Vic, Nico and I are having trouble deciding on a name for our baby boy. We've narrowed it down to three possibilities: Enzo, Nolan and (LeBron) James!
We want the baby's name to complement Nico's name - Enzo is a possibility, as a nickname for Vincenzo or Vincent. We are also considering a name that matches Nico's cousins' names (Nathan and Noah) - Nolan would qualify. Nico has decided that if we are dead set against LeBron James, he will settle for James. Vic and I are leaning toward that as a middle name.
The baby's estimated due date is October 6, 2007, but we think he will arrive sooner. Please tell us what you think! Vote in our poll! If you have any other ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Safety Town graduation
Nico graduated from Safety Town!
The graduation ceremony ended with Officer Terri leading the group in pledging, among other things, to "listen to and obey my parents". As you can tell from the photo, Nico didn't take the oath too seriously. And Vic looks quite skeptical about it all too.
The graduation ceremony ended with Officer Terri leading the group in pledging, among other things, to "listen to and obey my parents". As you can tell from the photo, Nico didn't take the oath too seriously. And Vic looks quite skeptical about it all too.
Faculty "friends"
In preparation for Nico's birthday party, my friend Chris, an astronomy professor, asked me what Nico is into these days. His two daughters were planning to attend Nico's party and Chris was in charge of procuring a gift. I told Chris not to get him anything since he already has too much stuff.
Chris called me "a mean mom". So I sighed and told him that Nico is really into planets and outer space, thinking Chris would seize the opportunity to get a stars and planets children's book, per his expertise, etc.
No. Instead, Chris got him this freaking loud Spider-Man Talking Room Guard with Motion Sensor that shrieks whenever you walk past it. Actually, it shrieks if you even breathe near it. Chris said he thought Nico would appreciate an audible warning any time I came near his room.
Of course, Nico declared the gift "awesome!" but when he turned his back, Vic immediately and quietly disabled the sound device and hid it.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Nico's 5th birthday
Nico had his 5th birthday party over the weekend. It went well, but was still a bit stressful and tiring. It was totally worth it, though! Nico and his preschool pals had a great time.
Since I'm supposed to be on modified bed rest, Vic and I had decided it would be too much work to have the party in our back yard this year, as we had done the past two years. So we chose to have the party at Memphis Kiddie Park, an amusement park for preschoolers - you have to be 50 inches or shorter to ride all but three of the rides - hoping it would be much easier for me. I planned to sit in the shelter area and supervise, while Vic accompanied Nico on all the rides.
It sounded like a good plan. Overall, the party went well. I was surprised to find that the park had really strict rules on everything, though. No outside food except for cake and ice cream. No coolers. The time limit for unlimited rides is exactly two hours long (They announce on a loudspeaker, "If you are wearing a teal bracelet, your ride time is over!"). You must surrender your ride access bracelet in order to get a balloon and popcorn. No exceptions.
Still, the party was a lot of fun. We arrived at the park after many of our guests had arrived already, though, so that was a little embarrassing. My sister came in town to help celebrate Nico's birthday, so she was able to help out a lot.
Nico had picked out Transformers as his theme, so one of the highlights of the party was seeing 20 kids running around with Optimus Prime masks. I spent hours assembling those things (I guess that's one good thing that came from modified bed rest)! I'll try to post a photo soon.
Since I'm supposed to be on modified bed rest, Vic and I had decided it would be too much work to have the party in our back yard this year, as we had done the past two years. So we chose to have the party at Memphis Kiddie Park, an amusement park for preschoolers - you have to be 50 inches or shorter to ride all but three of the rides - hoping it would be much easier for me. I planned to sit in the shelter area and supervise, while Vic accompanied Nico on all the rides.
It sounded like a good plan. Overall, the party went well. I was surprised to find that the park had really strict rules on everything, though. No outside food except for cake and ice cream. No coolers. The time limit for unlimited rides is exactly two hours long (They announce on a loudspeaker, "If you are wearing a teal bracelet, your ride time is over!"). You must surrender your ride access bracelet in order to get a balloon and popcorn. No exceptions.
Still, the party was a lot of fun. We arrived at the park after many of our guests had arrived already, though, so that was a little embarrassing. My sister came in town to help celebrate Nico's birthday, so she was able to help out a lot.
Nico had picked out Transformers as his theme, so one of the highlights of the party was seeing 20 kids running around with Optimus Prime masks. I spent hours assembling those things (I guess that's one good thing that came from modified bed rest)! I'll try to post a photo soon.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Working from home
I've been working from home this month and so far, it has not really limited my ability to perform my job, except in preventing face-to-face contact with my boss, my team and other colleagues on campus. I have been able to maintain close contact with my team and with media contacts via email and phone, though. In fact, I think I'm more accessible than ever because I'm not running around campus or spending time in meetings all day anymore! Without being in the media relations office bullpen, I also have much longer, quieter, uninterrupted blocks of time to work on projects.
People at work, generally, have been really supportive. I know my situation has been really confusing. It's been difficult for me, so I can only imagine what other people think about it. My team has been awesome through this ordeal. Despite the fact that I'm now working from home, they've been good at staying in close contact with me about work issues, while still reminding me to keep things in perspective and take care of my health first and foremost.
The whole situation, though, is making me think about what will happen once the baby arrives. People have been asking me what my plans are for returning to work and how long I will be on medical leave. I really can't answer those questions until the baby does arrive. I don't know what's in store for us. This pregnancy has been a bit unpredictable, so it's impossible to know what things will be like once that baby is here.
Still, I am thinking about what my work-life situation will be like a few months from now. I wonder if working men think about these issues as much as working women do.
People at work, generally, have been really supportive. I know my situation has been really confusing. It's been difficult for me, so I can only imagine what other people think about it. My team has been awesome through this ordeal. Despite the fact that I'm now working from home, they've been good at staying in close contact with me about work issues, while still reminding me to keep things in perspective and take care of my health first and foremost.
The whole situation, though, is making me think about what will happen once the baby arrives. People have been asking me what my plans are for returning to work and how long I will be on medical leave. I really can't answer those questions until the baby does arrive. I don't know what's in store for us. This pregnancy has been a bit unpredictable, so it's impossible to know what things will be like once that baby is here.
Still, I am thinking about what my work-life situation will be like a few months from now. I wonder if working men think about these issues as much as working women do.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Modified bed rest = emotional rollercoaster
In the last ultrasound I had, the images showed that the placental separation had not worsened since the last ultrasound. The maternal/fetal medicine specialist told me and Vic that the baby is on track in terms of growth. So that was good news! We are still in a critical stage of the baby's development for the next few weeks, though, so I'm really supposed to take it easy.
I've been having a hard time dealing with all of this. My OB-GYN told me to stay off my feet as much as possible and refrain from exercise and exertion, but it's really hard to do sit around alone with my thoughts. I've been having a really hard time sleeping. Sometimes when I can't sleep at night, I'll get on the computer and do Internet searches on "placental abruption". Then I get freaked out and really can't sleep.
Especially since I don't feel any physical pain, it's difficult not to be active. Plus, it's summer and I would really love to be able to run around with Nico, ride my bike, swim, etc. Nico doesn't understand why I can't pick him up or give him piggyback rides. He always wants to race on our driveway and I can't do that.
Still, I'm not sure if I'm really following the modified bed rest order very well. A lot of times, family members, friends and co-workers will ask, "Are you sure you should be doing that?" and I'm not sure. I'm unsure exactly how much I should be resting, but I suspect that I'm not doing it as much as I should.
I've been having a hard time dealing with all of this. My OB-GYN told me to stay off my feet as much as possible and refrain from exercise and exertion, but it's really hard to do sit around alone with my thoughts. I've been having a really hard time sleeping. Sometimes when I can't sleep at night, I'll get on the computer and do Internet searches on "placental abruption". Then I get freaked out and really can't sleep.
Especially since I don't feel any physical pain, it's difficult not to be active. Plus, it's summer and I would really love to be able to run around with Nico, ride my bike, swim, etc. Nico doesn't understand why I can't pick him up or give him piggyback rides. He always wants to race on our driveway and I can't do that.
Still, I'm not sure if I'm really following the modified bed rest order very well. A lot of times, family members, friends and co-workers will ask, "Are you sure you should be doing that?" and I'm not sure. I'm unsure exactly how much I should be resting, but I suspect that I'm not doing it as much as I should.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Sneak preview of the baby
When we had the fetal ultrasound the other day, we were surprised to see how much the technology has changed since our pregnancy with Nico. This time, we were even able to see 3D images of the baby!
Even though the baby was active and moving a lot, the technician was able to capture this image of the baby with his foot jammed next to his face.
The maternal/fetal medicine specialist said that the baby is developing and that the placental abruption is minor. Still, while his words were reassuring, the images of the baby were more comforting to me and Vic. After the ultrasound appointment, we had a nice, relaxed lunch together and it was the first time in weeks that we were able to laugh and feel more settled about the pregnancy.
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