Danielle has always been a cuddler. I, on the other hand, like my space. I usually sleep so close to the edge of the bed that I'm partly hanging off of it just so I can get my one inch buffer. Now that she's further along in her pregnancy, she's not supposed to sleep on her back or her front. To help from rolling over at night, Danielle puts a gigantic pillow between her legs. So now when she cuddles up behind me, she rams a big pillow into my back or between my legs as well.
I'll probably "complain" a bit in my posts, but they're certainly not real complaints. They're just funny observations about the strange and interesting changes that are going on (and many of you have already gone through). To be honest, so far, Danielle has made the whole thing very easy on me. There were no late night runs for fried chicken and mint chocolate chip ice cream or strange requests to, "mix in some coconut with the soup tonight". She was only sick once. Not much has changed except for the fact that it takes us longer to go through wine now. Like I said before, I think she was made for this.
Danielle starts school today so she'll start getting up early. After 2 double espressos last night, I was up at 3:30, so I decided to get up with her this morning. My new job has more relaxed starting hours than most places, so normally, I'll be able to sleep in much later than her. It will be interesting once the baby arrives to see how the feeding schedule will work. How many times will we need to get up at night? Who will take which shifts? Will the baby like Danielle more since she'll breastfeed and I'll use a bottle? (I know I would.)
Baby's words of wisdom: "When you stress, I stress. When you relax, I relax. When you speak, I hear you. When you sing, I hope for the end of the song!"
P.S. Thank you for the comments! We both really enjoy them, so keep them coming.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
17 Weeks
This week brings us to the week of the turnip (not nearly as appealing as the avacado, but oh well). The baby is about 5 inches long and weighs in at about 5 ounces. Bones are beginning to form from the soft cartilage and are getting quite a workout from all the swimming, flipping, and squirming going on. I can't wait until we can actually feel a little bit of that action!
And to respond to the baby's words of wisdom: Oh, my little love, how right you are! My comparisons of you to food are probably very related to hunger, seeing as I am always hungry nowadays. Even 30 minutes after eating, bam -- once again hungry! So, for now, I think you're just destined to remain a little vegetable.
Our 6th grade students begin school tomorrow, officially marking the beginning of the school year. While I'm excited to meet them all, I'm not so excited at the prospect of getting up at 5:00am on a regular basis again! Yes, 5:00am. After all, I have to give myself a good 20 minutes to prepare my "lunch" for the day, which consists of quite a few courses to be consumed throughout the day. So, without any further ado, it's time for me to make my way to bed to ensure that both me and the babe get a bit of sleep before the alarm goes off at such an ungodly hour!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Dad's Corner: The First Post
I can't let Danielle have all of the fun, so I'll try to post something interesting every now and then. As you read in the last post, being the dad-to-be is like being a spectator during our doctor visits. As everyone knows, I can be quiet, but a word to the OBs and NPs out there: At least glance in my direction every few sentences and acknowledge my existence!
Watching Danielle go through this experience has been amazing. You'd think she was born for this because she has handled it like a real pro so far. We're both getting bigger (for different reasons of course), but she seems to carry it much better than I do. As with everything she does, she's met pregnancy head on with a carefully laid out plan including a dieting regiment that has her snacking every few hours, eating whole wheat everything, and passing almost as much gas as me.
The baby still hasn't made his/herself known to us by kicking, punching, or otherwise abusing Danielle's insides, and try as I might, unless the baby has an uncanny ability to growl, I can't hear his/her presence with my ear against Danielle's belly. I'm very excited for the day that I can at least minimally experience something similar to what Danielle feels when I can feel the baby's existence. Up until that day, the baby is somewhat of an enigma, only evidenced by a bulging belly, an electronic wooshing noise on a heart monitor, and a blurry black and white picture that looks more like an abstract artist's rendition of a trapped kidney bean.
Don't forget to vote in our poll on the right hand side: Is the baby a boy or girl? Also, we'd love it if people left comments on the posts! Just click the link after each post that says "n comments" and leave us a message. It might not appear right away because we're moderating comments, but don't worry, we'll make sure it gets through.
Baby's words of wisdom: "If you keep comparing me to a fruit, vegetable, or other food item, maybe it's because you need to eat something."
Watching Danielle go through this experience has been amazing. You'd think she was born for this because she has handled it like a real pro so far. We're both getting bigger (for different reasons of course), but she seems to carry it much better than I do. As with everything she does, she's met pregnancy head on with a carefully laid out plan including a dieting regiment that has her snacking every few hours, eating whole wheat everything, and passing almost as much gas as me.
The baby still hasn't made his/herself known to us by kicking, punching, or otherwise abusing Danielle's insides, and try as I might, unless the baby has an uncanny ability to growl, I can't hear his/her presence with my ear against Danielle's belly. I'm very excited for the day that I can at least minimally experience something similar to what Danielle feels when I can feel the baby's existence. Up until that day, the baby is somewhat of an enigma, only evidenced by a bulging belly, an electronic wooshing noise on a heart monitor, and a blurry black and white picture that looks more like an abstract artist's rendition of a trapped kidney bean.
Don't forget to vote in our poll on the right hand side: Is the baby a boy or girl? Also, we'd love it if people left comments on the posts! Just click the link after each post that says "n comments" and leave us a message. It might not appear right away because we're moderating comments, but don't worry, we'll make sure it gets through.
Baby's words of wisdom: "If you keep comparing me to a fruit, vegetable, or other food item, maybe it's because you need to eat something."
Friday, August 22, 2008
16 weeks
Today, we finally got to meet our OB. At our practice, our visits alternate between the nurse practitioner and the OB, so while we've met the NP, several technicians, and nurses between all of our visits, we actually had not met the doctor yet. Luckily, it turned out that we really liked her. Well, I really liked her a lot. Mike's comment was, "Just like everyone else, she barely even looked at me or acknowledged my presence." Despite that one little thing that she (and most others in the prenatal world) seem to ignore the father, we had a great meeting with her. She was very down-to-earth and straightforward. She took the time to fully explain answers to all of our questions and ensure that we were satisfied with the response. I left the appointment feeling really good about our choice!
This week, the baby is the size of an avocado -- about 4 1/2 inches long and 3 1/2 ounces. The facial features and head are coming into a more final form, with the eyes now near the front of the head and the ears appropriately placed on the sides. The heart has begun pumping blood; today, we heard it beating at about 140 - 150 beats per minute.
We'll be back in for our next appointment in three weeks - on September 11. On that day, we'll meet with the NP again and have the big anatomical ultrasound. Baby willing, we'll know on that day whether the little one is a boy or a girl!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
15 weeks
This week, I have officially begun wearing maternity clothing! I can still get away with regular shirts, but maternity pants are pretty much required at this point. I purchased a couple pairs of capris, which should serve me well for awhile until cooler weather sets in. Many generous recent moms have also offered to share their maternity clothes, which is so appreciated and will certainly help us conserve funds for all the coming expenses.
The baby has now reached the size of an apple -- about 4 inches long and 2 1/2 ounces. The baby has begun moving amniotic fluid through his/her nose and lungs, helping air sacs form. In addition, taste buds are beginning to form, though he/she cannot taste anything quite yet. The eyelids are still fused shut, but he/she can now sense light and react to it. If we were to shine a flashlight at my belly, the baby would move away from it.
In other news, I'm back to work full time now, as is all staff at the school. It's really great to be back. There are so many exciting things being planned for this school year, and it's been fun to realize anew how much I love working with all of my colleagues. Having everyone back in the building has reinvigorated me, and while it was certainly nice to have the more flexible part-time summer schedule, I'm thrilled to be back full-time and just weeks away from kids arriving.
Mike also loves his new job. He fits right in with his teammates and has already started developing some great relationships. He already has many projects to keep him busy and is enjoying learning his way around the new systems. He's even excited about the fact that he's headed into work tonight from 10pm to midnight for a new site build. Sounds terrible to me to be at work at midnight, but just the fact that he's excited about it shows how happy he is with this new job. (... and what a complete geek he is.)
The baby has now reached the size of an apple -- about 4 inches long and 2 1/2 ounces. The baby has begun moving amniotic fluid through his/her nose and lungs, helping air sacs form. In addition, taste buds are beginning to form, though he/she cannot taste anything quite yet. The eyelids are still fused shut, but he/she can now sense light and react to it. If we were to shine a flashlight at my belly, the baby would move away from it.
In other news, I'm back to work full time now, as is all staff at the school. It's really great to be back. There are so many exciting things being planned for this school year, and it's been fun to realize anew how much I love working with all of my colleagues. Having everyone back in the building has reinvigorated me, and while it was certainly nice to have the more flexible part-time summer schedule, I'm thrilled to be back full-time and just weeks away from kids arriving.
Mike also loves his new job. He fits right in with his teammates and has already started developing some great relationships. He already has many projects to keep him busy and is enjoying learning his way around the new systems. He's even excited about the fact that he's headed into work tonight from 10pm to midnight for a new site build. Sounds terrible to me to be at work at midnight, but just the fact that he's excited about it shows how happy he is with this new job. (... and what a complete geek he is.)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Just Kidding... 14 Weeks!
And just like that we've jumped from somewhere around 13 weeks, 5 days to somewhere around 14 weeks, 2 days. In reality, it's not all that much of a difference, but it actually is a big deal in the prenatal world. When we went in for our test this morning, the technician first did a regular (Level 1) ultrasound to do some basic measurements. All of her measurements did not quite line up with the measurements we got in our first ultrasound, effectively bumping us up a few days. Of course, all of these high tech tests have a margin of error of a couple days, which is why they suggest just sticking with the due date indicated by your date of your last menstrual period. (For us, that's February 4 -- Mike's birthday!) According to the original ultrasound, it seemed the baby may actually come a few days after that, but according to the new one, it seems that the baby may actually come a few days before the 4th!
The big outcome of this is that we were too late for our integrated screening test (a test for Down Syndrome and other neural tube defects) that we went in for this morning. It has to be done before 14 weeks or it is no longer accurate. Therefore, we weren't able to do the test. I'm mildly annoyed with our doctor's office that they scheduled it so late in the supposed 13th week, cutting it so close, but oh well. In the end, it's not too big of a deal anyway. There's another test we can do instead in a few weeks, and there's really nothing much to worry about since I'm still under 35 and we don't have any family history of neural tube defects.
So, in the end, we didn't get to do the 3D (Level 2) ultrasound, but we do have new pictures from the Level 1 ultrasound that we did do. The heartbeat came in at about 150 beats per minute. The baby is about 83-84 millimeters (or 3 1/3 inches) long. This week is full of facial expressions -- squints, frowns, grimaces, and even some thumb sucking. No longer a shrimp, the baby is now about the size of a lemon. During the ultrasound, we were able to see him/her squirming and bopping around. A few of the shots are to the right. The first one is a side shot. You can see the head to the left and the body to the right. Down the back, you can see the developing spine. In the head, you can see the developing brain. On the bottom, below the body, you can see a leg curled up. The second shot is more of an overview, looking down at the baby. You can see the face and brain, and below the head you can see one arm laying across the chest. The other dot to the right of that arm is the other hand, which he/she is waving at us! :-) The final picture is more of a frontal view, again showing the face and body. The technician said that all looks good, given what they can see at 14 weeks.
And so, 14 weeks it is and working our way steadily into the 15th! Our next ultrasound will be at 19 weeks, and that's when we'll get to really check everything out in depth, including what's between those legs!
The big outcome of this is that we were too late for our integrated screening test (a test for Down Syndrome and other neural tube defects) that we went in for this morning. It has to be done before 14 weeks or it is no longer accurate. Therefore, we weren't able to do the test. I'm mildly annoyed with our doctor's office that they scheduled it so late in the supposed 13th week, cutting it so close, but oh well. In the end, it's not too big of a deal anyway. There's another test we can do instead in a few weeks, and there's really nothing much to worry about since I'm still under 35 and we don't have any family history of neural tube defects.
So, in the end, we didn't get to do the 3D (Level 2) ultrasound, but we do have new pictures from the Level 1 ultrasound that we did do. The heartbeat came in at about 150 beats per minute. The baby is about 83-84 millimeters (or 3 1/3 inches) long. This week is full of facial expressions -- squints, frowns, grimaces, and even some thumb sucking. No longer a shrimp, the baby is now about the size of a lemon. During the ultrasound, we were able to see him/her squirming and bopping around. A few of the shots are to the right. The first one is a side shot. You can see the head to the left and the body to the right. Down the back, you can see the developing spine. In the head, you can see the developing brain. On the bottom, below the body, you can see a leg curled up. The second shot is more of an overview, looking down at the baby. You can see the face and brain, and below the head you can see one arm laying across the chest. The other dot to the right of that arm is the other hand, which he/she is waving at us! :-) The final picture is more of a frontal view, again showing the face and body. The technician said that all looks good, given what they can see at 14 weeks.
And so, 14 weeks it is and working our way steadily into the 15th! Our next ultrasound will be at 19 weeks, and that's when we'll get to really check everything out in depth, including what's between those legs!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
13 Weeks
At thirteen weeks, we are in the last week of the first trimester. The baby is now beginning to grow leaps and bounds. This week, the little one weighs in at one ounce and is about three inches long. Somehow, the website that equates the growth of the baby to food says that this is the size of a medium shrimp. Personally, I don't think I've eaten a medium shrimp that's bigger than a large lime. Maybe I've just been eating the wrong shrimp. All of our books says the baby is the size of your fist. I like this visual better. And again, a shrimp the size of my fist? I think not.
Tomorrow morning, we have a 3D ultrasound, so we're looking forward to that! Hopefully we'll have some good pictures to post!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Beautiful cake to announce the news
Liz had a beautiful (and delicious!) cake for us to help announce the big news at the whiffle ball tournament last weekend. It was so cute and much appreciated! Unfortunately, if you missed the tournament, you can look, but you can't taste!
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