Here's Lookin' at You, Kid...

I’m a little slow getting the pictures up from the last ultrasound. We had another appointment with the OB yesterday, and she informed us that everything looks healthy right now. Dani’s glucose test came back fine, so there’s no risk of gestational diabetes. In fact, pregnancy in general is agreeing with her – she can even enjoy milkshakes. Her favorite pregnancy snack by far has been fresh fruit by the pint. Blueberries, strawberries, bananas… you name it. If it’s not in season and outrageously priced, she’s craving it. But it could be a lot worse. She could be craving Häagen-Dazs® and Krispy Kremes.
The baby’s room is just about ready for a coat of paint. I hope to have it ready in time for the baby shower, for everyone to see. The crib is already set up in the spare bedroom and doing double duty as storage for quilts.
We start our childbirth classes at Highland Hospital on January 23rd. They will last us right up until March 8th… just a few days before the arrival.

Merry Christmas!

Jeffrey would like to say “Thanks” for a great Christmas… except that he really hasn’t learned how to talk yet. Or breathe, for that matter. Meme sent a cute blue jumper. Mom Nabozny sent a pack of creepers. Aunt Bonnie sent him a beanie baby lion. Grandma & Grandpa sent a few lullaby CDs… and I think those will be appreciated by us even more!
We hope everyone had a great weekend, and we’re looking forward to seeing you all at the shower(s).

A Geek Perspective on Pregnancy

Part of being a geek is the fulfillment that comes with creating things. Save for the few items that adorned my parent’s fridge in my grade school days, most of the things that I create are not tangible. Some lines of code here… a script there… a database or a network installation. Nothing that you can really put your hands on. But nonetheless, I beam with pride when I see my handiwork in use on computer monitors or printouts.
This got me to thinking today as I sat in front of the computer, digitizing the in utero events of our son. I smiled as I watched his movements on the small LCD of my digital camcorder and organized the scans of his ultrasound pictures in Picasa. It gets more real everyday. Here’s a creation that Danielle and I made, documented in 1’s and 0’s on my computer’s hard drive. And in just a few short months, the face I see on the ultrasound will be able to be held in my arms.
I really can’t explain how it feels. The 5 GB of pictures I have on my computer are all of people I’ve met in person and places I’ve been to. I’ve never met a person through digital pictures before they were born! And yet, there he is, glowing back to me from my LCD. I can’t wait to meet him in person.

A Navel Discovery

95 days, 8 hours and 20 minutes to go… OK, so nobody really knows, but it’s been fun to put a desktop count down on my computer screen. It’s counting towards 8:00 AM on March 22nd, but if the boy has inherited any of my punctuality, well we may extend that counter a bit.
In other belly-related news, Danielle made a fun discovery tonight. Her belly button is getting bigger. It’s actually changed shape. I wonder, how much longer before her biological turkey timer pops out? Many mothers (both online and in-person) tell us that “such and such” will get old after a while; the kicks, the looking down and seeing the belly, etc. It hasn’t. We hope it won’t.
Oh, and we had a craving tonight… Klondike bars during a snow squall. It’s OK Jeff, you’re worth it. So is your Mom.

Well it seems as if the tides have shifted and all is going well for Jeffrey. We're able to feel a lot more movement now. It's so amazing to feel him kick and roll around. I'm starting to look a little more rounded. I think people can actually distinguish between pregnant and "is she just putting on weight?" I've almost completed my water aerobics class and I think I'm going to take the next session in January. It's fun to bob around and be weightless for a while. All in all, everything seems to be going well. I am feeling healthy and haven't been having any problems. We are having another ultrasound on December 19th to check out the boy. They want to confirm that the amniotic fluid level is okay. I'm sure everything is going to be fine and we're just going for another picture. He sure is a photogenic boy.