Xander, Emilie and Baby #3 » October 2004 Journal Entries » AboutMyBaby - online baby scrapbooks, photo albums, videos, birth and pregnancy announcements

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Mon, Oct 25, 2004 9:38 PM
WE’RE HAVING A BOY!! Here’s an appointment update.

The regular OB appointment on Oct. 12th was pretty quick. Dr. Lee was happy about the 4lbs. I put on in 3 weeks. We learned that I don’t have any STDs or HIV (big surprise!), no thyroid problems, and my blood type is A+. We asked about going up to Carmel to have a 3D/4D ultrasound done. Although she wasn’t too thrilled about these places profiting off a medical procedure, she wrote us a note to get one done. The place we’re going to go to requires the doctor’s consent and a previously completed diagnostic ultrasound in order to make an appointment. Then they turn the results over to your doc. She was pleasantly surprised about that and asked for their website address sot that she could check them out further. We plan on making an appointment in December at or after 25 weeks. We decided to have the triple screen done (checks for the risk of Down’s syndrome, spina bifida, and other birth defects) so they drew a vial of blood. Results were ready a week later and were negative (YEA!). She also strongly suggested getting a flu shot but the office had not received their shipment yet. Neither my family doc nor Lilly Employee Health Services are getting any this year so we don’t know where we’ll get one.

Now for the fun appointment!

Thursday was the BIG ultrasound. We were soooooo looking forward to the appointment, but I was dreading the prep work (drinking 32oz. water at least an hour before the appointment without using the restroom). It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We were immediately called in and the radiologist got right to work, after fixing the ultrasound printer problems (out of paper and out of ink). The first we all saw were of Baby moving all over the place. She checked the brain, spinal cord, and heart right away (all developing normally). After that relief, she asked the question we’d been waiting for, “Do you want to know the sex?�? She headed over to the bottom end and we saw Baby’s manhood prominently displayed out for all to see. We knew right away Caden was right…Baby was a boy!!

She had some other interesting finds. Baby Xander is currently breach (which explains the punches on one side at the same time I’m getting kicked on the other side!). At the ~9wk ultrasound, he was laying breach, too. Of course he’s got plenty of time to move head down by March. She also pointed out that the placenta is located very low in my uterus. Actually, it appeared to end right before my cervix. We haven’t talked to the doc since the ultrasound so we’re not quite sure what that will mean in regards to the delivery (c-section?). Although I didn’t need an ultrasound to confirm this, she said Xander is also sitting pretty low (still completely below the waistband of my pants). In one of the pics, he appears to be lying on the placenta like it’s a mattress. Obviously he hasn’t figured out that his home has an upstairs and that he can leave the basement!! Neither of us seems to mind his location, except for when I bend forward to tie my shoes or wear pants that fit too tightly (which are all of them now!). The last thing she mentioned was that he won the highly prestigious Most Active Baby of the Day Award! She kept laughing because she often had a hard time getting the view she wanted because he kept moving or he do something and she’d lose her focus. He must have just figured out that he can make a fist because that what he was doing every time his hand was in view. Part of time that she’d scan back over his head, he’d be lying on his arm or have it draped over head or at one point, he moved his hands together like he was praying (what a good little Catholic boy!).

Finally the stats she left us with. All of his measurements had him a week ahead of his due date. He seems to be sticking to his schedule because he was measuring about a week ahead of the average at the ~9wk ultrasound, too. We forgot to ask for a crown to rump or crown to toes measurement put she did give us his computer calculated weight. 10oz!!!!! Everything I’ve seen so far says that an 18wk old fetus weighs approximately 5-7oz. He’s going to be a 15lb newborn at this rate!! OUCH!! Hearing that he was ahead in growth excited dear old Dad. His comment was that he’ll be 6’6�?, play for Indiana State, and then for the Celtics!

March isn’t going to come soon enough to meet Alexander (haven’t decided on a middle name yet) Minch!!!

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Fri, Oct 22, 2004 6:23 PM
It has come to that point at which our seldom-visited website requires a more masculine touch in the “latest news�? entries. Recently, we discovered that our “bun in the oven�? is a boy. I can’t help but wonder what the future will bring. I am sure the day will come when our sandy-haired, front-toothless son will get a pair of cleated black shoes and a mitt so that he can he can play little league baseball, which is what he wants to do because his pal Brian is going to, and surely that is exactly how things will work around our house. The dad will have little to say about it. Fate is everything. I’m sure a certain dog will jump on our son when he is just old enough to stand and we will have to explain that sometimes you get knocked down. The best thing to do is get back up.

I am sure every single day he will climb into his old man’s lap and put his little arms around his neck offering the best hug anyone may ever get. He will come home from the little league game that the old man had to miss bursting into the house yelling “Daddy�? and running to clasps his knees for perhaps four seconds, or three. This will be the joy of parenthood. This is so unbelievably great that the old man will feel terror in his heart: When will this age end and what comes next?

A little boy could be given a basketball, and the virus of “Hoosier�? will enter his blood, and thereafter, every Saturday morning for the next 14 years, will be spent perfecting the sweetest jump shot and no-look pass an old man ever saw. Or a little boy could pick up a football and sense its potential for violence, an thus 10 years later, we will have a six foot four, 190-lb. middle linebacker under our roof who loves to bang into people and knock their molars loose, which after 5 minutes of viewing, the old man will need a powerful tranquilizer.

I am sure our son will not be into sharing. He will be a fervent guardian of his “Target-like�? inventory of toys and games, his collection of more than 100 video games, even his monopoly game, given to him by his republican aunt and uncle, which of course he never plays with. At some point, when another child will venture onto his turf and show interest in one tiny little matchbox car, the darling son will snatch it away, and his parents will brow beat him into courteousness. The old man worries about this. He visualizes a selfish, domineering brat – visions of a Bush come to mind.

I’m rambling so let me finish. Hopefully, with a little hard work, our son will not watch meaningless television or drink soda pop or eat fast food or use foul language. He will wear clean clothes and eat fresh fruits and vegetables, you know, that sort of thing. He will attend concerts of classical music and the theater. At bedtime, he will pray for other people. While we matured in public school, he will attend private school, of course. Call me a hypocrite. I would rather send him to a place where Mr. Habeggar is still in charge and kids are exposed to rules and schedules. As he gets older, as parents we will stand staring into an abyss. Adolescence looms ahead, which from what I hear, starts at around 8 these days. Drug dealers lurk in alleys; rap music breathes up from the sewers; a culture of avariciousness is everywhere. I have to believe it is an act of sanguinity to bring a child into the world. Of course, ignorance plays a part too, and sometimes those mixed drinks with the little umbrella that you get on a cruise boat, but a parent is a believer of the fundamental goodness of life. In a world of liars, brutality, and misery, there is also camaraderie, smoked chicken breasts, Mozart on the piano, the Swiss Alps, so many delightful things that tip the balance. Please say it is so. The parents pray it is so. I can already hear him outside behind the house, laughing. He is on the swing, swinging so high that he almost causes the swing to do a complete circle, and the weightless moment at the height of the backswing is what makes him laugh out loud. The moment when joy and terror meet is a religious moment, almost. We want to tell him to be careful, but we don’t. The joys of life. For that, he needs freedom.

The Old Man

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Tue, Oct 19, 2004 9:00 PM
I found this list of old wives' tales on the internet. I thought it would be fun to see what it says before the ultrasound on Thursday. I don't know what my belly looks like so I didn't comment on any of those statements. Feel free to comment on what you think it looks like or how baby is being carried (maybe too early to tell?). Chad said he thinks it looks like a grapefruit. I don't think his new glasses are working very well. We'll be posting the 18wk belly picture tomorrow and you'll be able to see what I mean!

It's a boy if:
• You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy (check)
• Your baby's heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute (nope)
• You are carrying the extra weight out front (?)
• Your belly looks like a basketball (?)
• Your areola have darkened considerably (too much info!)
• You are carrying low (?)
• You are craving salty or sour foods (check)
• You are craving protein -- meats and cheese (nope...I don't think Taco Bell contains real meat!)
• Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy (they're always cold...now is no different!)
• The hair on your legs has grown faster during pregnancy (not that I've noticed)
• Your hands are very dry (they're always dry)
• Your pillow faces north when you sleep (nope)
• Dad-to-be is gaining weight, right along with you (nope)
• Pregnancy has you looking better than ever (that's debatable)
• Your urine is a bright yellow in color (some days)
• Your nose is spreading (no, thank goodness!)
• You hang your wedding ring over your belly, it moves in circles
• You are having headaches (no more than normal)
• You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived the number is even (nope)

It's a girl if:
• You had morning sickness early in pregnancy (nope)
• Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute (check)
• You are carrying the weight in your hips and rear (?)
• Your left breast is larger than your right breast (too much info!)
• Your hair gets red highlights (nope)
• You are carrying high (?)
• Your belly looks like a watermelon (?)
• You are craving sweets (some days)
• You are craving fruit (nope)
• You crave orange juice (nope)
• You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy (that's debatable)
• You are moodier than usual during pregnancy (Chad said no more than normal)
• Your face breaks out more than usual (check)
• You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread (I wouldn't eat it before)
• Your breasts have really blossomed! (check)
• Your pillow faces south when you sleep (check)
• Your urine is a dull yellow in color
• If you hang your wedding ring over your belly, it moves from side to side
• If you add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived the number is odd (check)

This would indicate a girl. Chad and I have both dreamed that Baby is a boy. He refers to Baby as a girl and I refer to Baby as a boy. Less than 2days until we know!! Stay tuned!!

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Wed, Oct 13, 2004 9:35 PM
I had to report for jury duty yesterday! Yuck!! I was just hoping not to make it through jury selection. I didn’t even get that far! I sat in the auditorium-like room all day and ate some snacks, read a book, and tried to nap. Not a bad way to spend a day away from work!!

Exciting development: I'm able to feel Peter Parker moving around!! This is so amazing!! Thursday (10/7—our anniversary) at work I thought I felt a few kicks (finger pokes) and him doing some summersaults (a rolling sensation in the same place). I immediately instant messaged Chad about it. He was so excited, too! He wanted to know if I could feel it from the outside, which meant sticking my hand down my pants. Even though there isn't really a discrete way to do that, I tried anyway. Unfortunately, he stopped as soon as I put my hand on my belly. He has a tendency to do that whenever Chad tries to feel the movements, too. Since then, he’s been quite an active little guy (or gal)! I’m starting to feel punches on one side of my belly button followed by kicks on the other side. We can tell he’s my kid because he doesn’t get up and start moving around until about 9am. We can tell he’s a daddy’s boy (or girl) because the first kicks came after I had butterscotch pudding—Chad’s favorite—and he begs for Taco Bell almost every night! There’s usually a lot of activity again around lunch time and again in the evening. Then he’s out for the night (or doesn’t move around enough to wake me up).

Ever since finding out Peter was on the way, I’ve been exhausted. I usually lay down on the couch for a nap when we get home from work, get up and make dinner, and stay on the couch while Chad studies until bedtime. I haven’t had much energy to anything else. [It’s not that bad…but close! : ) ] Thank goodness Chad is here!! He’s been Mr. Clean!! He picks a different room to clean every night. I keep reading that my energy should return during the second trimester. I keep waiting on that day to come. Maybe then Chad will get a chance to relax!

Only one more week until we find out if Peter Parker is a boy or a girl [I guess she’d be Petra Parker…or maybe Mary Jane : ) ] We can’t wait!!

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Tue, Oct 5, 2004 9:43 PM
Heartburn is starting to rear its ugly head!! Chad and I are trying to narrow down the sources. Yesterday (Monday 10/4) was the first day I had it (ever) and I've got it again this morning. Sunday we had Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza with pepperoni and onions. I also bought Soft Batch chocolate chip cookies. [I was excited about having these because it was the first time anything sweet has sounded good in weeks! Baby must take after his Dad (Remember: he's a cute boy named Peter Parker according to the experts).] Yesterday I repeated the cookies and had half of one this morning before we left for work. Today the heartburn is back. Does that mean chocolate chip cookies are out?! I can live without alcohol but I can�t live with out chocolate!!

We just remembered, I started taking a new prenatal vitamin (contains a stool softner) on Sunday, too. So far, I like this one better because it doesn't taste bad. I'd much rather have the cause of the heartburn be the new vitamin than chocolate!! : )

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