October 31, 2003
Happy Halloween!
Eat lots of candy.
Good news: our friends Ryan and Ann gave birth yesterday to two beautiful children - Lilah Paige and Collin Francis. We're going to visit them in the hospital tonight after work...
Posted by Jason at 9:37 AM | TrackBack
October 22, 2003
Doctor's update
Just got back from a doctor's visit. Baby and Mom get the "All in good health" stamp-of-approval. I wish I knew how to turn off comments. Unfortunately, we're getting attacked by some virus that keeps putting comments up signed "Viagra." That's all I'm going to say. If we keep having problems, we might have to close down the comments section for a while. Sorry...
On another note... Good News! Uncle Richie came home from the hospital last night! Please keep him in your prayers, but according to "Grandmom Annette" he's doing well.
Posted by Lisa at 3:44 PM | TrackBack
October 20, 2003
Week 25
The baby is becoming more and more aware of his/her surroundings this week. According to the literature I've read, by this week, the baby is responsive to both light and touch. Additionally, his/her lungs go through an important developmental process this week.
Light: The baby is responsive to light now, which seems to indicate that the optic nerve is working. If you shine a bright light (like a flashlight... I've already tried it) my belly, the baby will move away from it. This is becoming an effective way of getting the baby repositioned when s/he's sitting in an uncomfortable place. So, it appears that the baby is responding well to stimuli.
Touch: The baby responds to outside touch, now, as well. I recognized this a little earlier than now, but according to the literature, this week is a reasonable time to start noticing such responses. Sometimes if I'm lying in bed or on the sofa and I push two fingers on my stomach and release, the baby will respond by either kicking or pushing on that same spot. The Baby Center website recommends using this time as a way of bonding, by trying to tickle the baby's foot or roll back and forth to see how the baby responds. Quite frankly, I can't seem to get the baby to stay still long enough to do those kinds of things when s/he's awake and active!
Lungs: According to The American Baby website, the baby's lungs go through an important development this week. It reads: "[The lungs] begin to secrete surfactant, a fatty substance that covers the inner lining of the air sacs and allows the lungs to expand normally so breathing can occur. Although it will be approximately 10 more weeks before the lungs are fully operational, the production of surfactant is an essential step in making the fetus viable outside the womb."
That's all the new news I have about the baby for now. S/he's seemingly doing just fine in there, and very glad to have his/her daddy home! We learned all about heffalumps yesterday :-)
Posted by Lisa at 12:49 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 18, 2003
Thoughts and Prayers
Lisa's Uncle Richie had bypass surgery yesterday - he is currently in recovery. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
Jason (in Toronto)
Posted by Jason at 9:41 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
October 13, 2003
Music from the Masses
I couldn't help it... I was trying to come up with a title for this post.. and Depeche Mode just overtook any other possible title! Despite my early teen craze for all things alternative rock, Jason and I have been considering what kind of music to introduce the baby too. Of course, research shows that a baby responds most dramatically to classsical music--specifically Vivaldi's Four Seasons; however, we'd like to come up with a "compilation" mix of people's favorites to introduce to the baby.
So, here's the deal. We're taking suggestions for what songs we should include on "Little Rhody's First Mixx." We're interested in everything from Classical to the Clash and Journey to Jazz. Could you please include with your suggestions the song title, artist, and name of the CD/album where we can find the song. Some of these we may know... but both Jason and I are terrible with names, so it would be helpful to have the refresher. Let us know what you think, and we'll do our best to include it on the mixx.
Thank you for your help! We're looking forward to your suggestions.
Posted by Lisa at 10:58 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
October 12, 2003
Week 24
Little Rhody is an active baby. S/he has been moving around for several weeks now. Despite what we've been told about a fetus's first movements being "like bubbles" or "butterflies," little Rhody can pack quite a punch and has been doing so ever since her/his first recognizable movements. Favorite activities include, punching mommy in three places at once, scrunching up into a ball and then extending all limbs arms and whatever else he/she has got in there to its outmost extreme, and rolling end over end from one side of mommy's tummy to the other. When little Rhody moves, it's lightening quick, sudden, and solid. Sometimes, when we're really quiet in church, little Rhody likes to take mommy by surprise and make her jump out of her chair!
Little Rhody also has fashion preferences. Mommy seems to like this pair of jeans far too much, but every time she wears them, little Rhody registers his/her displeasure by bumping into things... like mommy's bladder... with enough force that she has to go running off to the bathroom. Mommy's learning, though, that little Rhody prefers comfortable clothes with lots of room. He/she is truly his/her father's child!
Aside from these small personality quirks that we are just learning about our littlest family member, things have been quiet and moving along very smoothly. We were, of course, proud to hear that the baby is in the 97th percentile developmentally according to the ultrasound pictures you see below. At 20 weeks, the baby was already a pound, so it's difficult sometimes to look at "average" data and match little Rhody up to these kinds of measurements. Still, we thought you might be interested to hear that the average 24-week-old fetus is 11.81 inches (30 cm) long from crown to heel and weighs 1.32 pounds (600 grams). All of his/her organs are already formed and will continue to mature until delivery. Little Rhody has twice as many taste buds now as s/he will have when s/he is born, and now s/he has eyebrows, fingernails, and toenails.
During the sixth month, there are more changes taking place, but for the most part, the baby is primarily concentrating on forming new pathways in the brain, developing stronger and better lung function, and gaining weight. The new pathways are linked, as we have read, to little Rhody’s increased activity. The baby's motions begin forming neural pathways that the baby will continue to build upon after birth (a good thing that the baby's active!!!). In the meantime, little Rhody's lungs are filled with amniotic fluid (the stuff that fills the sac that encloses the baby... an amazing substance that replenishes itself every three hours). The baby will continue to practice breathing movements (including hiccups) until s/he is ready to make her first grand appearance in the world of air-breathing. Finally, between the rumblings of mommy's stomach and the beating of her really loud heart, little Rhody can hear the outside world.
Since the baby's hearing has improved, daddy started reading Winnie the Pooh each night before bed. Some research shows that babies respond more dramatically to stories and words they heard in-utero when they hear them again after birth. We don't know if that's entirely true... but in our effort to completely brainwash our child into a love of literature... we figured we'd start early!
So, at 24 weeks, that's really all there is to report. We'll keep updating you as we learn more each week. If you're interested, most of our information comes from four sources: What to Expect When You're Expecting third edition by Heidy Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg and Sandee Hathaway (a standard); The Mayo Clinic Guide to Pregnancy and Baby's First Year; The Baby Center website; and The American Baby website. If you have other websites or books you think are especially helpful, let us know!
Posted by Lisa at 4:24 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
October 10, 2003
Well, Howdy!
In an effort to put important things (such as baby pictures, of course) in the hands that want to have them, Lisa and I started up a "blog" (an online journal) for our family and friends.
You'll see that you can add comments below, which you should feel free to do if you wish (please note that occasionally some unsavory person will "spam" the comments - if you see such things, please email me immediately so I can remove it. Thanks!). Topics are posted with the most recent entry at the top of the page, so older goes to the bottom.
So, without futher ado - baby pictures (click on the images for a larger image)!
Baby at 8 weeks:
Baby at 8 weeks (annotated):
Baby at week 20 (September 15):
and another:
and another:
footprints:
and another foot:
and, just in case you were concerned, the baby is giving us the A-OK (look at his/her thumbs-up sign):
And that's it for now!
Posted by Jason at 11:05 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack