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January 31, 2004
Sleep is Good
There are certain things you shouldn't try to do when you are sleep deprived. Drive. Fly a plane. Train someone in the use of a bow and arrow. Rapidly slice tomatoes.
Or, you know ... try to trim your beard (click on the pictures for a higher resolution version).
The difference was much more evident when my beard was longer. Before I took the pictures, I trimmed it down to see if I could negate the effects of shaving closely straight through the middle of my beard.
It didn't really work so well ...
Needless to say, I ate my dinner using only a spoon.
Posted by Jason at 11:23 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 29, 2004
I Am Cute
Daddy taught me how to post to a webpage, so I thought I would share a few pictures that they so wisely took of me today (even though I didn't give them permission).
[Daddy also told me that clicking on the pictures will give you a bigger picture, and to use the "back" button on the browser to come back to see what other smart and cute things I'd say.]
First I pretended to be asleep
Even when they called my name
I stifled a yawn
Mommy played with me, and I considered being cute,
So I was.
Then Daddy held me, and I decided I was tired again.
Hope you enjoyed my morning as much as I did.
Love,
Evalyn.
Posted by Evalyn at 11:36 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
January 27, 2004
Evalyn Says "Hi!"
[Click on the images for a bigger image. Click on your browser's "Back" button to return to this page.]
Posted by Jason at 6:21 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack
January 26, 2004
Blessed by Grace
I'm proud to announce that Evalyn Grace Rhody was born at 1:30 pm on Sunday, January 25th. She was so eager to meet her parents, she hardly needed Mommy to push at all (once we got to 'pushing' stage, Lisa only had to push 5 times).
Lisa is doing very well and left me stunned by her grit and grace during some rather sharp moments of labor. Both parents enjoyed spending their first (somewhat sleepless) night with their new daughter at the hospital.
Evalyn Grace is beautiful and healthy, having received the thumbs-up from the pediactric staff this morning. And she is obviously a very considerate little girl, because she gave her parents and both sets of grandparents plenty of time to beat the snowstorm that fell around them last night (about 6" of snow).
We should be heading home tomorrow. Pictures will be posted when when all get settled in.
Thanks to everyone for their love and support.
Posted by Jason at 1:08 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 13, 2004
Quick note
No matter what... There will be a baby in the next month. According to my doctor's office, they won't let me go any longer than 2 weeks after the due date.... So, even if baby Rhody decides to take his/her sweet time, by this day one month from now, labor will have started... because they're not going to induce on a Saturday. Who knows? Maybe we'll have another lucky 13 in the family... I was born on the 13th of December... and three years ago this February 13th, Jason asked me to marry him.
:-)
Posted by Lisa at 2:58 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 12, 2004
Week 37 – Full Term
According to most baby journals, pregnancy websites, and books that I’ve read, week 37 marks that the pregnancy has reached “full term.” If Little R were born anytime from now until February 13th, s/he would be considered having reached that “full term” landmark. Now, let’s be clear… that means that the baby has fully developed and simply continues to “pack on the pounds” until s/he decides to grace us with his/her presence. In the meantime, Little Rhody’s parents continue to get everything ready for his/her arrival! The baby shower was very helpful in getting us started on the path to preparation. Within 24 to 48 hours of the shower, everything was out of the boxes, put together, installed, and ready for baby. Now, we’re just doing the diaper shopping and medicine cabinet preparation.
Still, there are a few more “non-baby” things that we’re hoping to get done before the baby arrives. I have to finish working on a grant, preparing for a new-teacher orientation in the Freshman Writing office, and complete chapter 1 of my dissertation. Jason also has a good bit on his plate. Between work, his dissertation, and baby classes—not to mention how helpful he’s been by picking up all of the extra slack around the house—Jason’s probably ready for a good long winter’s nap himself!
We had our first of 4 regularly scheduled doctor’s appointments for month 9. There is, of course, no real way to tell when labor will happen. As we’re learning, it’s all in engagement, dilation, and effacement. In terms of engagement, the baby’s head “drops” into the pelvis for first-time moms about 2 weeks before delivery. The cervix needs to dilate (get bigger) in order for the head to fit through. It also needs to “thin out.” Our birth class instructor demonstrated this concept by pushing her head through a turtleneck sweater… I’d have to say that it was a much more pleasant concept before the visualization.
To put this in more tangible terms, Little Rhody has 1 of 3 things going for it. The cervix has dilated to 1 cm. Nine left to go there. However, his/her head is “low” but not “engaged,” and the cervix has not yet begun to efface (a measurement done in percentages). Apparently “effacing” is really the key sign in a first-time mother’s progress in labor.
The good news: It doesn’t look like Little Rhody is going to make his/her appearance right away. The bad news: It doesn’t look like Little Rhody is going to make his/her appearance right away—and despite the practical reasons for waiting until February 1… we’re still very excited to finally meet Little R. Still, everything’s on its way to being ready… I suppose Little Rhody’s just letting his/her mommy “catch up” before s/he makes his/her grand entrance. Such thoughtfulness in a child this early certainly must be a good sign!
Posted by Lisa at 7:00 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Baby Shower - Thank You
Lots of activity has been going on at the home front. Saturday, January 3rd, our generous friends and family got together to shower Jason and I with all kinds of love, much needed advice and baby necessities. We wish we could show you all the pictures from the event, but in our enthusiasm over our new video camera—we forgot to take any still pictures. If you happen to have any, could you send a few our way? We’d love to show you the video footage, too; however, we still need to get a “fire wire” card for Jason’s computer in order to work with the video. So, for now, those will have to go in the “Forthcoming from the Rhodys” list, and I’ll have to tell you about it verbally.
We can’t begin to tell you how fantastic it was to have everyone come to the shower who could! Our Aunt Ellie and cousin Carm drove a caravan of family members from Philadelphia and New Jersey especially for the party. Despite the miserable I-95 South signage at the I-495 interchange, they persevered and made a special day even more special by simply being there.
Several of our friends deserve special thanks, as well. Dave Eubanks and Natalie Bailey put lots of hard work into the day by writing and sending invitations, making food, brining yummy beverages, AND helping to set up and clean up (not to mention dealing with a small, yet smokey oven fire!) Magdelyn Hammond dedicated her special decorating eye to the effort and helped out with whatever needed doing without ever being asked. Ann and Ryan Claycomb also deserve special thanks, as well—not only did they bring the famous twins, Lilah and Collin, but Ann also made a cake large enough to serve 50 people! Reports indicate that not a single crumb of the cake was left 48-hours after the shower because it was soooo good!
We also wanted to specially thank our parents for their generosity and support. Gramps and Grandmom Antonille hosted the shower—an event that was originally planned for 2 hours and ended up stretching on for 8! Oopaw and Nana Rhody also drove all the way from Yorktown to spend the day with us.
With so much love and support showered on us from friends and family who were both in attendance and were unable to be there but sent their love in their absence—we feel much more confident and prepared for impending parenthood.
Thank you!
Posted by Lisa at 6:31 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 6, 2004
Birth Classes
We started "Birth Class" last night, where we learned that for women to have a successful birth, their husbands should give them daily massages.
There was some other useful information there too. Like, if you want to write a science fiction novel where men are able to give birth, not only do you have to provide them with a uterus, but you would also either have to have them give birth by C-section or provide them with a new pelvis.
All of which suggests to me that certain science fictions should remain ... fictions.
We also learned that 10cm is really much smaller than it should be.
Posted by Jason at 6:51 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack