Merry Christmas

We enjoyed several Christmas gatherings with my family. (The pictures are from the 23rd and 24th of December.) Our choir performed a cantata for the service on the 23rd, so I sang and Tom played viola in a small string ensemble (which is why Tom is wearing a suit). I gained 2 pounds in the past week from all the Christmas food and goodies (or, more likely, the baby is growing). We had a great time at Paul and Vickie's party and gift exchange, with the funniest gift being a pillow that my brother's family brought. I won't go into details, just in case young people are reading the blog, but the adults can guess the subject matter. We "recycled" the Menopause for Dummies book that my cousin brought last year. It was only fitting that my uncle ended up with the book at the end of the gift exchange. We spent Christmas day baking cookies and had dinner at my brother's house.



Baby update: People keep asking me when I am due and if I am having contractions. I guess my walking gait has changed now that my center of mass has shifted so far forward. People are worried that I will go into labor anytime. I will say that it is a good thing that pregnancy lasts just 9 months, since my bladder wakes me up every two to three hours. Back to the due date - my original due date is January 18, but the ultrasound at 19 weeks moved it to January 13. So, I just tell people that I am due sometime in mid-January. As of now, I am through 37 weeks of pregnancy, so the baby could come anytime. If you want to guess a day and time of the birth, create a response to this blog with your guess and we can see who comes the closest. [Maybe we'll even send the winner a prize.]

We saw the doctor again yesterday and everything seems to be going fine with the baby. My uterus now measures 37 centimeters vertically (which is normal for 37 weeks of pregnancy). His heart beats 140 times per minute, which also seems to be a healthy number.

Enjoy the new year festivities and all the best to you in 2008!

One Last Shower

Tom's co-workers threw us a baby shower yesterday afternoon, which was fun and appreciated. Our baby now has a high chair, which is the last big item that we needed for him. I think we are set in terms of baby gear and clothes now (well, I am sure we will be buying lots of diapers and wipes in the near future...). Tom's co-workers tried to help us with choosing a name, but I do not think we will take the suggestion of "Bam Bam". I thought of Barney Rubble, but Bam is the name of one of their Qualcomm projects.

Doctor Update: We now see my doctor every week until I go into labor. My doctor had not been able to determine the baby's position during the last couple of visits, but the ultrasound today revealed that he is head down, buttom up, so he is ready for delivery. I also learned that I have been having contractions (the warm-up kind) - I just did not know they were happening. During my exam, the doctor said, "You are having a contraction." Now I know I have been having false contractions for quite some time. They do not hurt; instead, they just make the top-half of my belly really hard.

We also had our last birth class last night. One of the couples in the class had their baby early, so they brought their son and shared their birth story last night. I must say that it was reassuring to hear that she had a fantastic (despite 38 hours) labor and delivery. She gave us some great advice, much of which I should have written down. Here's some of the advice that I can remember:

- Pack loose-fitting clothes for after delivery
- Pack music / mp3 player
- Pack chapstick
- Pack entertaining movies
- Use water (bath or shower) during labor
- Hire a lactation consultant if breastfeeding does not get off to a good start
- Have Tom repeat everything the doctor says

12 Days Until Christmas

Mid-December is already here. I was surprised to hear on the radio that we have just 12 days left until Christmas. The time has certainly passed quickly, as the end of semester activities kept me busy. (In fact, I am in the midst of grading reports for my Intro to Engineering course and look forward to finishing reading the large pile in front of me. Writing this entry is giving my brain a break.)

We have little news regarding the baby. I will see the doctor every week until our son decides to make his entrance into the world. Everything seems to be going fine - his heartbeat is strong and his body is taking up more room in my belly. My doctor is a bit unsure about his position, but I am fairly certain that his head is down. When he hiccups, I feel the jabs near my pelvis.

This time of year is keeping us busy, too. Tom was busy baking cookies the past two weeks. He had a Christmas orchestra concert on Saturday, so now he is "on break" from orchestra rehearsal for a few months. We keep thinking that "next week" will be less busy, but we seem to have activities/events most evenings and weekends until Christmas. If I do not have time to write again before Christmas, we hope you have a season filled with much happiness!

Almost Here

Happy Thanksgiving! I know Tom and I are thankful for many blessings in our lives, especially our family, friends, and health. We hope you enjoy the holiday with loved ones. Here's a poem of thanks from our upcoming arrival:

I have ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes
With my kicks, I remind my parents how I grow
I am learning how to taste, hear, smell, touch and see
Thank you, mom, for carrying me

I anticipate the world with wonder and delight
With God's grace, my future is bright
Until we meet, please pray for my health
Your love and generosity are my wealth
- Baby VanDeGrift

Jack Sprat (yet again)

My sister-in-law, Anca, threw me a wonderful baby shower where several family members and friends showered our boy with gifts. Apparently, my nursery rhyme knowledge did not improve in the past two weeks. My score this time? 11 / 15. Again, Jack Sprat was a tough one for me. By this point, I knew that he ate no fat, but I had no idea what his wife could not eat... Oh, well. Chanda took the prize for the nursery rhyme game (not too surprising, since she has a 15-month-old daughter). Luckily, my cousin, Lisa, gave me a set of nursery rhyme cards as a baby gift (so at least I now have some study aids).

We had a great time with the games. We tried to guess baby food (I got a low-score of .5 of 7 correct - the only food I recognized was peas, and it accounted for half the mixture.) We tried to guess items in a diaper bag (I think I got 9 items correct, which was about half the items Anca packed into the bag). My friends and family also wrote down words about the baby and here's a sample of what I can remember: blessed, beloved, beautiful, boy, bouncy, youthful, vision, vivacious, adorable, active, athletic, angelic, new, darling, delightful, devoted, energetic, exhausting, gift, great, generous, giggle, rich, restless, intelligent, innocent, first, faith, fun, thankful, and treat. [Note: the words start with letters BABY VANDEGRIFT]

A nice treat was the set of recipes compiled by the shower guests. We now have several options for quick meals for us and quick meals for the baby once he can eat solids. Thanks for all the cooking advice.

Our baby is one lucky kid. The car was packed with gifts from my generous family and friends. We are almost stocked in terms of baby gear and supplies, so thank you to everyone who gave gifts to our baby. We can't wait for the day when our son gets to meet you.

I appreciate everyone who came to the shower, both from near and far-away places. Your love and friendship are the true gifts for Tom, myself, and our upcoming arrival. I want to express a huge thank you to Anca for hosting the shower, planning the food, entertaining us with games and prizes, and for all her organization. A huge thank you to my brother, Jim, for spontaneously becoming a babysitter for the children who came.

And now, some photos from the shower for you to see...

6 to 8, 3 to 5

We started our baby and birth classes. Here's what I have learned so far...

6-8 pees, 3-5 poops per day for healthy newborn
baby origami for swaddling/burritos
birthing videos are scary
doulas are hyper
confirmed that we will get no sleep

Overall, classes so far have been helpful (so far 2 birth classes and a day-long baby/breastfeeding workshop). We are gaining a better idea of what to expect. We enjoy our birth classmates and boy babies seem to be popular.

42 inches

Nope.. not my height. Try again...

Nope.. not my bust size (even though I am pregnant!)

That's the circumference around my belly, as measured by Bridget during a game at my baby shower last weekend. Two people exactly guessed my belly size! My wonderful high school friends threw our baby a shower of kindness (and many gifts). We have one lucky baby.

I have to say that I felt like my students during the shower... Bridget quizzed us about nursery rhymes and I think I scored 11 / 16. I suppose that's a passing grade, but I have some studying to do before the baby comes! For example, I have not heard of Jack Spat (Sprat) ... see, I can't even remember the name of the character. I quizzed Tom when I returned home and he got 15 /16!! I now know who the nursery rhyme expert in the family is. It's no surprise that the winners of this game, with 16 / 16, were Tricia (a kindergarten teacher) and Audrey (a kindergarten student).

Here are my wonderful friends (some have brought me close to 30 years of absolute joy). Thanks to everyone who helped with organizing the shower! Thank you, Carol, for entertaining us in your home. Thank you, Kristin, for being the point person. Thank you, Bridget, for the great games and prizes. Thank you, Rachy and Jamie, for the yummy baked goods. And I thank everyone else for your love, generosity, and kindness.


Here are our baby's future playmates (Benjamin - 4.5 months, Sophia - 6 weeks, Jacob - 8.5 months with mothers Bridget, Rachy, and Lori):


And, I can't forget Jamie's cupcakes:

Life's a Beach

Tom's brother, Doug, visited us for Tom's birthday (you can guess the year...). We spent the weekend in Oceanside, OR. Along the way we visited a sakery (where sake is made) and the winery where our neighbor, Kristin, works.

Here's Tom and Doug at the beach.



Below are some pictures overlooking the beach from the lighthouse at Cape Mears.

CA trip

We visited Meara last weekend at her new home in Modesto, CA. Since we took pictures during our day at Yosemite, I thought I would post a few here. You can see that my tummy is growing (pictures are at 26 weeks of pregnancy). We had a great time catching up with Meara, seeing her house, visiting Yosemite National Park, and getting a tour of Modesto. The scenic pictures are of the "Half Dome" granite formation at the park.



The ultrasound picture shows the baby at 19 weeks. Sorry for the delay in getting it posted (but I finally had time since it is Fall Break for me).



Update on doctor's visits: I had my glucose screening test to check for gestational diabetes and (fortunately) my sugar level in my blood is normal. My first screening test showed borderline levels of glucose, but my fasting test came back from the lab with no signs of diabetes. I am thankful that my health and the baby's health are holding up during the pregnancy.

Into Fall Already

My doctor's appointment today reminded me that I should write again. Since my last post, we do not have anything new to say about the baby's health or my health. Everything is still going smoothly, but I do get back aches in the evenings now. It's week 26 of the pregnancy (time does fly when I am having fun), so I'm closing in on the end of the second trimester.

People ask me routinely if we have chosen a name for our boy. Tom and I are still in discussion and it seems that the intersection between our desired sets is null. (For those of you non-math/CS types, this means that if Tom likes the name, I don't like it and if I like the name, Tom doesn't like it.) I guess we have a deadline for choosing a name, but I warn you: don't hold your breath for this announcement, as we will likely decide closer to or after the actual delivery.

I also get the question, "Where are you registered?". If you are curious about the answer, we are registered at Target (in store and Target.com) and Amazon.com. It turns out that we do not need too much gear, since my nephew is loaning us his gear, clothes, and toys. What we do need is on the registry, in addition to children's books, learning toys for 1+ years, and 1+ year clothes. If you want to shower our boy with gifts, we won't say no. But, we also welcome your visits, time, and food (after the baby is born).

We're off to northern California for the weekend to visit our friend, Meara. She has finally moved back to the west coast, working at a winery. Of course, the timing means that I can't actually drink the wine, but it will be fun to see her again. I have fall break next week and then Tom's brother is coming to visit us for Tom's birthday. It will be a busy, yet fun week for us.

I'll try to take a picture of my tummy and post it for you to see. Sorry for the delay - we have been busy with family events/parties/sports most weekends and evenings. (Tom is looking forward to actually being at home once the baby is born :)).

Little Kicks

No news is good news, right? Well, that's what you can infer from my lack of posts. I had my monthly check-up this week and all is normal with the baby and me. Now, I can feel the baby kicking me almost every day, but Tom has yet to feel any movement by pressing on my stomach. The baby even woke me up one morning as I felt a jab on my belly button (I thought it was Tom, but he was sound asleep). I haven't had any ailments of pregnancy yet, other than not being able to take full breaths. I had no idea this was happening until I tried to sing at choir rehearsal on Thursday.

Tom and I are doing well. I just finished my second week of fall semester and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I enjoy my courses and students this term. Tom is busy at work right now, trying to finish up some projects for his current team before he transfers to a different team at Qualcomm. Our pear tree certainly kept us busy before Labor Day, too. We're still making jam and we canned about 30 jars of halves.

Feeling blue

No, we're not feeling sad at the moment. That's our cue to announce that we're having a...



baby boy.

We had the anatomical ultrasound yesterday and he revealed his gender. (It definitely was not the umbilical cord.) We're excited to refer to the baby as "he" instead of "it". As far as his health goes, the ultrasound did not reveal anything unusual, so that will probably be the last time we see him until the birth. Tom thinks the baby has big eyes.

Beating Fast

I had my monthly appointment with the doctor today, so I was reminded to write about the baby. We again heard the baby's heartbeat and it was pounding very fast. As they say, no news is good news and so far, there are no complications with the baby or my body. The down syndrome test and my blood work came back as "normal", so there is no cause for concern at the moment. We scheduled the anatomical ultrasound in two weeks, so we hope to make the gender announcement at that time. I'll have more fun referring to the baby as "he" or "she" instead of "it".

People always ask me how I "feel", so you might be curious. As far as feeling the baby, I have not had any distinguishable movement, but I do feel something like gas bubbles (or butterflies) that is a new sensation. As far as my health goes, I am doing quite well. I feel so lucky that I have not had nausea during the pregnancy. I am starting to feel the extra weight in my back and I now have trouble sleeping on my stomach. Perhaps I'll start taking and posting belly photos for you to see. Fortunately, I can still wear my pre-pregnancy shorts, so I should make it through the summer with my seasonal wardrobe. But, I'll be weariing "new" (bigger) back-to-school clothes this fall.

First (Surprise) Baby Shower

We just returned to Portland after an exciting weekend in Whidbey Island. We stayed with our former choir director and her husband (Kathy and Harry). Because we had not seen most of our church friends since we left Seattle two years ago, Kathy organized a potluck at their house on Saturday evening and invited all the old choir members. We enjoyed great food, fun, and fellowship with our friends. After dinner they surprised us with a baby shower! The baby received its very first presents from members of Edmonds Lutheran. The baby is set for sleeptime, bathtime, storytime, and waketime now. Here are some pictures of our wonderful friends.

Update

I have no big news at this time, but I am now back from my three trips to Hawaii. We had our prenatal test for down syndrome on Monday and the baby looks normal. We'll know more when my blood work comes back from the lab. I thought we would have about a 10-minute ultrasound as part of the test, but we were there for over an hour. Our baby is either misbehaving already or is completely content - it would not turn to give the nurse a good view of its head and neck (apparently what they need to do the test). I just figured the baby was still on vacation from being in Hawaii. Despite two restroom breaks and laying on my side, the baby just wouldn't turn. It did plenty of jumping and waving while we watched, but no turning. Well, the nurse became frustrated and got the doctor. It took him about 10 minutes to get the measurements he needed. I would post pictures, but the nurse forgot to give them to us. Rest assured, the baby has two arms, two legs, one head, and (we think) five fingers on each hand.

First Picture

Here is the first ultrasound.

The big news

Yes, we are starting a family. Although we found out that we were expecting on Mother's Day, we waited to tell our family until June 15 when Tom's parents would be visiting us in Oregon. Tammy quietly invited her mom, brother's family, an aunt and uncle, and Tom's parents to a family birthday dinner to celebrate Jim's birthday and Tammy's birthday. After dinner and after the gifts were opened, we presented everyone with another gift that will be arriving in January. Most people seemed shocked (and happy) with the news. It was a fun way to surprise everyone with the big news that we had to keep secret for so long.