Where's the camera?!?!

Last night as Tori and I sat watching TV, she let out an exclaim of, "Whoooa!" When I turned to her she informed me that Jack had moved so intensely that she could see him push her stomach out. I spent the next half hour trying to catch him moving, but it was like he knew when I had my head turned away. Tori would go, "Whoa!" I would turn my head back to her belly, and she would say, "Oh, you just missed him again." Then I would stare at her belly for the next minute and Jack would hold still. I would turn back to the TV, and he would move again. Finally, he started moving so often and so vigorously, that I couldn't help but see him move.

I wanted to break out the camcorder because, as I told Tori, these were our baby's first visible movements. For me, this whole experience fluctuates between totally surreal, and so real it is overwhelming. Sometimes, if Tori is bundled up under a blanket on the couch, I will forget that there is a little boy growing in there. But when I think about that fact, I am overwhelmed with joy and anticipation. I just can't wait to meet Jack and to be a Daddy.

Baby's Room

This is what the baby's room looked like before we started working. Notice my weight bench with baby stuff underneath, along with Tori's roller blades and my ab-roller.





I forgot to take a picture of the room before we built the crib. Here is the crib all alone. That's Tori in the corner working on the changing table. Just try to stop her.





Crib and changing table naked. They are treated with different sheens. The colors match, but one is glossier than the other.





Crib fully and appropriately dressed. Apparently it gets embarrassed for pictures, because normally it isn't that red.





The crib and the changing table ready for a night out on the town. Tori is not.






The colors we were deciding between over the crib. We chose the one in the middle. The color of the crib is more accurate in this picture, too.

Happy Turkey Day!

On Wednesday, Tori's mother, Toni, treated us to what's called a 4-D ultrasound of Jack. He refused to put his hands down, like a boxer in a title bout, but they were able to get some very good pictures of his little face. During the process Tori didn't say a word. She stayed glued to the screen while Toni tried to figure out which family members Jack resembles. She says he has my eyes and Tori's nose. All I know is, that kid is adorable and I can't wait to see him on the outside.

This picture gives you the best view of his profile. He has his arm in front of his face, but there is a clear view of his mouth, eye, and nose.

Here is his profile again with his arm in the way a little more.

You can see his muscles in this one and he's really hiding his face.

His lips are a little blurred, but this is by far the clearest view of his face. He's got his left hand up above his eye in a very dramatic pose. Hopefully he hasn't inherited his daddy's penchant for the dramatic.

Tori and I have been attending our Bradley Method classes. I am getting really anxious for him to get here. I know that Tori will be amazing and I hope that I am able to give her exactly what she needs in that time. This is really an exciting time. Ted and Michelle have a beautiful baby girl, Ellie. Cesca and Dan have a beautiful baby boy, Alex. And Andy and Jennifer just welcomed baby Olive into the world. All of these friends for Jack to play with! Not only are we starting a family, but all of our best friends are starting their own families as well! So much to be thankful for.

Belly & Bedroom Pics

Well, we finally got some pictures taken of my big baby belly and I figured I'd take some of our wild decor while I was at it.
The below picture is the mobile of "ugly dolls". I referred to them as cute monsters, but was corrected by my sister who was corrected by a terrified child of a friend when she said "Oh you have monster dolls on your bed!"

This is our knit giraffe, who was the color palette inspiration for the room, and not an easy color palette for baby decor to find, so I was stoked when I found it!

This is the bedding, ugly doll mobile, and knit dolls

Here's my big belly at 27 weeks!

More belly...

And more belly

We have our 4D ultrasound scheduled for next week, just before Thanksgiving, so we'll post the up close and personal pics of our cute little guy. Hopefully he gives us some cute face, hands and feet shots...but that boy just loves to throw his junk up in front of the ultrasound scope, apparently he's quite proud of his manly anatomy.

No barking from the dog, no smog...

In the immortal words of that legendary poet, Ice Cube, "Today was a good day." We had a follow up appointment with our doctor, Dr. Marshall. Tori, Toni, and I all went. The purpose of our visit was to see if any of the potential problems that arise from STS Deficiency were present. He took a detailed ultrasound of Jack to look for a cleft palate or lip, undescended testicles, or stunted growth. As we all hoped, everything looked normal. More than normal. Perfect. His head, arms, and body are slightly ahead of his due date and his legs were a bit behind (all perfectly normal). There is no sign of a cleft lip or palate. We got to clearly see his nose and lips from underneath. He hasn't been born yet and we've already checked for boogies. As far as the undescended testicles or hypogonadism (disproportionate penis and testicles), well...um...everything is...where it should be. 10 fingers. 10 toes. And one giant head. Sorry mommy.

The highlight of the appointment was when Dr. Marshall zoomed in on Jack's profile. He's beautiful. He's perfect. He was sucking on his wrist at first, and then he stopped. Almost like he new there were pictures being taken. For the second time I was moved to tears by images of my son in grainy black and white. This time for different reasons. I hadn't realized it but I had been really nervous for the appointment and what we might see. Tori was completely confident that Jack was fine, but I had a nagging voice in the back of my head telling me all of the things I should have been worrying about. When I saw that beautiful profile, I started to well up.

When the sonogram ended, we had a chance to ask Dr. Marshall some questions. He is so kind and reassuring, he makes us feel like everything will be just fine. I had a list of questions that I had plugged into my phone during our Bradley Method class two weeks ago, and he answered all of them calmly and assuredly. Toni told him how happy we were that he was our doctor, and he thanked her so earnestly it was kind of moving. Everything he said today was exactly what we wanted to hear. We feel lucky to be in such capable hands.

As we walked to the car I once again became overwhelmed with emotion. I was so happy. Relieved. Overjoyed. Tori saw the look on my face, and said, "See. I told you he is going to be fine." For the first time since we started getting the negative news, I really believe it. Today was a good day.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Jack Marchese Blum!

Here is Jack sucking his hand or wrist. He is facing up and this is his profile.





Here is Jack sucking his wrist again.





Here he is. He is pulling the hand away. What a beautiful boy!!

Updates

I know it has been a while since I posted a blog. All is going well. Our little man, Jack Marchese Blum, has been kicking up a storm. At our last appointment with our Midwife Nurse, he kicked the heart monitor off of Tori's stomach twice. We have, obviously, settled on a middle name: Marchese. It is a way to carry on Tori's family's name, and it sounds awesome. Tori has been doing very well. Acupuncture has been helping the pain she was feeling in her hands. She is at 6 months and is starting to have a hard time tying her shoes and other similar activities.

We are more than excited for this little guy to come into the world. I held our nephew Alex for a while on Friday night and it was amazing. I can't imagine what that will feel like when it is our son in our arms.

Long time, no blog...(is it bad to use it as a verb?)

Sorry for the lack of updates. These are exciting times. Tori and the baby are progressing beautifully. The biggest drama for Tori right now is that her massive collection of shoes no longer fits her feet. We got the results of my blood tests (all clean) and Tori's. We found out that Tori is a carrier for the deletion that is present in the baby's chromosomal makeup. Although it is not an indication of anything definite, we have found a sense of encouragement in the idea that this may have been in the family for a while. There is a chance that other men in Tori's family have this same deletion and have not shown any serious side effects. Although we are staying cautious (I would say "realistic", but Tori did go to a doctor who talked to the baby), we are extremely optimistic. I feel a little silly for dragging so many people along on the roller coaster that has been this pregnancy. For this I humbly apologize. I guess this is the drawback of having a blog.

We have been attending our Bradley Method classes for the past three weeks. Tori and I are intent on having an all natural childbirth. Like Tori said in her post, Cesca's impressive showing with baby Alex seems to have fortified this desire in both Tori and I. The classes make for long Tuesdays (class ends at 9:30) but it has been beyond informative. This seems to be the most important aspect of The Bradley Method. Information gives the mother the power to overcome any anxiety about the idea of pushing a bowling ball out of her body. I'm just glad to be "coach" and not "playing" this game.

To show our progress, Tori and I have been calling the baby (rarely) by his future name, "Jack". I feel hesitant to do so because of how complicated everything has been so far. And we have been in...um...negotiations about his middle name. I am so happy we had his name picked out before we conceived because trying to think up a name is really hard. I can't imagine trying to wait until after he was born. I am pushing for awesome things like "Han" and "Yoda" but Tori will have none of it. This is a negotiation I will be happy to lose.

Thank you to all who have shown us love and support. We feel honored to have such caring people as our friends and family.