Introducing...Arlo and Ezra!

Introducing...Ezra!

2010-10-06T16:37:00.010-04:00

Ezra Casey Sawicki was born at home on September 29 at 4:41 am. His due date! At home! In an inflatable pool for god's sake! Yes, our little Zebra, as Arlo has started to call him, knows how to make an entrance.

I woke up around 12: 35 in the morning on Wednesday with a gush of amniotic fluid flowing onto the bed. I had been dreaming about that very thing just before I woke up, so at first I was convinced that I was still dreaming for a moment. I woke Barry, and he got my mom up as I called the midwife. At first I contemplated going back to sleep, but the immediate onset of some rather significant contractions told me to do otherwise. The midwives were still at the birthing center with another woman who was being transferred to the hospital, so they asked me to come in to do a few tests and make sure that I was indeed in labor before they lugged all of their equipment over to our house.

By the time I made it into the clinic, I was 3 cm and had not, as many women who think that their water has broken have done, peed in the bed. Lucky me! They sent me home to labor and Barry to start working on the pool. While we were gone, my mom had done a little bit of housecleaning to prepare for our guests. As the contractions began to speed up and intensify, I ate toast and fruit, and Barry tried to comfort Arlo, who had woken up with all of the noises and business going on in the house.

Around 2 or 2:30 the midwives arrived and finished working on the pool, which Barry hadn't gotten to because Arlo needed his Daddy. However, thank goodness that Arlo fell back to sleep for the rest of the night not long after the midwives arrived.

By 3, I think, they did a final cervical check before I could get into the pool. 6 cm! The water was like a natural epidural for the first few minutes, and I thought, "Oh no. Labor is stalling." No, it was just waiting in the wings for its big entrance. After about 5 minutes or so, it came roaring back to life. There was perhaps a minute or less between contractions, and I could barely catch my breath. Barry was a champ and got into the tub with me; he pressed my hips together with all of his might throughout the duration of each and every contraction. My mom held my hands or pressed on my shoulders. All of the counter-pressure helped me to focus my energies and concentrate on the progression of each contraction...sorry to be hackneyed here, but it was like moving through a wave of pain. I tried to move up to the crest, right up to that peak near-breaking-point of pain, and then smoothly come down without tumbling...without losing my ability to go back up again. So hard. At the very edge of the pain, I would grip the side of the tub, and try to do the opposite of what the pain said to do; instead of screeching, I would push out the air low and deep. Sometimes the playlist we had going would reach my ears, and I would shake my head to the music or even sing along. At one point Joanna Newsom came on, and I started crying, "No, not her! Not her!" Normally, I'm a big fan, but her tinny affectations didn't gel with labor.

After about an hour of this, I began to insist that, and I'm sorry to be scatological here, I had to poop. For those of you who are in the know, this is a classic sign that a woman is nearing the pushing phase. As someone who chose home birth, I have a strong lay knowledge of the birth process; however, all my smarts went out the window while I was in the midst of said process myself. Nope. I wasn't pushing...I had to poop, damnit! So, I sat down on the toilet (actually a great place to get the baby down and into position) and tried desperately to "poop." The midwives tried to convince me that I was in fact pushing, and at one point I actually cried out, "You don't know what you're talking about!" (Sorry about that Lindsey.) Of course, they did indeed know what they were talking about, and they eventually convinced me to get off the toilet and walk back to the pool.

I barely made it. At one point, I involuntarily had to squat down and push while the midwife practically dove underneath me to catch the baby. He wasn't quite there yet, so I continued walking down the hall to the pool. Getting in was a bit of a struggle, and I complained, but everyone managed to help me in, and the warm water helped to ease the pain a bit.

Then I truly began to push. I think perhaps I had 5, maybe 6, pushes before his head emerged. At one point, the midwives encouraged me to reach down and feel his head. That brought me out a slight torpor that had started to fall over me. His head. Right there. Almost out. It didn't feel like anything all that special, but it was there. I began to push harder and harder. Barry sat behind me and helped me to hold my legs.

And there it was. That awe-ful, impossible, wildly understatedly named "rim of fire." His head. I had to stop. I had to breathe, and then one push and several screams later (my throat hurt for a day or two afterward), Ezra was on my chest. He was blue, and he had a loose knot in his cord (no worries...the pulsations were just fine), and he had some mucous in his throat, but he was beautiful and tiny and lovely and mine and Barry's.

Arlo awoke about an hour later, as I was still being attended to, and he was able to meet his little brother. The baby cried, and he said, "Baby ouchy? Awww...baby...no cry." Love.

And that was it. Right now, Ezra is laying across my lap, mewing like a kitten because he is about ready to nurse again. And we have a complete little family.

New Baby on the Way!

2010-09-08T22:48:00.008-04:00

I'm not quite sure how we managed to get there so fast, but somehow or another we went from the picture on the left to the pictures below and are pretty darn close to making our little family of 3 into a complete family of 4. Our new little man is due in just 3 short weeks. He has been turning flips, hiccoughing up a storm, and using my bladder as a punching bag just like his big brother did not so very long ago.

Sometimes Arlo is excited about my "baby ball belly" and his new "brudder" and others he simply swats at the belly and says, "no baby!" We're pretty excited (and more than a little nervous) to see his reaction when the tummy is gone and a new baby comes home for good.

Poo-Poo Truck

2010-09-08T21:30:00.003-04:00

Arlo and I were eating breakfast this morning and he said "Moo." That is the word for Cow.
"Yeah, moo," I said.
"Moo," then, slowly and quietly, "poo-poo truck."
I gave him a the kind of hard inquisitive stare you really don't want to get from your dad. "Did you say poo-poo truck?"
"Yeah," nodding apprehensively.
"Wait a minute," I said and I got up, went to his room and got his 2nd favorite book (not the one about cows). My First Truck Book. It has all kinds of different trucks in it. Turning to page of tractors I asked, "show me the poo-poo truck." He pointed to the tractor in the middle of the page with the manure spreader attached to it. "Is that the poo-poo truck?"
"Yeah," he nodded.
"Yeah, it is a poo-poo truck."

G'dong!

2010-07-27T22:00:00.004-04:00

We were in the parking lot next to the music store when Arlo pointed to the sign and asked "is that g'dong?" To which I replied "yes," because g'dong is the word for "guitar." We ducked into the store while mom was doing some mom stuff. He pointed to every single guitar in place and asked "is that g'dong?"
So without even thinking we bought this spiffy little $40 g'dong and now we get to hear songs like this every day! I'm freakin' psyched!
So, ladies and gentlemen, appearing for the first time, live, in the shadow of Laundry Pile Mountain ...

He's Bugs?

2010-07-07T21:52:00.004-04:00

At a year and a half there are a bunch of new things going on with Arlo's brain that are easy to acknowledge in the moment, but hard to describe after later reflection.
For example, last Friday was Full Sentence Friday. It started after we dropped his mom off at work and he said "Mum is my mum." Later, when they were about to go on a bike ride he asked his mom, "He needs shoes?" I can't even remember all the sentences he said that day; I think there were four.
As you can see he is into rocks and seems to have a very deep interest in dogs. He talks endlessly about dogs. Tragically, the only word that I can decode in these long dog monologues is "dog."
He likes dogs so much that he even sees dogness in things that are not dogs. On a trip to Payne's Prairie this weekend he identified a group of several deer there as "dogs" or "big dogs."
We were in the prairie to look for bugs. Our new neighborhood is virtually devoid of bugs (except flies) and Arlo's love of bugs has increased to a potentially unhealthy degree. He likes to touch the bugs, and squash them and say "he's bugs" or "him is bugs" or something like that. Last night when we were eating stir fry and he was avoiding all the vegetables so he could eat nothing but rice, we tried to feed him chicken. He pointed to it and asked "he's bugs?" In a stroke of inspiration I responded "yes." He ate it! So his mom gave him some more chicken and he asked "he's bugs?" and I responded "yes, it's bugs."
He continued to eat chicken as long as I continued to assure him it was bugs. I realize this strategy has some unknown and potentially negative side effects. Will he eat a bug? Am I going to have to eat one too? How long will he continue to identify chicken as a bug?
The more developed and more complex his thinking gets the more I'm playing with fire, and the next one is on the way too, so stay tuned for that.

My Blue Heaven

2010-03-19T21:52:00.002-04:00

Arlo loves that dixieland jazz. He also was a big fan of the bread at Commander's Palace; we ate there while we were on spring break last week.

Crazy Crayons

2010-02-14T09:47:00.003-05:00

Does this kid look tipsy or what? Drunk on crayolas! We got him his 1st package of crayons and let him go to town, and (as you might imagine) he tried not only to eat them but also to color on every available surface, including his face.

He also called me Kate. No mama...just Kate. Now I know how Homer Simpson feels.

13 months and counting

2010-02-11T22:28:00.003-05:00

So, Arlo woke up this morning and ran around the living, pulling up his shirt, slapping his belly, and saying "eeee!" You ask him where his nose is, and he'll point to it. He'll do the same for his belly and mouth too. He gets into pots and laundry baskets and tupperware and then says, "vroom! vroom!" and tries to propel himself forward. He gives strong hugs and sloppy kisses and will stomp and scream and bang his head if he a) doesn't get his way, b) you take anything (especially a cell phone or remote control) away from him, or c) you somehow interrupt a favorite (for the moment) activity. He has a favorite book, The Going to Bed Book, and a beloved stuffed monster, Fredo. Honestly, he is less and less of a baby every day and more and more of a little boy. Enjoy the pics from his mini-birthday party and random fun days over the past few weeks.

A New Year, A New Update

2010-01-01T20:20:00.015-05:00

It has been an inexcusably long time since we last posted on the blog...not since last decade! What can I say? The end of the semester was just hellish, and then I couldn't bear to sit at a computer for any length of time once my grading was done. In my defense, I have posted some info on facebook. Regardless, life has gone on, and Arlo has grown so fast that he seems to be a blur of walking, running, chattering toddlerness. Our little baby is going to be 1 year old in a week. It makes me so proud but hurts my heart as well; however, I will save my gooshy, 1st year post until next week. For now, let me catch you up a bit.

Arlo was lucky enough to have 2, count em, TWO Christmases this year--one with his Grammy and Grampy Casey in AL and one with Nennie and Grumpy in NH. Gifts were plentiful, and I even got to do the whole "mom thing" and put out milk and cookies for Santa. BLISS! Arlo had a chance to spend time with his Aunties and Uncles (in both AL and NH) and play with his cousin Colby, as well as meet with our many family friends in Barrington during our annual Christmas open house.

In the past few weeks, Arlo had a multitude of new experiences. He went to the zoo in Montgomery, the children's museum in Dover, and the natural history museum here in Gainesville; thus, we now know that little man loves capuchin monkeys, African drums, and giant sloth skeletons. He also got to roll around in the snow, which he enjoyed until it found its way into his coat, and sled down the driveway. He ate his first bite of cake (carrot) and discovered the wonders of goldfish crackers. He also learned how much more fun a toy can be when it is stolen from your cousin--sorry, Colby!

As of today (and he adds to the repertoire every day), Arlo can do the following:

Walk very easily and steadily
Run with a bit of a wobble
Dance and clap along to music
Say mama, dada, grandpa, nennie, kitty, yah, and tree
Hammer the blocks in his punch-and-drop toy
Replace the balls in the punch-and-drop
Open books and turn the pages WITHOUT always feeling the need to munch on the book as well
Remove and replace rings on toy cone
Point to pictures of people when you ask their names
Gently pet the cat and dog
Give hugs and kisses
Wave hello and goodbye
Give high fives
Put a phone up to his ear
Imitate scribbling (in fact, he wrote a little note of scribbles to Santa)
Drops an object, says "uh-oh," waits for me to pick it up for him, plays with it until I turn my back, and then repeats the whole process

I'm sure that I'm missing all kinds of subtle and not-so-subtle other milestones, but these are the major ones that I can think of at the moment. I go back to class on the 5th, and Arlo will start part-time daycare then as well, so a lot is about to change. We will keep you posted.

3 Steps

2009-11-11T20:48:00.003-05:00

Quick update: Yes, Arlo does have a mild case of pneumonia, but do you think that stops him? Of course not! Today he decided to toddle, without any assistance, 3 little steps to grab a toy. And so it begins...

10 Months

2009-11-05T18:43:00.002-05:00

To celebrate 10 months of life, Arlo hung out with his main squeeze, Sylvia. Look at how he's trying to impress her with his fancy standing and persimmon-holding skills. Happy 10 months little man.

Arlo's 1st Halloween

2009-11-03T00:20:00.007-05:00

Arlo had a fabulous 1st Halloween. He was gussied up as a little boxer, which was in keeping with the shiner he inflicted upon himself whilst attempting to walk; I was some sort of scarecrow (a last minute alteration of a plan that didn't gel). Barry was disguised as a 30-something dad. We went with Arlo's Auntie Mary and Grammy to Boo at the Zoo at SFC. While the massive number of grease-paint smeared, sweating people piled on top of one another, struggling to get through the narrow zoo paths in high-80 degree weather, was a bit off-putting, Arlo truly seemed to enjoy himself. He laughed at the screeching monkeys and worked his blue-eyed charm on all the witches and fairy princesses.

He was also fascinated by the pumpkins we carved at home. He rolled them around the floor and banged his hands on them. Peeking into the pumpkin guts is fun!

Happy 9 Months!

2009-10-06T23:29:00.010-04:00

Arlo has finally reached that big milestone--9 months. Something about it just sounds so grown up.

We had our 9 month checkup, and the boy is doing wonderfully. While he is very small in terms of weight (16 lbs 14 oz or the 4th percentile), he's on the tall side (29 inches or 50th percentile). I was concerned about his weight, but our pediatrician says not to worry; he is "the right size" for Barry and I (in case you don't know, we're not exactly giants), and according to the WHO charts, which unlike the American charts are based on exclusively breast-fed babies, he's more like the 25th percentile. You would never guess that his weight is so "low"; the kid has fat rolls for goodness sake! And, as evidenced in the image of the split-pea-covered Arlo, he does indeed eat.

The past few weeks have been filled with all kinds of fun. Walking is so close that this kid can almost taste it; at the moment, besides cruising, he can stand unassisted for almost a minute at a time and wave his hands in the air. He even bounces along to the music when Barry plays the guitar! He recognizes pictures of Barry and I and actually cried out "mamamamamama" when my sister closed her cell phone and made the picture of mommy disappear. He is just starting to sign "milk," although he seems to use it more generically for "want." Close enough. Speaking of milk, a few days ago, he actually shimmied up Barry's leg, onto the couch, and pulled up my shirt to nurse. Ummm...now that's just scary!

I'm getting a better idea of his likes and dislikes as well. Arlo loves cheerios (actually any carbs), spoons, music class, daddy playing the guitar, swinging at the park, the Mo Willems' pigeon book series, and his monster, Fredo. Arlo hates most green vegetables (too bad!), being fed by a spoon, naps, yoga (let's just say that my dream of a zen mommy-baby experience has not really come to fruition in my new yoga class), and being removed from dangerous situations. What can I say? He's a dare-devil.

1 year rapidly approaches.

Happy 9 months, Arlo.

2009-09-19T00:13:00.003-04:00

Long time, no blog. Everything has been rather hectic here in the swamp. Arlo has decided that sleep isn't his "thing," while his mum has been teaching a full load of classes at SFC. Mary has been here to help us out on Tuesdays and Thursdays thank goodness, but it isn't easy to care for Arlo most of the time AND try to read and grade papers, prep class, and keep up with my overflowing email inbox. I'm sure it will get easier, right....

Arlo now has 4 teeth--2 on the bottom and 2 little fangs on the top. He looks just like a baby vampire (do I detect a Halloween costume?). He zooms around the room, pulling things on top of his head, and generally making a fantastic mess. He can turn the pages in a book, rock out on his toy piano, and play peekaboo like a champ. While he still isn't a huge fan of too many chunky foods, he adores organic "ohs" cereal and attempting to feed himself with a spoon (an abject failure at the moment). He is desperate to walk, so he stands and cruises around the living room. Climbing the baby gates is a new favorite activity.

Our big problem is sleep. Around 4-6 months, he was sleeping like a champ--10-12 hours at a stretch at night. Then we went on vacation, AND he started teething. Now he sleeps at the most 4 hours at a time. He wakes up, nurses, and then falls back asleep IF he is allowed to stay in our bed. The crib is his enemy. Naps are a nightmare. We thought it would just pass, but no.

So, thanks to my friend, Jessica, and my pediatrician, I just read Richard Ferber's Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems. Yes, we are Ferberizing our little man; sounds dangerous, no? Actually, we just started tonight, but it hasn't been nearly as traumatic as I thought it would be. I have to get more sleep, so I'm willing to give damn near anything a try.

Besides learning to be a better sleeper, Arlo has big plans for next week. We're starting a music class and mom and baby yoga. And so it begins...next stop Princeton.

A Visit to Our Pastoral Home

2009-08-19T21:35:00.007-04:00

We tried to make a list of everyone he met on the trip. I won't post everyone's name for the sake of internet privacy, but there are 52 people on it.
He now has four teeth poking out, two on the top and two on the bottom (poor guy).
He is doing some unassisted standing, which is very scary. He can't wait to grow up I guess.
So, you can see his Grandma, his Uncle and his Cousin in these pictures. You can also see New Hampshire.

Crawlin and Standin

2009-07-25T19:33:00.003-04:00

So, Arlo is in the 50th percentile for height and only the 15th for weight. His head is tiny-13th percentile. He's just a lean little guy. Nevertheless (or perhaps consequently), this kid can move! He is way, way above average in that department. Check out our crawling and standing video.

Summer Fun--Part 1

2009-07-22T22:37:00.008-04:00

We have had such a fantastic summer thus far. Arlo, as noted a few weeks ago, learned to crawl. He is now zooming around the floor, pulling himself up to standing, trying to gnaw through cords, pulling down books onto his head, and generally scaring the begeezus out of us. He also finally cut that long-awaited tooth.

However, it's not all been about developmental milestones this summer. Oh no. We've had some fun as well. In June, Arlo and Daddy started a daily guitar jam. In fact, once Arlo was so excited about the music that he rammed right into the guitar and gave his little noggin a smack. Arlo and Momma also started attending a mommy-and-me group at the public library, and little man goes nuts for the "Baby Hokey Pokey" (there are wiggles instead of shakes...you know, "never shake a baby").

In late June, we attended Ms. Josie's 2nd birthday party, and Arlo got to crawl around the floor with a new friend--Brooklyn. Best of all though, Nene and Grumpy came to visit for the 1st week of July. We hung out at Orange Lake Resort and basically lived in our swimsuits for a week and had fun letting Nene play with Arlo while we went swimming every night. All of that awesomeness, and we haven't even updated you on our trip to Colorado!

"Stay tuned for Part 2--going to Colorado!

The last day...

2009-07-05T22:46:00.004-04:00

Today was Arlo's last day on the newborn side of 6 months. He officially turns 6 months old tomorrow, 07/06. However, in the past week he drank water out of a regular cup and pulled himself up from a sitting to a standing position. Most exciting of all though--today he crawled for the 1st time. For the past few weeks, he was scooting around the room no problem by pulling himself along with his hands and pushing off with his feet, but today he actually managed to crawl from one point to another TWICE! We haven't captured video of this happy moment (tragedy? ohhhh the baby-proofing that needs to happen), and he hasn't repeated it since this morning, but we know that we're in for some serious trouble now that Mr. Man is mobile.

We like swimming

2009-06-15T22:33:00.009-04:00

Florida is hot, but this water is nice and cool. We went to Blue Springs where the water is 72 degrees year-round. Arlo has a great time swimming.
We can tell he is getting closer to crawling because he has all the elements, he just hasn't put them together yet. He is making longer stretches and more elaborate maneuvers to get to things that he wants.
He is communicating more too. Mostly he will stick his tongue out when he wants you to joke with him. He also screams like hell when he wants you to do something and you can't figure out what it is.
Also, he has come to the conclusion that everything needs to be tasted at least once. That goes, not just for the rice cereal, melon and zucchini we have been letting him try, but pens, TV remotes, bracelets, etc. So if you are missing something and it weighs under a few ounces, or perhaps you are wearing something but you really want to know if it tastes good he's your guy.
Right now we are really looking forward to some crawling.

Also, we just had to add this last picture. Yes, it is blurry, but it is one of the few of us all together in which Arlo is actually smiling. Such a sweet, albeit fuzzy, little family!

A funny joke

2009-05-21T18:53:00.004-04:00

We filmed this about a month ago, maybe only two weeks ago, I'm not sure. This joke is still funny though. I tried it out again tonight only to find the video camera was full.
Arlo and I have a bedtime routine that reminds me alot of The Cheat's. It involves lots of false starts, noises, wrestling, fart noises on the belly and pats on the back. It was fun at first... now not so much. Anyway, this funny joke is part of it. Hopefully we can move on to something less involve soon.

The New Toy

2009-05-18T12:30:00.000-04:00

Arlo just discovered a new toy--his wee-wee. Yep, our little man is growing up.

May Days

2009-05-17T23:23:00.003-04:00

Yes, we've been very lax in our posts recently. Lots of excuses...the end of the semester was killer. We'll try to do better. Now on to the good stuff:

It has been just over a year since we found out we were pregnant with Arlo (formerly known as "the bean," Oscar, Elliott, and, for a very short while, Jasper). We can't believe how much he has grown and become a real little person. His sense of self is becoming more evident every day, and he interacts with his world in a way that is so much fun to watch. I want to see the world through those fresh eyes!

Here are a few notables for this month:

We visited Arlo's Grammy and Grampy Casey at their new house in Long Beach, MS. Arlo went on his very first fishing trip and was spoiled.
Arlo met his baby cousin Katherine. She's a month younger but much bigger than him.
He had his 4 month check-up and shots. He is about 13 1/2 lbs and 25 inches. He's still in the 25th percentile for weight, but he jumped up into the 50th percentile for height.
Unfortunately, Arlo was also sick for the first time. He had a cold and coughed for a few days. Nothing major, but Mum was very stressed out by the whole thing.
He stuck his foot in his mouth--what a first!
He moves ever closer to crawling and has been pushing his knees out underneath him and slinking forward a bit on his tummy.
We let him lick a bit of cantalope. He was staring at it so longingly, and (of course) he loved it! He still has a month and a half until we start solids, but it's fun to let him at least get interested in food.
Arlo is now the boss of his bottle; he can actually hold it himself for a few seconds.

Now for the big one: Arlo's future wife, Sylvia Rose Kirwan, was born on May 3rd at 6am. She was a big girl--around 8 lbs. We're all so happy for Jessica, JC, and Josie, and we look forward to lots of baby play dates. Now we're just waiting for Erica Nikolaidis to pop out Henry.

The Coloradans Visit!

2009-04-21T09:06:00.005-04:00

Our dear friends, Jennifer and Gwyn (with her boyfriend, Josh, who we just met), came to visit us over Easter weekend. Arlo was out and about a little beyond his capacity to handle it; he had a major over-stimulation-freak-out on Sunday night. Otherwise, he had a blast hanging out with Aunties Jenny and Gwyn and all the Gainesville gang.

Watch out! Arlo already thinks he's funny.

2009-04-11T15:24:00.003-04:00

It would appear that he is taking after other young humorists in my family--like the guy who encouraged his infant brother to whiz on his parents while they were changing him, the guy who conked his baby brother on the head with a toy gun, and the guy who put the dead mouse in the coffee cup (okay, these were all the same guy).
Arlo's new joke is feeding, just for a minute, then pulling away slightly while leaving his mouth open. Get it?! It's like he could be eating and you are trying to feed him, but he is not eating...
I don't know. He seems to think it's funny though because he'll look right at you and smile while he does it. Then he'll fake you out like he's going to act right and eat, then he'll do it again! It has all the elements of good funny: hyperbole, metaphor, reductio ad absurdum, and crucially in this case, timing.

Big Update!

2009-04-06T18:54:00.003-04:00

So that big move we were waiting for happened. He rolled from his back to his belly! His mom set him down on his back in his crib and left the room. When she came back he was on his belly. He wasn't happy about it, but there he was.

How did 3 months go by so fast?

2009-04-06T11:07:00.005-04:00

3 months ago today we were at the hospital, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, and busy staring at the teensy little wonder that was our new Arlo. And now, well look at the kid! He's getting chunky. He's smiling. He's doing all kinds of wonderful and unexpected things. Here's an update on what Arlo is up to:

He can roll over from his tummy to his back and from his back to his side. We're still waiting for the elusive back to belly roll.
He smiles and laughs! It is hard to catch him in a smile on camera though.
He mimics us when we stick out our tongue at him. Very funny sight.
He can bat at dangling toys and grab rattles. He still isn't doing much besides suck on them, but it's a start.
He can hold up his upper body when he's on his belly, and he can hold quite a bit of his weight when we stand him up.
This kid loves standing.
He is sleeping through the night for about 6 hours or so. Mum and Dad are super happy about this one!
He stayed with a sitter for the very 1st time in March. She is a wonderful person, and Arlo enjoys spending his Fridays with her and her boys so that Mum can get her class prep and grading done.
He makes lots of different cooing noises (one of which I swear is maa-maaa).
He's slobbering a lot now and seems to be starting the process of teething.
He can suck on his fists and his thumb.
He has learned to appreciate fine art and has a favorite artist already (Barry's friend, Adam Capone). He's just fascinated by the painting over our couch.

We're so proud of our little overachiever!

A Big Weekend!

2009-03-22T21:38:00.006-04:00

Arlo had such a crazy weekend. On Saturday, he and I (along with our friends, Erika and Renata) helped to throw Jessica Kirwan a baby shower for the upcoming addition to her family. It was a women only affair, so Arlo felt a little out of place. However, he was a hit...the ladies love him, what can I say? Everyone got a chance to cuddle him. Jessica's daughter Josie and Liz's daughter Magnolia were there as well--both adorable and totally messy with chocolate pops that Erika purchased. It was a great night.

This morning we went to the Spring Festival at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. We tried to interest Arlo in the butterly exhibit, but he just wasn't having it. However, Barry and I had a nice stoll through the various exhbits, and we ate some good Indian food and fabulous Sweet Dreams (a local ice cream shop) treats--vanilla ice cream for him and a chocolate-covered banana for me.

Overall, I think Arlo interacted with more people than he ever has before, and he came through beautifully. He's a charmer.

Your Mama and Threadless Tees

2009-03-18T09:59:00.000-04:00

The ladies at "Your Mama Reviews" have done it again! They have an awesome contest in which you can win a Threadless Tees gift certificate. Check it out.

9 Weeks Stats

2009-03-12T20:41:00.005-04:00

In this corner (okay, it's the only corner...okay, okay, there is no corner--it's actually a boppy), we have Arlo Casey Sawicki weighing in at 10 lbs 8 oz and 22 inches. Yes, our little man is actually quite a little man, topping out in the 25th percentile. That's okay...he's tracking great and smiling like crazy and lifting his upper body with his arms. The doctor was impressed with his smarts and those killer eyes.

A Shout Out to Your Mama Reviews

2009-03-06T12:25:00.002-05:00

So, for all you new mamas out there, I just want to encourage you to stop by and peruse the offerings at Your Mama Reviews. My friend Idoia and a few other ladies are running the site, and it is truly fantastic--pithy, smart, and helpful.

4 Generations

2009-03-06T00:07:00.002-05:00

Arlo, who is officially 2 months old as of today, met his Great Grandma for the 1st time this weekend. Actually, we call her Nanaw, but you get the point. Arlo is actually her 8th great grandkid but the 1st (and consequently the greatest) on our side. He immediately smiled at her. She made us all biscuits. Lovely.

Below, from left to right, you can see my mom, Arlo, Nanaw, and moi.

And, for added viewing pleasure, as well as to counteract the rather sappy nature of the picture above, I give you this HILARIOUS yawning Arlo shot.

Push-ups and Smiles

2009-02-22T10:29:00.004-05:00

It has been a big week at the Casa de Casey-Sawicki. Mr. Arlo decided to move from blankly staring at walls to actually interacting with his mum and dad a bit more. First off, he has perfected his rollover and moved on to push-ups. In fact, he has already combined the two to do a kind of high-flying flip, which invariably causes momma to gasp and baby to cry out in surprise. We clearly have a gymnast on our hands.

As you probably noticed in the pictures above, he is also a bit of a ham. He has moved on from little gas and sleep smiles to tickle-induced giggle fests. Doesn't he have a goofy little grin?

And, on top of all that excitement, Arlo got to meet his Great Uncle George and Aunt Tammy. They were traveling through Florida to see one of Tammy's relatives, so they very kindly took us out to Bento Cafe in exchange for a chance to marvel over our little wunderkind. Too bad he was sleeping the whole time! Oh well, baby tv was still a treat. They also brought us some gifts--postcards from the MS Gulf Coast back in the 30s AND, best of all, a King Cake. Yah, for uncle George, Aunt Tammy, and Mardi Gras!

Diaper Day

2009-02-18T14:30:00.002-05:00

2 days worth of Arlo's diapers, covers, liners, and wipes. Clearly we have a yard full of evidence that the boy is eating!

Grammy and Grandpa Casey Come to Visit

2009-02-16T16:11:00.003-05:00

Grammy and Grandpa Casey came to visit Arlo for his 1 month birthday! As a gift, Mom and Dad got to go out to dinner while Gram and Gramps hung out with baby. We basically talked about Arlo the whole time and even sat in a parking lot and looked at pics of him. Baby steps.

Here are some pics from their visit. Notice the cute hat Arlo is modeling in the last pic. His sweetheart Folk School Auntie Emily made it for him (and one in reverse colors for cousin Colby). Thanks Em!

The Amazing Arlo!

2009-02-11T15:00:00.004-05:00

Sorry about the video quality...I took this video on my phone. Watch Mr. 5 Weeks Old roll over. He's even better at it than Gilbert!

Arlo Updates

2009-02-02T10:52:00.004-05:00

In deference to popular demand, here are a few more recent Arlo photos. People have been giving us major crap for not updating the site more frequently. We'll do better. We promise!

So, here are a few Arlo updates:

Arlo's Auntie Mary came to visit last weekend. We made bread, cooked lots of yummy food, and watched endless amounts of tv. Yah!
Arlo had his very 1st play date with a kid around his age--Joshua. The moms had coffee and tea whilst the little ones drooled, slept, and cried. We were clearly a very popular set at the ever chic Volta.
You might have noticed how much bigger Arlo seems. Well, that is because he has shot up from a low of 6 lbs 8 oz (a few days after he was born) to 8 lbs 6 oz (at 3.5 weeks). He's getting those chubby cheeks. Check out our Arlo comparison collage:
Arlo is apparently going through baby puberty--he has acne and milky boobs. All soon to go away...I hope.
Finally, not only can our little iron man hold up his head on his own already, but he has actually ROLLED OVER from his stomach to his back. Insane! He's not supposed to be able to do that kind of thing yet. Our pediatrician says that he is "very well organized." Cool. No, we do not as of yet have video evidence to prove the rolling over...but we will post it as soon as we manage to capture the ellusive action.

Meeting Nennie and a New President

2009-01-22T13:36:00.008-05:00

Just look at that face! Is he an old man or what? People keep saying that his face has "personality"...I'm hoping that isn't some sort of euphemism. He really is the funniest little thing...and, yes, he does have my rather "expressive" face. Our guy is totally a chameleon with his facial expressions.

So, it's been a big week for Mr. Arlo-Pants. This week he met his Nennie Sawicki, and he got to have an inauguration party with his momma. Fun times were had by all. Nennie flew down from NH for the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. We were able to walk around campus and all relax together. Best of all, Nennie took Arlo for long walks so that Barry and I could catch up on our sleep. Come back Nennie!!

As for the inauguration, well, Arlo couldn't be happier. As many of you know, he worked tirelessly to help get our newest President elected. He's such a lefty. While his attention span was limited for the festivities, he did manage to watch the actual ceremony whilst partaking of some milk. Yummers!

AfterBirth!

2009-01-16T20:34:00.013-05:00

Sorry that we haven't updated the blog more, but we were delayed at the hospital for a few days, and we're still sort of recovering.

It all started with some meconium (baby poop to you and me). When my water broke, we realized that it had meconium in it, which is potentially dangerous for the baby. I was pretty scared, but the nurses and Sarah all assured me that it was "old meconium," and it shouldn't be a problem. However, the day we were supposed to be discharged (Wed, 01/07), the pediatrician came to tell us that a nurse had discovered that Arlo was breathing a little fast and that the neonatologist wanted to run a few tests. I have never seen anything as pitiful before as the sight of our naked and forlorn-looking little baby hooked up to IVs. He had to have a couple different blood tests and a chest xray. According to the neonatologist, the tests and xray indicated some sort of "inflamation." What kind? Well, the choices were: a) nothing; b) meconium aspiration; c) pnemonia; d) lung infection. Since it is very difficult to discern what is wrong with a newborn, the neonatologist decided to go with option "c" and treat Arlo with SEVEN DAYS of antibiotics through IV. He even mentioned that if the treatment didn't go well, then we might have to talk about possible spinal meningitis and a spinal tap! Of course, I freaked out.

Here's the catch. Sarah (aka Dr. Amazing)
thought that the neonatologist was being wayyyy overly cautious. Arlo was feeding well, had good lung tone and responses, and was generally healthy looking. Here's the other catch: his "fast" breathing wasn't so fast anymore. In fact, by the next morning his breathing was perfectly normal. So, we asked if we could redo some of the tests and see if he was any better. If so, then we didn't want to continue treating Arlo for something that he just didn't have. The neonatologist said "okay," but that he was only willing to go down to five days of antibiotics (1 more than a recent study suggested was an appropriate amount) and ONLY if all of the tests came out perfect. Well, guess what--PERFECT on all accounts! We were only going to be stuck in the hospital for 5 days. But THEN our pediatrician checked him out again on the weekend and decided that we really just didn't need to be there after all, so we finally got to go home. It was tiring and scary and upsetting, but we both decided that it would have been a hell of a lot scarier if Arlo had ACTUALLY been sick instead of just being treated like he was sick.

Anyways, enough of the sob-story. Now on to the good stuff. As of Saturday, Arlo's weight had gone down to 6 lbs. 8 oz (not a bad loss), but by his 1st pediatrician's appointment on Monday, he had shot up past his birth weight to 6 lbs 15 oz! I attribute it to my mom's fantastic cooking for me, which in turn made for some awesome milk for baby boy. My mom (grammy) stayed with us for a few days after Arlo came home, and it made all the difference in the world. She let us just enjoy being with the baby, while she did all kinds of chores. I don't know WHY she insists on being the State Forester of Alabama when she makes a perfectly wonderful housemaid for me. Go figure.

Our friends also came by and brought some yummy food to keep us going and check out Arlo. Here is Ms. Josie giving my boy some love--he could definitely do worse!

Arlo, Barry, and I have just been trying to find a rhythm, get to know what it means to be a family, and have some fun between the many naps. I have also worked very hard and with very little sucess to avoid being peed on. I had no clue that baby penises could shoot so far! Here is Arlo getting cleaned up after peeing on his own head. Wow.

Introducing ... Arlo Casey Sawicki

2009-01-06T19:40:00.008-05:00

It's not exactly a family name, and its not exactly after Arlo Guthrie and it overshoots the unusual quality of the name Barry by at least 10%. However, it is a name that you have heard, it is what I refer to as "Old Worldy" and it is the perfect name to see you through a global financial cataclysm. And it works with his face.
Check him out, he is a brand new human organism with all the privileges and responsibilities thereof!
And when he is not completely naked he is wearing this stylish hat his mom knitted him.

His mom gave birth to him at 2:35AM Tuesday, January 6th 2009. He is 20 inches long, 6lbs and 14oz. His head is 12 1/4 inches in circumference and he seems to have black or dark brown hair.He was born totally without intervention. That means no C-section, no episiotomy, no pitocin (except after the birth to contract the uterus) and no epidural. And he has started to figure out how to breast feed!
His dad and his aunt Mary and Sarah and his grandma helped with the birth. So far the following people have come by to see him : Grandma and Grandpa Casey, his Aunt Mary, our friend Dr. Sarah, his Uncle Jake, JC and Jessica and Josie, Kyle and Erika, Kamau and LaShanta, Fred and Michelle, and his dad's co-workers Linda, Lori, Alyssa, Devon and Susan.
Also, he can be used to power a small LED flashlight.

Update...or lack thereof

2009-01-05T15:03:00.002-05:00

We're still contracting pretty regularly, but they aren't quite as long as they should be. Most unfortunately, we were only 70% effaced and 1 cm at 8:30 this morning. Hopefully more has happened by now...this is hard stuff.

Fingers Crossed

2009-01-05T07:40:00.003-05:00

This might be it. We have been up with the contractions since about 2:30 this morning. They are on average four minutes apart. Kate can still talk during most of them and that is supposed to be a sign we don't need to go to the hospital yet.
So the plan is to go to the Midwifes office when it opens around 8:30 and have them tell us what to do. A couple things though. It is back labor which makes it slower and more uncomfortable. So we are hoping things move right along.
Kate's mother, father an sister are on their way down here (we called them around 3:30 maybe). Our friend Sarah is thinking about coming down from Maine today too. Kate was at the birth of her son Noah.
Wish us luck.

Damn You Braxton Hicks!

2009-01-02T15:21:00.004-05:00

I've been having quite a few contractions, but they are all of the fake-out variety. Too bad! We went to the midwife today, and I got my first cervical check.
The good news: I'm 50% effaced, and the baby has dropped.
The bad news: My cervix is still posterior, and I haven't dilated.

It looks like he's perfectly happy to camp out in the belly for a bit longer. I think you can tell from the pic, however, that he is a bit lower than before. My bladder can certainly tell.

Finishing Touches in the 39th Week

2009-01-01T22:09:00.007-05:00

Now is the time where we fret endlessly over where to place pictures on the wall in the baby's room and what pictures go well with what frames and the like. Example, do we know how to operate our new digital video camera? Do we have our car seat installed in the back of our nice safe car? Do we have a bag packed to go to have our baby at one of the highest rated hospitals in the area? It's just an other day in paradise in the 21st century.

It's just like any other day except that contractions have been around 10 minutes apart for a little over an hour. I'm not saying that I think it's going to happen right now; in fact, since it is 10pm I'd rather it happened after eight hours of sleep, but like I was saying, how could I ask for anything else?

We have great families who have helped us tremendously with the logistical and financial strain of preparing to have the baby. We also have great friends that have bought or made us excellent things. Both of our employers have been very accommodating.

Yes, it is stressful and things could still go awry, but so far we have been unbelievably fortunate.
Also, Kate has been baking, so I'm going to eat some great dessert too.

Quick Note: 37 Weeks!

2008-12-18T21:36:00.002-05:00

We've made it to 37 weeks! This little bean is all cooked up. He can stay until 40 weeks (or...gulp...42!) if he cares to, but he is officially full term as of today. AND I'm strep B negative--no antibiotics for me thank goodness.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Been Caught Stealing

2008-12-14T01:19:00.002-05:00

Barry needed new pants, so I entertained myself at Macy's today by examining my body in the 3-way mirror in the men's dressing room. (Like men use mirrors!) I swear that I look like that Jane's Addiction video...yep, I'm just stuffing socks, new boxers for Barry, some shoes for me, and the like all under that shirt. Woohoo! Free for all!

Seriously, this belly is just getting out of hand silly round! People keep saying that it looks like I have a basketball under my shirt. Well, I do love sports...

The Catch-All Post

2008-12-10T16:00:00.017-05:00

Hi there. Sorry that it's been so long since we put up a decent post, but everything has been crazy towards the end of the semester. Note how Barry is totally in baby jail. Oh wait...that's our crib. D'oh! He's been working on putting the crib and various other baby stuff together, making dinner, cleaning house, and generally doing all of the chores, while I grade enormous and never-ending piles of papers and slog through student conferences. I desperately want to engage in the whole nesting instinct thing, but I think papa-bird has to work on that for a few more days. BUT I will be mercifully and completely free of grading and other school-related activities very, very soon. I plan to nap first and then work more on baby stuff.

I neglected to post about the shower my mom had for us over Thanksgiving. She had quite a few lady friends from work and neighbors there, and my nanaw and Uncle George and Aunt Tammy came to represent the 2 sides of the family. In this pic you can see (from left to right) Uncle George, Aunt Tammy, mom, me, dad, barry, nanaw, and my siste, Mary, and brother, Jake. We got quite a bit of loot, and it was very nice to chat with some of mom's friends.

I thought that I'd include pics of 2 of my classes this semester. The 1st pic is my SFCC 1101 class. They are a clown-around kind of class. Very funny.

These kids are my 1131 at UF. Very put together and talented group. I have to be honest that I had a great group of kids this semester. I probably should have slacked off more in my teaching, but it's hard when you have such motivated students!

Here's a belly closeup in my office at UF.

What else? Well, let's see, I will be 36 weeks tomorrow, the baby wakes me up several times a night with well-aimed and excrutiating kicks to my bladder, and my friend, Sarah, just told me that a baby actually CAN break one of your ribs. I swear that I can almost hear my ribs crack from his little stretches. Also, no one really tells you just how much you start to feel true emphathy for the physical challenges of the elderly when you are pregnant. My hips ache, my joints ache, I have to build up a little fortitude to actually get my 30 lbs heavier bum out of bed in the morning.

Otherwise, I'm good.

My midwife always says what a pleasure it is to see me because I don't complain...well...not to her I guess. Honestly though, I'm actually feeling happy and healthy and all that good stuff. My body is just clearly gearing up to get him out, which is super exciting.

Compare the Belly!

2008-12-02T21:51:00.005-05:00

Week 11 Versus Week 33

Kate's students make a rap

2008-11-19T19:51:00.005-05:00

Kate's students made her a "get better" rap. I wanted to put it on the blog, but Blogger only accepts pictures and video. So I hastily made this video, just so you can hear the song. You can ignore the nonsensical video.

32 Weeks and Yoga...32 Weeks and 6 Days and Bedrest

2008-11-19T15:48:00.010-05:00

Well, Barry is always taking pictures of me, so I found this one of the camera. I was getting ready to do my prenatal yoga on Friday, and he was insistent about taking my pic. A little risque...but modesty starts to go out the window when you're preggers. Lots of baby belly, no?

However, I had a cold when this pic was taken, and the very next day, I started to break out in some weird pregnancy rash. It started on my belly and moved to my hands and feet. I talked to my doctor friends, Sarah and Erika, and they both sent me interesting, informative, and scary articles on the different possible culprits. I went to my midwife yesterday, and the rash had pretty much disappeared on my belly by then, and was fading from my hands, but my feet were still not looking great. Felt like pins and needles when I walked. So, the midwife said it looked like PUPPPs to her, but she had me do some blood tests anyways. She also decided that it wasn't going to get any better with me standing around all day, teaching classes; thus, she prescribed bedrest until Monday. It isn't the crazy, you can't even walk around the house bedrest...just the nice, you get a vacation, take a nap kind.

So, no yoga for a few days. I'm just grading and hanging out with Gilbert. And eating cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.

Childbirth Class is Done

2008-11-13T08:47:00.003-05:00

Well, after 6 weeks of learning about the stages of labor, comfort and relaxation techniques, and hospital protocol, my naturally-focused childbirth class is finally done. Towards the end there was a bit of a coup, and a couple of the girls were considering home births instead of the hospital. Our home is just too tiny...and I don't fancy the clean-up.

Baby Shower Power!

2008-11-09T08:55:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, my lovely, wonderful, amazing, and basically all around world champion friends Erika Swanson and Jessica Kirwan (with the long distance help of the equally kick-ass Jennifer Simmons--the girl knew my cake preferences!) threw me a fabulous baby shower shindig. The cake was so enormous that this kid is still going to be eating chocolate raspberry torte on his 18th birthday. We ate tons of yummy bbq and everyone else had some delicious looking beer...sigh. Our friend Galen managed to fly down from Maine, which made Barry stupidly happy (he can tell you all about the karaoke). Galen's present was pretty incredible too; the man braved Homeland Security just to get it to us! He made a nightlight out of a hollowed out book, and you can imagine the rest. He will now be used as an "example of the weird things people bring on planes" in further training of airport security. Yah, that's Galen. Besides our nightlight terrorist, lots of school friends, work friends, and radio friends managed to hit up the shower as well. Around 30 people or so were there, so it was a packed house. We received an insane number of gifts...I really didn't know that babies needed so much stuff.

In addition to friends, some of our family (who all live quite a distance away) managed to make it to the party. My parents drove 7 hours to get there, even though my mom's job as State Forester of AL makes fun-time pretty impossible. I haven't seen them since I was in my 1st trimester, so I was super happy to have some family time. They took me out to purchase the crib, which eased a huge burden for us. They also brought with them an obscene number of layettes, baby cords, baby sweaters, baby books, baby toys, and just about anything else you could think of with "baby" in the name. He's their 1st grandkid...what can I say?

Ms. Nennie (Barry's mum) also made the trip down to Gainesville, and she made the baby a gorgeous quilt...well, is making...it WILL be done by Christmas! It's going to have a little whale in the middle panel to remind baby of his New England roots. She stayed with us after my parents hit the road, and we had a great time just hanging out. She went with me to a midwife appointment, and she got to see a labor room at the hospital. Then, like my parents, she took us out and got us another amazing gift to help out--a beautiful glider rocker.

Seriously, we have the most awesome friends and family in the world!

Sorry about how paltry the pics are. I've only gotten a few back so far, but I will post more when I get new ones. Thanks to everyone who managed to make it to the party and to everyone else who called or sent cards, gifts, and lots of well wishes. We really do appreciate it!

Obama Baby

2008-11-04T23:42:00.008-05:00

It is 12:30am, and Barack Obama just became our President-Elect at 11pm. I made calls on Saturday. Barry and I canvassed on Sunday. I made calls again on Monday. Then, I woke up at 5am this morning, ate some cereal, went to Obama headquarters, checked the poll, held up a sign for awhile, canvassed a couple neighborhoods, and checked the poll a few more times. It was a long morning. At 1pm, I went to school at taught until around 7:30pm. But, you know what? I'm not even close to being tired. And the little man is so excited! He's been kicking like crazy all night long.

Barry and I are so happy that our little boy is going to grow up in a new America. If you heard Obama's speech tonight, then you know what I'm talking about. A cultural and political change is upon us. Folks...this was the definition of a mandate...and it was for an African American named Barack Hussein Obama. It's amazing and wonderful and hopeful. My faith in this country is well on its way to being restored! Huge groups of people spontaneously gathered in front of the White House and cheered Obama's election and the end of the Bush administration. Chicago--about 1 million people. My neighbors went into their yards and whooped and hollered and lit fireworks. So, for the little boy who is still in the belly, we want you to know that history is being made right now, and you got to help! Believe me...the pregnant belly opened that doorway to conversation with voters and helped me to get more people interested in this election. Almost every conversation started with, "You're out doing this when you're pregnant?" Well, yah!

Thanks baby!

The Amazing Shrinking Shirt (30 Weeks)

2008-10-29T23:33:00.002-04:00

Mercury-Free Seafood With Friends

2008-10-24T13:22:00.010-04:00

So, Erika, Kyle, Barry, and I all took the hour drive out to Cedar Key last weekend for the Seafood Festival. Creepy and crappy homemade crafts were available to be had by all. Crocheted toilet paper cozies anyone? Or how about some strange cheese dip mix or perhaps a hand-tooled Confederate flag belt bucket? Gosh! There was just so much to peruse.

Seriously though, we had lots of fun. We quickly made our way through the crafts and the drizzle, and then hit the seafood tents. Kyle and I had some lover-ly fried shrimp, and Barry and Erika ate up some oysters, which Erika kept calling clams. Poor Erika. I think that's what coming from a land-locked state gets you.

After following up the shrimpies with some corn on the cob, we all went to a bar. I, of course, was the designated driver for the day. Sigh. I did get a small taste of Barry's Guinness. Heaven. I'm looking forward to imbibing again. We listened to an AWESOME (and by that I mean...well, let's face it, really embarrassing) bar cover band--let's hear it for Tracey Chapman covers by frat boys. Woohoo! The bongo player ruled.

We wandered around and some very odd woman gave me a pair of earrings. She insisted that she made all her jewelry herself, but "Canada" was stamped on the back. Maybe that's her name...

Anyways, baby boy enjoyed his little sojourn out of Gainesville for a day...his bouncing around in the belly all day made that much clear. But most of all, I think he enjoyed Kyle's dancing. Here is a little sample for you. Ohh-lala!

2nd Laundry Basket

2008-10-19T19:48:00.005-04:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you too can have it all. You've always wanted a second place to put the laundry while you were not folding it and not putting it away. You may have even asked yourself how you can get your work clothes more wrinkly without leaving them in your regular laundry basket all week.
Well, I've got just the thing. Its got wheels and the nation's highest safety rating.

Happy 3rd Trimester!

2008-10-16T05:33:00.001-04:00

So, I just woke up (5 am) to get some grading done and I realized something...today is the 1st day of our 3rd trimester. Woohoo! Only 12 more weeks to go before we finally get to meet our little guy.

First Major Purchase

2008-10-11T20:52:00.004-04:00

Before I start raving about our big buy this week, can I just rave a little about the fact that Barack Obama is currently 11 points ahead of John McCain? I'm not going to count any Presidents before they're sworn in and whatnot, but it does make me happy to think that I might not have to hear Sarah Palin's voice again. I guess that crowds of people at McCain rallies screaming "terrorist" and "kill him" in reference to Obama just doesn't attract massive numbers of voters...who knew? I can understand honest political disagreements, but the things I've heard coming from some of those McCain rallies is really sick. Apparently though, more people just might want to vote for "that one" than McCain. Happiness!

Anywho, back to the raving about our new purchase. We got sick of looking and reading, and we decided to take some decisive action. We bought our stroller and car seat! We got a lot of great advice, and we decided to take some of it and go our own way on some as well. We got the Chicco Cortina travel system. The car seat is super safe and easy to hold. The stroller folds up beautifully, and we even took one out and made sure that it fit in the new car. All is well. Baby boy will be traveling in style in about 3 months time.

WHAT??

2008-10-08T15:05:00.002-04:00

You want to know what? We start our Natural Childbirth class on Sunday. How is this possible? How can we already be ready for a childbirth class? Well, as I sort of abruptly realized this morning, we can be ready because our 3rd trimester starts a week from tomorrow. Terrifying!

So, the class starts on Sunday, and we have it every Sunday afternoon for the next 6 weeks. It's taught by a midwife, and the whole course is focused on natural techniques and positions. We've been reading a lot about the subject, but I'm excited to actually have an expert talk to use about it. We'll keep you posted on how it goes.

A new car? What's next...a new baby?

2008-10-05T21:41:00.005-04:00

Many of you probably know that Barry and I have been driving around in an oil-leaking behemoth from the days of yore...1996 to be specific (see saga below). Thus, after many trials and travails in our 26th week of babydom, we bought our very 1st brand new car! It's a Nissan Versa SL, and if anyone scratches it we'll just die.
The new car smell is totally gross, but otherwise we're in love. 400 miles on a tank of gas...sigh...what bliss!

24 Weeks and On Our Way to a New Car

2008-09-24T23:13:00.007-04:00

We took this picture last week while we were getting all excited to go see Barack Obama in Jacksonville. We didn't end up going though because the day before we tried to return some furniture we got in Orlando and the car konked out on the way there.

We were on I-75 South and Kate was driving. Suddenly she's all like "can you feel that?" and I'm like "what?" and she's like "that!" Anyway, we pulled over, and I jumped out and popped the hood because that's what you do when your car stops working on the side of the highway. And, you do this "pop the hood thing" even if you don't know what you are doing or what you are going to do about it after you get the hood open. Good thing too because, as it turns out, that is the quickest way to discover that the car is on fire! Yes, it's true. So, this weekend I got to say the words every man longs to say to his pregnant wife, "honey, maybe you should get out of the car for a minute because it is on fire." The good news is that it wasn't very on fire, not engulfed in flames, and I went back in the car, got a cup of water we had, and dumped it onto the flames. Problem solved.

The car still wouldn't move though, so we called AAA and got towed back to town. We were 101 miles from our house; the first hundred miles were covered by AAA, so it only cost $5bux! What a deal. The towing guy was real nice and from Malden, MA.

I'm predicting the next couple entries on the blog being about car shopping. I hope it doesn't start to sound like a car commercial. I always wondered who the hell payed attention to car commercials, and now I realize it is people who have to buy a car.

I know what you might be thinking "hey, your car was only a little on fire." My mom's advice (and you should always take your mom's advice) was "once your car is on fire, you probably don't need to spend any more money on it."

For your enjoyment, an artist's rendition of our car on fire.

Uncle Roger

2008-09-24T23:07:00.004-04:00

Barry's Uncle Roger passed away a few weeks ago. Barry went up to New Hampshire for the funeral and was able to be there with his family. The last time we saw Uncle Roger, we had a quintessential Roger moment--chatting it up next to the lake and drinking a couple of beers. He hauled out all the loot he had bought for his grandkids and talked about how much he loved them. It's a perfect last memory of a fantastic person. We'll miss him.

Nursery Time

2008-09-04T22:40:00.007-04:00

We've finally gotten the nursery underway. Barry primed our formerly very red office. We thought it was a bit "red rum," as Danny from The Shining would say, for our new little one. So, we ordered some lovely, VOC-free, you-can-practically-eat-off-the-wall paint from our awesome all natural home store, Indigo. Very soon the room will be a gorgeous shade of soft green.

We're also trying to decide on a crib. We want something modern that is made of sustainably forested solid wood (no plywood or MDF) and that has a super cool look. Currently, we're very into the Oeuf Sparrow Crib. Money is getting ready to get spent. Eeek!

I'm 22 weeks, and I'm finally starting to look a little more obviously pregnant. My students seem enamored by my pregnant belly, and they always have questions about what I'm going to name him, what I'm knitting at the moment (a striped snake toy that is hollow and can "eat" a mouse...creepy and adorable!), and what it feels like to be pregnant. It's so cute and makes me feel pretty special.

Halfway Through!

2008-08-21T09:07:00.008-04:00

It's official! As of today, we are halfway through our pregnancy. I honestly can't believe it. We're too young to be halfway through making a baby! I mean, we're ONLY 30 and 31. Babies having babies. What a shame.

He has been kicking up a storm and demanding more and more food; in fact, a few days ago, I was chided by some friends for sending an e-mail at 4:30 in the morning. The story is that I woke up, feeling the baby kick, and I was insanely hungry. I had forgotten to have a snack before bed. Consequently, I felt completely awake. Actually, I even thought that I might have woken up late...until I saw that it was black as tar out. So, I heated up the computer, made a lovely breakfast of banana, peanut butter toast, cherry yogurt, and decaf coffee (swiss water process, of course), and hung out for about an hour and a half. Then, just as suddenly as I had woken up, I felt exhausted again. I fell into bed and made up the sleep I had missed. Lesson learned. Peanut butter toast BEFORE bed or beware!

And, yes, I did say "he." Again, I was chided by friends (what's with them??) for continuing to say "it." Honestly, I was saying "he" and sometimes "she" (but mostly he) every once in awhile before we knew the sex for sure, but I had fallen back into the "it" routine for some reason. Funny how a grainy little image and a pronoun makes everything just that much more real.

By the way, it started raining outside when we were taking these pictures. That is why our clothes look a little spotty. Yes, we are generally on the dirty side, but spotty clothes? Why I never!

The $ Shot!

2008-08-18T22:43:00.009-04:00

Here it is kids...the money shot everyone always wants out of an ultrasound. It's complete with a grammatical error courtesy of Shands..."it's" NOT "its"--geesh! Just to help you get your bearings, the arrow points to the scrotum, and the "it's a boy" is right at the tip. He's going to KILL me one day for posting this!

Sorry that the belly slideshow is missing. I was working on uploading a new pic, but it didn't match the others. Sooo...I have to redo it. I will put the show back up tomorrow.

A Second Ultrasound is Ultra Cool

2008-08-18T20:49:00.008-04:00

We got a second ultrasound. Kate did the 1st one with her wonderful doctor friend Sarah for fun while we were in Maine. This new one was a Level II for the midwife here. Apparently, we have all systems "Go." It is the right size for its age (19.6 weeks), the head is the right size (maybe a little big, but that runs in my family), and all the guts are as they should be.

As I found with the first one, it is a little difficult to tell what the heck is going on in an ultrasound photo if you are not a trained professional. However, watching the video ultrasound makes it easier because you can see all the stuff move around; the legs move like legs and the hands move like hands, etc. Also, the tech is there to tell you what is going on.

So I labeled a few screenshots from the DVD they gave us to give you an idea of what we saw. I would have taken more shots, but the dang software protects against it. I guess it doesn't want me to reconstruct the entire American Pie series or something. Unfortunately, it can't distinguish between a big studio movie and something that isn't copy written because it resides in my wife's womb.

Anyway, there is a second feet picture here that I took anticipating that I'd be able to take more pictures. No big loss really. The rest of the pictures are too clinical to be very interesting. It's nice to look at faces and feet and be like "ooow, feet," but the rest of the pics are mostly internal organs; not too exciting unless you are the type of person who can say "ooow ventricles."
Speaking of ventricles, the tech and the doctor confirmed that it is a boy, which is what Sarah said. We weren't hoping for one or another gender, but knowing what it is is exciting. So, I guess if we still lived in New England I could look forward to having someone to help haul wood, burn brush, split and stack wood, start the car and scrape the windows, light the woodstove and shovel snow. But, since I don't do any of those things anymore, the poor guy is going to miss out on all kinds of fun.

We will try to get a few more pics up soon. We still owe you all a belly pic for week 19.

Baby's In Utero Trip to the Zoo

2008-08-15T12:45:00.003-04:00

I went to visit my parents this week, and my dad took us all to visit the Montgomery Zoo. They are hawking the baby animal thing in a big way there, and I totally bought it. Dad is an amateur photographer, and he managed to get some great pics of the hordes of baby animals. So, we're thinking about using a few of the pics for the nursery.

Be honest, aren't spider monkeys the cutest ugly little things in the world?

On a side note, we will be having our ultrasound on Monday. We're super excited and a little nervous.

Now I'm it

2008-08-09T20:54:00.003-04:00

I felt the baby kick. Wow, it was weird. I can remember the sensation, but I am unable to describe it. It happened yesterday, and I've been waiting to see if I could feel it again but so far, no go. That's cool though because I know it is on the way. Kate is still feeling it. We went out to see Pineapple Express, and baby busted a move the whole time.

Tag! You're it!

2008-08-07T18:50:00.002-04:00

This is just a quick note, but I had to post this asap. Today I was sitting at my desk, and I felt the baby move just a little. So, I poked at my side a bit. And guess what? The bean kicked back!! How cool is that?

A CANTALOUPE?!

2008-08-06T16:53:00.008-04:00

Last night, I was soaking in the tub and enjoying Vivki Iovine's The Girlfriend's Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood when I read something about your uterus growing as big as a watermelon. "Bull." I thought. So, I jumped out of the tub, threw on some clothes, and looked it up in What to Expect When You're Expecting. In fact, apparently for some reason the uterus is best measured in terms of fruit. It starts out as a pear and moves up to grapefruit status (yummm...graaapefruuitt) and so on until it does indeed hit the watermelon mark.

Apparently, since I'm 18 weeks tomorrow, I am currently in cantaloupe territory. That is frightening! How in the world can that fit in me? This picture should give you an idea of what I'm talking about here.

Pickin' and Grinnin'

2008-08-03T23:11:00.006-04:00

Here I go picking weeds out of my okra. Not too much grows for vegetables this time of year, but the weeds grow real good. I am looking forward to putting my kid to work in the garden just like my parents did. I hope he or she is more helpful than I was.
The baby is going to come in the winter, which is very exciting because that is the best time of year down here. The baby and I are going to hang out in the back yard after work. We will also eat a carrot right out of the ground.. as soon as he or she has teeth.

A quick note from Kate (sorry Barry, not to intrude on your pickin' and grinnin'): I just wanted to let everyone know "where," or perhaps "when" is a better word, we are. We're at 17 weeks. You can see what 17 weeks looks like in the last pic in the slideshow to your right.

Our new niece!

2008-07-30T08:41:00.004-04:00

Did you know that one of the definitions of niece is "an illegitimate daughter of an ecclesiastic"? Me neither. Well, that ain't what I'm talking about here people. This is the most legitimate and wonderful and adorable daughter of Barry's brother, Joe, and our brave and amazing sister-in-law, Laura. Ms. Colby came in around 9 lbs, and she has her daddy's big head and mommy's bright eyes. We here at the Barry and Kate household are in awe of the Collickis right about now! Check out their blog to see pics of the new little family:

http://www.collickifamily.blogspot.com/

Ultrasounds

2008-07-29T21:14:00.007-04:00

We had our first ultrasound on Week 6. After our 1st time around and the troubles therein, the midwives just wanted to check up and make sure all was well. Perhaps you can tell from whence the title "little bean" came in this pic to the left.

However, on Week 15 (July 18-22), we visited New Hampshire and Maine to see our family and friends. Sarah and I decided to raid her office and experiment with the ultrasound machine, and I couldn't believe what I saw. My little bean actually looked like a little baby. Since I had a cup of coffee earlier that day (approved by Dr. Spencer, of course), little bean was flipping and kicking and rolling all about. It was also sucking its thumb! Can you tell from the picture below?

As cute as the kicking was, I was glad to hear that all systems looked good to go. Sarah could see all the major necessary parts, which totally helped me to calm down on various baby fears...at least a little. One rather creepy thing was that, since it was only the 15th week, the little bean had very little flesh. So, at one point I could actually see its skull! I must admit that it felt incredibly surreal to see a little human skeleton with a thin veneer of flesh kicking around inside of me. Poor baby, what a macabre mama! Anyways, check out how cool its spine is!

Obama Baby at 16 Weeks

2008-07-28T21:36:00.004-04:00

As most of you know by now, we are going to be the worst sort of liberal parents. I'm already looking into a Karl Marx-themed mobile and bumper set for the little bean. Here is proof positive!

We had our 3rd prenatal appointment with our midwife on Friday, and she was fine with my weight gain of 8 pounds (apparently, we won't start "worrying" about it until I hit the 3rd trimester) and said the baby sounded healthy. We were able to hear its little heartbeat (150-156) and even some kicks. She was glad that was I was already able to feel the bean squirming around in there on the rare occasion, although she said that I shouldn't be a bit worried if I don't feel it very often. Apparently, I'm on the early side with feeling the baby; most first-time moms don't feel anything until week 20. However, as most of you know, I'm rather "attuned" to my body--meaning that I'm sort of a hypochondriac. So, I think it makes sense that I would feel it early; my weirdness pays off again!

We do have a few early ultrasounds to share. As soon as I can make my way to a scanner, I will include them and tell you all about our most wonderful friend, Sarah, and our super-fun-girl-time-isn't-it-great-to-have-a-doctor-for-a-friend ultrasound we did in Maine on Week 15.

By the way, have you noticed Barry's dad-like facial hair? We figure that by the time baby gets here (January 08, 2009), it should have just about filled in.

How It All Begins

2008-07-28T21:30:00.001-04:00

Once Barry and I entered into the 2nd trimester, Barry's mum, Maureen, sent us a lovely quotation from Barbara Kingsolver's novel, Animal Dreams. I think that she is perhaps the best person to help us articulate what we're about to enter into (and to help us start off this blog):

Those first few weeks are an unearthly season. From the outside, you remain so ordinary, no one can tell from looking that you have experienced an earthquake of the soul. You've been torn asunder, invested with an ancient, incomprehensible magic. It's the one thing we never quite get over: that we contain our own future. It's a shock. You find you're not the center of the universe. Suddenly it's all flipped over; you have it in you to be a parent.

So, we invite you to share the shock with us as much as possible over the next few months. I can honestly say that I'm already starting to feel some sort of "flipping over" inside at the moment because this baby seems to be rather active! Thanks for your interest and have fun with the baby info.

Love,
Kate and Barry