she finished looking around. She refuses to rest her head on my chest, which kind of hurts my feelings, but little one must be looking at whatever is going on.

5. Since her new skill of grabbing and pulling has developed, she loves her burp cloths. She pulls them into her face and rubs them all around, while making ridiculous noises.

we are family

Madison has been taking some pretty awesome afternoon naps (I think it is because the sun is setting so early), which means the "witching" hour is not as bad anymore. I am sure Will appreciates being welcomed home by a smiling family instead of the frazzled mess of a crying baby. So we took the opportunity to have some fun with her yesterday. The last picture is by far our favorite.

I have been attempting to explain to Will my feelings about his time in our life, but I can not seem to find the right words. The best explanation I have is that for the first time ever there is not something to look forward to. What I mean is, in elementary school you must learn to read to go to the next grade, in junior high you have to learn algebra for high school, in high school you have to get excellent grades for college, in college you must keep building that resume to get a job, during an engagement you are counting down until the big day, during pregnancy everything is put on hold in anticipation for the baby, and so on. Now that I am in this place of finally finishing all the must dos, I can just be. It is a very odd thing to suddenly turn off a mentality I have had since I was six years old. I am beginning to think that maybe I should have been living this way all along; only living for today because that is all we really have.

So, impromptu family photo shoots are my way to live just for today with my little family.

thank goodness for grandparents

[don't be alarmed by the unflattering faces, that is just our "Oh my gosh, we are in the car with out the baby," faces]

The only times that we have left Madison alone with anyone has been when we are around our family. I know that at some point we need to venture out and hire a babysitter, but I am just not ready for that yet. The last time we went out was when Madison was one month old and it was when we were in Texas. So we were definitely feeling the need to be out alone.

Luckily, I have a wonderful mother-in-law, and we had the opportunity to get out all three nights she was here. The first night we just walked Aspen alone and stopped to get some Apple Chai tea. The next night we went to the Pub that is across the street from us for appetizers and beers. Then the final night we went out to dinner at a Italian restaurant down town. Madison found her way into the conversation a few times, but it was surprisingly easy to talk about other things besides the little baby we made.

I am still trying to make sure my priority pyramid does not shift from loving God first, my husband second, and children third. I believe, the majority of problems are caused when couples stray from this. It is a tricky balance right now because Madison would literally not survive if I did not give her a certain amount of attention, but finding time away and being intentionally with that time is vital.

Another side effect of having a baby, is that out of town visitors are not that entertained. We were not able to just get in the car and drive all over the mountains because Madison can not stay in the car seat all day, and thrives off her nap schedule. So if you come and visit, you are forewarned, we live fairly uneventful lives now.

We did go to a very nice restaurant on Sunday for brunch. Even though it interrupted Madison's nap, she did wonderfully. We happily ate all we could, buffets are a dangerous thing.

Now we are just resting before our next guests arrive for Thanksgiving.

Play Group

Madison had her first play group on Thursday. It was a refreshing time for me to talk with other moms and give Madison a chance to interact with other babies. There was a five month old (which is the baby featured in the photos fascinated with Madison), a baby two days older than Madison, a two month old, and a two week old. Oh my goodness, seeing Madison next to the two month old and two week old was quite shocking. I still have in my mind that she was just born, but now there are babies younger and smaller than her.

We have been spending some quality time with family the past week. We made a quick trip to Texas to see my mom and now Will's mom and brother are in town. Madison is getting her dose of grandma love.

holy moly

Look at the difference three months makes!

The middle picture is of me pacing the lobby of the hospital for two hours the day before Madison was born.

The other two were of me right before I went out last night to meet some moms for wine and pizza. (Will said I needed to work on my posing, so these are my best efforts)

I never posted these last pregnancy photos because I was a bit bothered by how swollen and huge I looked. Now, looking back, I feel I can laugh about it. My body clearly needed to gain all that weight, despite my best efforts to slow the gain down. And now my body is shedding that weight.

I was overly concerned with the weight and the change in my body during pregnancy. But now that I am on the other side of things, I have a much better perspective. My body was a vessel in which Madison was formed. Where her perfect little, smelly fingers grew. Where her personality developed and all her unique qualities were formed; every miniscule detail originated inside of me. And now my body is working extremely hard to keep her alive. To give her all the nutrients she needs in order to grow her double chins and arm rolls. Simply amazing.

Even though there are parts of my body that do not at all look the same, I am surprisingly ok with that. I am impressed at the progress my body has made. I can feel slight abdominal muscles beginning to develop again. I can hold Madison for long periods of time. I am able to run for longer than five minutes. I can carry a 20 pound carseat and drag a 90 pound dog up two flights of stairs.

I am thankful that this change has occurred in me. I want Madison to see me taking pride in what my body can physically do instead of what number is on the scale. I want her to know that her body is wonderful and uniquely made to fit her.

My views on certain things have changed since having Madison. One of those views is my take on God's love for us. I look at Madison and see perfection. I can not even imagine how much that feeling is magnified when God looks at us. If Madison was to ever think anything negative about herself, my heart would break. I am sure that is how God's heart breaks whenever I think negative thoughts about myself. We are ultimately the result of God's handy work and to insult that in anyway has got to be devastating for him.

I am sure I could write pages on how much I have changed in these last three months (like, how I can now cry about almost anything, commercials, songs, ball games (my heart just breaks whenever batters are slamming the pitcher's throws), news stories, seriously anything, it is ridiculous)

Well, baby is grunting and a smile is waiting for me, so I must go.

Madison's First Snow

We are quickly realizing there are a few vital pieces of clothing missing from Madison's wardrobe. Like a coat, shoes, gloves, clothes that are made of something other than cotton, you know, basic items to prevent frost bite when she insists on building snow men and making snow angels. So yesterday, when it snowed all day, the only item would could find, was one that should fit her in three months. She was a little confused where her hands had gone, but seemed pretty content all snuggled up in this outfit, or she was too scared to move for fear she might be swallowed whole.

The little lady is doing really well. The cloudy days make for stellar naps. She will be getting some one on one daddy time tonight when I go out for wine and pizza with the moms from the new parents group we joined at church.

Maybe I am not doing such a bad job...

Will sent me this article about babies and the way children learn. The part that stood out the most to me was this quote,

"Very young children learn best from their everyday experiences of people and things, and from being able to playfully explore the world in a safe setting with people who love and care for them."

I sometimes get caught up in wondering if I am doing enough to stimulate Madison. Am I encouraging her development enough, and on and on. You may have noticed she never has any sort of toys or children things around her, that is because we do not have any yet. This is mostly due to how much I despise clutter, but either way, our toys are her toys. It is reassuring to me that all of those plastic toys are not necessary for Madison to thrive. I feel confident in our ability to give Madison a loving environment where she can playfully explore.

[http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/23/opinion/gopnik-ted-children-learning/index.html?&hpt=hp_c2]

Our Weekend

1. We went walking on Saturday night and got cornered by two older women. They thought that Madison was the most adorable thing and insisted they take a picture of us. Luckily, I had my camera in tow. If I notice that any one, especially older individuals, are trying to look at Madison, I try to make sure they get a chance to really look at her. Babies seem to bring people such joy and I love being able to give them that.

2. Another attempt to get Madison to smile. As soon as that camera comes out she is all business. Luckily, she did not spit up on me this time. There have been more than a few times where when I lift her up like this, she spews right into my mouth.

3. I am not sure I will ever have a decent photo with Madison, but I will keep trying.

4. Madison clearly enjoyed church. The message really touched her.

5. On Friday, we went to a little pizza place that sells personal sized pizzas. It was delicious. I am pretty sure I could have eaten two. I am always impressed with the odd combinations that go on pizza, but still taste amazing. Like barbeque sauce, pineapples, chicken, and bacon, who would have thought?

[Not pictured: We went on a five mile run around this lake a couple miles from our home. It was a beautiful day with great views of the fall colors and mountains. Madison only fussed the last couple of minutes, but she did have a huge dirty diaper, so I guess that is excusable. Also, due to a miss understanding (I went to use the bathroom, swore I told him I will be right back, he obviously had not heard me...), Will drove off with out me and left me stranded at the lake. Luckily, I used the age old advice of staying in one place whenever lost, and he eventually came back for me.]

Waiting for 5pm

This Friday seemed to drag on. Maybe it was because I knew that Will was going to take Madison and Aspen hiking today, and I was anxious for some time alone. Either way, I had to get a bit creative with our time together. I decided we would take part in more tummy time and see what Madison's reaction would be if she was in front of a mirror. (This mirror will eventually be hung, but tasks seem to stay on the "to-do" list much longer with a baby) She loved looking at her self. She lifted up her head better than I have ever seen. Funny, the things I take pride in now. I did some sit ups next to her and Aspen decided to join the party. Madison also decided to keep rolling onto her back, very impressive, but not conducive to picture taking.

Just a few more pictures of Madison. Lately, she has really wanted to sit up on her own. You can not really tell, by she is lifted off of my knees and holding herself up. The picture of just her face is her leaning so far forward she is almost face planting into the camera.

And the day to myself was pretty great. I took a nap, but unfortunately, kept "hearing" Madison and waking up. I felt like I was doing something terribly wrong by sleeping through her crying and I would wake up in a panic. So I guess you can take the baby from her mom but not the mom from the baby, or something like that.

My View

I thought I could capture a few pictures of Madison staring wide eyed at me when I am feeding her. The little stinker knew exactly what I was up to and kept focusing on the camera. The final shot, she decided to just reach up and give me the hand. Like, "Mom, I am trying to eat here." I am so thankful for all these sweet moments I get to spend focused solely on Madison and her on me. Nothing beats having those baby blues fixating on me.

One Year Ago

I was recovering from running a marathon.

We spent nine long months training and finally were able to complete something we had worked so hard for. I remember thinking that we could have had a baby in the same amount of time it took to train, well, one year later, look what we did.




We spent some quality time with the baby that took nine months to make. I feel like running a marathon and having a baby are pretty high up on the list of accomplishments. I am not sure I will ever be able to top them, unless of course I run another marathon and have another baby.

I am so thankful I had Will as my partner through all of this. Life would just not be as fulfilling if I did not have him to share these moments with.

This past weekend, we drove an hour to a pumpkin patch, only to discover, the entire freeway was stalled with eager pumpkin pickers. Feeling just a tad discouraged, we headed to Boulder instead. We got to people watch, drink some coffee, and drool at all the Patagonia clothing we will never be able to afford. Baby girl was a rockstar. She slept the entire time and when she woke up in the coffee shop, she was a showstopper. Everyone loves babies. Especially babies in Gap skinny jeans.

Just a little side note, those jeans I have on, are the same ones I wore the day before I ran the marathon. I am not able to run more than 45 minutes at a time, but at least I am slowly getting my wardrobe back. So just in case you happen to gain fifty pounds during pregnancy and end up weighing more than your husband, there is hope. (not saying that I did that or anything...)