Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Big Baby Penis.

Having two daughters, I obviously have no experience at all with baby boy parts, but doesn't his penis look quite large for a 24w old fetus?


I feel I'm acting like a proud dad, puffing his chest saying "That's my boy!" but I swear I'm not. It seriously looks large to me. Although I will admit my husband is walking around puffing his chest out about it.

Here is a picture of Karl crossing his legs. I love that you can see his little toes on the right:


This picture is simply of his spine. But it's so incredible to me, I asked for a picture:


And finally, a picture of his face. It's the classic "skeletor" style face that is all 2D u/s images. A fraction of a second before she took this picture, he was half turned and I swear it looked much like a 3D. I could almost make out his features. This one definitely isn't the best, as I can barely make it out now. I only know what I'm looking at because I was watching him in action.


Like I said before, this ultrasound was so much fun to watch. I've never seen any of my babies so active in my belly before. Every time the tech would push the transducer on my belly to try to get a specific image, he would kick it. To ~see~ him kick it on the screen, ~feel~ him kick and ~watch~ her hand bounce was hilarious. He kept doing it again and again and she said "it looks like he doesn't want his picture taken!" and she moved to the other side of my belly to get the image from there instead. She started pushing down to maneuver into the best position and I watched (and felt) him roll all the way over and kick her hand away again! Seriously. It's crazy to see and feel such a thing.

~~~~~

I attended a meeting with the kids' daycare this evening. The daycare used to be owned by a very small daycare company, but due to how large our building is, the owner just didn't have enough equity to keep it running. It's a brand new building in a fabulous location and it's so beautiful. But due to all the building costs, not to mention all the new equipment, furniture, supplies, etc, he just didn't have the ability to stay in it long enough to make a profit. A national daycare corporation recently purchased it and we had the big "we are changing your rates" meeting tonight.

The major difference between this daycare and 95% of daycare centers out there is this one is hourly. You have to give your schedule 2 weeks in advance, but you only pay for the days you need. If I know I'm going to have the kids out one afternoon due to a dentist appointment, I schedule those hours off and I don't have to pay. It's really, really nice. Anyone who is used to daycare knows that for most, you pay a full time rate whether you are there or not. Monday is a holiday? Who cares. You pay the full rate. You only need 4 days a week? You pay the full time rate because part time is usually 3 days. You are taking a 3 day weekend and won't have the kids in on that Friday? You pay the full time rate.

So this daycare ruled for this very reason. I didn't get too much of lower cost because I am a full time day care mom. My kids go 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. But it's nice when there is a Monday holiday and I can schedule it ahead of time. I'm able to save money here and there.

When I heard they were changing their rate structure, I knew what was going to happen. I knew I was going to have to pay a full time rate without being able to take off a day here and there. I just needed that rate to be close to $160/week per child, because that is what I pay now. And I knew I would be paying another $180/week for the baby when maternity leave was over. My future rate was going to be $500/week and it was going to be hard for me to make that, so I couldn't afford any big changes.

Imagine my surprise when the new rate chart given to me tonight was $425/week for the two girls and another $240/week for the baby. This was a ~weekly~ rate of $665! Um, let me cry for a few minutes before even typing that would be a monthly rate of $2,881.67. It was just a few days ago I was saying $2,182.29 was going to be hard for me to pay. I'm now going to have to come up with an additional $699.38!!

I can't even talk about it right now. I have no idea what I'm going to do.

~~~~~

The new picture of the belly was posted over on the right sidebar (and within the two links).

40 comments:

Jenera said...

I saw Aidan's at 21 weeks and it was a bit smaller than that. I saw Sam's at 22 weeks and also a bit smaller but not by much. In proportion to body size, it's right on. But I've never seen an U/S where you get a shot of the penis after 22 weeks.

Nikki said...

Beautiful pictures Nancy! I've never seen a 3d u/s and I sure hope to, some day! And I have no idea about the size of the penis, but it looks cute! :-)

About daycare rates WOW!!!! Man, that is expensive! That's like an additional mortgage in CA! It may not be a bad business idea to open a daycare yourself. Your kids don't have to pay, and you make money minding other kids (it may drive you insane, but that's another discussion!)

Geohde said...

The title of this post really made me smile....

Google shall punish you :)

Oh, and I remember having to apologise for my twins when I had a growth scan after my glucose tolerance test- they went nuts in there!

J

sara said...

You look great in your photos, and the ones of the little guy look just as great! I just about snorted my water out my nose I was drinking when I read the title of your post. You crack me up!!! The one where he is crossing his legs is too cute, and I'm glad that you got to see the movement clearly on the ultrasound. It makes it so much more real and almost magical, doesn't it?

Jennifer said...

Congrats on the beautiful boy pics and beautiful parts (is that inappropriate?)

I'm SO sorry about the daycare! I know how much you love that center and how awesome it is. I hope that you find a solution soon. Finding good car is SO hard...I'd be crying too.

jenn said...

Nancy- that truly sucks!!! I'm so sorry about the rate increase. I've said it be fore- but that is what I am dreading the most. Not labor or birth or any of the fears that go along with an infant, but finding & paying for a good daycare!

Karl is quite the cutie... I have even less experience with male babies than you, but I think I have a highly inappropriate shirt to get you now...

Amanda said...

Such awesome pictures! Seems you have a very active little one!

And I squeeked a little after reading your daycare costs. That is quite a chunk of change!

Anonymous said...

Typical mother, already boasting about your boys big bits!!! I'm the same btw and yes it does look a decent size for a wee foetus ;)

x

Erin said...

Oh how wonderful. I am looking forward to my level 2 in a few weeks. I can't wait to see movement, and feel it, see fingers and toes, spines and organs. It must be such an amazing sight.

Congratulations on your Son.

On that daycare thing, I am so sorry to hear about that. We are struggling right now to figure out how to pay for all of that.

Anonymous said...

LOL at your comment about Skeletor...my DH nicknamed our first baby the same thing!

OMG on your daycare rates...that is awful. I know you really like this daycare and don't want to change, but yeah that is expensive. Maybe if you sweet-talked them they could help you out since you will have *three* kids there? Will it go down when Ella starts kindergarten, and is that next fall? If so, hopefully you can muddle through from March or so when you go back to work, until August or so when she starts school.

Jen said...

I love the pics! But man those daycare rates...what a price hike. I hope you are able to figure something out or get a huge raise.

Beth said...

Nancy, that sucks so bad. I am in the middle of trying to find daycare, and everything close to my home that is a center (which I think I want b/c like you said the checks & balances) is $230 a week for an infant. I have no idea how I am going to pay for that. I am sorry that you have to deal with this. Maybe the moms can get together and try to talk them down a bit.

Lisa said...

The u/s pictures are great! I also have the pics of my boys spine because it is such an amazing shot.

I don't think that our little ones enjoy having the u/s pics taken. My boys did the exact same thing every time the technician tried to take some photos. It was hilarious. Nicolas was constantly moving away from the heartbeat sensor while I was in labor. The nurses spent almost 19 hours trying to find his heartbeat. I think it just means that we will have our hands full in a few years!

I cannot believe how expensive the daycare is for you. It almost doesn't make it worth it to work out of the home!

Sara said...

Samuel's penis wasn't that big! It looks very developed! I love the face picture - I always feel like they are looking at you and blowing you kisses!
I am sorry about the daycare. That is very expensive, but it is the reality of the situation. We worried before how we would pay daycare, and we will worry this time around too. What is it others told me? It just works out! But seriously, that is more than our mortgage.
You look great in your belly shot! Fantastic!

Hollie said...

What cute pics! I don't know much about how big the boy parts should be, but it looks big! That's funny about him moving so much. I think my little man is crazy sometimes.

Sorry about the daycare rates... That just doesn't seem right that they can raise it so much! They are going to lose a lot of business by doing that. Maybe you will have to look elsewhere. What a bummer.

MrsSpock said...

Holy crap, that is more than I would net as a FT nurse! Way more than my mortgage!!! Ay carrumba!

J Sweet said...

Awesome pics!! He's such a cutie.

I am so sorry about the day care. That is so tough. I have no idea how I will handle that if/when the time comes. I hope you can find a workable solution. Good luck!!

Chastity said...

Oh my gosh, Nancy. That is so terrible about the sudden change in daycare rates. Before I quit teaching, I was lucky enough to have a babysitter that only charged $80.00 per week or $20.00 per day if I didn't need a full week..isn't that crazy? Of course, it was all under the table...she didn't report any of the income, but it was such a great deal I couldn't pass it up. I literally couldn't have afforded what you pay now (on a teacher's salary), much less what you're about to have to pay. Good luck finding some way to make it work for your family!!

JJ said...

Aww love the photos of baby boy Karl showing the goods ;)

Mermaid said...

Toes? I don't see no stinkin' toes. I see the spine (see how sharp I am?).

Later... Oh, Toes! Legs crossed! Awesome pictures. I'm not sure I could make it through an ultrasound like that without flooding the office in tears. That's fantastic.

Um, yikes on the daycare rates!

Anonymous said...

AW! we found out on wednesday we are having a little boy. i was amazed over the size of his feet and hands- and DH was doing the holy crap, did you check out the size of his johnson dance! it was too funny and cute. everyone that has seen is picture is remarking on it, so it kinda makes me do the dance too, but only in my head lol!

diana (webmd)

Amanda said...

I guess I shouldn't call him "little man", huh? Not after that shot! hahah!!!

And I thought my Baby A was being a little brat since he would turn away almost every time the technician would put the transducer on my belly. At least he didn't kick it off. That's too cute!

As far as that rate hike...OUCH! What makes them think they'll keep their customers raising the rates like that? You're definitely not the only one that would struggle with that kind of increase. Ugh. Good luck!

Jules said...

Wowzer on the rate increase! You might as well move them to Montessori for that price. I'm paying $1700/month right now for the 2 girls, with a multi-child and discontinued company discount. Craziness.

Anonymous said...

Holy moly, I've been trying to figure out how we're going to squeeze out $140 a week for Cletus, but you've got me beat by far!

I'm not sure on the weiner shot, but I will say that she was zooming in and out on Cletus' to show j his pride and joy and on the more zoomed-in ones, it looked gigantic. So I suppose it depends on the perspective of the probe. Either way, you've got a good healthy kiddo who's definitely allll boy. :)

Cece said...

At first, I was smiling about your fun u/s. Mine was at 18 weeks - so I couldn't really feel the kicks all the time. But then I got to your day care crisis - OMG! My jaw dropped. That really, really sucks. I hope you can figure something out - are there other decent places in the area?

Jen said...

All his parts look fabulous!

And I don't even want to think about daycare costs. It's scary!

Maryanne said...

COngrats! What an awesome shot!

Anonymous said...

Nancy, my youngest (3 months this Sunday!!) had a huge...*ahem* penis on my ultrasounds. I mean, that thing was monstrous for a baby in utero, LOL.

It turned out that he has a hydrocele, which is harmless extra fluid in the testicular..what is it, sac? It normally goes away by the time they're a year old.

Karl's u/s shot looks a lot like Jake's did.

:) :)

(BTW, his is still pretty big, LOL, but I can definitely tell a difference in the size now compared to when he was born)


Steph
(stephs_3_kidz)

Sarah said...

Cool pictures!! That is a nice-sized peen. I never got a money shot for some reason. They just told me what it was and it was after the fact (after the u/s tech saw it), so I didn't even get to see it! It made it's grand apperance on his birthday--LOL!

And holy balls about the daycare costs!

Anonymous said...

i would agree with a previous comment, you might consider montessori. in my area it is about $860 per month and that is for upper elementary - preschool is less. and they have before and after daycare as a small add-on to accomodate the work day for parents. best of luck!

Morgan Owens said...

Whoah look at that Wenis, haha! Man you need to update your family photos on your family website..you're behind! ;)

nancy said...

I actually looked into montessori and they would be even more expensive for my 3 kids. Even with discounts.

Morgan, thanks for pointing out I'm behind. When you are pregnant with your 3rd child and working full time, I'll be sure to point out all the things you are late with! ;)

Morgan Owens said...

Nancy, I was kidding. I read your blog, I KNOW you are busy.

Carrie Ann said...

Love the penis pictures! My son's penis looks pretty big too for 24 weeks. Sorry about the daycare - that really sucks. I couldn't afford that - can you and some other parents petition or something? If they risk losing lots of kids because of the hike, they might listen.

Jen said...

He's 48 huh? Yeah, closer to my mom - who's 52. Boo hiss. Damn Jake Ryan.

Kaci said...

You crack me up. I actually think that whole first image looks big, so maybe it's distorted because of the angle? I always loved the spine shots...so cool.

Crap on the daycare - that sucks.

And I just love your belly. You're the hottest pregnant chick I know. I hope my comment yesterday about your measurements & my weight wasn't schnarky - I thought about it after & realized it could have sounded mean. So my apologies if it came across bad.

chicklet said...

Holy good lord that's a lot of money, and a big change for them to be throwing at you. Man oh man.

Jamie said...

About they daycare - OUCH. That's all I can say.

I can't wait until u/s time . . . until the time when it all feels real.

Anonymous said...

Yikes on the daycare fee.

Congrats on the awesome U/S pics and healthy baby boy in those pics!

Jenn BG said...

LOL!!! Those boy parts include the testicles too, but I know what you mean. You will ever be able to stop assessing your son's penis. I'm very amused by this since I have two boys! Enjoy! Glad all looked good.

Sorry about daycare. That is SO ridiculous. I think my DH would just stay home at that price. I am using a sitter right now and I pay $250 per week. It is great compared to the $380 a week a daycare wanted us to pay starting last month. Hopefully with 3 I'll be at $350 a week or I won't be able to swing it. :(