Maggie's 6 Months Old!

It's been quite a while since I posted anything on The Littlest Wilson--I can't believe how time has flown by! While I was pregnant with Magnus, we counted down the days to his arrival and writing blog entries was a great way to stay occupied. Since then, we've been busy actually enjoying him! Here's a quick recap of the last three months...

Our summer in Cleveland was wonderful, and included visits from Yaya Ellen, Grandma Diana, Courtney and Eva, and Pop Len and Patty. Maggie also spends lots of time with Uncle Aaron and Toni, Aunt Dana and Paul, Yaya Mary and Papou, and his Great "Awesome" Grandma Lindsay. We've really taken advantage of living in University Circle and have made many trips to the art museum, the Natural History Museum, the Children's Garden at the botannical gardens, and most recently, we checked out the cool cars and planes at the Crawford Auto and Aviation Museum. Magnus and I took our first Kindermusik class this summer and will be starting the fall semester in a week. He loves seeing the other babies and playing and dancing to the music. At home, The Wiggles are his favorite band, followed closely by Ralph's World and Billy Jonas. This week his favorite toys include a monkey teether, jungle "gym", his bouncy entertainer, a vibrating teether, any BlackBerry he can get his hands on, and his very own remote control. Mrs. Mustard's Baby Faces, Dr. Seuss's A B C's, and Baby Signs and his favorite books. While we didn't go to the air show (to preserve his little ear drums), we nevertheless experienced the Thunderbirds as they flew in awesome formation back and forth over our apartment all Labor Day weekend long. Magnus wasn't so sure about them--the noise was pretty scary! On his 3-month birthday, he decided to roll over for the first time, and he could sit up by himself not too long after that. He's been crawling for quite a while--since about 4 1/2 months-- and just this week learned to pull himself up to standing, which means crib escape is imminent! At his 6-month check-up, Magnus tipped the scales at 19lbs and is an impressive 28 1/2 inches long, which puts him in the 80th and 90th percentiles, respectively (long and slim! Definitely not taking after his mom...). No teeth yet, but he's really gumming the heck out of some Arrowroot biscuits and loves Happy Tummies mixed grain cereal, homemade yams and frozen bananas. He is smiley and sweet and funny, and continues to be the light of our lives.

I've shared many of these pictures already, but I thought I'd put them all in one place. Click here to see the slideshow of Magnus, 3-6 Months.

Magnus Gray

Here he is! 

Magnus Leonard Gray Wilson arrived on Wednesday, March 4th at 6:59am. He weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 20.5" long.

As his official due date came and went with barely so much as a Braxton-Hicks, Sean and I went to our next doctor appointment hopeful that some progress would have been made. Unfortunately...not. So we went home and spent another potential last-night-before-baby, when at about midnight I noticed contractions getting a bit stronger and more frequent. We went to bed and woke up and they were still there, but stronger yet, so after a phone call to my doctor and my trusty aunt, and a shower and full blowout, we headed to the doctor.

Since I wasn't in terrible pain, they hooked me up to the monitor to determine how serious the contractions really were. Thank goodness we were there, because about ten minutes in, a contraction caused the baby's heart rate to dip from 150 to 40, and we were immediately rushed across the street to triage. Everything normalized and it was determined that the baby had what's technically called a "nuchal chord," where the umbilical is wrapped around the neck and tightens with each contraction. We were admitted around 1pm and settled in for the long haul.

Despite our trepidations about "interventions," we opted for Pitocin after several hours of contractions that weren't very productive. That kicked things into gear, but after several more hours of strong contractions that were a minute and a half long and only two minutes apart, I went for the epidural...now my very favorite cocktail in the whole wide world. It allowed me to rest a bit and to wait out several more hours of very slow progress. By 3am or so, back labor started, and only the third re-dose of the epidural finally dulled that pain. By 5:30am with dilation stalled at 7cm and the contractions hard and fast not giving the baby much of a break, our doctor recommended that we consider c-section. In all our planning, we never really thought seriously about it, but in the moment it was a no-brainer. We went in at 6:30am.

The c-section was an experience like no other. It was such a relief to have Sean beside me while not knowing what the heck was going on behind the blue curtain beyond the vague sensations of tugging and stretching and pressure and relief of pressure. I was also thankfully a little distracted by the doctor and nurses small talk, until, that is, we heard that tiny unmistakable wail.  

There are no bounds to the joy we've felt since Magnus came into our lives. He's such a funny and sweet and good natured baby. We're so lucky to be his parents, and he is so lucky to have the friends and family that he does. We can't wait for all of you to meet him in person, but until you do, here are some pictures and videos to tied you over. Click on the newest link on the right to see a slide show of Maggie's first week, and click here to see a video of him doing what he does best: cooing, staring at windows and sneezing. 

I think she likes it here...

Clevelanders!

So much to write about...

I'll start by explaining why there haven't been any recent pictures, either of the ever increasing girth of my midsection or of our gorgeous new digs here in Ohio: when we returned to Hoboken after Christmas, we found that our computer just wouldn't power on. Our camera, which isn't fabulous and is a little on the older side, is "installed" on that computer and we don't have the software any longer...so unfortunately we can't really use it with my new laptop, and our only alternatives are the cameras on our cell phones. Rrrrr. We're definitely going to need to remedy this camera thing before The Littlest arrives or we'll never hear the end of it from the grandparents...

We're not having the greatest luck with electronics in general, it seems, as on the day of our move into our new apartment, a person who shall remain nameless to protect his identity as my husband accidentally spilled some very sticky soda onto my laptop. We're SO lucky to have Uncle Aaron around, who determined after extensive diagnostics involving special tools, 99.95% isopropyl alcohol, and some 25 year scotch that the computer is essentially unscathed...it just has a few extremely sticky keys. Rrrrrr again, but definitely the best case scenario! 

So I've been a little out of touch lately for these reasons...and probably also because I lose steam around 3pm after doing one of the many organizational projects still left to do before baby, or hemming or pressing a curtain or two. 

Anyway, we've moved! We somehow managed it in record time and without incident. Eventually we'll have pictures of our apartment, but in the meantime you can check out the building and some pictures of the lovely model units here. (I get a real kick out of reading the totally over-the-top copy on the website.) With a ton of help from Papou and Yaya Mary, Uncle Aaron, and Aunt Dana and Uncle Paul, and a lot of remote help from Yaya Ellen, the apartment is in good enough shape that we could reasonably welcome The Littlest any day now. The nursery is the least "done" of any room though, and I'm beginning to get a little nervous about all of the baby things that we don't have yet, though plenty of friends have assured us that he'll come whether or not there is a mattress in the crib...

We have another of our now weekly appointments with Dr. Mikol today. As of last week's appointment, we have "a nice, medium-sized baby" in very good health with a strong heartbeat. I was one centimeter dilated--a state which, we are told, can last several weeks. It's great that we're seeing the doctor on Mondays, as it gives us the opportunity to change Sean's travel schedule for the week if anything exciting is happening.  Sadly for Sadie and me, he will be out of town for a week starting today. But this is why we moved to Cleveland! With family right around the corner, I know everything will be fine. 

One last note--On our last night at Adams Square, I was treated to a surprise baby shower hosted by our neighbors James, Elana and baby Chloe! All of our favorite neighbors were represented, and our good friend Thomas even came up from Philadelphia. We got some fun presents and, more importantly, were able to say goodbye to some really fabulous people who helped to make our last few years truly memorable. Elana took some pictures, so when they're posted I'll share them. Thank you all so much. We'll miss you guys! 

So Long, Hoboken

The Littlest and I went to Ohio this past weekend to take care of some pre-move business. Very pregnant and hauling luggage almost my size (I travel with Snoogle these days), we certainly were a site to behold and provoked some stares and some questions from airline personnel. Luckily the entire trip was completely without incident--so much so that we decided that I'll fly to Ohio on Saturday while Sean and Sadie spend some quality time together making the trek across the never ending state of Pennsylvania.

We were lucky that timing of the trip coincided with Bob's memorial service. It was difficult and sad, but also really wonderful. Several people spoke about Bob and the many ways he touched their lives. It's amazing to me how many different sides of him there were, and how few of them I was familiar with while he was alive. He was definitely more modest than anyone as accomplished as he should have been! My brother made a tribute that was incredibly beautiful and heartfelt and heartbreaking.

In addition to seeing the members of my family that live in Ohio, there was the added bonus of my mom being in town, as well as my Uncle Josh, Aunt Daran, and cousins Aria and Ilana. The Littlest got lots of presents from the California contingency, which we can't wait to see him model. My mom and I went to the new apartment to go over paper work and sign the lease agreements, and I was able to take shameless advantage of her interior design skills as she sketched every last inch of the place and took measurements so that we were able to determine what furniture comes with us, what goes to storage, and what we need to buy (my favorite category!). Her help will ensure that the move goes incredibly smoothly, since now we can tell the movers exactly where to plop things. And on top of all that, I got a sneak peak at the bedding that she is making custom for the baby--how exciting! 

On Monday I went for my first appointment with Dr. Mikol, who will be delivering the baby. What a relief. Her staff is wonderful, and she is an amazing doctor and a really cool person, and I feel totally confident and secure being under her care. Yay Aunt Jan for getting us in there! Now we will see Dr. Mikol every week until the baby is born. We're so lucky to be able to start fresh this late in the game.

This week will be a whirlwind. We are packing Thursday, loading the trucks Friday, traveling on Saturday, and unloading on Sunday. Next week we get to play house and move in, and I finally get to start nesting. WOOHOOOO!!! 

Up to this point, I've chosen not to think about the things and people we're leaving behind in Hoboken. We've been really happy here and, as wonderful as all the things we're headed toward are, we'll be so sad to say goodbye to our first home, this amazing neighborhood and all its quirkiness, the incomparable Manhattan skyline, delivery of any cuisine imaginable (including Grimaldi's pizza), Jersey bagels...the list goes on. We will not miss the parking situation, tunnel traffic, and $50 cab fares, though!

Ta-Da! The most recent portrait of the Littlest Wilson...

His face shape has changed dramatically since the last head-on shot, as his systems are almost completely developed now, and he's spending most of his time and energy kicking the crap out of me...er, I mean, developing body fat. The fat has filled out his little arms and legs and belly, and he no longer has the chisled, Benjamin Button features of last October. Now he looks like a sweet, round-cheeked little baby! He continues to suck and yawn a good deal of the time, so we caught him here sucking in his pouty top lip. 3D sonograms are similar to the regular 2D ones in that they still focus on just a single (though deeper) spacial plane at a time, which is why it looks as though his nose is pressed up against a window. It's actually that the tip of his nose is just outside the plane of focus. Likewise, his eyes are a bit distorted, as is the body part you see beside his face (which is a cross-section of elbow, not a Dr. Evil finger). Taking all these things into consideration, this is essentially how he will look when he makes his debut in about a month. It was so thrilling for Sean and me to see him in action again, and to get this special little glimpse of his sweet face. Not that we needed any reminding, but it sure does help to keep our eyes on the prize during this time of so much transition.

He actually is spending most of his time these days kneeing and elbowing and punching and kicking my vital organs. He's established a pretty regular sleep cycle, which is that when I'm awake he's sleeping and when I'm sleeping he's awake and doing advanced Wing Chung and freestyle soccer tricks. According to the sonographer, he has moved into the vertex position (yay! no external version for me!), which just means that he will continue to rotate--some days with his butt out and some days with his limbs out--but his head will remain firmly planted on my bladder until he's done cooking. He dropped considerably last week, and pretty suddenly too. This doesn't necessisarily mean that we're any closer to anything happening; only that I can fit an entire meal in my stomach making it even more likely that I will attain true Orca status by delivery.

In other fun and exciting news, we spent last weekend in New Hope for a carefully orchestrated belated Christmas/birthday surprise for Sean. Courtney, Eva, Derek and Papa Len all secretly came to town and Grandma Diana and Stef hosted. Sean was totally blown away and extremely touched (to tears!), and though I was a little (a lot) concerned about the timing (it came right on the heels of an intense business trip), it turns out that it couldn't have been at a better time. We relaxed and hung out and ate delicious food and opened presents and took pictures, and to top it all off, the Eagles played and WON (E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!!!) on Sunday. I know, I know...Sean heaven. With our families spread out all over the place, it's a near impossibility for us all to get together in the same place at the same time. The last time the whole Wilson/Fass clan was together was for our wedding in 2006! This really was the best present Sean could have gotten.

Also recently was the unveiling of Aunt Courtney's LittlestWilsonBabyShower.com. (This must be one of the most technologically hooked-up fetuses in the world.) Since we have been in this state of transition for quite some time, and since both of our families are scattered to the winds, Courtney came up with the very brilliant idea of hosting a "virtual" baby shower, and so she made a website and invited everyone to visit and to post comments and advice for me and Sean. There is no set time or date for an "event"--it's an on-going online party because we can't host a get-together for everyone we know and love. Our new Ohio address is posted too. Stop by and check out the pictures that Yaya Ellen sent in of me and Sean and Uncle Aaron as babies, and if you feel so inclined, please send us a message. We'd love to hear from you!

The Bean's Drizzle

What's Round on Both Ends...

...and high in the middle? Besides me, that is. 

Ohio! And it's official: we are relocating because Sean has been promoted to Regional Manager. He finished the year as the top aesthetic rep in the country, ending his year at a ridiculously high percent-to-goal for the toughest quarter yet. We're so proud of him and so happy that the extra hard work and time he's committed to his company over the last year and a half has paid dividends. I think he's the youngest regional manager in the company too (that's not confirmed... sounds good though), which is quite an accomplishment. 

As any of you who've been along for the relo-roller coaster know, we've been hoping against hope since the opportunity presented itself back in October that we would be relocated before the baby comes. It's really down to the wire now, but it's happening! Since the market is so depressed these days, we will not be selling our Hoboken condo or buying a new house in Cleveland just yet. Instead, we'll keep this place and rent it out (anyone interested in a close-to-Manhattan apartment?) and we've found a really lovely space in a gorgeous restored hotel apartment building from the 1930s right smack in the middle of University Circle and Wade Oval and the museums and Case campus. This may even have been the very building that my Great Grandma and Grandpa lived in when my Grandpa brought my Grandma home to meet his family for the first time (it was either this one or Judson Manor next door). We can even see Gehry's Lewis building from the baby's nursery windows! Thanks to my Aunt Jan's connections, my doctor of six years when I lived in Ohio, whose practice is now closed to new patients, has agreed to deliver our son in Cleveland. I gave my notice today, which was bittersweet since I really liked working at the salon this past year and will miss the friends I've made there. All that's left to do now is pack!

Peek-A-Boo!

Apparently The Littlest Wilson has figured out this whole ultrasound thing and has decided that he'd rather not have his picture taken. He may feel somewhat exposed after I plastered that perfect head-on shot we got at 20 weeks all the hell over the place. I should have asked his permission. In any case, he was definitely not in the mood to smile for the 3D wand this time around, preferring to keep his tight little fists where they usually are: directly in front of his face. The only trouble is, he's getting so big these days that it's harder and harder to sneak a peek around his hands and arms. The tech did her best, but this 2D profile was about as good as it got. It's not a very accurate profile in my opinion either, as he had just finished doing what could only be described as the yogic Lion's Pose, chin to chest, tongue out and all. So either he's got the lips all Sean's doctor's patients are after, or he's making a kissy-face.

I guess seeing this picture is a different experience for me having watched the live images on the screen. It was immediately apparent which gray fuzzy thing was what body part. But after seeing the reaction of several people to whom I showed the picture, I'm beginning to understand that this one is more like one of those Magic Eye images--no one has any idea what they're seeing at first glance. I think it's mostly because he is so much bigger than the last time, and his head and chest now fills up the entire screen, where the last picture showed all the way down to his little knees. What you are seeing is his profile. He's lying on his back, face up, head on the right side. His forehead and eye are somewhat in the shadows, but the bright area in the center is (from right to left) his nose, lips, chin, and the sharp dark pie-shape is the negative space between his chin and chest. The sort-of ball like shape just to the left of center near the top is his right fist and the shape all the way at the left edge of the image is his left arm and fist. We did confirm that he is currently in a transverse position with his butt and feet at the top right of my belly, and his head resting snugly (and I mean SNUGLY) between my hip bone and my bladder. There is a direct correlation between this and the facts that 1) I have a lopsided belly, and 2) I take no fewer than four trips to the loo a night. I sure hope he's enjoying that little pillow he's found. 

Very Real Birth...

This weekend, Sean and I attended childbirth classes at RealBirth in Chelsea. We were referred to the program by our neighbors James and Elana (parents to Chloe) and we're so glad we went! Of the many benefits of choosing RealBirth was that they offer the six-hours-per-day weekend course, which Sean was better able to fit into his travel-heavy schedule. Normally these classes are one evening per week spread out over several weeks. When able to be digested over that time, I wonder if the experience is a little less...intense? Too late now--we went the extreme route.

Two straight days of birthing education was somewhat daunting. There was a ton of priceless information. Almost everything our teacher Meredith said was noteworthy. But shockingly, I was the only person in the class with a notebook and pen so I self consciously kept my note taking to a minimum, thereby ending up with one page of short phrases double and triple underlined and employing the maximum amount of exclamation points. And despite our teacher's warning that we were likely to forget 99% of what she taught us, I am pretty certain that I committed the majority of the syllabus to memory verbatim. Trauma has that effect on me.

There were a few points at which I began to feel so incredibly overwhelmed and anxious at the prospect of the impending birth, which Meredith kept insisting we were all too committed at this point to avoid, that my palms started to sweat and tears welled up in my eyes. Sean noted that I kept turning to him and saying,"I love you," which he took to mean "don't leave me now, you bastard!" And poor Sean...until the first of several explicit videos, he really did think labor was like in the movies: the expectant mother's water breaks in the middle of dinner at a fancy restaurant, thence commences copious amounts of comical huffing and puffing during the madcap taxi ride, she is wheeled into the hospital where hilarity ensues until a free room is located and she is strapped into a bed at the very moment the baby is crowing, and with a couple of red-faced pushes and expletives, the baby is born. Instead we were informed that, unless the labor is yours, the process is long and boring enough to drive a person mad. I think it was a rude awakening, but he handled it well.

Did I mention that the title of our class was "Childbirth with Epidural?" Sean and I had no illusions going into this thing that medication would be entirely avoidable and wanted to know all options available to us. Another of the benefits to attending RealBirth as opposed to the classes offered by our hospital is that we were made aware of the instances when hospital policy might be cloaked as either the rule of the law or medical necessity. This will equip us to make informed decisions about our care while we're there, and to remain as much in control of the birthing process as we'd like. A good example of this is that, as it turns out, it is never too late to receive an epidural--a fact that screenplay writers everywhere completely ignore, much like the fact that the breaking of the waters occurs first in only a small percentage of births. Who knew? Much less dramatic, I suppose, and it would require searching out another comic device when most people are none the wiser. 

Aside from the specifics that we took away from the class, I think I can identify the two most important things that I learned. First, just having a rudimentary understanding of the physiology of birth will be invaluable in understanding what we are experiencing while in the moment, and opens up a whole variety of options to us for assisting the process and coping with the pain--be it with or without medication. The second, and probably most important, is that birthing is a natural process and, as Meredith really burned into my memory, one that works extremely safely and well in the vast majority of cases. 

It's so helpful to know which parts of the average birthing experience have been born of the institutionalization and sterilization of the process in our culture, and which we can choose to go with or reject. At this time when so much of our lives is up in the air, having a sense that the birth will be what we want it to be--however much of an illusion that is--gives us both great comfort and relief. But, lest you should be at all concerned, please know that we foster no illusions that anything will be in our control once the Littlest has arrived...

Great Brown Bob

The Littlest Wilson lost a great grandpa on Monday night.

We were so lucky to get back to Ohio for Thanksgiving while Bob was still able to spend time awake and talking. I wish he could have stuck around till the little guy came, but thankfully his battle was relatively short. 

Bob will be missed terribly by his colleagues and students at Case, his fellow sailors at Edgewater, his family and friends, and by my Grandma, his wife and companion of thirty years. 

He was a part of my life as far back as I can remember. I was always Missica to him, and he'll always be Brown Bob to me. To The Littlest, he'll be Great Brown Bob.

My Beautiful Boy!

Beautiful? We think so, of course. 

We've been staring at 3D ultrasound images since Day 1 of this pregnancy and making comments about how strange the babies look at the various stages of development. In the first trimester, though "cute" in their own little way, the fetuses look more like strange little creatures. You still feel a certain affinity for them, obviously, but it's kind of along the lines of thinking E.T. the Extra Terrestrial or hairless baby pandas are "cute." Then, as the ears position themselves correctly and the little beady eyes move to the front of the head where they're supposed to be and the legs grow more proportionate so the kid isn't all head and belly anymore, you can start to relate to the little guy as a parent. It's a baby PERSON!! Thank god. Except he looks more like an old guy instead of a pudgy little baby. If you've read anything on fetal development, you know this is because he has not yet developed the fat stores that babies need in order to survive outside the womb. I am already doing my job keeping him nice and warm, thank you very much. 

Maybe because of the lack of baby fat, his features are very distinguishable! From the beginning, this little guy has been a mover and shaker, and he lived up to his reputation during the 21 week scan too. The ultrasound technician was getting great images, but just as soon as the image would resolve clearly on the screen (there's a slight delay, like when a video is buffering on the Internet), the baby would move again, distorting the picture. So while it certainly is a more accurate representation of what the baby's face actually looks like than the usual 2D sonogram snaps that give cross-sections and great profile shots, it still ends up looking a little bit funky. Oddly, the feature that came out the best in every picture is the umbilical cord, which has an uncanny habit of getting right in the way of everything, and as the technician noted, was apparently irritating the baby causing him to try to move it out of his way. 

We've gotten mixed reviews of this latest portrait. Most people have been blown away at the picture. It is pretty cool. My mom thinks he's perfect (as usual, she is right). My step-mom thinks he has my cheekbones. My dad thinks he has my Ya-ya's nose (which my dad also has). My first thought was that he looks just like my brother did when he was little, who looked like my dad when he was little. Upon further scrutiny, I believe he has Sean's brow bone and the same pensive little look Sean gets when reviewing my latest credit card statement (or shooing that pesky umbilical cord out of the way). Sean was, as a good father should be, absolutely captivated and in total awe of this striking image of his son. Before this picture, we could only imagine what he might look like in there, and now suddenly we know the shape of his little mouth. His eyes have not opened yet (and won't for quite a while), and no, he is not preparing for Halloween as Pugsley Addams--that dark "widows peak" on the top of his head is actually the area where his skull has not fused together.

Baby Spasm

Okay, so I suppose I asked for it. 

The entire first trimester of this pregnancy, although I knew I was pregnant on an intellectual level, and dispite the assurances of several trained medical professionals, three or more pregnancy tests ranging from the pee-on-a-stick kind to the blood test kind, the aching Plantar fasciitus and arthritis flareups, the ever-expanding belly, and cravings for Apple Jacks and 'Nanner Puddin' and spinach dip, I STILL had a hard time believing I was actually pregnant. 

That is, until the last two weeks or so, durning which time the little bugger has put on enough weight that those dives and twists and squirms and kicks witnessed in the 11 week scan actually feel like something. The picture to the left will give you a good idea of what we're dealing with here (only that illustrated bitch's boobs are still sticking out farther than her stomach. Psha.). I've been told that "quickening" would be like having butterflies. Not so much. Butterflies are kind of tickly and happen higher up near your diaphragm, the mere proximity to which causes that lurching feeling (for me, anyway). This feels more like an involuntary eye twitch, only not in your eye. Like a mild muscle spasm inside, in a place where not much else has ever previously been felt, and that doesn't seem to stop. Ever. I swear, if this kid is already moving as much as it feels like he is, we're in for it. I joked with Sean this morning that all night I was getting it from both of them--Sean kicking me as he usually does, dreaming that he's playing a game of soccer as if his life depends on how hard he kicks the ball (my leg), and this little guy, doing whatever he's doing inside my belly, all night long. 

At this point, his little movements are still very vague. They sometimes feel like rolling and writhing, and sometimes like little tap-tap-taps. Before I was able to feel him, I was looking forward to our next scan as I usually do, to actually be able to see him, and to know that he's okay and everything is progressing well developmentally, and to see how much he's changed since the last scan. Now there's another layer to my anticipation. I can't wait to be able to see what he's doing, and to match that with what I'm feeling from the inside. I'm also wondering whether we'll be able to see him "react" to anything in this next scan. Like, will his head turn if he hears Sean's voice? Maybe we'll do a little experiment. 

Chuck Norris? No, Sean Wilson!

What's faster than a speeing bullet? SEAN IS!! Ok...maybe he's not faster, but he certainly has more stamina and determination. And he's no slow-poke, either.

Yesterday Sean competed in the Lake George Triathlon, which is an Olympic distance tri sanctioned by the USAT. For those of you not familiar with the world of triathlons (myself included), this means a .9 mile (1500 meter) swim, 24.8 mile (40km) bike ride, and 6.2 mile (10km) run, or in other words, torture on a stick. People do this for fun, you ask? Yes! Apparently large numbers of them. Just ask my uncle Josh and aunt Daran and our good friend James, who are triatho-masochists in their own right. In fact, we have James to thank for getting Sean involved in the triathlon circuit to begin with, but that's a whole other post...

Sadly, I had to work both Saturday and Sunday, so the Littlest Wilson and Sadie and I held down the fort and rooted for Sean via BlackBerry Messenger. Not very effective, but what can you do. Here is what I've pried out of Sean about the whole experience:

Going in to it, his goal was just to finish, seeing as how he's never competed in an event like this before. He did a lot to prepare. Already an avid runner, he loaded up on all the gear for the swim and bike legs. He trained at the pool at Stevens Institute and put in a lot of milage on this contraption that turns a road bike into a stationary one. He even read a lot about swiming and biking techniques, the best ways to rehydrate, and other helpful tips and tricks. When it came to race day, though he says he's not in the best shape of his life, he was incredibly psycologically and emotionally prepared, which in the end was what gave him a leg-up.

As for the race itself, the most difficult part was the swim, which was the first leg. Half way through he had to take a breather by floating on his back, but he powered through the rest and made it to shore in one piece. Apparently, having sprayed Pam on his thighs and neck did wonders for peeling off his wetsuit. Did I mention that it was pouring rain the entire time? This made for an exciting bike leg. Sean was advised in one of his books or magazines to let 10psi out of his tires in the event of rain, and to look out for certain obstacles on a slick road. The course for the race was very hilly, and paired with the rain, this caused several contestants to hit the pavement. Sean erred on the side of caution by not speeding through the downhills and managed to avoid any wipeouts--not even a skinned knee! The last leg of the race was the run. Thanks to James, Sean knew to expect to feel serious fatigue in his thighs which he might have mistaken for cramping. Luckily he was able to push through it, and by two miles into the run, he says he was feeling really good. He was even passing people left and right, and sprinted a little towards the end. His overall time was 3:21. 

Shockingly, Sean woke up today a bit stiff but totally energized and fully mobile. He said he might even go for a run. In retrospect, he thinks he can definitely improve his bike and run times by not being so conservative--and drier weather would have helped, too!  I'm pretty sure there will be future tris during which he can test these theories. We both foresee this being a family event in the future. The next tri posting will include a picture taken at the actual race, not here in our living room. 

No Place for Politics...

Sean and I very are lucky to have a family and friends who represent a diverse range of personalities and lifestyles and political opinions, and partly because of this, I decided when I started this blog not to venture into the dangerous waters of the current political scene. After all, this space isn't really intended to be just a venting vehicle for me, however much it may appear to be...

However... it's becoming increasingly difficult for me to NOT comment on recent and impending events! Putting aside my own ideologies informed by my experiences growing up in a rather liberal environment and studying what I did in school, I now have a totally fresh perspective based almost entirely on being an expectant mom with concerns for what my kids will inheret when it comes to our economy, the environment, the perception of America by the rest of the world, our basic human rights...the list goes on and on (and so did that sentance!). While I am so thrilled to be able to provide a life for our son where I will likely not have to work, where we can afford a lovely home and lots of luxuries, where he is surrounded by friends and family and is healthy and physically safe, still I'm very afraid of the things that are happening just outside our little comfortable bubble.

The upcoming election will determine so much about the world that our son will come to know, in, at the very least, his early years. Sean is so concerned about the outcome that he registered to vote for the first time in order to cast a ballot in the primaries, and we'll most certainly be at the polls first thing in November. I just hope that the growing numbers of people who are disgusted with the direction this country is headed, both here and afar, turn out to vote that day too. Of course, they did for the last two elections and look what happened anyway.

A Note About The Littlest Wilson Group

To those of you who've joined the Google Group to receive email notifications for updates to The Littlest Wilson blog, thanks so much again for your interest in keeping up with what's going on here in Hoboken! 

The whole point of the blog was to give family and friends updates in a unobtrusive manner....however, the email thing can get out of hand pretty quickly thanks to the "reply" button (I'm guilty myself). The last thing we want is for you to get tired of hearing from us!

So, please note that replying to any emails you receive from the Google Group will now ONLY come to me--or should, based on the adjustments I've made. This means that if you want to post a note for the group to see, or for anyone who logs on to the blog itself, just hit the little "comments " icon at the bottom of the posting at thelittlestwilson.blogspot.com and you can leave a comment directly on the site.

If you are a member of the Google Group, you can adjust your notification options by going to http://groups.google.com/group/thelittlestwilson, logging in, and selecting "Edit My Membership" on the right side of the page. There you will have a choice as to the number, if any, of email updates you recieve daily. I would suggest no more than one...

Again, thanks so much for being involved and caring friends and family. I've added some links to Wilson Family Photo Albums and updated the slideshow, so check in when you get a chance. Hope you're all having a wonderfully relaxing weekend!

Survey Says...

Loyal blog-checker-inners may have noticed that the poll on the right has closed a bit earlier than originally anticipated...

This is because we got a nice surprise at our doctor's appointment on Friday when we went in for our routine monthly check-up. After conning our doctor into putting us on the sonogram schedule (I said I was concerned about the fibroid the technician detected at my last sonogram...which is mostly true) so that Sean could experience a live ultrasound, we got an unorthodox 15-week scan that-- lo and behold!-- left no question as to the sex of our baby, even five weeks before we expected to find out. We're having a boy!

The second to last scan at the left is an image of the baby as though he's sitting on the camera. His bottom is to the lower right, his left foot is top center--what a perfect little foot!!-- and you 

can make out his right thigh bone and right heel parallel to it. You will notice an unmistakable "object" between his two little legs.

I haven't determined what, if any, the prize will be for those who guessed correctly. You might all just have to be content with one "nah-nah-na-nooney, I told you so" aimed directly at me, who (despite all those tales of motherly instinct and the like), really thought it was going to be a girl.

Sean's reaction to the experience of the sonogram was very similar to mine at that first one three weeks ago. Although I spent countless hours trying to describe in full detail my surprise at just how active the baby was and the surreal-ness of seeing the baby wriggle and squirm like a real, live little person on the screen, Sean was nevertheless completely blown away at the sight of his son. He could hardly keep it together. It's so amazing  to have the images from two scans just weeks apart--they show just how rapidly the baby is  growing! In the last scan, his head was about 1/2 the length of his body, and in this scan, he is already much more proportionate. We could see his heart beating and his arms and legs moving, but he wasn't quite as hopped-up and hyper as he was a couple weeks ago when he was literally bouncing off the walls. In fact, it almost seemed like he was napping, and he seems to like to keep his arms up near his face so that when they're long enough, they'll reach over his head, which is, incidentally, the way I sleep. Like mother, like son.

Another fantastic surprise is that our doctor's office has the ability to do 3D ultrasounds! This was totally unexpected, and even though I've been pouring over the book our neighbors gave us that has 3D scans of babies on each day of gestation, it was a totally amazing experience to see our own baby in three dimensions. The first two scans (actually the last two pictures taken) are the 3D images.

Now Sean and I are getting used to the idea of having a son. It's so strange to know! We have our next appointment in two weeks for another series of tests, and then another routine visit with the 19-week scan a few weeks later. So far, he looks totally healthy and "normal," and pretty darned handsome in these pictures...but then, I'm biased.

The Gnome Gnotebook: Current Events

April 1979

Daddy thought you might be interested in knowing about the goings-on in the world when you were 6 months old, so here's a brief and very general run-down:

Jimmy Carter is the President of the U.S.A., Dennis Kucinich is Mayor of Cleveland (ugh!)

A loaf of bread costs $.79, and regular gas is around $.72 a gallon. Daddy's paycheck is $225.00 per week, and our rent is $300.00 per month. Groceries cost approx. 50-60 dollars a week, and somehow we're always broke!

On the international money market, gold is worth $232.00 an ounce.

On the international political front, Israel and Egypt just signed a peace-treaty (after 30 years of war), China's invasion of N. Vietnam ended in a retreat, and the rest of the world is somewhat tense, but at peace.

Despite the loud complaints about inflation and nuclear power plants, this seems to be a time of general contentment and prosperity for the people in America.

And they still haven't found a cure for the common cold!!

The Gnome Gnotebook

In October of 2006, my mom came to visit as she usually does around my birthday every year. This particular visit was special because Sean and I had just moved into our very first home (the same one we're in now) and of course, we needed my mom's curtain rod hanging expertise and designer's advice (are you sensing a pattern here? I promise she's not ill-used). Come to think of it, my mom's birthday visits are always timely--the year before was pretty special too, as it was the weekend just after Sean and I had gotten engaged and we were able to go to Suky Rosan to pick out my wedding dress. Good timing, mom! Anyway...

She always brings a bag of beautifully wrapped birthday presents--usually handmade scarves and jewelry from her friend Carol's store, Badawang, or candles or a bound journal or a really great book or two. This time she also brought The Gnome Gnotebook. In the living room of the house on Briarwood where we lived from the time my brother was born until I went to college, I often saw this book sitting on one of the built-in shelves that flanked our fireplace. But I never really knew what it was, I don't think. It didn't have pictures, and therefore, it didn't interest me. And besides, we had another book of gnomes that was far more captivating.

In any event, I suppose she thought that the buying of our first home together signified that Sean and I were ready to start a family, and what better way to acknowledge that than to hand off the record of that very same time in her life? Er, actually, she definitely thought that, as I just realized that the inscription from October 2006 reads "...and now that you and Sean are getting closer to starting your own family, I thought this would be the right time to finally give it to you." (I'm very insightful.) There were no blogs in 1978, after all, and so she had to hand write everything in pen in this little hardbound journal. The pages are ruled in blue with pink margin lines and a little drawing of a reading gnome sits in the lower outer corner of each page. There are 100 pages all together. The first page lists the vitals of my birth--time and date, weight, length, location, a description of my hair and eyes, and this: "with all 10 fingers, 10 toes, and lungs in very good working order!" At the bottom of the page is a tiny lock of hair.

The first entry is dated April 30, 1979, when I would have been six and a half months old. It's a recounting of the day before (my aunt and uncle's wedding), the day of, and the day after my birth. Clearly, enough time had passed that her memory of events had been veiled in the haze of euphoria that is new motherhood (read: exhaustion or denial, or both). She writes, "...the doctor told me to "push." Then, at 12:06, POP! You showed yourself to us for the first time." She also describes my Grandma and Dad, red-faced and perspiring, and says, "as hard as we worked, they worked even harder!" Woah, mom. The truly amazing thing is that I bet she really believed that, too. She was probably even apologizing at the time for the terrible inconvenience.

My family's pediatrician, Dr. Sundaresh, told my mom a poem when he came to examine me. The poem goes a little something like this:

A son's a son
Till he finds a wife,
But a daughter's a daughter
The rest of your life!

Huh? Sweet, I suppose, for 1978.

There are so many revealing entries in this journal--I can't wait to explore more in future posts. And I guess it stands to reason that a lot of what's written is about my mom being proud of me as her daughter and about our relationship as mother and daughter. It would have been a completely different story if I'd been a son. Revisiting the Gnome Gnotebook and seeing it from this perspective has made me think really hard about the sex of our baby. There was a slim possibility that the tech could have determined the sex from yesterday's ultrasound, but it wouldn't have been conclusive until later anyway. I think about whether I have a feeling, one way or the other--whether I have the slightest inkling or instinct about what the sex will be, or whether I have a preference. Part of me, a very large part, hopes for a girl because I am girl--a first born to a first born--and that has so shaped my relationship with my mom, which has in turn been so central to who I am as a person. I think in so many ways and for so many reasons that I'd be a better mom to a little girl because I KNOW it, I lived it. On the other hand, every person is different. Even if my first born is a girl, there's no telling what my relationship with her will be like since her personality will be different than mine, and mine as a mother is different than my mom's was. We're also in such completely different places in our lives, my mom having me at 20 and me having my first at 30, and with completely different family situations, my mom being surrounded by her family in her hometown and me not having any family nearby at all. Too many variables to guarantee that anything would be the same.

Then there's the part of me that's always imagined having a son that I could raise to be tough and sweet, smart and wise, and who would teach me to let go a little more. I've often thought about what it would be like to have had an older brother to stand up for me and protect me and to look up to. I also think it would be an amazing insight into the secret life of my husband--the part of him that I don't know because I didn't know him when he was little. He is an oldest son, and to watch him parent an oldest son would be like having a window into his life that he couldn't possibly know how to open otherwise. Talk about a two-for. That would be a really amazing gift.

I guess the point is that it doesn't matter, which is probably the conclusion that most expectant parents come to nowadays (since hopefully there aren't too many people espousing the sentiments of my pediatrician's poem anymore). Still, it doesn't make me any less curious!

I KNEW it!

Mothers are always right. Remember way back (six whole weeks ago) when we went for our first ultrasound and the tech determined the age of the baby was 7 weeks 3 days? Remember how I insisted that the baby was actually 8 weeks old? Well, I was RIGHT! Today's ultrasound revealed the true age of the baby to be 13 weeks 1 day, meaning the first ultrasound was off by 5 days, making me right on the money. And five days is not a little bit of time in the life of a fetus.

So, I went today for the Nuchal Translucency scan at Hack. After, of course, doing just enough research on Down Syndrome and the other trisomies (not to mention Autism, for which you can't even test until the kid is like, a toddler) to get myself worked up into a mild frenzy. Luckily I had to drive myself (I really need to concentrate hard when I don't know where I'm going) and also there wasn't a whole lot of time in the waiting room, so I didn't get to think too much about it beforehand. Thank goodness.

It was my first time at the hospital and what I saw of it looked pretty nice. I wish I'd gotten the chance to look around more. The ultrasound tech was very sweet and very enthusiastic, which is fantastic considering that she takes pictures of strangers' fetuses day in and day out. She still managed to make my experience seem special. Or maybe our kid really is more impressive than others already. Hmmm...

Anyway, I walked in (Papouism) and laid down on the table, and she applied the gel and the ultrasound apparatus to my stomach, and even though I fully knew what to expect, I can't even describe the thrill I felt when the fuzzy, rolling landscape on the little black and white screen suddenly morphed into a dark, kidney shaped hollow with an actual baby floating in it! We've seen pictures of our neighbor's scans (see link at right to 'the 'cawens') and seen countless pictures in books and online of what ultrasounds at 12-14 weeks look like, and I was fully prepared and really excited to see something that resembled a human--leaps and bounds from the Lil' Bean of week 7 (week 8, ha-HAH!). But nothing could have prepared me for the actual experience of it. Even though my little book says the baby is constantly moving, and that, "using the wall of the uterus as a springboard, he leaps up and down," I guess I didn't quite grasp the...I don't know...literal-ness (literality? hehe) of that statement. As in, when you see the ultrasound of your baby, it won't just be a still, silent portrait. It will show him twisting and turning, jumping, flexing his legs, reaching with his arms... Babies aren't asleep all the time in there, even though it is small and quiet and dark and really, really comfy. Seems silly that I didn't put the two together.

Or maybe I did, logically, but the reality is something all together different and totally visceral. Our baby really was jumping. It almost looked like hiccups because his little legs are so short in comparison to the rest of his body, but when the legs came into focus it was clear that they were bending and flexing and pushing off, and then his little head was hitting the top of the womb, sending him back to the bottom again. He was reaching his arms over his head, then putting his fingers in his mouth, then throwing the back of his hand against his forehead in despair (it's tough in there, I tell you!). He kicked his legs all way out in front of himself, and then tucked them back underneath, crossed at the ankles, and rubbed them together like my dad does when he's sleeping. When the tech moved around to get a shot of the "lower extremities," there was a moment when the plane in focus showed just his feet--perfect little soles with teeny, tiny toes! The tech was trying to get a clear profile picture for Sean since he wasn't able to be there, but every time that little face would come into focus, he'd just as quickly squirm and twist and wriggle around. The tech jiggled my belly pretty hard over and over and over, trying to get him to flip over when he faced away. I turned to one side, and then the other, hoping he would flip around too, then finally she tilted the top of the table back so that my feet were higher than my head, and he stopped. Maybe it was just the strange orientation--I don't think there have been many instances since I've been pregnant when my feet have been higher than my head (except for at Pilates), but whatever it was, it worked. He relaxed and she got this fabulous shot, and I heard the heartbeat again: 162 beats per minute, very loud and very strong.

Lest all you who voted "girl" get your panties in a bunch, I'm just calling the baby "he" today because that's what the techs do before the sex is determined (and because, frankly, "it" is getting tiresome). Last week I was saying "she." I'm not committing just yet, and we won't know for sure for another five or six weeks.