38 4/7

all quiet. seriously nothing to report. apparently olive is quite happy inside her current home. doctor says everything is fine. so, you know, we're just waiting. and waiting.

6 months and counting...

We had our 24-25 week checkup and everything is great. As with Alexander, this has been a quiet and uneventful pregnancy and we struggle to find things to talk with the doctor about. It's great!

it's a ...

Here we go again! Today we had our 5 month ultrasound for Olive. We had the same doctor as when we did this with Alexander (née Blueberry) and she was all business again. Seriously, if you're looking for an awesome perinatal diagnostic office, we couldn't recommend this doctor more. She's great. The doctor did the normal prodding and moving of the transducer to get the images we were dying to see and take all the measurements we wanted to know were good. In this case everything about Olive came out perfectly: weight was healthy at 13 ounces (same as her big brother!), head and brain big and smart like we expect, heart pumping strong, spinal cord good, hands, feet and limbs all where they should be and looking good. Olive was photogenic and active giving us great views and showing us her emerging gymnastics mastery.

Then we got this image.

IT’S A GIRL!

Alexander was right! He's been telling us for a few days now that it would be a girl. And like last time the doctor was very confident this was for sure.

Proud parents of a girl to be went and celebrated after with some fancy pastries... not as manly as last time, but every bit as yummy!

April 26, 2013

It's confirmed! and April 26, 2013 is our projected due date for our second baby.  She/he is almost 10 weeks old (the doctor said around 9 weeks 5 days - isn't modern technology amazing?! ha ha)!  We are so very excited (and a lil apprehensive) but mostly thrilled that we're adding another joy to our life (and that Alexander will have a sibling).  The doctor also mentioned that everything is measuring perfectly and that mommy's health is great! We haven't shared the news with our Blueberry, but he'll know soon enough!  At 9 weeks, the baby is approximately the size of an olive (at 10, a prune), so we're calling this one Olive. Here's the first picture:

shots!

UPDATE: I forgot to add. Alex now weighs 10lb 14oz and measures 22 1/2 inches long! today our little guy turned 8 weeks old. in many ways it's gone by incredibly fast and at the same time has taken forever. dina and i often remark how we can't believe it's already been, however long it's been.

but the changes in Alexander from when he was born to now are stunning. he's full of personality and interactive - giggling, cooing and beginning to track you with his eyes - well mostly mom, but he knows who i am (i think he's already planning...). it's this interactivity that's really changed his relationship with us and me especially. i've told a number of people that it's a bit hard for a dad to immediately bond with your baby. the whole miracle of life is amazing and holding your new child is amazing, but until he starts to recognize you and responds to your voice, he really doesn't care that much about you. now, if dad had breasts with milk (greg focker's assertions not withstanding) then that'd be different. but watching his face change because he recognizes your voice and face - that's something special.

he's outgrown all of his newborn clothes and fits comfortably in his next size - the infant version of 'husky' i figure - 0-3 months. although. we do have a sleeping outfit that fits 0-9 months - ok it's more of a baby bag with arms right now for him. and we're getting into the next layer of baby toys and accoutrements that are banned until he starts to assert his, for lack of a better phrase, human-ness.

so, to mark his 8 weeks we thought it best to ensure he visits the doctor for his first round of vaccinations and his regular checkup. the perfect gift for the baby who has everything!

the boy has been a champ at this doctor thing. in the hospital he barely fused through all his procedures - crying the most upon being delivered. when he received his very first vaccination he cried after the needle was removed. and through all his being handled and prodded, massaged and touched by doctors, he has never really freaked out. thankfully. today though, he was receiving three shots and an oral vaccination and figuring we were in for a good cry, i had the camera ready.

alexander while waiting for the nurse to 'assault' him

and the result (you'll notice a little red spot on his leg - he received a very colorful round band-aid to cover it up which i'm not looking forward to removing). the nurse though was so fast - i turned around to get dina a toy and she was nearly done - it was all i could do to snap a these two images.

and that was basically it. he quieted down almost immediately, whimpering a little and that was it. the kid's a trooper and made it a lot easier for his parents. he had a rough afternoon - we figure his legs were sore, and fussed a bit. but he's back baby! he's back!

these last 8 weeks have been amazing - and everyone says it only gets better from here. but i can honestly say they've been some of the most awesome, wonderful, tiring days either of us have ever experienced and we're looking forward to many, many more.

and if you haven't met Alex yet, he's looking forward to meeting you soon. but if not, he hopes you'll continue to check in here, now and again.

big

Yesterday, Alexander had his 4 week appointment with the doctor. We're happy to report he's doing great! Weighing in at 9lbs 3oz and measuring 21 inches, Alexander is a happy healthy little boy! He's graduated to larger diapers and already outgrown some of his newborn clothes! His parents, meanwhile are still looking for their lost sleep…

3 down. 7 to go.

for those of you followong along at home, we had an uncomfortable night last night as contractions finally kicked in.this morning we had our regularly scheduled appointment with the doctor. we are now about 3 cm and about 60% effaced (referring to the thining of the cervix). the doctor said she expects to hear from us in the next 24 - 36 hours!

so, we've reiterated to him that we'd prefer him to come after thanksgiving, but, it's up to him.

I'll do my best to keep posting here, but as we get closer, obviously it'll get harder.

no sleep till brooklyn, er mission hospital

last night was the first really rough night. after having minor, erratic contractions earlier in the evening, we were awakened around 1:30 am to an ongoing barage of somewhat random and short contractions until around 6 am. based on everything we know at this point we're on track and with this being the 37th week, this is probably to be expected. but man am I tired.

we have a drs appointment this morning anyway so we'll do that and then who knows. blueberry may be crashing thanksgiving, as Lawrence suggested.

cm

had our first weekly appointment today. best part of the appointment. we're at 1 cm.

wait. who am i kidding. i'm not anything. she's at 1 cm. i'm just standing around like a goof.

anyway - it's early still. but it's good to know we're progressing.

b-day† is around the corner.

In other news, pre-registration is complete and the dr has alerted the hospital to our impending arrival (impending being a loose term here since there's no schedule) and we have a car seat that installs and works.

so, i'd say we're just about ready.

wait. who am i kidding.

† b-day, or 'blueberry day' is the day when he'll arrive.

reality check

dina just scheduled the remaining dr appointments through the due date. reducing the expected amount of time between now and the potential birth date to 6 appointments makes it clear exactly how long we have to go. really clear.

suddenly it really feels like there's no time left.

baby appointment today

had a baby appointment today. all sounded good. the pregnancy continues on in good form (knock on wood) and we find ourselves trying to come up with things to ask the doctor since we haven't had any issues. which is great, if you ask me!

dina received the lab order for the glucose test, so that'll be in a couple of weeks.

Movements ...

So, we've been meaning to tell ya'll, that not only were we able to see Blueberry in all his glory on the small screen a couple of weeks ago, and, of course, hear his strong heartbeat last week - but I felt Blueberry move for the first time around the last week of July!  I wasn't too certain whether I was actually feeling Blueberry move or if my undergarments were just feeling weird - but after conversations with friends from work and with Philip confirming that he'd read that the first fetal movements often feel like butterflies fluttering around - I realized that it must be Blueberry!!  Sure enough, within 5 more days, the sensations became more pronounced and now I feel him all the time!  and it doesn't always feeling like butterflies - but we can't actually see the movement in the belly yet.  Doc said it could be another 3 or so weeks for that.  Looking forward to it!!!

calendaring

forgot to mention the other week that we finally signed up for our myriad of pre-birth classes and what not. included in that are: Open House Prep for Birth Class (a series of 3) Prenatal Breast-feeding Baby Care Basics TotSaver (2 classes. first for babies and kids. 'chris, chris are you ok?!')

You'd think this was hard or something.

Blueberry will be born at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, CA. You can visit the hospital's website here. Following his birth, they provide an opportunity to view his image on their 'virtual nursery' - but let's be honest. It's going to be tough to beat his dad when it comes to spreading the word and images!

doctor's office

Had our next doctor appointment today. Dina's off doing something medical while I wait patiently. These chairs seem vaguely midieval in nature, don't you think?

Also, Blueberry and mom are doing awesome!

it's a ...

dina waitingSo today we had our 5 month full body scan (the baby’s body, not Dina’s). Last night Dina remarked that she was nervous, and anxious, in a Christmas kind of way - excitedly waiting to find out! But first, something had to go horribly wrong. A whole circuit in the kitchen decided now was a good time to stop working and consequently, our refrigerator turned off. Thinking quickly, Philip unplugged everything (there was a most awesome sizzling sound coming from the panel, the kind that screams danger is imminent) and left to go pick up Dina and head to the doctor’s office.

The picture above is Dina waiting patiently while we stared at the cool technology around us and pondered why they would even put a Dell inside a medical office. I mean it didn’t even get used (like you’d expect anything else from a Dell).

The doctor came in and quickly got to work. All business and techie (in a medical way) the doctor didn’t quite exude personality, but she clearly knew what she was doing. Waving the magic wand (transducer, the technical term, she told us) we started seeing Blueberry for real.

blueberry 1

Of course the kid looked good. I mean who doesn’t look good when rendered in ultrasonic waves?

The doctor preceded to poke, push and move the “transducer” around Dina’s belly, showing us different parts of the baby and Blueberry’s weight (a healthy 13 ounces); here’s the head, there’s the brain (big and smart!), here’s the heart (it was pumping correctly), there’s the spinal cord, all the hands, feet and limbs are in their places (and moving again!) and finally there’s this shot:
blueberry 3(arrow added by the doctor for quick identification)

It’s a boy!

So now we now know. Definitely, the doctor added (we think she actually said 100%)! Four months from now we’ll greet our new baby boy. Pretty darn exciting.
And in case your wondering, Dad swapped the circuit breaker in the panel and the refrigerator and all outlets are working again. He’s feeling especially manly right about now. So we’re going to go and kill us some meat or something (is there a tofu animal?).

So

today we had our 5 month full body scan (the baby’s body, not Dina’s). Last night Dina remarked that she was nervous, and anxious, in a Christmas kind of way - excitedly waiting to find out!

But first, something had to go horribly wrong. A whole circuit in the kitchen decided now was a good time to stop working and consequently, our refrigerator turned off. Thinking quickly, Philip unplugged everything (there was a most awesome sizzling sound coming from the panel, the kind that screams danger is imminent) and left to go pick up Dina and head to the doctor’s office.
The picture above is Dina waiting patiently while we stared at the cool technology around us and pondered why they would even put a Dell inside a medical office. I mean it didn’t even get used (like you’d expect anything else from a Dell).
The doctor came in and quickly got to work. All business and techie (in a medical way) the doctor didn’t quite exude personality, but she clearly knew what she was doing. Waving the magic wand (transducer, the technical term, she told us) we started seeing Blueberry for real.

tomorrow!

red rock canyon

Tomorrow we have a big dr’s appointment! We’ll have the full ultrasound scan, which means we’ll find out if it’s going to be a boy or a girl!

In other news, Mom and Blueberry continue to do fine. They both did quite well at the heat and ‘rough’ living this past weekend, while camping.

In other news, Mom and Blueberry continue to do fine. They both did quite well at the heat and ‘rough’ living this past weekend, while camping.

Just so we’re all clear - there wasn’t a pregnant women drinking a beer in this picture, she’s just holding the bottle for me. Yes, it’s true. I was drinking two beers. When it’s 105 outside, you’d drink two as well! Unless, you’re pregnant, then you drink water or Hawaiian Punch.

Check back tomorrow for the news!

appointment, the 3rd

Mom and Blueberry are doing excellent, says the doctor. Blueberry’s heartbeat is a staggering 140/minute (normal) and Mom is doing awesome on the weight. Next appointment is July 27 for the baby scan!