6 day countdown...

Until we find out if this kid is a boy or girl! Many of you say girl, but only time will tell. Besides, let's be honest, we all have a fifty-fifty chance of being right (or wrong). When my mom was pregnant with me she went to a fortune teller who told her she was having a boy. Um, obviously not. So my mom, being the funny kooky lovely woman she was, found the lady's phone number and left her a message saying she was wrong, not to be mean, but just because she figured no one probably ever told her!

While we still don't know the gender, one thing we know for sure is that this baby is strong! Last night we BOTH felt the kicks, which I call "floops," even though the midwife said Steven wouldn't be able to feel it for another month. At first he didn't believe me, blaming my stomach burblings on my ridiculously frequent cravings for rice and beans, but when I kept saying floop! he finally asked where. I pointed and he got real close and we waited... and then, bam, a pretty decent kick (or elbow, or fist, who's to say?) and we both stared at each other in awe. Then it happened again, and again, until the baby tired itself out, or maybe got bored with teasing us. Can't wait until it happens again.

Father to Be

It has been quite a while since I have posted my innermost emotions on this blog, so here goes. I am a Father to Be! Each day that passes makes me even more excited about entering this new chapter of our lives, but each day that passes also brings me closer to the reality that I am going to be a dad (Internal Scream!) This is scary unchartered territory for me. I want to be the best dad that I can and am ready to give it everything I have.

January 2nd is our 20 week ultrasound where we'll find out if we will be having a girl or boy baby. I had always thought that I wouldn't want to know ahead of time, but this has all changed for me. The thought that there is this piece of information I can find out about my baby is driving me nuts. I want to know now! I want to know if I will be taking my kid soccer or ballet lessons. Actually, one of my main goals is to not steer my child into a "typical" gender role. I must confess that as a young boy I wanted to take ballet classes and was steered towards karate. I could have been a primo ballerino... Except for the one time I got to break a board I hated every minute of it.

Desert (not Dessert) Pics

The pictures came out, yippee! Though the quality of our disposable camera has much to be desired. Here are two highlights from our trip: The first one is Steven hanging out with a couple cacti and then me in a very bizarro hat - part bonnet, part macrame project, it is a disaster of a purchase (intended but not used for the hike) and was promptly returned once we regained our sanity.

Growing, (eating) growing, (eating) growing...

Not exactly anything new, but I will share with you anyway... I can't stop eating. Especially desserts. I'm going to be in serious trouble at Italian Christmas Eve. All those sweets and cakes so readily available and me having absolutely ZERO self-control. It's like my brain understands I'm full and that eating sleeves of cookies is probably not a good idea, but my hands keep moving toward my mouth with gluttonous abandon.

Oh, and for all those lovely people who scoffed at my poor excuse for a bump last week, let me tell you that at the start of week 18 I have officially "popped," meaning, I no longer have to point out my belly as it immediately presents itself. Hopefully the dress I bought for my friend's party last night will hold out for X-mas but I think I may outgrow it by New Year's. Especially if I keep up my excessive dessert regimen.

Pictures from our Arizona spa vacation coming soon, unless they were destroyed during the unfortunate trip our disposable camera took in the X-ray machine at the airport.

Bump Alert (Take 2) sometime in early December

OK, I've removed the former (tiny) bump from the blog at my father's request: "Your belly is on the internet!" and am pleased to update you with a verbal account of my growing (I swear it's bigger!) account of the baby. So we're now in Week 17 and I'm looking rounder every day. Of course my belly grows exponentially with my food intake. This morning Steven was concerned because it seemed I had shrunk, but really it was just because I hadn't begun my daily food regimen, which is quite impressive if I may say so myself. Speaking of which, I'm off to have a snack now. More later.

An inside look into the life of a fetus

A post by Steven (a.k.a. baby daddy).

Yes, it is now officially a fetus! Today we had our third ultrasound and were given a rare glimpse into our developing baby's world. The doctor was very thorough and guided us on a tour of our baby's entire body. I know many of you will ask if we know if we are having a boy or girl, but it was still too early. What we do know is that it is very evident that the baby finds its temporary home peaceful and safe. The nugget looked very relaxed and had its legs crossed and was just hanging out in an upside down position.

Today we heard the heart beat for the first time and it sounded strong and impressive. The doctor told us that everything looked very good... It is still hard to believe that Dana is growing a human inside her, our human.

If you look very carefully at the image above you can make out our baby's head, neck and shoulders. If you have trouble figuring it out, this is a close up and the baby is lying on its back looking up at the ceiling (well, actually the uterus). The doctor told us that our baby has a beautiful profile, but I am sure he says that to all his customers.

We are now twelve weeks and three days along and our due date was updated from the specific date of May 18th to a range from May 15th to May 18th.

Dana, I wanted to publicly say that you are doing an impressive (I originally used the word "amazing," but edited it for the sake of my father-in-law. inside joke) job caring for our growing baby.

Kitty Love (and War)

When people ask us, "Where will you set up your nursery?" Steven and I look at each other nervously because really, it's up the cats. We let them make all the major decisions around here, except for the one about getting pregnant. I have a feeling they would have vetoed that immediately. For the record, Pixel is the one giving the camera the hairy eyeball and Millie has a pink nose. They are in a turf war that we hope will end by the Birth. Currently we're using spray bottle behavioral therapy to bully Pixel into accepting, or at least not eating, Millie. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Sana, or Satan?

Our very talented and disturbed friend Jill wanted to give us a more distinct and detailed preview of what our baby might look like, so she came up with this terrifying monstrosity combining some of my and Steven's less flattering components - hence the blended name, Sana. If you have a weak stomach, please look away. Otherwise, enjoy!

A Cop, A Witch and A Pigeon

At eleven weeks our fetus (!) enjoyed its first Halloween in a witch's womb. We hung out with the cutest pigeon in Brooklyn, and perhaps all the world. Oh, and that 70s cop is Steven, who I didn't recognize at first. I think it was the wig that threw me off.

Kidney Bean Baby

Our 8 week sonogram and things are shaping up nicely (if you like kidney beans, which we do). Check out the yolk sac - yes, that's what the small circle is in the lower picture, crazy right? It feeds the embryo until the placenta takes over. When our midwife saw it she was impressed. Apparently the technician got quite a good shot.

Teeny Tiny Dot

Eager to get all the pictures we could of our budding embryo, Steven and I went to a super early doctor's appointment for a preview and that's when we first caught a glimpse of our future human. As small as it was, a barely noticable dot floating in my seemingly cavernous innards, it was more proof that indeed SOMETHING WAS IN THERE.

(Yes, I needed even more confirmation despite the 99.9% accuracy rate of our 2 tests, and if you add those odds together, which I won't because I don't like math, I'm sure it's as close to 100% as you can get.)

If you can't see the dot, don't feel badly. It's really that small. You can see much more in our 8 week sonogram, a kidney bean shaped future life form.

Night of the Secret Embryo

No one knew I was secretly storing an embryo at the Red Carpet Party Steven threw for me in honor of the movie I wasn't in. (We'll let you know if I make it onto the DVD's deleted scenes!) We had known I was pregnant for less than a week and it was too soon to tell anyone about the teeny tiny dot inside me, probably a mere bundle of cells at that point. Little did we know that another friend at that same party was carrying the same secret...

The Stick Doesn't Lie

But we took two tests, just to be sure.

The first one was taken at a ridiculous pre-dawn hour on September 10, 2007, after I was woken up by our cat Nomi, who enjoys chewing on my hair for breakfast. With bleary eyes I stared at the stick, wondering if the plus sign was a strange bout of double vision, so I called out for Steven, dead asleep in bed, who stumbed in a few moments later to confirm the sighting. A few hours later we bought another one and this time there was no doubt what the double pink line meant!


This is Nomi. Don't be fooled by her innocent expression. She eats hair like humans eat pasta.