Does the baby not like Tori Amos? Concerts Continue, Week 26

Posted on August 9, 2009 by David

Finally!

I’ve been waiting for a kick from my daughter seemingly forever now. She’d kick, I’d put my hand where it was, and she’d stop. She seems to be a very contrary baby!

Last night Jolene went to a Tori Amos concert in Detroit, about two hours away. After she got back late last night, we started dozing off to sleep at the late hour of 2:30AM.

Suddenly, we felt a ‘thud’. She was up, kicking, and had miraculously kicked the exact location my hand was in. Finally! I was half asleep, but it was sudden and obvious what happened. We waited for a second one, and she delivered yet another to me.

She must’ve missed me, or didn’t like Tori Amos or something.

More Music

The night previous to this, Jolene and I and some of her friends from work all went to go see Lacuna Coil again:

We had all seen them previously as an opener to Disturbed, but everyone in the group felt that they didn’t play nearly long enough. We got our full dose of Lacuna Coil Friday, as they played a regular length set. The opening bands were local groups that were pretty good as well. As you can see in the pictures, it was a small club event and not a large stadium event like the Disturbed concert. This is a good thing – you get much closer to the artists and see how they really are.

It was a great concert.

We’re going to our last scheduled concert this Tuesday – another Decemberists concert. I missed the last one, and so I just had to get tickets. I’m looking forward to it very much!

Week 26

No more fruits or vegetables – I am having a harder and harder time finding posts about fetal development that deal in the metrics of fruits and veggies.

However, this week she’s developing eyebrows and fingernails and the like. Also, some hair might be starting to grow on her head. More importantly, her blue eyes are opening. They’re blue because all infants eyes are blue at this time, not having a chance for the pigments to take hold yet. She can see around her now, and knows when it’s dark and when it’s light. Now she truly knows her mother likes to stay up too late at night!

Everything else is going well, we excised the desks from our house and I have built a new desk to make room for the chair that we’re going to be using a lot in the next few months

It was quite a project. When I originally put it together, it was far too tall for use as a computer desk. I would’ve had to sit on phone books or something to get high enough to use the computer. In the end, I had to jigsaw off the bottom ‘kick plate’ area of the cabinets. It all came together nicely in the end.

The Summer Doldrums, Week 24, The Divine Proportion, Week 25

Posted on July 31, 2009 by David

Well, the summer is officially ‘on’. All of the kids activities and vacationing that we did in the beginning of our summer vacation are now decidedly over. The beasties are very much always around, which makes writing in this blog difficult. As I write this, one is arguing with the other about chore duties; a mere foot away from me.

There’s only so much room in a 1000 sq foot house.

Week 24

Week 24 was last week, in which fingernails were completed, nails were done, and the lungs started secreting a fat that allows for easier inflation. Movement-wise, she’s been quite the little jumper – kicking and bouncing quite a bit. I have yet to feel any kicks or anything of the sort. Usually she stops doing it as soon as I put my hand there.

At some point during this week we passed the divine proportion. The divine proportion is of historical, mathematical, and artistic significance. Numerically, it’s approximately .6180339887 – but what does it mean?

The Divine Proportion, Week 25

Essentially, the divine proportion it’s a ratio that’s derived from the Fibonacci Sequence. It’s also called the golden ratio and the golden mean. It has been used by artists, and observed in nature since about 300 BC. It really came into it’s own during the Renaissance in Europe, most famously used during this time in the Mona Lisa

monalisa

The face in this painting makes up almost a perfect divine proportion rectangle, with her eyes making up the line that delineates the portions. It’s also used in architecture, and seen in nature in things like beehives and leaf patterns in trees.

What it has come to mean is a pleasing, natural beauty that is apparent to everyone. Humans, and nature itself seem designed around this number. From what I can surmise, it’s true. Is it any coincidence that the majority of the development is completed in this week, with the remaining weeks concentrating on building up mass and developing the nervous system? Is it a coincidence that survival rates of premature infants past the point of this ratio are reasonable?

In the upcoming week, the baby will start to gain lots of weight. It’s the ending section of the pregnancy, and the baby is getting more and more strong as the days go by. 14 more weeks until her journey is complete.

Week 22, Home Renovations, Week 23

Posted on July 17, 2009 by David

Week 22

Week 22 brings a bunch of things – it was this previous week that these things happened. I can verify these things:

The baby reacts to loud sounds
The baby starts having regular sleeping and waking rhythms
The mother’s movements can wake the baby

In talking to the baby (yes, face to stomach) Jolene has felt the baby move after I speak loudly to her. She seems to wake up every night around 10 o’clock. This might be because of what we’re doing at 10 o’clock (sitting at the computer) or perhaps because she’s decided that she likes to be up at night.

Mom is doing well. The baby seems to like to jump up and down a lot, literally bouncing off of the walls.

Renovations

We’ve begun the final ‘chore list’ that needs to be done before we end our summer vacation. I’ve installed a rack of baskets for additional storage in our room:

We also got a new loft bed – given to Ben by Aunt Carissa. He loves it, he can have his computer in his room now:

I think the lesson is, when you can’t build out, build up.

Week 23

This week the baby will reach 1 pound in weight. The baby will have her nostrils open for the first time. I didn’t know they were closed. The baby is now ‘working out’, as they say, by bouncing back and forth. We know this is already happening though. Finally, a full nervous system is now being created. Most amusingly, the baby has wrinkly skin right now. She’ll ‘grow into it’. I guess this is like putting on a clean shirt from the dryer that you left for too long before hanging.

Week 21, Ultrasound and Genetic Test Results

Posted on July 7, 2009 by David

We went for an appointment with the doctor on Monday – one of the ordinary checks to make sure all is well for the baby. We found out that the ultrasound results were completely normal, and the genetic tests that we took are also normal. This is especially good, because these tests tend to have false positives, which would make further testing necessary. We heard the heartbeat again, and when the doctor pressed against Jolene’s stomach to get the reading the baby kicked at the sensor.

The baby, she has an attitude! Excellent!

We also got a new chair and have begun some other changes to our house to better hold all of us. Shelves are planned, a new desk, removal of more furniture, and on and on… It all sounds so tiring…

Week 21

They’re still talking about bananas. This time, plantain-style bananas.

Her skin is no longer translucent, and is starting to get pigmentation. Movement is becoming more coordinated, and it has a greater facility for it’s own locomotion. Some sites are talking about how they can do backflips and stuff, but that all seems far fetched.

What doesn’t seem far fetched is that the tongue is becoming more and more strong. It’s nearly fully formed. Would it surprise me if it stuck it’s tongue out? Absolutely not.

It’s a girl!

Posted on July 1, 2009 by David

Well, we went for our second ultrasound today. The tech confirmed what we thought might be true last time – it’s a girl! Grandma Cooke got to come along this time to see the baby, which was very nice indeed.

It’s late, but here’s some more pictures for our album of our new little girl:

Not labeled, but it’s a face looking right at the ultrasound spot:

A foot:

A profile:

Now, to finalize on a name….

Branson, Weeks 19 and 20

Posted on June 28, 2009 by David

I never made an update post regarding the branson trip that we took. The last few days that we were there were a flurry of activity, trying to get the most out of the last days of our vacation. We traveled back in a single day, and that traveling took a long time:

Yes, that’s correct. 17 hours+ on the road on the final day. We were slowed by a 1 hour tie-up in traffic on the way back through Indianapolis, and actually became trapped at a freeway rest stop while traffic backed up.

Overall though, it was a very good vacation. We got to spend time with family and relax a bit. Three generations of our family was there, which made it even better.

Week 19

Week 19 was actually last week, but I didn’t have time to write about it. Between decompressing from the vacation, a business law paper to write, and my new 12 year old constant companion (yay summer vacation) I had a lack of quiet time to write up anything. I’ve finally found the quiet time, and so here I am.

PFO8931

Last week, the baby was “the size of a large heirloom tomato”, or at least so say the baby sites. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Is it a old, dried up tomato that gets passed down from generation to generation?

Anyway, the baby is developing regions of the brain used for smell, touch, taste and vision. Most places agree that the baby will start hearing – and perhaps recognizing voices.

Week 20

During week 20 the baby is no longer measured from head to ‘rump’. Instead, they’re measured from head to toe – like a real person! Predictably…

banana

they’re using fruit again to demonstrate the length. This time, the baby is about as big as a banana. Perhaps bigger news than this, though, is that it’s the halfway point in the pregnancy. Yes, that means that every day from here on out we’re looking at a fast dwindling time of pregnancy. The baby will be here before we know it! We’re looking forward to the next ultrasound that we have, scheduled for the 1st of July. Perhaps we’ll find out if it’s a boy or a girl? I’m not holding my breath, but I’m hopeful.

Graduation! Vacation! Chicago! St. Louis! Branson! Week 18! Too Many Exclamation Points!

Posted on June 15, 2009 by David

Well, it’s been a busy weekend and beginning of the week.

Friday, Graduation Day

We started off our festivities with a graduation from grade school. This marks my third and final graduation I would be attending this year. Maddie earned a presidential award for academics. It was a nice time, and afterward we left for Chicago to begin our vacation. The kids wanted to buy things at the Lego store and the American girl doll store.

We left and arrived in Chicago in the evening. We checked into our hotel room, which we pricelined for $50 downtown. It was literally right downtown. We were within walking distance from “the Magnificent Mile,” known by that name for it’s shopping and other items of interest. The room was nice, and it had a flatscreen tv. But it had to have a flatscreen tv, because a regular tv would not have fit. You couldn’t walk from one part of the room to the other without running into someone.

Behold:

The queen size beds were actually twins. It felt like we were sleeping on chiclets. Still, the price and location couldn’t be beat.

We brought food but decided to eat out, since there’s TGI Fridays all around the area. We stopped by the Apple store, which is always neat to go in and play with the new toys they have.

Saturday, Traveling to St. Louis

We woke up Saturday to a rainy rainy day:

Still, there was shopping to be done. After eating some in-room breakfast, I drove the girls to the girl shopping store. The valet was very nice and held the car at the front of the hotel for me, since the garage was blocks away. Afterwards, we picked them up and I took off to the ‘boy store’, the lego store. This was only a few blocks away, so we walked it. Driving in downtown Chicago isn’t the easiest thing, with the construction, traffic, and a GPS system that can’t find satellites because of tall buildings.

We departed after shopping at noon and proceeded on to St. Louis/Collinsville.

We arrived at our room. This was another $50 priceline special, but this one was quite a bit better appointed:

This was a new hotel, and walking in wearing my ‘driving outfit’ made me feel hideously underdressed. The rooms for this were likely four times the price we paid, and there was a wedding reception being held there. Everyone was wearing gowns and formalwear, I was wearing reebok gym shorts and sneakers.

There was a Ponderosa up the road, which is reasonably priced for kids to eat at the buffet, so we decided to eat there. The she-beastie though is now 12, and doesn’t get kids discounts there anymore. It ended up being more expensive than we thought, but filling and convienent.

Then, we went swimming and enjoyed the complimentary free WiFi internet access.

Sunday, Catsup, The Arch, and Branson

The hotel was actually in Collinsville, IL – just 10 minutes from downtown St. Louis. Interestingly, the town is known for having the largest bottle of catsup in the world. It’s actually a water tower, but still… being just 2 miles away from our hotel, I had to get pictures.

while my family looked on disinterested from the car

I guess they don’t get the allure of large bottles of catsup (sigh)

We headed down to the St Louis Arch, and took pictures of it and the Mississippi river:

Then we got on the road. 5 hours later, we arrived in Branson and ate at one of our favorite locations there, the Hard Luck Cafe. The waiters and waitresses sing to you as you eat, and have cd’s for sale in the gift shop.

Afterward, the kids got to spend some time where they wanted to be most – the pool

It was nice, and a welcome sight.

Pictures

There are lots more pictures that I didn’t put in this post, but you can look at them. There are some other nice ones.

Week 18

This week, the hearing of the baby is supposed to be getting better and better. It’ll try to cover its ears when it hears loud sounds and can start to hear voices. It’s going to be gaining weight and size from here on out, having developed almost all of it’s final organs. Mom is doing well, though is feeling ‘very pregnant’ now. The long car rides aren’t optimal for her, but she’s doing very well overall. Sometimes ‘flutters’ can be felt, but the baby is still a bit too small to make the movements felt very often.

Week 17; Ultrasound!

Posted on June 8, 2009 by David

So I missed week 17′s update on Friday, I was trying to get caught up with school. I figured I’d just postpone everything till Monday when I was sure to want to write a new post anyway.

This week the fetus is as large as a turnip. The baby site obsession with the produce section continues. The eyes are sensitive to light, so the baby now knows mom stays up too late every night. The cartilidge is turning to bone, though still flexible.

The Ultrasound

The nervousness for me started about 3:00. I tried to take a nap to settle down, but it didn’t really work; I could not nap. All we have seen or heard so far is the heartbeat that once. I tend to think about the worst case scenario, and was just thinking ‘what if’? Jolene seemed not nervous at all.

Madalyn got home and asked if we were going to see the baby. I had previously told them about the first ultrasound. “Not without your mother,” I responded. Eventually Jolene got home and we left. Ben was on a field trip to Lansing and couldn’t make it.

By the time we hit the road, I was a wreck. What if?

We got to the hospital and found the radiology department. Dropped off our form and nearly went straight back to the ultrasound room where a former coworker of Jolene’s started the examination.

Within moments the machine was working and showing pictures like these.

Once I saw the baby jumping around I felt a huge rush of relief wash over me. Not only does it seem ok, it seems like it might be a future Olympic gymnast! These pictures are hard to tell what’s what. In motion it was much easier to see things like the facial features.

My favorite part happened when we zoomed in on the hand:

The baby, swear to god, waved at us.

It’s not very chubby right now – the form is very skeletal in nature. We got to see the heart beating, and hear it again. The baby was looked at from all different angles.

The Big Question

I know, you’re thinking “Is it a boy? Is it a girl?”. I am proud to announce that….

…

it is either a boy, or a girl! We couldn’t tell from today’s examination the gender. The technician zoomed into the baby’s bottom and we looked for quite a while. The 15 minute ultrasound turned into a 30 minute one. In the end, we think it might be a girl, but are unsure as yet.

Sick. Music. Week 16.

Posted on June 3, 2009 by David

Well, I just spent the past week or so sick. I haven’t gotten much done. I was even too sick to post the normal weekly post I’ve been doing. It all started out with several days of fevers – those were the good days. It went downhill from there.

I missed the Decemberists concert. The kids and Jolene went alone. They did get some pictures, and Maddie made sure to record videos of the songs for me on the camera. That was very sweet of her. I was super sad that I couldn’t make it – I had been looking forward to going for months. The pictures and videos they took of the concert are here.

I did fix my issue with not seeing the concert, though:

The tickets you have purchased are:
———————————————————-
The Decemberists
Royal Oak Music Theatre
Royal Oak, MI
USA
Tuesday , 8/11/09 , 8:00PM
General Admission

Section Row Seat Price
GEN ADM $26.00
GEN ADM $26.00

So there’s that! The opening band is one called the ‘Heartless Bastards’. Strange name, for sure, but I’ve listened to them before and the music is pretty good.

The baby….

Well, we’re in week 16 now. Most of the same stuff from week 15 seems to be happening, with the addition of some additional hearing capabilities and facial expressions being added on. The biggest news is coming this Monday. We’re going to get to see the baby for the first time, through the wonders of modern medicine.

So that’s the big news. I’m looking forward to it. I’m taking my pills, which I have bought for $4 at Walgreens in preparation. Those are supposed to fix my problems so I’ll be able to leave the house – I don’t want to miss that.

Garage Sales!

Posted on May 23, 2009 by Jolene

Since it has been 9 years since I had a baby around, we are severely lacking in the baby supply department- as in- we are starting from scratch. At the same time, we are trying to pay down debt, go on vacation and do some projects around the house. So, last weekend, I started garage sale shopping for baby items. Last weekend, I found a baby swing and 5 blankets just by dragging David around Midland. The weather was bad and there weren’t many sales to be found.

Last night, David picked up a Midland paper for me and he and I sat down with Google Maps and mapped out the route of every garage sale that listed baby items in their ad. Maddie and I waited for the rain to stop and we headed out. She had $50 of her own money and I took $100 with me.

She bought lots of random things- a handmade cheetah print hair clip, a cheetah print pillow, a floaty raft to take to Branson for the pool, cake pans and her best deal of the day-she found a white and brass daybed for $7. She is cleaning her room right now to make room to move her old bed out and the new bed in.

I spent $77 and here is my list:

11 newborn onsies

5 newborn t-shirts (all snappy instead of pull-over the head in case I manage to break another baby’s clavicle during childbirth)

1 hat

3 bibs

1 snowsuit

6 ‘bag’ style jammies

8 sleepers

1 pair of duckie slippers

2 pairs of socks

1 brand new boppy pillow

1 play-yard/bassinet/changing table combo

What to Expect the First Year

What to Expect the Toddler Years

2 crib sheets

All of the clothing is newborn sizes and winter clothes, and almost everything is Carters, in yellow and green and in perfect condition.

It was a very productive day- and I am exhausted. Maddie, on the other hand, could have gone for another 4 hours!

The Cooke Family Website

Category Archives: Baby