From the 'Burgh to the Bay

Quick Update

2009-02-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, everyone. An almost-two-month-old takes a lot of time away from blogging.

Speaking of which, Miss J had her well baby checkup this week and got a clean bill of health from her doctors. She's almost 10 lbs. now and 22 inches long, which puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and 55th for height. Good to know that the constant infusions of breastmilk are working. Her lopsided smile most likely is just a quirk of her expressions, and not an indication of anything wrong neurologically. She's all around just a healthy baby, growing healthily. Can't ask for much more than that.

She's still more interested in staring at the miniblinds and leftover Xmas lights than in "playing" (which I guess consists at this point of me showing her things like forks and squeaky toys and her ignoring me completely), but she is smiling pretty regularly now and we're down to 1 or 2 poopsplosions a day rather than 5 or 6, so progress!

We've planned a trip to visit my parents next month. J and I will stay for abut 10 days while the Doctor goes to NYC for a business meeting and then to Telluride for a long weekend of snowboarding with his buddies. I find the idea of hurtling down mountainsides with pieces of fiberglass strapped to my feet deeply, deeply disturbing so I will be enjoying some rest while my folks, sister, and brother (and respective SO's) dote on the Jellybean.

I cooked dinner twice this week so far and have more clean laundry than dirty, so so far it's a banner week at the Ilsa/Doctor home.

Drive By Posting

2009-01-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

I used to love to fly by the seat of my pants. I ate at weird hours, slept or not when and if I felt like it, sometimes went a few days without a shower just to see how gross I could get my hair.

No more.

Now, I have a schedule, and because that schedule means I get to sleep 6 hours a night, I LOVE MY SCHEDULE.

Josie is now 5 weeks old, and she's got some established patterns that will undoubtedly change the minute I post this on the blog. She feeds every 2.5-3 hours, then is awake for 2 hours or so (her favorite awake-time activites are staring at flashing lights and chewing her own hands at the moment), then naps for 2 hours or so. At night, she has her last feed around 9, we all go to bed, then she wakes up for a boob or bottle at 12 or 1, then bck to sleep til 4, then more boob, then back to sleep til 630 or 7, more boob, then IF WE ARE LUCKY, she will doze while the Dr. gets ready for work and I sneak in a shower and a Clif bar for breakfast. Rinse and repeat for the rest of the day.

This sounds pretty doable, and it is, except for the fact that she HATES not being held. I have tried two different baby slings and she is fine in them as long as I am not the one wearing them. Being so close to the boob makes her nuts. I imagine it's like an adult trying to sleep in front of a refrigerator. She likes when the Dr. wears her, though. I am hopeful that the sling thing will improve, as the her naps allow me only enough time to do the bare minimum of housekeeping, like dishes and laundry and feeding poor Penny. Meanwhile the bathroom is getting cruddy and the vacuum is growing dusty. I won't even mention the giant dustbunnies on the floor. It's more fun to watch my kid try to lift her head and smile at me, or to dance with her to her favorite songs (right now they are REM's "Superman" and "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones, with a little "Dance Song 97" by Sleater-Kinney to mix it up) than to clean the house, anyway.

Oh, and we have all been sick the past 2 weeks, including a fever for the Dr. and a trip to the ER for Josie. Luckily she and I are getting better, but I fear the dreaded Man Cold has taken the Dr. I hope he survives!

Little Josie Fussbuckets

2009-01-10T00:16:00.000-08:00

Josie, still adorable, is developing her father's penchant for late nights and avoiding sleep. She reminds me of me wandering around the Vegas desert long after I should have been asleep while running a game -- she's clearly exhausted, just has to do one more thing before she sleeps. ;)

Sorry about the slow updates -- I was back at work this week and we're still adjusting to our new lives. We did get a bath in:

Penny is mostly doing well through all this. She still is in a soft cast and needs lots of attention. Today, however, we got to go out for crepes with Josie, and Penny was very good at home, and was rewarded with a trip to the dog park with all of us in tow.

Out!

2009-01-04T20:07:00.000-08:00

Josie was very good this weekend, and let Ilsa and I get out to Costco on Saturday and out to dinner at Chenery Park (local's restaurant nearby). She slept the entire time at the restaurant, which was terrific -- we had a terrific meal and the restaurant was totally cool with us being there with Josie -- they kept the table next to us clear so she could sit on the bench next to me. Now, after another meal for her, she's sacked out and letting us watch se7en.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T21:03:00.000-08:00

Elf's on the boob tube.

Josie's our little elf, and she's sleeping in the boppy. (Didn't know that word until this month).

It's a new kind of new year's eve, and I like it.

It's been one heck of a year and I'm excited for the next.

Happy holidays and may you all have a blessed, happy, and productive year.

Paternal post-partum bluish tinted days

2008-12-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a bit blue these days as I go back to work and away from the familial cocoon. I do like work; and I know I'll get over this in a few days. I just really enjoyed the two weeks of family time.

I spent an hour with Josie after work today and she was alert the entire time. Even changing her diaper wasn't too hard (she often complains a ton during changes). The doctor this morning said she's going to start getting fussy around two weeks -- haven't seen that yet, which is nice. She's doing great and I dispute everyone's notions that she's not doing anything at this age -- she's learning and fascinated by everything, from the way her own arms move to the shadows and lights on the wall.

She also looked really cute today.

A book and a walk...

2008-12-29T20:32:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I read a book to Josie for the first time. She didn't cry until the last page! The book was Good Night, San Francisco.

Despite Josie's new habit of only sleeping when in contact with another human (and only for at most an hour at a time) -- Ilsa found the time and energy today to take Josie & Penny on a 45 minute walk today when I was at the office in the afternoon. I am proud of my girls!

Drive by Posting

2008-12-29T19:05:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take the couple of minutes I have with both hands free to say thank you to all of our friends and family who have given so generously, both of baby-supplies and their time. There is no way we would have survived the lead-up to and days immediately following Josie's birth without my parents, no way we could have had such a nice Xmas week without Doctor's family, and no way I would have maintained my sanity during the first hard week without the support I received via email and Facebook. Things are still a little tough, as we continue to work out Josie's sleep schedule and as I continue to heal (albeit slowly) from the surgery, but hopefully I will be able to write back and individually thank everyone in the near future for all they have done for us. Sorry this post is a little incoherent, but that's what 3 hours of sleep per night will get you.

LOTR marathon

2008-12-27T15:00:00.000-08:00

The sunrise was gorgeous this morning when I took the parents to the airport.

We're indoctrinating Josie to the Lord of the Rings trilogy this weekend. The family left late last night and today and we're taking the day off; no responsibilities other than keeping Josie fed & clean.

Josie enjoyed the family's visit; she was cuddled & passed around to all; the first grandchild for all 5 of her grandparents.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T07:28:00.001-08:00

We are a happy family today. It's Christmas, Josie let me feed her last night from the bottle so Ilsa & I each got 5.5 hours of sleep, and we feel content, happy, well-fed, and warm.

Merry Christmas!!!

Home for the holidays

2008-12-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

We had Josie's first doctor's visit yesterday, and getting out of the house wasn't half as bad as we'd feared. She was down a bit in weight again, although still within the 10% range from her birth weight. She ate during the visit, and gained about 30g -- so the doc thought things were probably just fine.

Later, we took Penny up to the vet and stopped back up in Marin and caught the sunset.

Great day!

2008-12-21T23:29:00.000-08:00

Twas a very good day -- a relaxing day full of errands, making things better around the house, and eating with family (from a neat middle-eastern place called Good Frickin' Chicken). Josie ate well with less and less stimulation required to keep her going -- and settled into a some nice patterns of slightly longer naps and longer feeds.

She's clearly eating well, yay!

Some pics from today:

Home

2008-12-21T04:06:00.000-08:00

We brought Josie home yesterday, and launched into errands preparing for Christmas and the Doctor's family being around. Dr. Grandpa (the Doctor's dad), Grandma Sue, Aunt Sarah, Grandpa A, and Grandma were all there for a pizza dinner from Little Star (mmmm) and some rounds of pass the baby. The Doctor forced everyone to use hand sanitizer.

The evening was ok; we're still learning to get the necessary steps of a Josie-cycle (nurse, burp, re-diaper, sooth) in the right order and in a shorter time (especially at night, to allow for more time for sleeping). A few funny things & pics:

* The Doctor felt her poo while holding her (infants poop rather explosively), started to change her, and she was still not done pooping, meaning the changing table cover, the new diaper, and her clothes were all covered.

* Ilsa overestimated the viscosity of Josie's mustard colored "output" and similarly soiled an extra set of clothes.

* Ilsa's parents made a welcome sign for Josie!

* Josie just after her triumphant discharge weigh-in, up two percent from her previous weighing (about 1.75 % of her body weight!):

Going home!!!

2008-12-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

J is up nearly 2% in weight, bilirubin is done, and we are going home!!!!

Another night...

2008-12-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

We're staying another night. Josie's weight is still near 10% down from her birth weight and the pediatricians here are conservative and want to measure her again tomorrow. Coming in tomorrow would mean waiting in a waiting room with sick kids & parents in the pediatric urgent care; staying means they can weigh her easily and no waiting and a scheduled followup (short waiting) on Monday. Also, we can utilize the knowledge set of the folks here for breast feeding and what not. Leaving today would have been leaving a day early, so we're in for the full four nights allowed/suggested.

We're sleeping when Josie sleeps, so good night!

Good day continues; another successful set of meals!

2008-12-19T13:32:00.000-08:00

We're eager to get home and start working out how having a baby is going to change our lives instead of being in the hospital cocoon. Jen, a friend of ours, sent cupcakes. Yay for cupcakes! Some pics from today:

Mommy smells good.

I am ready for my close up.

She usually sneaks a hand out of the swaddle.

Rodin? Of course I know him.

We're probably going home today

2008-12-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

Josie has gone up in weight for the first time and it looks like we might go home today! Yay!

Amazing human body parts

2008-12-19T08:35:00.000-08:00

So, in the image above, the white plastic looking thing? It's part of the umbilical cord, made from the fetus's DNA as part of the placenta. It gets hard like this when it is clamped, I guess. Pretty amazing. Click on the link to see more detail.

A note from Josie

2008-12-19T07:31:00.000-08:00

My parents are seemingly not very bright. The rules for keeping me happy are simple! When I'm hungry, the nipple should already be in my mouth. A few seconds later destroys the ambience, and I let them know. When I have to burp, I should already be on daddy's leg being gently burped (and not too gently, dad, I'm not made of glass!). When I'm tired, I should be swaddled tightly and left alone. My diaper should never be dirty.

Got it? Manage this, and you'll never hear my increasing range of ear-splitting sounds. I'm proud of a few of them you haven't heard yet -- so when you mess up, I'll get to use them. He he he.

Fun thoughts of the night

2008-12-17T22:34:00.001-08:00

Some random thoughts & observations & a few pics:

* Josie has a callus on her knuckle where she's been sucking on it. The Doctor still has calluses on his pinkies from when he was a kid and when he slips into kid mode while asleep.

* It's hard to believe that she's not even two days old. I already feel like she's redefined me, us, and our futures.

* She had her first non-blood-relative visitor today:

* She slept very peacefully today:

* Her feet seem long.

* She has been eating for 90 minutes out of the first 5 hours of her third day. This might be the "feeding frenzy" the books talk about that is designed to help Ilsa bring in the milk. Evolution is cool.

More pics from day 2

2008-12-17T17:03:00.001-08:00

We actually got to sit down for lunch together today! W00t!!

Ilsa snapped some pics of the Doctor today....

She was born on a dark and stormy night

2008-12-17T16:49:00.001-08:00

More view shots from the room

2008-12-17T16:16:00.000-08:00

The rooms at UCSF for labor and delivery are terrific. They have great views; they are large, and they are seconds away from a crack neonatal emergency team and an OR. We found out the utility of that the hard way; it was a constant source of reassurance for me, anyway, as we went through everything. We liked the view, too.

For a standard delivery, there's an infant care area already stocked and ready to go. The apgar tests are done there and anything else that the baby needs.

This little machine was the contraction and baby heart-rate tracker. We watched it and it was addictive in the best times and scary in the worst. When it was audio based (external monitors), the signal would get lost about once an hour or so. For the internal one that was screwed into the baby's head, it seemed to have a much lower error rate. The system is also connected throughout the hospital so that Ilsa's mom could watch the baby's heart rate until it was born.

We can see Marin from our room!

Pictures / Yellow slippers

2008-12-17T15:05:00.000-08:00

I'm going to post some pictures from before, during, and after Josie's arrival into our world.

Ilsa fell once a few months ago when walking with my parents; she slipped on a hole in the sidewalk and landed on her rear. A few bruises, no real harm done. She told the staff at the hospital, however, and they were required to make Ilsa wear these yellow grippy slippers and a yellow wristband. Also, check out the hardware on her wrists!

Shower

2008-12-17T13:33:00.001-08:00

People underestimate the shower. Wow, what a difference a shower can make. 'nuff said.

As a bonus, here are some more pics:

The rest of the story

2008-12-17T10:35:00.000-08:00

I know it's no longer live-blogging -- however, I think a number of folks wanted to hear how we got from the Doctor's musings about breaking the water & cords to an emergency c-section. Thanks, everyone, for all the kind wishes and support; they really make a huge difference.

So, after I wrote that penultimate blog post last night, we went from progressing well on the vaginal delivery to an emergency C-section. It was hectic, hairy, and one the things I'm proudest of us as parents of Josie so far -- as well as grateful for the top-notch team here at UCSF. Turns out that the cord was around Josie's head; when contractions happened, her heart rate would drop in what's known as a late deceleration (a "late decell"). Of course, we just saw the late decells, and didn't know why. These became more and more frequent in the half-hour between 11:18 and 11:50. After each of these, they would have Ilsa change sides; usually this would jostle things enough that the heart rate would climb back into the normal range (120-170). These changes of position, however, were lasting less and less long -- and each contraction seemed to cause them. They turned off the pitocin; contractions were happening naturally. As we got closer to an acute situation, they gave her a drug to cause her to stop contacting. Around 12:05 or so, no position for Ilsa would revive the heart rate, and the decision was made to go to OR immediately. The baby recovered as part of this process, and we had a decision to make. The attending doc said she said it was just as safe either way (either elect a c-section or do an emergency one if the baby failed to tolerate contractions during the labor). Ilsa was 7cm dilated at this point and very shaky due to the contraction stopping meds they'd given her. We decided very quickly that the baby's failure to tolerate contractions meant that we wanted a planned c-section; they started prepping her, asked me to step out, then, about 2 minutes later, ran to get me as they'd started already b/c the baby's HR had crashed again. I ran back in there and got to Ilsa's head, said it would be ok, and within about 30 seconds, we heard a baby's cry. As soon as they'd disengaged her head from Ilsa's pelvis, Josie started to wail out, and Josephine Helena Andre was born. She was in great shape; 9s on her apgars.

Turns out that Josie's cord had been wrapped around her neck and head and this was the reason for all the issues. Somehow she also had switched from facing posterior to facing anterior between last Thursday and Monday night. I suspect it might have been when the water broke; however, who knows. The back labor was a big part of Ilsa's pain. In any case, the call to do the c-section was perfect, given what we later learned.

Josie is great; very strong (trying to get her hands to stay in the swaddle is tough), opinionated, and full of energy. Most babies sleep a lot on the first day (say all the books); Josie slept some -- she just insisted on doing a lot of it in our arms. Ilsa's ok and in pain from the c-section, which, because of the epidural, was done transverse instead of longitudinal which is good on a number of fronts. We're learning to be parents and are largely in disbelief that such a cute, loud, and tiny human could be ours.

Josephine Helena is born

2008-12-16T02:12:00.000-08:00

12:20 AM, 7 lbs 4 oz

Mommy and baby are great; Josephine is breastfeeding.

Yay!

Sleeping mom2be & grandmom

2008-12-15T23:18:00.000-08:00

Dad2be and possum seem awake.

Side note: the folks here at UCSF are great. A few minutes ago, the baby's HR dropped a bit, and I was just getting concerned. The nurse was here about 10 seconds after I made a plan about when to press the button for her: "wait 30 seconds and see if the baby's HR came back up". They are on top of it.

Second side note: the baby's HR drops more when the bag of waters is broken; apparently this is normal due to the fact that the cord no longer has a bag of cushion around it. Thus, positioning matters more, and the baby tolerates positions differently. In the scenario above, they rearranged Ilsa and everything was fine.

9:22pm Lots of news

2008-12-15T21:19:00.000-08:00

Lots of news since the last update. Ilsa's on an epidural and has 10 wires coming off of her (pulse ox, bladder catheter, contraction monitor, blood pressure, fluid, sugared fluid, insulin, epidural medicine, pitocin, and an internal heart meter attached (gently) to the baby's scalp). The last was a bit scary; however, everything now seems fine and the baby's heart rate is steady around 150. Contractions are still happening and, with the epidural, Ilsa is even smiling a bit at my lame jokes.

Occasional regular contraction cycles

2008-12-15T19:13:00.001-08:00

7:17pm: Ilsa's getting more of a break between them; still too consistently sinusoidal. Pitocin is being amped up. BP is also staying a bit high. Possum is sleeping. Ilsa's mom is here.

Upping the pitocin to "break through" the 75-85s sine wave pattern

2008-12-15T17:40:00.001-08:00

The title says it; that's what we're trying now. Ilsa's having a bite to eat.

Fetanyl: better living through chemistry

2008-12-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

4:51pm Ilsa just had a 100 microgram dose of fentanyl and is resting much better, contractions are still about 75 secs apart. We'd wanted them to be regular; they're now regular. Now they will probably slow down a bit and then get more intense again, apparently. Possum appears to be sleeping.

Bath & Pitocin

2008-12-15T15:39:00.000-08:00

Thanks, all. Ilsa needed the encouragement and I was reading her your comments from facebook and here. She's in the tub doing "Ommmmmmm" mantra breathing through contractions.

Squeezing and the beginnings of contractions

2008-12-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

2:48pm: My hands are needed by Ilsa for now; type @ you later.

2:08pm: Contractions are really starting now and Ilsa is starting to be in some real pain.

1:39pm: Ilsa says: "I can feel my uterus squeezing".

1:35pm: Ilsa is restless. Standing feels better than sitting. Maybe a nap.

1:30pm: They are ordering some labs to check on the high BP.

Lunchtime live-blogging

2008-12-15T12:36:00.001-08:00

1:14pm: BP is now 146/80. Still a bit high for Ilsa. They'll watch it.

1:05: Standing BP is bit high (141/91); they will check it again in 15m. They also found the missing ultrasound machine (they'd wanted it earlier this AM) and confirmed that the baby's head is down where it should be; engaged with Ilsa's pelvis. Contractions are crampy at this point, not as pronounced as they need to get. Our nurse (Lisa H) is from Iowa (born in Cedar Rapids).

12:48: We walk up to the pantry and are shown where the goodies are; juice, water glasses, popsicles, and ice cream. Mmmmm.

12:44pm: Ilsa walks up & down the hallway & nurse comes to take BP. Scintillating, I know.

12:35pm: Ilsa has had a few crampy contractions. The anesthesiologist has come by and explained the options. Our code word plan may be foiled; Ilsa needs to be aware and self-aware enough to help with the epidural insertion.

12:01pm: I went out for lunch and got the good camera and our entertainment: Lord of the Rings, all 3 movies.

11:13pm: Administration of misoprostol.

The View From Our Hospital Room, L&D 4

2008-12-15T10:05:00.000-08:00

We arrived at the hospital this morning at 8am. The "welcome desk" wasn't even open yet! The nurses were still getting their morning assignments and one of them asked "Are you being induced today? You must be Mrs. Andre". We were shown to our room, and checked in. After some consultation, it was decided that misoprostol was the best option given all the variables.

Below are some pics of our view; we're still waiting for things to really start happening. Ilsa looks great in her gown.

T-Minus 13 Hours

2008-12-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

Operation Possum Drop was a dismal failure, so tomorrow at 8 a.m. we head to the hospital to begin Operation Uterine Foreclosure. I think we are mostly ready. I only slept about 3 hours last night due to the usual peeing/hip-aching/dog-whining trifecta of sleep disturbances, and skipped a nap today in the hope I will be able to crash for 4 or 5 hours tonight. We got a lot done today, though. The Doctor and my dad cleaned out and rearranged our chaotic garage, the Doctor won his first league soccer game since moving to SF, and my mom and I took Penny to the vet for a splint change before braving the ghetto Safeway. We stocked up on carby foods for me to enjoy once this placenta has been donated to science and I am no longer gestationally diabetic. Pasta for MEEEEE!!!!

I am nervous and apprehensive about the induction, and the pain and ickyness of labor in general of course. But, as Sylvia Plath says in her pregnancy poem "Metaphors," this train has been boarded and I'm riding it to the last stop.

I'm a riddle in nine syllables,
An elephant, a ponderous house,
A melon strolling on two tendrils.
O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!
This loaf's big with its yeasty rising.
Money's new-minted in this fat purse.
I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf.
I've eaten a bag of green apples,
Boarded the train there's no getting off.

Thinking about tomorrow

2008-12-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

It's looking like tomorrow will be the day; we head to the hospital at 8am unless there are other happenings tonight.

After our trip to Muir woods, I've spent the weekend preparing -- cleaning out the garage, setting up TV/DVD/Cable in the bedroom, putting up a small Christmas tree, setting up shelves in the "basement" which turned out to be far less damp than our garage. Overall, a lot of reorganizing and schlepping. Ilsa's father was (and is) tremendously helpful with all of this.

I've been thinking a lot about birth and the change that's about to hit us. Everyone suggests it will be like a ton of bricks. I am reminded of the introduction to an e. e. cummings book (full text here). It's a bit snobby and full of that sophomoric "we are special because we notice and feel and are full of passion" -- and, yet, there are parts that just nail some of how I feel about what is to come. Of course, it's about the "generalized" births that we go through again and again in our lives.

...We can never be born enough. We are human beings;for whom birth is a supremely welcome mystery,the mystery of growing:the mystery which happens only and whenever we are faithful to ourselves. You and I wear the dangerous looseness of doom and find it becoming. Life,for eternal us,is now;and now is much too busy being a little more than everything to seem anything,catastrophic included.

...

Miracles are to come. With you I leave a remembrance of miracles:they are by somebody who can love and who shall be continually reborn,a human being;somebody who said to those near him,when his fingers would not hold a brush "tie it into my hand"--.

nothing proving sick or partial. Nothing false,nothing difficult or easy or small or colossal. Nothing ordinary or extraordinary,nothing emptied or filled,real or unreal,nothing feeble and known or clumsy and guessed. Everywhere tints childrening,innocent spontaneous,true. Nowhere possibly what flesh and impossibly such a garden,but actually flowers which breasts are among the very mouths of light. Nothing believed or doubted;brain over heart,surface:nowhere hating or to fear;shallow,mind without soul. only how measureless cool flames of making;only each other building always distinct selves of mutual entirely opening;only alive. Never the murdered finalities of wherewhen and yesno,impotent nongames of wrongright and rightwrong;never to gain or pause,never the soft adventure of undoom,greedy anguishes and cringing ecstasies of inexistence;never to rest and never to have:only to grow.

Words do not express it (and the poem above acknowledges, it seems to me, that truth) and yet I feel compelled to try to state now, before this change, that I hunger for it. I do not know what tomorrow will bring in detail or particulars (and I know that those particulars are the beauty, the art, and the magic of it all); I do know that I love my wife, that I mostly cannot believe my luck in being with her, that I can't wait to meet our child, and most of all, that I hope with my whole heart for a healthy mom and a healthy baby.

Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question

Amoureux Toujours

=D

Walk that baby out

2008-12-13T18:03:00.001-08:00

We went to Muir Woods to try to walk the possum out today. It was a bit chilly; yet very very clear. We walked most of the boardwalked path; Ilsa did great and got only a little tired by the end. We had lunch in Sausalito. The possum seemed to like the walk.

We came up with a new name for the possum; a "burl"! Ilsa's mom thought that the redwood trees' burls look a little like pregnant bellies. I think Ilsa looks a lot better. In any case, it was a very nice day with the in-laws.

Things are happening.

2008-12-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

Operation Possum Drop is in full effect. I have seen some "signs" that labor is likely in the next couple/few days. I won't mention what those signs are as they are fairly gross. Then, most of pregnancy is pretty gross.

We'll keep you posted!

This is what 39 weeks looks like.

2008-12-08T00:12:00.001-08:00

Behold the ginormousness of the Belly.

Nesting

2008-12-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

39 weeks today. Ilsa and I agreed that she gets to be president of the "excited, yet petrified" club and I get to be vice-president. Today, we installed the car seat, put Penny's bed back together after washing the cover (see below), and have double checked our hospital bag(s). We'll clear the cameras and make the baby's bed. Ilsa says that she thinks things might be stirring down south; her parents arrive on Tuesday, so I'm placing bets for Wednesday or Thursday.

From our view, seems to be contained....

2008-06-22T21:12:00.001-07:00

Flames are no longer visibly getting closer....

The picture below was taken earlier:

Scary!

The news folks say that it's a 5-alarm fire in Brisbane (and are calling it the San Bruno fire) and is not yet contained. That said, we see lots of police & firefighters over there (well, their lights, anyway), and the orange glow has largely disappeared....

San Bruno Fire!

2008-06-22T21:06:00.001-07:00

A fire in Brisbane, only ~2.5 miles south of our house, visible from our house. We're watching carefully.

Big News.

2008-06-11T12:48:00.000-07:00

So perhaps you have noticed that all of the recent posts have been written by the Doctor. That is because the Doctor does not have contained within his person an energy-sucking life parasite-- oops, I mean a fetus.

I do, though!

Yep, on December 14, 2008 or thereabouts we will be welcoming the newest member of our family. For now, we are calling him/her the Possum (don't ask, it's a long story).

So the Possum was apparently made in Pittsburgh, (see what happens when your husband quits his job and is around the house all day??), has already traveled trans-continentally, and will likely be born with a taste for vodka martinis as I was drinking them with abandon on the trip. Oops.

See, I had NO IDEA that I was pregnant. I was stressed from moving! I was trying to finish my MFA thesis! The world was all topsy-turvy! It just happened that the day after we arrived in SF I thought-- hmm, I am going to pee on this stick, just in case. And I did, and the rest is history.

Luckily the pregnancy seems to be progressing nicely. No morning sickness, really. The tiredness sucks but it really just means I nap instead of unpacking and we still have boxes everywhere. I have never known tiredness like this before. The worst part is that is comes in tandem with the constant need to pee. There were mornings when I was lying in bed, wishing I was wearing Depends like that crazy astronaut lady because I was too tired to get up and walk the 10 yards to the toilet.

That's right. I would rather stew in my own urine than get out of bed. These are the things that are not covered in What to Expect When You Are Expecting (which should, btw, really be titled What a Bad Expecting Lady You Are and Everything You Do Is Going To Make Your Baby A Freak), along with the constant farting and increased earwax and dandruff production.

But look how cute our little fetus is! It looks like an alien baby! It has a giant head! And tooth sockets! And a spine! And a potbelly!

More baby news to come. I am sure EVERYONE wants to read about the fun that is a transvaginal ultrasound!

(P.S. I also passed my thesis defense and reading with flying colors in mid-May and am now officially a Master of Fine Arts.)

Why?

2008-05-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

I got this spam today:

What purpose does sending that out have, except to annoy?

California DMV...

2008-05-07T00:08:00.000-07:00

We went to the San Francisco DMV today to get our CA drivers' licenses. I figured the DMV would be all slick, new, and modern -- way beyond what stone-age Pennsylvania had, for sure. Instead, we found a fairly old-fashioned DMV (the only one in SF?!?) that was packed, slow, and had few of the niceties that Pennsylvania DMVs had. California takes 4-6 weeks to mail you the license. The tests are paper tests, graded by hand. The "calling-up-by-name" feature was done on CRT TV screens, although I suspect it was a computer image. It was strange. At least Ilsa and I both scored 100% on our driver's ed tests. I guess we studied too much!

To our new home..... (4/10/8)

2008-04-29T02:37:00.000-07:00

We busted out of Nevada and made it to the place I started from, 6 years ago. We did take a nice detour to the Donner-pass/emigrant museum, which does a nice job of celebrating the journey (epic journey to California) instead of the result (cannibalism). We then settled in a bit, enjoyed a cocktail and our view with the Doctor's friend Dr. Andromeda, and went to a great restaurant near our place called Chenery Park .

3500 miles and 8 long days later, we were in the city by the bay, with the burgh still in our hearts and the future wide open.

To Reno (4/9/8)

2008-04-29T02:22:00.000-07:00

Ilsa drove (and I worked) through the desert of Utah and through Nevada. After taking the pups for a walk at a very dry dog park, we decided to top off our culinary adventures the only way we knew how -- by going full-bore, American campy. We went to the Peppermill casino's buffet!

To keep things interesting, we played both the "Kill Count" game (where the object is to eat as many species as possible), and the Poetry-Buffet game (which we invented on the spot). The goal was to create an arranged plate that could be the subject of a poem (we chose Haiku for our format, although you can easily change this to limerick, for example). My "haiku" follows the image (I snapped it after I ate the salad in the middle).

salad, fajita
brownie, jello, and a peach
whipped cream and doughnut

To Salt Lake City (4/8/8)

2008-04-29T02:08:00.000-07:00

Now we get to the part of the trip where: (a) Ilsa drove (sometimes in the snow), (b) The Doctor worked, (c) we found a doggie park each day in the city we got to for the night, and (d) we were kinda ready for the trip to be over. We'd hoped to head down to Vegas -- we just didn't have the energy (especially with me needing to work and Ilsa doing almost all of the driving).

First, though, we went to flagship store of Cabela's, the outdoor superstore. The following image captures the store pretty well.

During the travel today (or it might have been the previous day -- I'm writing this a few weeks after the fact), we had a funny thing happen. I was on the phone for a conference call to a prospective vendor. It was a conference call, and we were in the middle of nowhere. Cell phone reception was iffy. I had two phones (iPhone and Blackberry) -- so I dialed into the conference call with both phones, since they are on different carriers. After 20 minutes, the primary line I'd called in on dropped, and they started saying -- "oh, did we lose dave?", and I responded "yes, we lost one of my phones" -- they were quite surprised!

We got to Salt Lake City, found a doggie park for the pups, and then went out to a great dinner at this mole place called the Red Iquana. It was quite popular & crowded -- and deservedly so. It was delicious -- and a great surprise in SLC. We were getting quite happy with the road-food -- we were batting nearly 1000 for dinners on the trip -- let's review:

4/3 -- Ilsa's brother's homemade sushi
4/4 -- (forgettable place in Indy)
4/5 -- Prairie Grass Cafe
4/6 -- Coq au Vin by The Doctor's step mom (forgot to mention this earlier - yummy!)
4/7 -- Dude's Steak House
4/8 -- The Red Iquana

How could we top this?

Perfect photo for how Wall-Mart felt at midnight

2008-04-29T01:56:00.000-07:00

Ah, Sidney, NE. (4/7/8)

2008-04-29T01:52:00.000-07:00

We headed off into the great plains, through Western Iowa and into Nebraska. Nebraska is a funny state. The "Great Platte River Road Archway Monument" attraction is apparently a big deal.

We ended the day in Sydney, Nebraska, where we were happily surprised by a nice hotel, a great place to eat (Dude's Steak House -- you should stop there, it's a classic!) where we were regaled with funny jokes by our waitress and where we had some kick-ass steaks. Seriously, it's worth the 8 minute drive off the interstate if you're ever out that way.

To Ames (4/6/8 -- what do we appreciate? A Bed!)

2008-04-29T01:39:00.000-07:00

We headed to Ames on Sunday, and stopped early to visit my parents. We had a nice visit -- capped with several trips to the new 24-hour Wal-mart in my hometown of Ames to (a) replace the air-mattress-pump that, although it worked fine in Pittsburgh, was an inert blob once we got to Iowa, and (b) to return the "car-cigarette-lighter-only" pump I bought on trip (a) and get a model that might get the mattress inflated before the next day. The dogs enjoyed my mom's backyard, and, overall, it was a nice (although quick) stopover.

Tasty Dinner

2008-04-29T01:32:00.000-07:00

After our frolicking at the lake on Saturday, we went out to a great dinner in Northern Chicago at the Prairie Grass Cafe. We had some tasty food and enjoyed a fine martini. They make their own sausage; they have great pate; they have good spirits -- what more could we have asked for?

A sunny day in Chicago (4/5/8)

2008-04-29T00:47:00.000-07:00

After an adventurous night in Indy, we headed up to Chicago's northern suburbs. We'd been in the windy city recently (last May) for one of Ilsa's high-school friends weddings, and we liked the town. The city is quite pretty (as you can see above).

We scoped out the dog parks in Chicago on our way (on the iphone -- once again showing off its utility) to Bell's former owner's place. This woman was living in New Orleans before Katrina -- and stayed there through the hurricane with her three dogs (two of which were greyhounds). The coast guard eventually made her leave -- and made her leave her dogs behind. She emptied the contents of a bag of food on the table, opened the toilets, and reluctantly left. Once she got to safety, she started calling the SPCA -- and they eventually went to the house and rescued one of the dogs. Bell was too scared to come out, and they had to come back the next day. They eventually rescued her, and took her to a kennel where they were keeping all the lost pets.

The greyhound adoption leagues are very strong, and word was out around the internet bulletin boards and mailing lists that there were greyhounds without homes. Her former owner couldn't keep the dogs -- they were stuck moving to Chicago and couldn't keep them, sadly. We'd been on the lookout for a second dog to keep Penny company, and had recently begun leaning towards the idea of a female older greyhound. When we saw Bell's picture, we knew we had to try to help. A great group of people helped get her from Baton Rouge to Memphis, Nashville, and eventually Louisville, where Ilsa picked her up back in 2005. She's been doing great and is a spunky, affectionate older lady.

Anyway, the plan was to stop by and let Bell's former "mom" see her again, and although emotionally a bit complex, it was a good time. The dogs were exactly as stressed as you can see below:

We then went, with Bell's former "mom" and her sister, over to a local dog park (right on Lake Michigan) and the dogs had a great time, as you can see below. Bell even ran! Quite impressive at nearly 15 years of age!

Gary, Indiana: Not Much to See Here.

2008-04-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

The only things I know about Gary, Indiana are: A) it is the birthplace of the Jackson 5, and B) that it burns to the ground in an insane conflagration in the Stephen King novel The Stand, which is about post-apocalyptic America.

As much as I love "A-B-C," I think King had the right idea. See picture, above.

"America's Best Value Inn": Only one word in this phrase is true.

2008-04-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry all that I have left the blogging to the Doctor. It's just that I have been doing most of the driving and he's been working on his computer in the car. Isn't technology wonderful?

After we left Asheville and the hospitality of my brother and his Significant Other, we made our way to Indianapolis. On the way, the Doc searched the interwebs for doggy-friendly hotels near the interstate, and happened upon "America's Best Value Inn." After calling, he found that a room at the ABVI could be had for the low, low price of just $59 per night.

This should have been a warning. But we looked at Google Street View and it seemed like your normal, faceless interstate motel.

When we pulled into the ABVI parking lot, the Doc jumped out of the DoggyLimo to check us in while I took the pups for a pee break. I noticed a lot of empty 40-oz. bottles of malt liquor in the grassy areas of the motel, but chalked it up to the proximity of the highway. The Doc had to check in through a window of bullet proof glass.

We got our room, the door of which was dented with what looked suspiciously like boot-heel marks-- as if someone had attempted to kick the door down.

We were hungry and starting to get snippy with one another (AKA, "hangry") so we fed the dogs, brought in our stuff, and headed out to search for sustenance. I am a lousy navigator, so even with the help of the GPS (which I have taken to calling "The Bitch," because she is always smarter than I am) I got us all turned around and farther from the food than when we started. The Doctor got sick of my blathering and indecision and pulled into a likely-looking parking garage attached to a hotel, with a sign for something called the "Weber Grill." All the Webers I know required charcoal and a dangerous amount of lighter fluid to produce food, but at this point I would have eaten an E. Coli burger Raw with a side of Salmonella Skins and been happy about it.

It turned out that we were parked in the garage for this giant glass and metal "entertainment complex" in downtown Indy. We had been to this complex once before, during a business trip for the Doc that I tagged along to, and which involved a tiki bar, flaming shots, and an electric bucking bronco. Don't ask. Anyway, the place was like a freaking Habitrail for people. We had to go up and down and around and on escalators and elevators and skywalks to get our lousy spinach and artichoke dip and a shared chicken salad.

We made it back to the ABVI without incident and collapsed into bed. We slept like the dead, having resolved to shower in the morning before we left.

Oh, if only we had looked at the towels before we slept on the sheets. The cold, cold light of morning did the ABVI-Indianapolis no favors. The towels were smeared with dirt and strange gray spots of indeterminate origin. It would have been more sanitary to wipe ourselves dry with the wadded-up Kleenex in the ashtray of the DoggyLimo. I began to notice the other signs of filth and general grossness: mold in the bathtub, brown buckled wallpaper, fingerprints on the telephone handset, Penny and Bell's unflagging interest in sniffing in certain corners. We escaped only $59 the poorer, having learned a valuable lesson about motels that seem too good to be true.

America's Best Value Inn: Not the Best. Not a Value. Not an Inn. Barely American.

Tomorrow we stay in a Marriott.

Rain, rain, rain, damp clothes, and sushi! (4/3/8)

2008-04-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

After strapping a Thule to our roof, we headed into the rain, down through West Virginia. Ilsa drove most of the way, through pouring, driving rain. I worked some and drove for a bit after it got dark. We finally arrived in North Carolina, where Ilsa's brother and his girlfriend and prepared a terrific repast for us -- handmade sushi! We chatted with them well into the night and enjoyed the rest. Our dogs played with theirs (Winnie and Lola) and enjoyed the backyard. Our rooftop Thule was utterly NOT waterproof -- be careful if you ever get one! Thankfully, Ilsa's brother's dryer worked, and we got some super large zip-lock plastic bags the next morning from Ingles grocery store, so the lack of waterproofing could be dealt with.

Change jar

2008-04-05T15:59:00.001-07:00

And, we're back again. In loading up the van, the last load was a jacket, our change jar, and a bag -- and I put the change jar behind Ilsa to load it into the car and packed the other stuff, as I figured the change jar needed to be held so it wouldn't fall over -- and I neglected (doh) to let her know about it! She didn't see it, and we drove off to run last errands (getting a Thule van-top carrier for our extra stuff) and, when we were just about to REI -- we remembered the change jar. We figured it was probably gone, but it had maybe $50 in change in it, so we figured we had to check. Our neighborhood surprised us -- it was still there! Good thing we went back for it, as it had more than $80 in it. So we then left for North Carolina for the first leg of the journey.

Goodbye house (4/3/8)

2008-04-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

Goodbye first home! This was my first real home other than my parent's place, and only because Ilsa moved in with me. We had a very warm and comfortable home with great memories -- and it is hard to leave it behind. We will make a new great home out in California, and yet it is hard to leave the place where we started growing our family together. So -- with one last picture, we're off!

Brian Turner (4/2/8)

2008-04-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

We went to see Brian Turner on Wednesday night after the movers finished taking everything. He's a poet who served in Iraq as a soldier and wrote a great book called "Here, Bullet" about his experiences. He was a very engaging reader. Ilsa wrote the program notes for him (very good!) and he was very inspiring. He described the country as being decadent about the war -- our lack of caring for the traumatized families on both sides. His point was that regardless of our feelings about the war, to wage war without taking care of the consequences is somewhere between decadent and immoral. I could not agree more, and am troubled by how little I've done to put my time and money where my beliefs are on this point.

The truck that ate our house

2008-04-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

Stress

2008-04-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

Moving is stressful, there's no two ways about it. My immune system is fighting to get over this sore throat I've had for three weeks and Ilsa and I are both exhibiting other signs of stress. The dogs certainly can tell something's in the air -- they are quite disturbed and off their normal routines. Lots of extra pets are going their way -- which, as many of you know, helps the petter as much as the pettee! Lowered blood pressure and reduced stress are good things for us right now... The house is empty, empty, empty -- huge areas with no furniture and the little detritus of our years here...

The little death of a home

2008-04-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

We packed up on Tuesday the 1st -- April First!! And it was not a joke that we were moving. The guys from South Hills Movers came in and encased our belongings in cardboard on Tuesday and moved them all out to the truck on Wednesday. Strange that all that we moved from the house could fit into 1/3 of a truck. Nice guys, and efficient. They reminded me of the good-natured qualities of yinzers, for sure. It was strange having them move us out -- not too much for us to do except try to keep the stuff we needed for the drive out separate. I worked some; Ilsa ran some important errands. We ate at the Park House on Tuesday night -- and it's totally changed to a hipster bar, although they still have the peanuts we like.

Tony (3/31/8)

2008-04-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

We took a short break to go hear Anthony Bourdain speak on Monday night. He's funny and smart and humble enough to recognize he's very lucky. He also said he wouldn't knowingly eat dogs -- we liked that. We took Christian and Lori for a belated xmas present and had a good time.

Give it away, give it away, give it away now (Party, 3/29/2008)

2008-04-05T15:37:00.000-07:00

We had a few friends over on Saturday for a going-away party where we tried to push our extra stuff on our friends. Some of them humored us and took some things -- and, much much more importantly, we had a great time toasting our time in the 'burgh and our new plans. The house was a mess, the booze was all for the taking -- and despite some heroic efforts (and some rather (link to hangover cat -- hungover people), there was much left over. Twas nice to see everyone, however, and we will miss our friends in Pittsburgh!

Yard Sale!!

2008-03-31T06:42:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we had a yard sale. We organized a little store on our porch and front lawn and priced everything. One of the attendees said that we were "very organized". We had put up signs and posted on Craig's List, and we sold a few hundred dollars worth of stuff. We did have to get up rather early on the cold spring morning; we still made a few more hundred than we would have otherwise.

All I'll otherwise say is that very strange people come to yard sales -- and many of them are looking for collectibles (e.g. old records, war stuff).

Moving guilt

2008-03-30T18:29:00.001-07:00

Here's all the trash after cleaning out our house (round 1). We felt guilty throwing so much stuff away; a lot of this was the grime covered stuff from the attic and mixed papers/magazines that weren't recyclable. We did leave a little surprise for the garbage guys -- we left them a six-pack! Ilsa saw them find it and they were quite happy about it.

2008-03-25T07:16:00.001-07:00

We've been packing. And oh, how we've been packing. Yesterday was the basement (yikes) and my office (double yikes). On the basement, the first task was to cart out all the dusty debris and rotting ruins that Ilsa's sister and boyfriend had cleaned out of the attic for us when the put in the insulation. There were many interesting and weird items in that set -- including old books, hats, chests, games, and lamps that had been covered in years of Pittsburgh dust -- probably from the 20s or 30s onward. And by covered, I mean blanketed. And by dust, I mean Pittsburgh industrial dust, super-fine, black, and generally nasty.

This first picture is of all the bags that were associated with that endeavor. The second is of our hands after moving it!

.

After the basement, I focused on getting my office clean. When I moved to Pittsburgh 6 years ago, I didn't have much time to go through stuff, so I just moved everything (the fact that the move was paid for was also part of why I could do that). This time, I have vowed to go through everything. I could not believe some of the stuff I moved out there -- reams of unused paper, class notes from my "Personality" class from college, links of chain, used batteries -- it was horrible. I think I threw out something like 500 pounds of crap from my office! And -- I got to throw away my 90s tax returns and financial records! That was fun. I encourage you all to take the extra day or two when you next move to do the same and purge, purge, purge!

New Van

2008-03-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo of our new van, nicknamed "the doggy limo", and designed to bring us and the hounds across the country in relative comfort.

Searching for a place (Feb 29th to March 5th)

2008-03-21T18:12:00.001-07:00

Well, we're a bit busy prepping for the move, so some of these posts are happening after the fact.

We went out to California early in March and looked for a place. Ilsa spent the week beforehand scouring craigslist for any hint of a place that might work for us, and, after a fab party at the SuperDelegate and the HippyChick's place (yes, it was a costume party) we set to work attempting to wow the landlords with our doggie resume, people resume, and smiling faces. We visited about 20 places, including "two bedrooms" where one bedroom was a walk-in closet and places in "Noe Valley" that were mere steps off of Mission.

One place we saw on Sunday was out in Glen Park, owned by a man named "Steve". He was very nice, the place great, and it became our top choice. The next three days we waited eagerly for his call and visited other places. Our "backup" was rented to someone else due to a misunderstanding. We were at Circa (great restaurant, with a chef who's now on Top Chef) for what was to be our celebration dinner and we still hadn't heard anything. We ordered a drink -- and when our Martinis showed up -- the phone rang, and we had our place. The meal was much better knowing we search had ended!

A few pics are below. Note the great views and the cool staircase & library ladder. The place is just a few blocks from the center "village" of the Glen Park neighborhood and a few blocks from BART.

Welcome friends!

2008-02-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

So, kids, I am going back to blogging. With this move looming ever closer, it will provide a way for me to keep in touch with everyone during an incredibly busy time. So, without further ado....

Today was a reminder of what I am NOT going to miss about Pittsburgh. It snowed about 4 inches yesterday, then the temperature rose to just about 33 degrees. The snow turned to freezing rain. The freezing rain left a crust of ice on top of the snow and turned our 30-odd stairs (the only way to access our house) into a skating rink. The crust of ice left a big bruise on the side of my ass from where I fell on it last night while trying to walk the dogs down the icy stairs. The bruise left a big pile of resentment in my brain.

Today, we have slush! Muddy, filthy, poo-crusted slush. The Doctor sent me an IM yesterday telling me that the weather in SF was 55 degrees and sunny. For some reason that made me mad.

Growing up down south, we were never smug about our weatherly superiority to the frozen North, though at no time did I ever have to use a cigarette lighter to thaw the lock on my car door enough to get my key in. Florida and New Orleans are great from October to May; after that they become Dantean hell-circles relieved only by forays into stale-smelling air-conditioned stores and cars. Oh, and there are hurricanes.

55 degrees and sunny. 55 degrees and sunny. 55 degrees and sunny.

This is my new Californimantra.