OUR SWEET LITTLE PUMPKIN

Baby Grace is 4 weeks and 5 days old today! She, Daddy and Mommy are all doing great, and we are learning something new about each other every single day. Mostly, Mommy and Daddy realize a little more just how beautiful our little girl is and how much we love her. Grace is also learning many new things about herself. She now lifts her head quite well for short times, she loves to look around at her surroundings and track moving objects, and she is beginning to smile when smiled at! Grace is also starting to graduate from grunts to coos and she's becoming slightly more coordinated (enough to get her fist to her mouth when needed). And, when I weighed her today, she was 10lbs, 8oz...almost a 3 lb gain! Grace has now graduated to some of her 3 month clothes and she's entirely done with newborn diapers. Unfortunately, our pretty little girl is also losing her hair (so much so that Dad's been giving her a comb-over for the last few days), and she has acid reflux and a very sensitive tummy. So poor Grace has had some pretty fussy days as I try to figure out what foods to eliminate from my diet to make her feel better.

Although tons has been happening, and many wonderful friends, grandparents and uncles have been keeping us company and getting to know Grace, I have not included many photos this time. The format of this blog isn't really set up for the hundreds of photos I'd like to share, so instead I've included a link HERE to a website made up only of photo albums. Please feel free to browse and download anything you like! In case you need it in the future, the actual web address is... http://gracesdebut.shutterfly.com/. Enjoy!!

BRIGHT EYES

WELCOME GRACE CATHERINE!

BORN: September 30, 2009 at 7:10AM
WEIGHT: 7lbs, 9oz
LENGTH: 20.5in

We are thrilled to welcome our little girl into the world and happy to have all of her friends and family come to meet her. I wish it hadn't taken me an entire week to update the blog, but parenthood has been a blur so far and I'm learning to balance family, pleasure and taking care of myself. If you'd care to read on about the labor and birth, please do so. Otherwise just enjoy the photos.

***

On Monday, September 28th around 8pm I began to have contractions that were a little stronger and a little more consistent than anything I'd previously experienced. Rich and I went on (yet another) long walk and enjoyed dinner and a TV movie together as I tried not to get excited about timing the contractions. We went to bed around 10:30 but sleep was not in the picture for me, as the contractions were just strong enough to keep me from getting any shut eye. Instead, I did a little cleaning and found another movie. I fell asleep for a few hours on the couch near morning, after I'd discovered a more comfortable position. Rich woke up at his usual time and we decided to go for a walk at 6:45am. Afterward, we both contacted coworkers to make arrangements for our absence, since it looked like this might be 'the day'. Rich was supposed to be on call in obstetrics and had several other residents lined up to take parts of his shift, but after several hours of waiting it out and taking another walk, we decided I wasn't progressing fast enough for him to remain at home. My mom drove over to stay with me at noon and Rich went into work for a few hours to relieve his relief. With the hospital bag in the car and my mom around for support and a few last-minute cleaning duties, we stayed at the house for a few more hours. Then just before 3pm I decided I should go to the hospital so that I would still be in good enough shape on arrival to sign myself in, find my husband, and go through triage. The contractions were now 4-5minutes apart for about 60 seconds. Text book.

Everything at the hospital went smoothly and after an hour and a half the three of us (mom, me, and Rich) had settled into my room. An initial exam showed I was 80% effaced, 3cm dilated, and at -2 station. Decent progress but nothing to indicate a short stay. In the room I continued to talk for a little while, but before long the contractions picked up and I was in full concentration mode. I laid in bed, managed to walk the corridor once, and sat on the birthing ball for some time. Rich began his role as coach by getting me small snacks and water and supporting me physically and verbally as I relaxed through each difficult contraction. My mom stuck around for a while, but soon allowed Rich and I to labor undisturbed. Beginning at about 8pm my contractions were coming every 1.5 to 3 minutes and lasting at least 60 seconds, often double-peaking. Because of their intensity I wondered several times if I was in 'transition', the period of very fast, hard labor that quickly moves the baby and my body to 2nd stage when pushing begins. As it turned out, I was no where near pushing and I began to doubt how much longer I could keep up this hard work. The nurses continued to examine my progress every few hours, but little changed. My doctor also came to see us sometime late in the night and she, Rich and I decided to have my water manually broken so that the baby could descend a little, perhaps speeding up the process. Without this cushy bag of water, however, my contractions would feel even more intense. I labored this way for several more hours. Near 3am I accepted a small, one-time dose of pain medication in hopes that it would allow me to sleep a little, so that I would retain enough energy for pushing later on. The catnap was a huge help and we chose to have the meds early enough that they would be out of my system and baby's by the time he or she was born. Near 5am the pain meds felt long gone and I was beginning to get the urge to push, but remained only 6 or 7cm dilated...not close enough. I continued laboring until the doctor showed up at 6 to move me around to a new position that might help me finish dilating. The urge to push felt unbearable and finally, just after 6:30am and at 9.5cm dilated, I was given permission to push.

The end was near! I said several prayers asking for this last burst of strength, because I knew I could not push long before running completely out of energy (I had been laboring for close to 36 hours with about 2.5 hours of sleep). My mom returned to help Rich hold my legs , and Rich and the doctor guided me through pushing, each time amazed at the baby's progress toward the outside world. I knew we could finish soon if I kept my cool... We were so close! Then finally, at 7:10am on September 30th, Grace Catherine was born. She weighed 7lbs, 9oz and measured 20.5 inches long. She came into the world shouting loudly with her eyes wide open and her arms outstretched. Both Rich and I instinctively called her 'Bright Eyes' during those first few moments together. She was beautiful! When the doctor caught her she announced Grace's gender and then handed her to me to hold while Rich cut the umbilical cord. For the next hour our new family posed for photos and cuddled together. I also acquired a few battled wounds during delivery so I patiently waited through the stitching up process and Grace got her first meal and a quick scrub down. In due time our room was flooded with grandparents and uncles, as well as the occasional resident friends from the hospital. Grace was quite an appropriately spoiled little girl.

Our family stayed in the hospital the full standard 48 hours after the birth and I really appreciated being taken care of for a time, before embarking on parenthood in a house void of helpful nurses. By the time we left I'd received my flu shot and assistance treating those battle wounds, Grace all of her initial check-ups, a few more photos, and lots of love. We want to thank everyone, near and far, for your love, support, prayers, phone calls and texts, visits, food, and baby gifts. Our hearts and our home are overwhelmed with joy from it all. Thank you also for the respect and patience you've shown our new family as we try to catch up on sleep and navigate caring for our infant. The extra 'space' has also been much needed at times. We look forward to spending more time with you all as the days go on. God bless.

(UPDATE: Grace's first doctor's appointment was on Monday. She has gained 5oz since birth and was given a clear bill of health by the doctor. She is unfortunately battling some diaper rash and a bit of reflux, but we're slowly getting the hang of her needs and her signals. And, to her parents' delight, she spent most of last night sleeping and allowed Mom some catch-up)

MEMORY LANE

I thought it might be fun to showcase a couple of photos of Mommy and Daddy when we were babies. Can you guess which adorable baby is which in each of our photos? (-: Or maybe you can use your imaginations to guess what Baby Z will look like at his or her first photo shoot.

NO NEWS IS... JUST NO NEWS

I had my 40 week OB visit today. I have put on 35 pounds throughout the entire ordeal and after lots of poking, my doctor estimated I have about a 7 1/2 pound little bundle of joy just waiting to come out. However... virtually nothing (measurable) has changed since last week. The baby still has quite a bit of dropping to do, and I remain only 1cm dilated. The doctor prescribed more walking, continuing my happy disposition, and another appointment in 6 days. If nothing exciting has happened by then, she'll schedule an ultrasound and a non-stress test for the 7th day past 'due' to ensure that the baby is handling the extra time okay. Hopefully the tests will confirm that we can continue to wait on the baby and my body to sync up until they determine the new due date on their own time, instead of having to turn to medicinal induction. Above all, though, we will do what we believe is healthiest for the baby based on the situation.

As for now, we are continuing to wait... though I'll admit I'm a bit of a cheater when it comes to patience and waiting. For example, I've been cycling through these two conflicting prayers to God. The first one goes, "Dear Lord, please continue to keep our baby healthy, and please bring him/her into this world safely and in Your time and by Your hand, without the need for human intervention". The second sounds more like, "Dear Lord, PLEASE bring this baby NOW, no matter what condition he/she is in!" I'm thinking it's a good thing we have an omnipotent, all-knowing God... I don't know what other type of God I'd be willing to trust in de-coding all my prayers! Either way, this lesson is patience is probably a great precursor to parenthood. (-:

In other news, today Grandma Amy came over for dinner and a sleep-over while Rich is on-call in case I need anything. We had a great girls' night together, but now I'm gearing up for work in the morning in case nothing exciting happens. I also called Grandpa Dean and Uncle Tim today to let them know that the baby waited on them while they've been out of town, so it looks like most everyone should be around for the big birth-day. And lastly, I'm finally feeling pretty confident that my little house is in order, so I'll have no reason to stress about unfinished projects when we leave for the hospital or about motherly guests staying in a messy home when we return.

Welp; thanks for your willingness to read a bit of a 'boring' update... I kind of needed to get the non-news off my chest. (-: We'll do our best to keep everyone posted via texts or calls when the real news hits. Goodnight.

Just a little reminder about who we're waiting on... (-:

PSALM 37:7

What a fast summer it's been! I've been dying to update the blog and post a bunch of baby preparation photos for the last few weeks, but I was held up by the temporary loss of my camera. Thankfully the camera is found (who would have thought it would be buried in my hospital bag... silly me!) Since most of you have been calling or texting about updates lately you already know how everything's going, so I'll keep the wording to this blog short(er) and focus mainly on supplying our pictures.

Our baby is due in... FOUR DAYS!!... and I am becoming very impatient about meeting him or her. At the last OB visit the doctor proclaimed us quite healthy once again and told us everything's coming along normally. I was 1cm dilated, 50% effaced (thinned out), and the baby was nestled down at a -2 station. There's probably not much chance of me delivering any earlier than expected, but my Braxton Hick's contractions (warm-up or fake contractions) have been coming more frequently and getting me all excited throughout the days and nights. It's now just a BIG waiting game!

Throughout our last few weeks of waiting Rich and I have managed to keep very busy. Rich is in the middle of his OB rotation and he's on-call (working 24hour shifts) about every 3 days. It's been a very draining schedule for him, but he's handling it quite well. He's been sleeping a lot a home and he's had a great time getting to know the charge nurses at work (who are all very excited about our upcoming delivery). Meanwhile, I too have been working, in my new position as the Mental Health Therapist for a nearby rural school district. I see kids in grades K through 12 and I work about 15 hours a week. It's been absolutely great! On the weekends we've managed to fit in fun time with some of the other residents and local friends, a pre-birthday celebration with our Bradley Class, a visit from a great college friend, 2 beautiful weddings in or near Wisconsin, and I've been blessed by family and friends with 2 baby showers. And to top it all off, Rich, Grandma Tam, Uncle Jason, Aunty 'Mandy and I all teamed up one weekend to pull the baby's room together. Uncle Jason spent hours measuring off stripes for the walls while the rest of us followed with green paint. Amanda and I then created an 'Under the Sea' mural to finish it all off. It's been a whirl-wind!

Thank you all for your patience with the 'Non-Blog' as of late, since I haven't kept it updated. We hope you enjoyed the photos... and we can't wait to share pictures of the BABY when he or she finally arrives. You will all receive a phone call when we head to the hospital and/or when we have a new family member to announce. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts during this time.

MY HUSBAND; MY COACH

As promised, this post should give you all a better idea of how Rich and I are preparing for labor and what natural 'method' we've chosen to use. Our friends the Kreagers tipped us off to the husband-coached method of natural childbirth, devised by Dr. Robert Bradley, when they first heard our big news. They mailed us a care package with a cigar for the daddy-to-be and a book on this method for both nervous parents.

Rich and I chose to go au-naturel because we know that if I am well prepared (physically, mentally and nutritionally) and the baby and I don't experience any significant complications during labor, my body is plenty well-equipped to produce this baby on its own. Not only do we believe this honors the Creator's ingenious plan for the human body, but birth without medicine is known to happen more efficiently. In medicated labor one drug often leads to another... when the mother can't feel or react well to contractions due to pain meds, she typically has to receive contraction-inducing drugs to push the sleepy, sluggish baby along. The docotor will begin cycling these two types of medicine to keep the labor going. And if all this still goes too slowly in the long run, a cesarean may even be necessary to complete the process. All-in-all, several studies show that women who don't receive pain meds have a shorter labor and report labor being a more positive experience than those who do receive pain meds. Additionaly, we believe the health of the baby will be better maintained without drugs (even if my body is the first line of defense, the baby will still be effected by their potency), and that things like bonding will happen more naturally if both baby and I are alert and able to cuddle and nurse without the dulling effect of medication.

Now of course, many unexpected things can happen during labor, and it's for this reason that we're going to have the baby in a hospital. To use a metaphor sited in one of our books, labor is like swimming; most everyone can swim, but it requires special training to be safe and effective in the water and it requires a lifeguard, or doctor, for emergencies. We agree entirely.

Dr. Bradley, the founder of this method, began his research by studying numerous other mammals giving birth who instinctively react in all the same major ways to labor. Although women don't exactly have the same built in labor instincts, we do have the capacity to learn and reason, and we have the same general bodily functions and needs as these animals. Rich and I spend 12 weeks in class reading, learning and discussing the classic emotional and physical signposts of my body in labor, and practicing the appropriate reactions we should take to facilitate the best possible functioning of my body to pop out a beautiful baby. I am learning to relax my entire body during the 1st stage of labor while experiencing strong contractions that dilate the cervix so that my uterus can work freely and with all its might; to utilize proper pushing positions when it's time; and to nurse and hold the baby immediately after birth to establish strong bonding and nutrition for baby, as well as facilitate the 3rd stage of labor when the placenta is expelled. In addition to classes, Rich and I have to several other assignments. We practice very deep relaxation every day (with 'simulated' contractions to boot), I have a strict diet to follow to grow a healthy baby and to build up nutrients I'll use to perform certain labor functions, and I have daily exercises to complete that stretch and enhance very specific labor muscles.

After years of study and trials, Dr. Bradley's method has proven to be very effective for achieving safe and natural labor that does not use medicinal intervention either for augmenting the labor or for managing pain. After reading several books and attending a few classes, we are very pleased with our choice to use this particular method. It is effective because it teaches me how to work with my body and its powerful contractions rather than training me to ignore or work against it all (as many other so-called natural and non-natural methods do, like Lamaze). And as I finish up the pregnancy and then endure the marathon event that is labor and delivery, Rich is trained to act as my magnificent coach. It's a full-on family event!

Well there you have it. I'm never short on words, so I apologize if this is far too much information for some of you (or full of too many 'details'). We hope you know how much we appreciate the interest in the delivery that some of you have shown, and the love and support we receive from all of you. We can't wait for you to meet Baby Z!

SUMMER LOVIN'

Surprise! Baby and I grew since we last posted. And, to say the least, a lot of other exciting things have happened as well. Let's see if I can sum it all up...

On May 21st I finished my last day of work and the following day Rich officially became Dr. Zentz. I am indescribably proud of my amazing husband and all of his hard work (I wish we could give him two degrees!) We had a great day spending his graduation ceremony with all our family, and then getting 'wined and dined' as the new Dr. and Mrs. at a local restaurant (I don't think they realized that the physician lifestyle starts in the negative digits, and they probably won't get our business again for a while... but all the complimentary champagne and dessert sure was great!). Without losing any momentum, Rich spent the weekend at the race with his buddies while I relaxed at the lake with my family, good friend, Tricia, and my Grams. Then a couple of us ladies unloaded one last carload of pre-moving day goodies into the house and did a good cleaning of the whole place. The day after Memorial Day our movers showed up and loaded us into a UHaul, I got the Chicago apartment cleaned, and then Rich drove the UHaul through terrential rains all the way to South Bend while I followed in our Jeep. Our fantastic family made it possibe to unload everything that evening and we celebrated by ordering pizza.

The following 4 weeks were a crash course in first-time-home-ownership. Rich worked tirelessly inside and outside of the house assembling blinds, cabinetry and closet organizers, filling holes in the yard, digging up fieldstone and mulching to create actual landscaping, planting, cleaning the garage and basement, spraying for critters, installing my washer and dryer, and (my personal favorite) dealing with multiple plumbing issues. He and my dad were resident plumbers for a couple of days and we've now had close to 10 visits from the actual plumbers. Meanwhile, I kept busy by generally organizing our home, playing the role of Rich's trusty fix-it assistant, registering for baby items, shopping for any new homey 'necessities', unpacking, and working on any of the 'big' projects anybody would allow me to (this sit on your butt part of pregnancy is just not for me... though I will admit the complimentary naps have been nice). Some of our free time was spent helping other people move (a set of friends in the area and Rich's brother both recently bought houses), and of course, lounging on the lakes of Warsaw with family. Ahhh. All in all, our little 4 week vacation together was pretty fantastic and we finally feel very comfortable in the new house. It will be the perfect size for our family and we love the area. I can't pass up this opportunity to say, THANK YOU again to all our family... You have been a crucial part of putting our home together and a great support system and we are so grateful!

Finally, on June 22nd, Rich began his residency at St. Joe. It was slow going at first, but now he's fully submerged and seeing patients, working 30 hour shifts, and really experiencing the learning curve of a new environment. Please pray for his smooth adjustment and a sense of peace during a stressful transition. I've also started seriously networking and looking for my own job. Although I'll soon be working the most important job I could imagine as a full-time mother, I'm exploring my employment options as a social worker just in case a great opportunity (with flexible hours) is available. I actually have an interview in just under a week for a part time position as a school mental health therapist. I'm pretty excited about what I know of the job so far... we'll see what the interview yields. Wish me luck!

Alright, now on to what everyone REALLY wants to know about; the baby. We are officially in the home-stretch, the 3rd trimester, and this week marks 7 months for us! This means baby is in his or her final stages of cooking and most of the growing that's left is in weight, in the fine-tuning of organs and in brain development. The baby now usually protrudes as a little curled up bump or a swell of ripples across my belly instead of just a feeling inside. We talk to him or her often, and I'm fascinated with watching all his or her acrobatics close to bedtime each night. I can't wait until we meet! And when we meet, it looks like we will be saying hello to either Elijah Dean Zentz or to Grace Catherine Zentz. Elijah is obviously biblical and Dean is Grandpa Zentz's name. Grace is, well, exactly what we'll need to start our family before we celebrate our first anniversary, and Catherine is the name of my (amazing) patron saint. We're still playing around with the idea of an Isabelle Marie or a Luke (middle name unknown), but a little Eli or Gracie is more likely.

In terms of care and prep, we had prenatal classes set up prior to moving and we began attending as soon as we got to Indiana. As I mentioned in previous posts, our goal is to have an unmedicated labor and delivery as long as both baby and I are healthy. This means no drugs for augmenting labor or for 'managing' pain. Our Bradley birthing classes are aimed at achieving this and have a high success rate. For anyone who's interested, I will post separately about the classes themselves. All in all, we've really enjoyed them. Another big baby event has been my first prenatal appointment with our new doc. She is a family physician who came highly recomended from other residents and I really enjoyed my first appointment with her. She's somewhat young, very personable, and supportive of our birthing goals. Week 27 was my last monthly visit, and begining at the end of July I will see her every two weeks. My next task in this arena is to meet some of the labor and delivery nurses and take a tour of St. Joe. This is on hold for now due to holiday scheduling conflicts in July, but we should be able to work something out soon... which is good because I have lots of questions I hope to get answered. If you're curious, you can read a little about St. Joe's birthing unit here.

And of course, up above you can see our 'family' photo on the lake and below is a picture of us at the new house... hope you've enjoyed the update!

MY (LACK OF) PATIENCE REVEALED

It is 3:48PM on Tuesday afternoon. And by 'Tuesday' I mean it is the day Rich and my dad are painting our house, it's 1.5 days before I'm officially finished with my current job, 3 days before Rich graduates as a Doctor of Osteopathy, and exactly one week before the movers come. On top of all that, today marks the beginning of week 22 in the pregnancy and my co-workers just finished throwing me a surprise baby/farewell shower. So as I was saying, at 3:51PM on this Tuesday, my mind is nowhere near this office. I'd rather be looking for another job, buying homey items or working on our yard. I could be trying to fit into a dress for Rich's award dinner and graduation, packing boxes at the apartment, or helping the guys paint (er... maybe supervising is a better term, since I'm not allowed to inhale paint fumes or drink beer, which is what their day consists of). I have a whole exciting list in my head.

On the other hand, I am feeling sad to go. I have some fantastic coworkers and I work with many really great clients. Today I've been calling many of these clients to tell them I'll be leaving in a few days, and I've received some really sad but supportive responses. It's affirming and it's humbling to know that the rapport I've built and the services my program offers have made a positive impact on others who live in a very, very difficult world. As for my coworkers, I mentioned before that they took time out of their busy work days to plan and throw a baby shower for me. It was so full of joy, thoughtfulness and love... I was overwhelmed. I will truly miss their support, example and friendship.

As I sit here thinking about my time spent at MFS (and the arrival of 5:00PM) I can feel the baby swimming around and kicking furiously inside my belly. He or she has been extremely active lately, and the kicks have changed from one little 'pong' here and there to whole bunches of 'ping-pong-pows!' all at once. This baby has at least 4 limbs (we won't have to count those when he or she arrives). Additionally, our little bundle of joy is now almost 1 foot long and almost 1 pound in weight. Before we know it we'll have another little person to be filling up that new home of ours. But I've got to focus on one step at a time for now. It's 4:24PM and my 'lunch break' is surely over.

WHAT'S IN A NAME

In the beginning of the pregnancy, Rich and I made a short list of baby names sorted by gender and 'middle' or 'first' name. After only a couple of weeks Rich gave up on the obscurity of this task because he wanted to wait until we knew the baby's sex before really racking our brains over names. I was not terribly thrilled about this strategy (and whined here and there when I heard a new name I liked) but for the most part we stuck with it up until today. Now the joke is on my husband, as we still have to choose names without knowing the gender.

I'm writing this somewhat unusual post to ask any of our close friends and family who read it to submit their own name suggestions. We are by no means short of ideas, and we're certainly not going to take votes on the best name (sorry to disappoint)... but it's fairly important to Rich and I to come up with a name that is meaningful. It could have religious meaning, meaning or history within our family, etc. What better way to more thoroughly search for meaningful names than to ask the people who mean the most in our lives (and who will play a big role in our baby's life)? So if anyone thinks of a striking or meaningful name, feel free to suggest it over email (aislinnu@gmail.com) or to post a comment on the blog.

And for the record... the name 'Marlo' has already been submitted by Rich's 9-year-old brother. You will all have to really amp up the creativity to beat his growing list! Also, for a thoughtful story about naming children, read this post from one of my favorite bloggers (I should mention that the saint spoken of is the same patron I took my name from when I was confirmed as a member of the Catholic Church. She is known as a visionary and a political zealot. She often advised the pope).

ALREADY A LOVELY, STUBBORN BABY

A brief update: We had our ultrasound appointment at 3PM today and the it went great... we have what looks like a very healthy baby. Every body part that the ultrasound tech measured (mine and baby's) was the right size and in the right place. Our first 'photo' of the baby is below, and he/she is beautiful. Unfortunately, we also found out that we have quite the stubborn little baby (whose genes did that trait come from!). The baby spent the entire half hour on camera either moving away from the ultrasound doppler, or sitting with legs crossed, or playing with his/her feet. After finishing her standard measurements, the ultrasound tech tried for a good 8-10 minutes to pester the baby into changing positions and to get a better view, but nothing worked. Rich and I will just have to find out the old fashioned way whether we're having a baby boy or a baby girl. Thanks for sharing in our excitement about today's appointment... wish we had more information to pass along. :-)

IT'S A DATE

Alright all you curious aunties (real and surrogate alike), uncles and grandparents... we have a date! The ultrasound is officially scheduled for MONDAY, MAY 4 at 3:00PM. Rich doesn't work on Monday afternoons throughout this rotation and I already have my time off approved, so in just one short week we will see our little child for the very first time. Rich and I will do our best to share the experience and the sex of the baby with everyone as quickly as possible, but we welcome your calls or texts if you start to get impatient.

Another date that is feeling more and more real is MAY 8th, when we expect to close on our first home. Everything is moving along smoothly at this point (lending relations, fix-it projects on the part of the seller, etc) and we have no reason to expect that we won't be signing our names on some outrageously serious documents at the end of next week. But as Rich is always quick to remind me, we can't go around counting our chickens before they hatch... so dear friends and family, please continue to pray for the baby and all our chickens! We don't want to begin taking anything for granted at such an exciting but precarious time.

Well I'm again posting just one day shy of the start of a new week of the baby's development. Tomorrow marks the first day of week 19 for the baby and me. One pretty exciting milestone of this week is the baby's sensory perception. He or she is developing the many different spots of the brain that will categorize sights, sounds, smells and feelings (touch). Some researches say that the baby may already start to hear our voices. Little do they know, this poor child has been listening to me sing in the shower and the car for weeks now (I even felt some groovin' going on in my belly this morning on the drive to work). But I'm not quite sure I want him or her to know that's --ugh!-- mommy's voice. Then again, I suppose there's still plenty of time before the baby can verbally express any complaints. In other news, the baby is also now about 8.5 ounces in weight and should measure roughly 6 inches from head to rump (not including legs outstretched). Quite the little grower in there!

As far as mommy goes, I'm still doing fine. My sources tell me all sorts of akward skin changes are just around the corner, but we won't discuss those here. I am, however, willing to admit an appetite change. In regular life I tend to be one of those people who really looks forward to breakfast, lunch, and dinner (and snack time), but now the desire to eat is unmistakable. I already put Rich on 'junk patrol' so that I have some extra support plugging healthy extras into my diet instead of chocolate, cake, muffins, ice cream, cookies, chips, candy, chocolate... I could go on. And just for the record, if anyone reading this ever decides to commit to any silly, new health-conscious habits in the future, my husband is the man to have on your side (and by your side, I mean completely and utterly against you when you realize it's time to bend your commitment just once). He's a pro... what a stellar doctor I have.

Alright, enough of my babbling! I've got more unwinding to do, away from my computer screen, before Rich gets home from the school function he's at. We love you all, we always appreciate your comments and support, and we're often thinking of you.

BITTERSWEET

Today was my 18 week prenatal appointment, and I have been looking forward to it since Monday. Time off of work on a sunny day, one step closer to securing our ultrasound...I was thrilled. And then while sitting in traffic on my way to see the Obstetrician I got on the phone with a friend who filled me in on the latest news about the 'morning after pill'.

For anyone who had their head in the sand most of the week like I did, the news originates back in March when a federal judge ruled that 17-year-old women should be allowed over-the-counter access to the 'morning after pill', a large dose of contraception, taken within 72 hours of intercourse, that either prevents conception or inhibits an already fertilized egg from implanting in the uterine wall to grow. Previously this pill was only available to women ages 18 and up. In addition to the ruling, the judge also asked the FDA to weigh in on whether or not it thinks that these age restrictions should be lifted all together. Yesterday the FDA announced that it accepted and will not appeal this legal ruling, and it will investigate age requirements further. You can read the full story here.

So to make my long story short, my mood turned around rather abruptly after hearing this news. Sitting on the crowded highway I realized that in the same week I felt our baby's first kick, governmental bodies (no, individual people) had approved more wide-spread availability of a detrimental drug that will prevent any number of lives from ever beginning. Any number of other individual people from ever stepping into the world to make their imprint. Of course I was no longer just considering this particular event, but rather the many ways our culture acts destructively toward (unborn) life. When I finally arrived at the Obstetrician's office I was agitated at both the traffic and the news. To make matters worse I sat in the examining room for close to a hour with nothing to do but read the posters on the wall again and again. One contraceptive advertisement after another, after another, after another...

The actual time I spent with the doctor, on the other hand, was just fine. She gave me the necessary information to schedule our ultrasound, measured my belly (which is just perfect!) and let me listen to the baby's heartbeat again. It took her a minute to get a good sounding beat, but once she did the baby rolled right over and, "wa-whoosh, wa-whoosh, wa-whoosh!!" He or she laid right up against doppler and immediately grabbed all our attention with an extremely loud heartbeat. "Here I am!" the movement seemed to delcare. The doctor just smiled and said that I've got quite the little ham in there. Nothing wrong with our baby wanting to be center of attention, I thought. I left on a happy note.

Well since I made so much mention of my 'distaste' of contracepting without offering a great deal of explanation, I will do what I can in another post to unveil more of my thoughts on life. Besides, with our baby well on the way what better opportunity could there be to discuss such a beautiful topic?

POW!!

Despite all the praise I'm getting for finally updating the blog, I think I posted a day too soon... because this evening I have more big news to share.

THE BABY KICKED!

As I said yesterday I have felt some suspicious flutterings here and there, but this evening I felt three big kicks that actually moved my belly out. It was literally amazing. Rich left around 6pm for his night shift so I had to share the big news with him in a voicemail, but I was able to call Grandma Tam and share the excitement with her instead. After no 'outward' movement at all I couldn't believe how violent these kicks were... Mom said we must have a future swimmer in there doing flip turns. Wouldn't that be fun (though I think I'd settle for a soccer player too).

Wow. What a fantastic way to start the work week and to end the 17th week of pregnancy. Thank you all for sharing in my excitement.

MOVING & GROOVING (& GROWING)

I've been getting heckled from some of my 'audience' members for not posting frequently enough. So I'll try to make this post worth everyone's while. As most of our friends and family already know, Rich and I have had a lot on our plate lately. During the last month or so we spent several weekends looking for our first home in South Bend... and we found it! (Well, we're still waiting on pending inspections, but we hope to close the first weekend of May). It's a beautifully renovated old, two-story home. It's very cozy, has three bedrooms and two full baths and a double lot. There is just the right amount of room inside and out for mom, dad and the baby. The many arrangements between us, the lender, the seller and our realtor have been very time consuming, but well worth it. We've also been learning a lot (thank goodness for great supportive parents and a very informative realtor). As for work, Rich has been trudging through some long overnight hours in the ER, and I've been fairly busy wrapping up the 7 week program I'm teaching at work. Rich had to work all Easter weekend while I was in Indiana and we haven't seen much of each other lately, but we made up for it with lots of one-on-one time this weekend. What a relief.

Now for the baby. The day after tomorrow marks the beginning of the baby's 18th week of development. He or she is around 5 and a half inches long from head to rump (bell pepper size), and is moving often. In fact I've noticed that every few days, at similar time periods when I'm very still or relaxed, I can feel little 'flutters' inside. It's so exciting to know that what the baby is doing is now measurable by what I'm feeling. It will be even better when the movements get stronger and I can share them with Rich. All that activity our little baby is doing merits a recently formed second layer of skin (now he or she has both an epidermis and a dermis) as well as a slipperly, bruise-proof substance all over. He or she also has padded little fingertips and toes which will soon display a unique set of prints, owned by only one little person in the whole wide world. And (drum roll, please) our baby's sex organs are externally developing! When it's ultrasound-time, in just two weeks, we should have a clear view of the baby in all his or her glory! My impatience has peaked and I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!

Well despite all this action going on inside of my body, I'm personally feeling great. For the last few weeks my body has started to return to normal. I notice that I can once again easily operate on less than 9 to 10 hours of sleep a night (which was unheard of from week 8 to 15) and hardly any foods upset my stomach. I'm sure poor Rich is relieved that I'm no longer shooting down all his dinner suggestions for no apparent reason. My only physical complaint is an increase in dizziness. Inconvenient as it is, Rich explained that this is to be expected since I'm producing a huge amount of blood and my vessels are all dilated, so sometimes my blood 'pools' in the lower half of my body. Finally, the most obvious and exciting development is the size of my belly. As you can see from my photos, the 'bump' is growing. It's certainly no longer in question that I'm sporting a baby on the inside.

With all that big news off my chest, it's time for my to close the laptop. I have just a few more weekend hours to spend with my wonderful husband before he turns into a night owl on thirds and I stay on regular work hours... missing each other almost entirely throughout the week. Rich and I hope everyone reading enjoys a fantastic Spring week, full of lots of meaningful people and work. We look forward to talking with you soon.

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING

After leaving anyone who reads this in anticipation for almost a month, I thought I should find some more interesting baby-developments to post (sorry for the delay). It seems like our lives and our baby both have a 'little bit of everything' going on right now. The last few weeks have been very full and yet 'normal', and all the baby's growth and new functions make it clear that there is a real little person growing inside of me.

Rich is finishing the tail end of a Pediatric ICU rotation, and will begin an ER rotation in April. He's had very early mornings and several on-call (overnight) shifts this month. Between my constant sleepiness and his demanding shifts we've gone to bed at embarrassingly early hours for a couple our age (but at least we're in it together!). Somewhere after dinner and before bedtime, however, Rich has managed to do a lot of work to prepare for our upcoming move and home purchase. We've been approved for a loan from one lender and we're waiting to hear back from another. We've also been communicating heavily with our realtor in South Bend and I think we're off to a pretty good house-hunt start. In fact, last weekend marked our first trip back to Indiana to look at houses! We saw 7 but we were only really impressed by one. This weekend we will return to look at a few (12) more and compare. Wish us luck!

Another past-due update is our February prenatal appointment. It went just fine. In fact, it was mostly a check-in and chat about the weather between the OB, Rich and I. Tomorrow, I will attend my third appointment and my expectations are a little higher for this visit. The Obstetrician will probably measure my belly (which has a noticeable bump now) and will also let Rich and I listen to the baby's heartbeat. YAY! Other than that, however, it will just be business as usual; weight, a reminder of which week baby and I are one, a short explanation about the next month's changes, and perhaps some blood work.

For anyone who's lost track, we are now on week 14. As you can see from the picture, the baby is growing rapidly and is about the size of a lemon. The baby is probably making all sorts of faces and squirming around inside my womb . It may even suck it's thumb (actually, equipped with my genes, I'm sure the baby is a thumb-sucker already). The baby also has a functioning liver, spleen and kidneys as of this week.

Well, that's about it for now. I'm off to pack for a weekend back in Indiana... I cannot wait to spend some time with our family. We're thinking of you all, and we're so grateful for your interest, prayers, and well-wishes as our family really starts to grow.

HIBERNATION & SPRING FEVER

So much for blogging last week! Week 9 was a week of exhaustion. I didn't exactly DO anything, but as my nausea lifted, fatigue really set in strong. Lucky for me, Rich and I went home over the weekend to visit family in Indiana. I spent Friday night, Saturday, Sunday and part of Monday moving from house to house; from couch to couch. It was glorious! I got to visit with everyone and relax at the same time. We talked with all the grandparents-to-be about babies, moving, dates, babies, houses, summertime, jobs, and more babies. Everyone remains very excited, and all this talk makes me really wish it were the last week of May already. Rich also took it upon himself to cook me a wonderful dinner on St. Valentine's Day (and it was delicious). What a great husband I have. The following weekend Rich received his residency contract from St. Joe , which outlined all the exciting things the program offers. First we dove into the contract and then into real estate and lender websites in anticipation of the move.

The week itself was uneventful, but tiresome nonetheless. I spent most of the week in hibernation. Deep inside, the baby was growing furiously. Now, at week 10, the baby is through its most critical phase of development. The beginnings of every major organ are in place, and from here on the baby's tissues and organs will develop profoundly. Right now the baby is about an inch long and described as being the size of a kumquat. "What the (watch your language there are tiny baby ears around) is a kumquat?" you might ask... well it's that little citrus fruit just to the left. The baby also has bendable arms and legs and continues to swim around inside a more developed placenta. I mention this because right about now the placenta takes over almost all of the hormone production that affects the baby, and my body gets a rest from this job. As I noted above, my stomach has felt much more settled during the last week since there haven't been so many hormones sloshing around in there. My husband keeps telling me I'd feel even better if I didn't give in to all these chocolate cravings... but didn't I read somewhere that if you crave something your baby must be in dire need of it?

Another milestone of week 10 will by my second prenatal appointment. Rich and I visit the OB-Gyn on Friday to get the results of my blood work, hop on the scale again, and chat about what's supposed to be happening to my body and the baby. The second appointment also marks the time of the pregnancy that Rich and I have decided we'll begin to tell the world that we're expecting a child. I can't wait to share our news! On that note, I know that many of you have been asked to keep our big secret for what seems like a very long time. We thank you for sharing in our excitement and for lending your kindness by being discrete for a few weeks.

As we continue the week Rich and I look forward to begining Lent tomorrow (Ash Wednesday) and saying goodbye to February. Preparing for the Easter celebration and welcoming the first days of March make me realize just how close Spring is. We hope all of you enjoy a wonderful week and many new, or 'spring', blessings these next few days.

IT'S A MATCH!

Well... Much as we love our very tiny baby, our big excitement of this week had more to do with Rich. At 11AM (EST) on Monday Rich's name was plugged into some big, scary, very sophisticated computer system and he was matched to a hospital for his three year residency program in Family Medicine. At 11:10 he called me at work to tell me that we'd be moving to South Bend, Indiana! He had matched with Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center; our first choice for his career and our family. I was absolutely thrilled to hear the news. Between the pregnancy hormones and my excitement I could hardly hold back tears. We celebrated on Monday night by going out to one of our favorite restaurants and gushing about all the things we have to do in the next four months. We can't wait to start the process of looking for a home near all our immediate family and some wonderful friends.

For anyone who's only excited because we'll be closer to you, I'd like to share a couple of additional great details about our upcoming move. Rich's contract with St. Joe will gain us free medical coverage for the whole family and we've decided this location will be the perfect opportunity to buy our first house. Living near our friends, the Kreagers, will also provide us with a great new-baby-support-network, complete with a playmate and babysitting offers. We are really overwhelmed with blessings right now.

As for all those plans Rich and I talked of at dinner Monday night, we still only have a vague outline of what's really going to happen. Rich has 3 hospital rotations remaining and them graduates on May 22nd. We'll start house shopping around April and I will continue working until the end of May. We hope to move during the first part of June so that we can be all settled by the time Rich's residency starts in mid-June. Once in South Bend I'll look for a new job, most likely part-time, and probably begin nesting to the max.

In other news this week, today marks the beginning of the baby's eighth week of development. Most of the baby's 'tail' is gone but it now has other aquatic features instead; little webbed fingers and toes have sprouted on the end of those paddle-like hands and feet. I won't be able to feel a thing until about week sixteen, but the baby has recently become more active and is 'swimming' around a little bit. The baby also now has breathing tubes that extend from it's throat down to the developing lungs, and primitive neural pathways are forming in the baby's brain. Our baby is now the size of a cute little kidney bean, and as you can see from the 'BabyTicker', it no longer so strongly resembles a little manatee in my belly like last week.

Even though excitement is high with Rich and the baby, there's nothing much new going on with me. Work is going really well and I love my new position. Right now I'm plugging through the pregnancy sickness and fatigue with lots of movies and understanding from Rich. And to my surprise, this week I noticed I'm developing a little bit of a tummy pouch. It's still up for debate whether this pouch has more to do with all my nauseated snacking or the growing baby... but either way I'm feeling a little more pregnant in my own small way. I look forward to posting another update when we start week 9.

Before I go, I must say thank you to everyone who prayed for us in anticipation of Match Day. We are so grateful for all of your love and concern, and we are excited to accept and grow in the new blessings unfolding before us.

GROWING PAINS (& lots of other good stuff)

Today begins week seven of the baby's development and Ja-Manda (see Post 1 for details) has doubled in size since last week. The baby has paddles for hands and feet now (no more stubs), as well as an appendix and a pancreas. Both hemispheres of the baby's brain are forming fast and furiously, and it already has beautifully colored eyes covered by eyelids. Wow. So much in so little time.

And guess what... even though nobody can tell from the outside, I'm growing too. My uterus is now twice it's original size since, and as of last week the baby and I have shared an umbilical cord. My fatigue (I might have slept through the entire 3rd quarter of the Superbowl) and all day 'morning' sickness are also testimonies to the many ways my body is gearing up to take good care of the baby. Even though soothing my tummy is a real process of trial and error, I am so thankful to the women who've offered advice and encouraging words this last week. My Matron of Honor suggested I try protein in the morning which gave me three whole hours of normalcy before lunch today. My mom filled me in on some of her humorous morning sickness stories to lighten my mood and she called me frequently to check in this week. Grams shared with me that both of her children gave her different sicknesses and my uncle was the baby who caused her to feel sick all day like I do. I was relieved at this news because if we have a big family I may not always have the same lovely hormone reaction to look forward to... Rich was excited because "maybe this means we're having a boy!" I'm not sure if that's the most medically accurate way to determine sex, but I guess it beats the pencil trick. (-: By the way, to answer any lingering curiosity on the topic of sex, Rich and I have decided that we DO want to know whether the baby is a boy or a girl. We'll find out at the 20 week ultrasound.

Besides good advice, Rich and I have received some other thoughtful gifts this week. Tom, Amy and Tricia sent us our first cards of congratulations. I'm particularly grateful for the loving reminder Tom and Amy sent us about the joys of diaper changing. Don't they know that's why we want to move back to Indiana; so we have a whole team of diaper changing grandparents? The outside of the card reads, "Did you realize that in your baby's lifetime, you will change a diaper approximately 10,956 times?" the inside reads, "It's too late to ask for a puppy". My parents also sent some baby mail. I got tea and a copy of 'The Pregnancy Bible', while Rich received a copy of 'She's Having a Baby - What Every Man Should Know and Do When the Woman He Loves is Pregnant'. I love when he gets son-in-law gifts! We're both looking forward to relaxing with some (tummy soothing) tea and reading our books.

And I almost forgot! This last week was full of bringing new people into our circle of big news. On Thursday I went to my first prenatal appointment. The obstetrician confirmed the pregnancy with a more 'sophisticated' pee test, drew my blood to perform many other routine screenings, and grilled me on family history...everyone's family history. I realized I still have some studying to do. The OB also told me a lot of things Rich and I already know, but it was certainly comforting to hear the same words from a woman who does nothing but work with reproductive organs and pregnancies all day long. In the next few days following the appointment we shared the news with Grandma and Grandpa Zentz, Grams, Grandpa Ummel, and our friends the Becknells and Kreagers. Nana and Grandma and Grandpa Ryerson also heard the news from our parents. Everyone was very excited.

On that note, it's been a long and exciting week and it's just about time for me to get ready for bed. Good night and God bless.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
February 9th - DO Match Day
February 27th - Second Zentz Prenatal Appointment

"I CANNOT GO TO SCHOOL TODAY"

...said little Peggy Ann McKay.
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
I've counted sixteen chicken pox.
There's one more, that's seventeen!
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue,
it might be instamic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke.
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in.
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb...
...I have a hangnail, and my hair is - What?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is...Saturday?
G'bye. I'm going out to play!"


Well Rich played hookie today... but not because of senior-itis. Because he's definitely got the flu.

Dr. Zentz, God love him, didn't get his flu shot this year and has been surrounded by sick children at the clinic recently. His trouble began with a head-ache last night, but is now a full blown combination of head-aches, dry coughing, high fever, chills, and body aches. He feels terrible and his symptoms will probably last about 5 days.

There's nothing he can do now but wait it out. Our day has consisted of lots of hand washing, water drinking and chicken soup eating. I received my flu shot in the fall and should be mostly immune. Either way, please say a prayer for Rich to heal quickly and ask that the sugar-mama and baby-mama in this family won't contract any crazy bugs or fevers.

STUBBY

Today, two days before our first prenatal appointment, the baby is 6 weeks along in development.

Rich says he's going to call the baby 'Stubby' this week in honor of its newly forming arm and leg buds. On top of that milestone, the baby has a beating heart (which beats about twice as fast as mine) and a small blob of lung tissue. It also has several small, dark depressions on it's over sized head marking the spots where cute little ears, eyes, and a nose and a mouth are beginning to develop. Wow...

With our approaching appointment Rich and I have delved into a lot of discussion... not so much about the first part of pregnancy, but the last. The labor and delivery. He and I have decided to plan for more of a natural birth. Simply meaning that, as long as there are no complications with the progression of labor or anyone's health, I won't have pain medicine or other drug interventions. I warned Rich that this means he'll have to suck it up and become a lamaze guru with me, but he wasn't phased (though he still hasn't agreed to rub my feet on demand... I can't imagine why).

Of course, we hope the delivery will take place in South Bend at St. Joe's Hospital. For anyone who didn't hear, Rich was required to submit his hospital rankings by 12AM (Eastern Time) on January 23rd for the DO match. He only ranked St. Joe. We are a little nervous about this bold move, but very excited. Please continue your prayers for us; that we will be open and react with wisdom to whatever God determines is best for this season of our lives.

As I said in the last post, although our baby is going through monumental changes and we have many new things to think about, I feel relatively the same. I am learning the hard way that just about every type of food upsets my stomach and I'm coming to terms with eating frequent snacks rather than meals. To my dismay (and Rich's I'm sure) I've noticed I can be just a little cranky too, but Rich has been very understanding. One of the most enjoyable changes we're both experiencing is a change in prayer. Even though we can't see or feel a baby yet, we're expressing our thanks and asking for loads of grace, love, and wisdom. ...How much we have to learn from His agape love.

I look forward to updating the family after our trip to the obstetrician on Thursday (first and foremost by phone, of course). We love you.

NOW IT'S REAL

Saturday, January the 11th marked our three month anniversary of marriage; it was also the day we took our second, confirming home pregnancy test.

We are expecting!

Although we were not planning to start family life and parenthood quite this early, we were open to life from day one of marriage (which is why we chose to practice Natural Family Planning) and we are now overwhelmed with excitement.

For almost a week Rich and I kept the news to ourselves as we did baby and birthing research (me more than Rich of course), decided on an obstetrician, and sometimes just sat grinning at each other. I felt like I was holding onto the biggest secret in the whole world all week long; I could have exploded at any moment. It was not until our drive to Indiana for the weekend that we decided to tell family sooner rather than later. Our plans included driving to Warsaw on Friday and heading down to Bloomington to see siblings on Saturday. We would leave again for Warsaw on Sunday and return to Chicago Monday (MLK day). This meant seeing all of the immediate family on a staggered schedule. So on Friday evening we told Dean and Deb; on Saturday Tim, then Jason and Amanda and finally Tom, Amy and Isaac; and on Sunday we told Greg and Tammy. Everyone was overjoyed! We heard a few shrieks, saw some tears, answered several 'are you serious?' questions, and received an 'I told you so' from Tim. Thanks to Jason and Amanda, we also have a gender-neutral nickname for the baby... they started calling it "JA-MANDA".

Now, on Monday just after returning to Chicago, IT'S ALL REAL. We are having a baby in a few months and our immediate family is hoping, praying and preparing with us. (We still haven't spread the word to grandparents or close friends, but we'll soon make amends there after we've seen the obstetrician for our first prenatal appointment.)

For anyone who's just itching to know our time line; I am just about 5 weeks pregnant. Our baby is due September 22, 2009 and is somewhere between the size of a poppy seed and a sesame seed. The baby's neural tube will start to form within the week and will eventually sprout into the all important brain, spinal cord, backbone and nerves. The baby is also very close to having a pumping heart. On my (much less exciting) end, I look just the same and feel a little tired, but I've been fortunate not to have any morning sickness thus far.

As I curl up under the covers and think about leaving the long weekend with such important people for another few days of work, I hope you all know Rich and I are thinking of you and we pray for you daily. We miss you from our little apartment in Chicago and we can't wait to share more news (big and small) about the beginings of our family. Good night.

UPCOMING EVENTS
January 29th - First prenatal appointment (and Dean's birthday)
February 9th - D.O. Match Day