Wyatt is NOT on the table!

Kristina was being sneaky...she knows that I don't like the name Wyatt. Any votes for Obadiah?

Christopher

Boy or Girl???

One common question we get is if we want to find out the sex of the baby. I've always wanted to know- so I've been waiting impatiently for this day to arrive.

The next question we get a lot is whether we want a boy or girl. We both don't care about the sex. However, so far, we can only agree on a girl's name. We just can't agree on a boy's name. So, we decided to put that conversation on hold.

So, what are we having? A boy!! We are very excited- but one of our first thoughts was "oh no, now we're going to have to come up with a name we can both agree on!" Any favorites? PS- Any votes for Wyatt will be much appreciated. ;-)

Here are some pics from our ultrasound:

Here's a profile view of the littlest Appelt.

After carefully analyzing the data...it's a boy!

Hard to say...are there 5 toes on that foot?

Kristina

Now that the warm-up is done...

Today, I ran the Ridge Run 5K. It was warm and humid, much more so than during my previous training runs. So, maybe "run" isn't entirely accurate. I walked at the water stations, up one wicked hill, and a couple other times.

Interestingly, it didn't affect my time too drastically. I completed the 5K in under 32:30. That's a little better than a 10:30 mile. I was practicing at just under a 10 min mile. So, the walking didn't cost me too much.

Apparently, walking was good decision, though. Kristina watched people vomiting multiple times on their way to the finish line and saw several people pass out before crossing the line. Ambulances and IV's also appeared near the finish line.

Next on the agenda...the Chicago Marathon in October. I have 2 more weeks to prepare for my "official" training that begins on June 9th. Things are about to get interesting!

Here I am trying to figure out the "complicated" instructions for attaching the timing chip to my shoe.Here I am as the race begins. Note the smile indicating the anticipation of an enjoyable run through beautiful Beverly.
As I approach the finish line, note the looks of men beaten down by the heat, humidity and hills of @%&*@#$ Beverly.

Christopher

Indiana Appelt and the Quest for the Golden Handcuffs

One of my former colleagues once referred to tenure as "the Golden Handcuffs." On the one hand, you have permanent job security (barring unforeseen circumstances). On the other hand, it may be difficult to move on to other things because most opportunities are for untenured assistant professor positions. So, one can be "trapped" by this thing of great value.

My quest for a tenured position began after graduating with my Ph.D. However, my quest has been most intense these last couple of years. It's been a long and perilous trip. I had many opportunities for missteps. As with most quests, a little bit of luck doesn't hurt either. Sometimes, even the most worthy of adventurers are unable to complete the quest.

Yesterday, I received a letter stating that I was being promoted to Associate Professor with continuous tenure. I admit, I'm still in a bit of a daze, but one thing is very clear to me. With a wife, house, and a baby on the way, I don't mind being tied down with this newest piece of jewelry.

Christopher

How To Tell Your Doctor’s Just Not That Into You

The OB/GYN practice Kristina has been using has 5 different doctors. They insist you see every doctor before you deliver, which means we never see the same doctor 2 times in a row. It also means you might meet a few nice doctors before you meet a real jerk! Unfortunately, that’s whom we met most recently.

Kristina would like to have as natural of a birth as reasonably possible. She’s not against pain drugs and c-sections if necessary, but she doesn’t want to be pressured to have these unnecessarily. In particular, she’s concerned that the doctors and hospital will make decisions based on the doctors’ convenience or the financial interests of the hospital rather than based on her welfare or that of the baby.

These concerns aren’t unfounded. She’s done research that indicates these things happen again and again. So, she brought a list of questions and concerns for the doctor. She stated her concerns about the chain of events that can occur once interventions begin. When she asked him about Caesarian, induction, and intervention rates, he became very defensive.

He said that he (and the others in the practice) doesn’t believe in home births, and if that’s what she wanted she should go elsewhere. Where did that come from?! She didn’t even mention home births. He flat out told her he “wasn’t going to debate” with her and “didn’t care” what she had read. He didn’t want patients who would question him and would not work in a situation where he would be limited in what he could do.

Well, we’re not going to debate it either. We’ll be looking for a practice that is a little less arrogant and more open to discussion with their patients.

Christopher

What’s Your Type?

Last Thursday, we had our most recent appointment with the O.B. It was so eventful I have to write 2 entries about it. So, here goes the first one.

After our previous visit, Kristina was given a card to carry that includes all kinds of important info, including her blood type. It was marked A-positive. Up until that point, including 8 years in the Army with associated dog tags, Kristina was under the impression she was O-positive.

She pointed this out on Thursday and told them the results could be wrong. In response, the nurses tried to convince her she was, in fact, A-positive because their computers said so. One nurse even went so far to say, “So from now on you’re A-positive.” Her condescending tone really had my blood boiling. This same nurse then got confused about which blood type is the universal donor (O-negative, incidentally).

One of the few redeeming qualities of the new doctor we met that day (more on him in the 2nd entry) was that he agreed with us when we insisted she should have her blood retested. However, he said we would simply wait until her next blood test at 7 months (3 months from now!).

Kristina was the first to realize the problem with this (unfortunately after we left the doctors’ office). What if her blood sample was mixed up with someone else’s, and all the good results we received a couple month’s ago were inaccurate?

Understandably, this bothered her (and me) a great deal. I told her we might have some blood typing kits at my school (sometimes it’s handy to be a biologist). So, the next day she had me call up one of my colleagues (Dr. X) to ask about the tests. Dr. X had some available, and the next thing you know, we were headed to my department.

This situation presented an interesting dilemma: on the one hand, if the test revealed she was O-positive, she would continue to doubt the validity of her previous blood results…on the other hand, if it showed she was A-positive, she would feel like something about her identity had suddenly changed.

With Dr. X’s help, we did the test and found she was…drum roll, please…A-positive. So, we’re relieved and feel more confident in the previous blood results…and my opinion that “military intelligence” is an oxymoron appears to be validated. However, Kristina is feeling really strange with her new identity as an A-positive person. By the way, I’m apparently A-negative…it was about time I got around to figuring that out.

Christopher

Practice makes perfect, or not

I'm nearing the point in my pregnancy when I'm encouraged to sleep on my side. If you are a back sleeper, the books encourage you to start "practicing" sleeping on your side now.

So far? It's not been too successful for me. My arms keep falling asleep, which is constantly waking me up. Otherwise, I wake up and find myself on my back. This is obviously going to be a battle.

Any advice out there? Will it really get easier or will I end up sleeping on the lazy boy?

Kristina

Baby or a bubble?

The baby books warn that new mothers might not recognize their baby's first movements because they can easily "mistake it for gas or other digestive gurgles. " And, your baby's first movements might feel "like a flutter - sort of like butterflies." This sounded crazy to me, and I gave up hope of feeling the baby before my belly was the size of a bowling ball.

So, imagine my surprise when in the middle of exercising (I was doing crunches) I felt something that actually did feel like fluttering butterflies. My first reaction was fright- could I be squishing the baby and it's mad at me? My second reaction was puzzlement- could that really be the baby? So soon?

I'll still be exercising, but I think I'm going to stop the crunches....

Kristina