Urgent Care trip #3

I hope everyone's holidays were ducky. Ours were super - we visited with family and friends, ate too much, and watched Ryan make a haul of biblical proportions. Jen and I also learned we have three more friends that have been bitten by the pregnancy bug!! See what happens? The cool kids start a trend and everyone has to follow. So, congratulations to Sarah O., Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2. I hope Jen has carried enough of a cross to satisfy the pregnancy karma police and you all have a smooth ride.

So, down to the dirt: at approximately 1:30 Monday morning I woke to find Jen on the other side of the bed staring into a bucket. Even in my groggy state, this was a sight where I instantly knew to make a little room between myself and the oncoming event. Now, if I possessed even a *little* less discretion, I might have asked Jen if maybe the bed wasn't the perfect place to lose her Christmas day meal but if there is one member of the household that has really stepped up his game during this pregnancy, it's our Kemp's French Vanilla Ice Cream bucket. ...So I simply watched in silence as my poor wife defiled our star player. Approximately 1 hour later, other symptoms made their presence known and by 8AM the following morning, Jen had relegated herself to a bed-weight, only getting up to crawl to the bathroom for one of two aforementioned activities.

I came home from work to take her to Waconia's urgent care. As we turned the corner into the parking lot, her midwife returned our call and told us not to come in but to wait until an hour after the last Mount St. Jen eruption and try sucking on a couple of freezies. Our major concerns at this point were 1) what's the problem here? 2) how long before her obvious dehydration should be professionally treated? 3) when the hell is Radiohead's next album coming out, and will they put aside their obvious distaste for the Midwest US during their next tour?? I reluctantly turned around thinking we would be back as soon as she made fodder of our freezy supply. But, to our amazement she managed to keep them down and slowly felt better as the day progressed and more fluids stayed down. She was in bed by 8pm that night and felt 100% Jen by the next morning.

I had thought that after the 1st tri and the Previa thing went away we were home free, but being a worrisome spaz assures me this: there is always something to worry about. I started thinking how much better I will feel after little Henrietta is born. Then all I need to think about is: school, boys, grades, sports, boys, saving for college, going to college, boys in college, getting a job after college... Yeah. There will be another blog.

Another milestone: I have felt her move now by resting my hand on Jen's belly. It's unbelievable...

20 Week Pics of... some random stuff

I think the medical community is having some fun with me. I think they know I have a blog and are determined to play with me a bit.  It's the only explanation I can give for the fact that during the ultrasound, Jen and I were witness to some incredibly breath-taking and humbling images of a new life struggling to exist. Yet, when it comes time to burn these images on a CD, the ultrasound technician (without asking for input from us) decides to send us home with the following nonsensical renderings... Enjoy these for what they are and please, use the explanation below each pic before wasting too much time attempting to decipher any of them.

This is either whale blubber, Jell-o with fruit chunks, or a soggy bowl of Cheerios.


I believe the technician bumped the machine immediately before this shot, misaligning it's calibration. This is the height-adjusting mechanism of the table Jen was laying on positioned about 2 feet below Jen's butt.


This is a cell from an old Itchy & Scratchy episode of the Simpsons (titled: "Itchy discovers the Tijuana gold") that originally aired on Sept. 21st, 1993 but was never approved for syndication.


This is a shot of the wallpaper when the ultrasound tech and I got into a physical altercation while comparing the amount of talent on the Vikings 53-man roster and Brett Favre's toe jam.

Ok - these aren't that awful. But seriously, good people, these pics don't hold a candle to some of the pics she didn't give us: including a wonderful pic of the heart where one could distinctly see all four chambers. Why would you not include that?!?

The call back from the Dr. was excellent (the wait for the call-back is why it took me a week to post this). He said everything looked normal and THE PREVIA IS GONE.  This was never a real medical emergency, but it's one less thing we have to think about. Young Fraubleucha is breech, though. So one step ahead, one step behind because as you probably know, if she's breech at delivery it's a free pass to Club C-Section.

In case I don't post before - I hope your holidays are chock-full of hearty glee.

Less wiggle room...

We had the 20 week visit last Friday. Normally, these (20 weeks) are "the" visits as the sex is found out, the placenta is examined along with the baby's position, and the big blood test results are reviewed. It's not called the "big blood test", it's called something else but I don't remember and I just got done listing 2 Baby Alive dolls on ebay and it didn't go well so I want to be done with the computer as soon as possible which means I'm not going to look it up for you tonight... Anyhew, normally the 20 week is a big deal but ours was a big dud. We found out the sex out already and the real excitement of this visit was to be an ultrasound to view the previa's status.

Well, we arrived at the clinic precisely at 3:55 pm, which is exactly what the appointment confirmation card read only to learn that when Western OBGyn says 3:55 pm they REALLY mean 3:20 pm because that's when the ultrasound was scheduled. So, we talked with the Dr. about Jen's excellent health - good weight gain, 1 in 5000 chance of Spina Bifida, Down's, and the other thing I'm not going to look up from the big 3 blood test thingy that I'm not going to look up. And we rescheduled the ultrasound for tomorrow, which sets the stage for an alarming amount of blog activity.


But, I had to post tonight to share some cute pics from the past week. Jen's belly is really showing now and growing quite rapidly. The baby has been very active, although I still can't feel little Eudora from the outside. The pic with Jen in the slacks and red sweater is most recent and her belly is noticeably larger than the other pics which were taken just last week!

Someone asked me recently if I was excited about becoming a new father (although I considered myself a "new" father when I married Jen). I find it strange that I don't remember how I replied, but the blog is a very small clue to the excitement, awe, pride, and fear I'm feeling right now. It's nothing short of awesome. ...Kind of like how I felt when the Packers won the Superbowl in '97. Yes, it's that good.

I forgot to mention

...in all the silliness, that we received a much nicer message on Monday (nicer than this one anyway) from Dr. Mohling that little Theodora is not afflicted with Spina Bifida or Down's Syndrome. The reviewers are giving it 2 thumbs up. Way up.

A Dose of Wisdom

It occurred to me that this blog may be a bit biased toward my point of view. So, in this entry I will attempt to rectify that by presenting a glimpse of the pregnancy from Ryan's perspective. I say "glimpse" because noone can fully capture and/or understand the depths of Ryan, and I say "attempt" because booking and completing an interview with Ryan Sherman (hereafter referred to as "subject"), one of Winsted's most notorious recluses, is anything but a simple task. I called in many favors and shook many hands in Winsted's seedy underbelly to secure this interview. Please appreciate this for what it is: A historically poignant piece of journalistic genius.

Wednesday, Dec. 6th, 7:48pm.

Q: You're going to have a little sister, how do you feel about that?
A: Good!

Q: What is your toy-sharing policy with regard to siblings?
A: (no comment)

Q: Let me rephrase the question: Will you share your toys with her?
A: (compliant head nod)

Q: Who's a better Superhero: Spiderman or Superman?
A: Spiderman. Where's my mask? hmmm, maybe hiding.

Q: What should we name her?
A: Baby / Baby Ryan / Baby Sister
(This question garnered some of the more introspective moments of the interview so it was asked multiple times to allow the subject to fully explore his feelings on the topic. This is a perfect example of why I went into Journalism.)

Q: Is Daddy Curt cool?
A: Yeah.

Q: Are you going to help Momma & Daddy Curt take care of your little sister?
A: Yeah. Show her Superman. My mask.

Q: You're crazy.*
A: You're crazy! You eat spiders 'n worms 'n dirty awnerwear (underwear)!

Q: How do you feel about the recent remarks Secretary of the UN, Koffi Annan, made regarding the timing, degree and efficacy of US military intervention in Iraq; specifically comment on whether his attitude, adopted by several of it's delegates, compromised the UN's ability to play anything but a subversive role in the Middle East during Secretary Annan's tenure from the United States' perspective.
A: (Subject points at chocolate milk) See? It's not up (full). Buy chocolate milk.

At exactly 7: 53 pm, the subject grew weary of the interview and left. Despite it's brevity, this interview is actually one of the longest single topic conversations the subject has held, excluding those revolving around Spiderman, the snake that lived in our backyard last summer, or his "guys".

* - this statement has purportedly stoked our subject's temper in past interviews. It was asked as a shameless ploy to boost the interviewer's credentials and the blog's advertising price point.

Belly pics coming soon.

Stay classy, people.

2D Pics from Friday

Sorry - I'll throw some wit out here later... too tired this morning. In the meantime, enjoy these mediocre pics of little Wilhelmena.