Anne's baby belly, week 23
Jan 31, 2008
Jan 30, 2008
midwife
We've picked a midwife and she confirmed that she's available to work with us – yay! We will meet with her once a month until 28 weeks; every two weeks until 36 weeks; and once a week until the baby comes. Our initial prenatal visit will be next Tuesday at home (all her visits will be at our house). We're very excited to get started with this...
Jan 23, 2008
report from our ultrasound
Yesterday, they called from the hospital to tell me that everything came back normal from the ultrasound; what joyous news! Then later that day, during my film studies class, while I was watching a film with my students, I could feel the baby kicking and moving around; it was so wonderful to actually feel the baby like that! In the evening, while Leighton and I were watching a movie at home, I could feel it again and this time Leighton could feel it too when he put his hand on my belly. A happy and proud dad indeed! I guess the baby likes it when I'm kicking back to watch a good movie! :)
Jan 22, 2008
Jan 16, 2008
our ultrasound
Today we had our ultrasound, and it was amazing. We were both a little anxious beforehand, hoping we'd see a happy healthy little baby. And we did! Stretching and moving around, seeming quite content in its warm nest. It looks like all the little organs are developing and functioning well; our technician gave us an unofficial thumbs up but a radiologist and our ob/gyn will look at the pictures too and give us the official report. We saw the baby's brain, heart (with all 4 chambers), kidneys, lips (no cleft palate), fingers, spine, ears, eyes, arms and legs. The technician guesstimated the baby's length to 10 inches and its weight was measured at 14 ounces. This is apparently a little heavier than average for this point in the pregnancy. The technician gave us May 31 as the baby's arrival date (our doctor had told us June 4), hence the new title of this blog. We are very very happy today and feel very rich and fortunate. Thank you all for sharing in our joy!
pictures and video clips
A big thumbs UP!
Profile: a very cute nose and upper lip. You can see that the baby has been learning yoga from mama.
Profile: with a big leg stretch. And you can see the heartbeat.
Face Forward
Profile: a very cute nose and upper lip. You can see that the baby has been learning yoga from mama.
Profile: with a big leg stretch. And you can see the heartbeat.
Face Forward
Jan 15, 2008
half way to fatherhood
Today marks the last day of the first half of our pregnancy. We are very excited and anxious about the ultrasound tomorrow. Hopefully we can get a picture to share. If not, you can still count on more "baby belly" pictures.
Tonight I baked a spinach risotto, and made a mixed green, cranberry and sunflower seed salad; plus a basil, garlic, Parmesan baguette from the Brick Oven, with sliced smoked mozzarella cheese and French herb mustard; some spay roses for Anne, to top it off, with candles and music – all so she knows how excited I am that we will be having a baby together!
Yes, I know what you're thinking, but I love going over the top for her. And I look forward to spoiling our child with all the same love and attention.
Tonight I baked a spinach risotto, and made a mixed green, cranberry and sunflower seed salad; plus a basil, garlic, Parmesan baguette from the Brick Oven, with sliced smoked mozzarella cheese and French herb mustard; some spay roses for Anne, to top it off, with candles and music – all so she knows how excited I am that we will be having a baby together!
Yes, I know what you're thinking, but I love going over the top for her. And I look forward to spoiling our child with all the same love and attention.
Jan 11, 2008
Jan 9, 2008
starting out in the new year with a cold
We're both sick. Which is no fun, but I guess it's going around. Anne is busy teaching her interim film course and I'm working on a grant application and also a paper proposal for an Ibsen conference. And January is flying by!
The polls are out and the results in: You picked Sebastian and Maja (Maja evolved from Kaia, while Nadja has since been crossed off the list; Hillary and Barack and Mitt were never options). And apparently you think we're having a girl – although we won't know for sure until the big day when we get to meet the little one personally.
The search for a midwife is coming along, and we've narrowed down the choices to three. But we might meet with another midwife or two before making our final decision. Until then, we're still going to prenatal appointments at the Northfield Hospital, and we have an ultrasound scheduled for next Wednesday, the first day of the week 21 (half way through the pregnancy). So we'll get a quick peak and perhaps a snapshot of our growing baby.
That's all for now.
The polls are out and the results in: You picked Sebastian and Maja (Maja evolved from Kaia, while Nadja has since been crossed off the list; Hillary and Barack and Mitt were never options). And apparently you think we're having a girl – although we won't know for sure until the big day when we get to meet the little one personally.
The search for a midwife is coming along, and we've narrowed down the choices to three. But we might meet with another midwife or two before making our final decision. Until then, we're still going to prenatal appointments at the Northfield Hospital, and we have an ultrasound scheduled for next Wednesday, the first day of the week 21 (half way through the pregnancy). So we'll get a quick peak and perhaps a snapshot of our growing baby.
That's all for now.
Jan 8, 2008
relax and adapt: yoga for the new year
Since last summer, Leighton and I have enjoyed attending yoga classes together, every Saturday morning at 8:15 A.M. Today, two DVDs arrived in the mail for me: one with prenatal, and one with postnatal yoga exercises by Shiva Rea to inspire my home practice, Christmas gifts from Leighton. For almost ten years, yoga has been an important part of my life. My practice has changed as my needs have changed. First, while still in grad school and for a while after, focusing on breathing and returning to my body and inner self was most important; Stephen Cope's Yoga and the Quest for the True Self was an essential companion. Then, for some time, focusing on courage and physical strength became important to me, especially for its mental benefits; I found that a strong body equals a strong mind, soul, spirit, intellect, etc. Judith Lasatar's book Living Your Yoga was a helpful guide during this period. In periods since, focusing on stillness and breathing, or preservation, has at times been more important than strengthening and growth, e.g. when I broke my collar bone, or when I had particularly challenging issues to deal with in my life. Now I'm in yet a new phase as my body is adapting to the growth of somebody else, nurturing the growth of a new life.
On New Year's Eve and Day, Leighton and I went to intention setting yoga classes at the local studio in town where we meditated on the values that can best serve our living, in this present moment. We were first asked to remember a time in our lives where we felt completely at peace and ease with life, and then to think about the factors that contributed to the values of that moment. While I found safety and inspiration to be key values to me, our yoga teacher also suggested we keep mindful of how we can relax and adapt to whatever life brings us, be it a challenging pose, a demanding task, a new job, a difficult colleague, etc. For me, this mantra, of relaxing and adapting, has proven immensely valuable as I ease into modified yoga poses, manage my days at work, and prepare for our baby's birth. A growing belly, a sore back and joints, swollen legs, and more fatigue, implying even more of a constant time crunch, feel less like obstacles when I'm mindful of this intention to relax and adapt, and rather just what is, which opens up for a whole set of new gifts that life brings me when I just live it, right now, in this present moment, instead of striving to control or fight it.
On New Year's Eve and Day, Leighton and I went to intention setting yoga classes at the local studio in town where we meditated on the values that can best serve our living, in this present moment. We were first asked to remember a time in our lives where we felt completely at peace and ease with life, and then to think about the factors that contributed to the values of that moment. While I found safety and inspiration to be key values to me, our yoga teacher also suggested we keep mindful of how we can relax and adapt to whatever life brings us, be it a challenging pose, a demanding task, a new job, a difficult colleague, etc. For me, this mantra, of relaxing and adapting, has proven immensely valuable as I ease into modified yoga poses, manage my days at work, and prepare for our baby's birth. A growing belly, a sore back and joints, swollen legs, and more fatigue, implying even more of a constant time crunch, feel less like obstacles when I'm mindful of this intention to relax and adapt, and rather just what is, which opens up for a whole set of new gifts that life brings me when I just live it, right now, in this present moment, instead of striving to control or fight it.
Jan 3, 2008
baby belly week 19
Anne's baby belly, week 19
We had a check up with the doctor this morning and heard the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler. And Anne thinks she felt the first flutters this evening!
Jan 1, 2008
happy new year
The tree is down and the Christmas decorations, packed away. Now it's 2008, the first day of a big year for us – just look at the countdown with the little revolving fetus and you can see that we're in for a lot of new this year. And we look forward to it all. Happy New Year, from Anne and Leighton.
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