It’s funny, but it seems like not a lot is going on right now. It may be due to the fact that we were fortunate and have had an ultrasound at every prenatal visit so far! Our 14/15 week visit last week held no such opportunity. We have the AFP test scheduled in two weeks, and the 20 week ultrasound complete with cardiac anatomy evaluation in 6 weeks. We really had our ducks in a row this visit and asked our doctor some difficult questions regarding his c-section rates as well as his outlook on doulas, inducing labor and episiotomies. His answers were candid and thoughtful, and we took this as a chance to gossip for a half hour afterwords about what his tone and body language meant. Always deducing, we are. So long story short, no pictures this month, but looking forward to some amazing 20 week sonograms soon (!).
For the time being, our Tiny Elvis is the size (depending on who you ask) of :
a) An apple
b) A baseball
February 17th, 2009
I’ve been anxiously anticipating the development of our baby’s sense of hearing for a while now. For one thing, it’s the only interface that I’ll have for communication to Lil’ E until I meet him(/her). But I’m also excited to be able to play music in utero! I think it’s important to develop a sense of rhythm, groove, and melody as soon as possible. Our baby has ears now, but more specialized hearing organs will be present around week 22. Around that time I plan to present:
Brian Eno – Ambient 1: Music For Airports: I’m sure some of Eno’s subtlety will be lost in transmission, but I think that Music For Airports is the perfect in utero music. It was composed to be played in airports in a time when they were kept silent. Just something to cover the din of people rushing of to catch their flights. The womb is a noisy place, and I’d like to think that this album can help color the day to day swishyness that’s going on in there.
The Grateful Dead – One From The Vault (8/13/75): I really had to think about this one, and I’m stil not sure that this will be it. It has to serve not only as my child’s introduction to the good ol’ Grateful Dead, but perform some basic developmental function as well. Bear’s Choice or Harpur College? I dig the acoustic tip, but too much primal dead and sloppy rhythm. My personal favorite 12/29/77 or the perennial favorite 5/8/77? Pretty, for sure, but at times a little trippy for Lil’ E’s delicate brain. Nope, it has to be one of the damn prettiest shows played. A rare year, indeed, finding the boys incredibly focused. With new research showing babies have a solid sense of the beat as newborns, I have to presume the tight drumming would be appreciated. A nice mix of sharp jamming and fun tunes, just perfect for the hot summer days baby will have in utero.
Motown: I don’t have too many strong opinions on how folks should raise their kids, but I have to say that if you deny your child James Jamerson, you should go to jail. Children need rock solid groovable bass lines to learn and grow.
Yo-Yo- Ma, Edgar Meyer and Mark O’Conner – Appalachian Journey: Picking some American roots music is tough. Bill Monroe type bluegrass is just too fast and dirty. I’d like to find time to play some old South Carolina backwoods banjo music, but I have a feeling Tori will only stand for so much of me putting headphones on her pregnant belly! So I chose one of my favorite suites of music by virtuoso musicians. Guided by the spirit of the Scottish, British and Irish folk music that would become American roots music when it settled into Appalachia, this album really embodies melody for the little one. Since it’s based in folk music rich in simple petatonic scales, it’s like a Dick and Jane reader for melody.
Of course, I know that playing these albums isn’t guaranteed to help develop a musical sense in baby, but it doesn’t hurt to try!
February 9th, 2009
The folks that run HisBoysCanSwim.com (Jane and Tarzan) started following me on twitter, and with such an interesting handle, I checked out the blog. It’s of the here’s-what-we’re-going-through variety, but unique in that both mommy and daddy do the blogging. The site looks great, and I’m looking forward to diving in a bit deeper. Forums too, if that’s your thing.
January 11th, 2009
Just wanted to do a quick roundup of the podcasts I’ve been listening to lately. If you’re not down with finding them in iTunes, I’m providing links to their respective sites, most of them stream at least the recent episodes.
Pea In The Podcast – Complete with light blogging and the cutest damn icon that my iPhone has ever rendered on it’s screen. They usually have “experts” on to discuss issues.
BabyTime – I like this one a lot, mostly because it’s so laid back. This is essentially a way to follow this couples pregnancy. I’ve yet to hear them have an “expert”, they just talk about how they’re doing and what they’re thinking about, week by week. You’ll have to browse the archives (broken down by trimester) because they’ve already had their baby!
Pregtastic – Usually the most in depth of the three listed here, and the site has a pretty solid forum. They also post a lot of videos from users, so it’s a great way to kill some time that would be otherwise spent watching A Baby Story on TLC.
January 10th, 2009
We discovered in early December that Tori was pregnant. We’d been making a half assed effort for a few months, and when we decided to get serious, it happened pretty quick. I’d had a feeling for a week or two, but a missed period was our first piece of evidence. I returned from the drug store with one of those sweet new digital tests, which gave us a result in the time it takes the Millenium Falcon to do the Kessel Run. Our super-cool Clintonville famil doc confirmed a week later.
I’m writing this on December 6th, our 5th week. The chances for a miscarry are still high, and we’ve yet to tell anyone. If this post goes live, that means we’ve crossed the ten week threshold got a sweet 6 week ultrasound confirming a heartbeat and most of you who read this already know.
Tori’s been really good so far… emotional ups and downs and a bit tired. I’m incredibly excited about the whole thing, and have been spending my time researching and learning all I can.
We’re in week 8 now, and things are great. T is (we think) heading out of her everything-tastes-gross-or-smells-gross-so-just-give-me-carbs phase, so we’re thinking about good food again. Our first visist to her new OB/GYN was great, and we’ll see him again in a few weeks. I dropped the news at work and on twitter/facebook today… people freaked out. I really think I surprised some people, but the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We told the grandparents-to-be over the holiday break, they couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s the first grandchild for both families, and we’re looking forward to a wealth of support from both sides of the family.
I also have to mention that our best friends in Columbus are expecting, too. They’re four eight weeks ahead of us, and from what I’ve gleamed on teh internets, there’s no way for us to catch up to them. We really lucked out having someone we’re so close to to share the experience with. It occurred to me immediately, of course, but it wasn’t until I was standing next to the other papa to be looking at the two wives together that my mind was blown.
Internets, we’re having a baby. Be afraid…be very afraid.
First Ultrasound: 6 weeks
January 4th, 2009
Next Posts
