Burl is here!

Hi everybody, Ryan here with exclusive access to Honeybees... if you haven't heard already through the grapevine, Burl was born at 6:14 PM Taiwan time. Labour started at 2:30, water broke at 5:15-ish, we were on the road by 5:30 - 5:40 and by this time Sandy's contractions were quite intense... it was hard to stop and wait at the lights... if I'd had a siren or a snow plow on the front of the car I'd have kept going... we pulled into the emergency room doors at 6:00-ish, Sandy got wheeled in and I had to move the car and park it as an ambulance followed us in... I pretty sure I laid down a pretty good tread of rubber as I left to park across the street... everything was happening so fast... Parked, I sprinted across and into the ER, to the elevator bank, and again, waiting for elevators when you're in a hurry really really really sucks... Up to the 5th floor in time for them to throw a gown on me and into the delivery room... 10-12 minutes and a whole lot of pushing later, little Burl came out... WOW! such a dramatic entry... today was a holiday so the 5:30 traffic wasn't too bad- had it been a regular work day I dare say he may have been born in our little Opel - he's so cool, I think he recognized our voices and stayed pretty calm through it all, Sandy was so strong too and didn't swear at all...

Anyway, it's 1:35 AM and I've just gotten home from the hospital. Sandy and Burl are resting comfortably, Sandy's happy and Burl's cuter than cute...

Grammie says Ivo was a real trooper and such a good boy this evening... we're all going to see them early morning... Sandy says she wants a few egg mcmuffins for brekkie...

update tomorrow...

here are some preliminary pics...

Wow! So Many Drugs!

Like I incoherently said yesterday, I'm not sure how long the articles from the NYTimes are accessible. I've got a subscription, so I can see any article in the archives anytime. Sadly, I need an additional (and slightly more expensive subscription) to access the crossword puzzles - so, that, I don't have. I know not everyone is 29 months pregnant, and thus immobilized, left with time to peruse the papers...

Anyway, this is from a 25 Feb article ("How 2 Rights Can Make a Wrong") on mixing drugs, wittingly or not... But the main thing that strikes me is the astronomical #s of takers and drugs.

In 2004, 82 percent of the United States population reported using at least one prescription drug, over-the-counter medication, or dietary supplement in the previous week, and 30 percent reported using five or more of these during the same period, according to a study by the Sloan Epidemiology Center at Boston University. Among senior citizens, 75 percent of all Americans over the age of 65 took roughly four prescription drugs on a daily basis in 2005; the average 75-year-old in the United States swallowed eight different prescription medications each day. That same year, approximately 1.6 million American teenagers and children (almost 300,000 of whom were under 10) were given at least two psychiatric drugs in combination, according to an analysis performed by Medco Health Solutions for The New York Times.

I don't think it's just vitamin C, they're taking. Crazy numbers... No wonder, "In August 2006, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies released a major study on medication errors in American hospitals that found that adverse drug events harm more than 1.5 million people and kill several thousand a year, costing at least $3.5 billion annually." How could this many people be taking this many drugs WITHOUT adverse effects?
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Also "Honeybees Vanish, Leaving Keepers in Peril" - "A Cornell University study has estimated that honeybees annually pollinate more than $14 billion worth of seeds and crops in the United States, mostly fruits, vegetables and nuts. “Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honeybee to pollinate that food,” said Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation. " Somehow, I think that if bees aren't pollinating our crops, more than just the beekeepers are in trouble. So, exactly the kinds of food we should be eating more (non-processed, unrefined things that occur in nature) a) only make up 1/3 of our diet and b) are imperiled. Maybe we can genetically modify our food so it doesn't require pollination! Yay - seedless - the way nature intended!

Dr Visit : T +5

Today was a fun and excellent day. Right now Gail, Ryan and Ivo are at, what Ivo's taken to calling, "the kids' park." Yay!

First off, Ryan and I went to see Dr. Fu this morning. Burl is b/w 3600-3800 and his head diameter is 9.8cm. He's not engaged. I'm not having labor contractions or dilating - but that's ok cuz his position is good, amniotic fluid is sufficient and his heart rate and movements are strong and healthy. Yay! Yea, I would trade being 29 months pregnant for the increased likelihood of a smoother labor for Burl and me (and Ryan!). And I know you don't really get to choose in these situations, so I feel super lucky. Also, Dr Fu is so nice and supportive of what we want... (earmuffs for kids maybe, i don't know---) He's expanded his suggestions of the natural ways we can try to induce labor (twai sheng - "push labor") from just walking and climbing stairs to include, "making sex" !!! So cute. We've agreed that if Burl doesn't come by himself before next Tuesday, 6 March, we'll induce (pitocin). Both Ryan and I feel comfortable with that. So it was just a wonderful, positive visit.
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We came home to find Heather and Dylan visiting to play with Ivo and Gail. Very nice. Then Sho stopped by bearing cheesecake! That's what I'm talking about, people! Cheescake! I'd post a picture - but it's gone. Yum! Afterwards, we went over to the fried rice place by Karin's house and got some takeout for us and Rayne who came to visit. Ivo "flew" the whole way, walking and running with his arms straight out, fists clenched. He can also fly like a bird, waving his arms up and down out to his sides. He also tells anyone who'll listen, "Dung beetles eat the poop!" They just got home - Ivo's super happy - laughing and bulleting around the house!
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Ivo's gotten his hands on a copy of Happy Feet (lent by kayababa) - He loves it. It's perfect, lots of singing and dancing, swimming and penguins. He laughs uproariously during the big crowd scenes... Too much.
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For dinner Gail made an awesome tomato vegetable noodle soup - called, I think, Ambrosia. Yum Yum Yum. Now I'm eating dark chocolate after a bath and a chat with the landlady about our hot water problems. Nothing like a lukewarm bath to motivate me to follow-thru on business.
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Tomorrow is 228, a holiday here in Taiwan, commemorating one of the KMT massacres of the Taiwanese. Even though - the link is to Wikipedia - but do yr research - encyclopedia were never considered legit sources for university papers...so how much less wiki?
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I don't know if the NYTimes articles I link to are available after a week, but here's a link to the first chapter of a book called Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentations on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present. The review isn't all glowing but there's not so much out there to read about this - it's a good step - and well-enough written that I was abole to read the whole first chapter online/onscreen... As well as re-discover the important word/concept, "iatrogenic" - physician-induced illness.

Vacation is Over ( T+4days )

For Papa and most people in Taiwan, New Year Vacation has come to an end.

We'd been planning on trying to adjust Ivo's sleep schedule over the next week or two as well as get him on a more reliable schedule since he's 2 and he might appreciate a little more routine. So far, it's all working out perfectly! On Sunday, Ivo and Ryan slept til about 10:30 - and we didn't let Ivo nap at 7pm - like he wanted. He stayed up til 10:30ish, spending the last hour or so miserable... that indecisive, flighty, unpleasable kind of cranky. But he woke up happy this moring b/w 7:30 and 8am. We ate and did stuff and then got to watch the Oscars up in Grammie's room- taking play breaks throughout. Papa came home from work for a couple hours. Fun morning!

Ivo has a new set of Toy Story figures which he was happy to play with this morning. Later, he would run into Grammie's room yelling, "Dash back!" This is the 1st time he's used "back" in this way. Also, he knew Grammie had been listening for the garbage truck and he ran in screaming, "Grammie, Grammie, garbage truck coming!!!!" After all the excitement, he napped from 12-1pm, allowing us to cut all 20 of his little nails and finish watching the Oscars.

When he got up, Grammie, Ivo and I went to Papa's pizza and had sandwiches, salad and potato soup. Then we went and played at Sogo (pics) for a couple hours. He did his flying pose down the slide and while being pushed in his stroller. Very cute and funny! I showed him some fancy (expensive) bath toy stuff - but he was smart enough not even to act interested in it... C'est la vie!

We played in the park on our way back to the park, came home and I napped. We just finished dinner, Ivo's having some booby and getting sleepy - so we're gonna start to move upstairs.

More Ivo speak: he's been saying stuff is broken (often in mock panic) and also that stuff is fixed. Also, if he's not hearing what he wants from one person, he'll shout someone else's name, beseeching them to help him. He just ran outta here shouting, "Gail, Gail..." He still plays his "Oh no! Raining!" game - and is very animated and dramatic about it.

25 Feb 2007

I'm loading pics from the laptop - I can't red-eye from here - so I hope these look ok.

I guess Burl isn't gonna be born on BerTim's birthday! He's already his own man.

Grammie, Ivo and I played at Toys 'r' Us for a couple hours this afternoon. And then we met Karin at Starbucks. It's been a beautiful, warm and breezy day. We played briefly at the park and then came home for lunch. Then I took a nap - but no one else did. This is related to my being 25 months pregnant and Ryan, Ivo and I sleeping in this morning until 10:30... Grammie Gail, left to her own devices was able to turnon the gas stove and boil water for coffee. We are all impressed. She's not willing to say that this wasn't a one-time event... but we figure one success leads to another.

Ryan is out at Salut getting pizza for our dinner. Gail is playing with Ivo. We are trying to keep him up so he'll take a real sleep tonight... We've been messing with his schedule... Tomorrow, Ryan heads back to work - for what is probably our last semester in Taiwan. Yay! So he's not too sad about vacation ending.

That's all for now. I'm not in labor.

Not in Labor... I don't know

I didn't post yesterday - I was pretty busy, not giving birth, but you should taste the pineapple upside down cake I made! Yum! I'm the only one who's eaten any of it - but that's gotta be a little bit of "you snooze, you lose..." Since I ate it at 5am or so... Who remembers? I was up from 2am-7am - I had thought maybe possibly I was in the early earlies of pre-labor... I was quite nauseated - having nothing to do with heartburn... There was the cramping and tonnes of BH contractions... I know I should have slept but couldn't and now Ryan and Gail are out with Ivo and I'm gonna go back to sleep! Lucky me! Also, I don't care - At 25 months pregnant, I AM in the early earlies of pre-labor - no matter what!






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Yesterday, we all went shopping at RT Mart. I remarked to Burl that it was probably the last time we'd be there til after he's born. I bought pineapple slices in cans (yes, plural... yes yes yes). But later I realized I needed baking powder and brown sugar, so Ivo and I walked to the nearby grocery... The cake didn't get baking until dinnertime - when Kayababa and Kaia showed up. I don't know what kinda place Kayababa thinks we're running here - but he was wearing pajamas...

Anyway, it was super fun and Ivo was thrilled to see both of them.
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Pics are of the awesome fort Grammie and Ivo built - he has phones, a bed, a bamboo chair, some dinosaurs and a makeshift tea set in there. If you stop by, he might invite you in!

Pics also of the excellent remote control car (Ivo can say) Ivo picked up at RT Mart. Ivo has been wanting one just like it for over a year - I'm serious - he's seen kids using them at the park and wanted one since around the time he could walk (11 months).
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Other new and awesome Ivo things...

• he says and does a head turn like an owl
• he imitates robots walking, sea turtle swimming on his belly - limbs up, and monsters
• He says "Grampie"and "Doug" which may or may not be the same pronunciation as "duck"
• He sees pictures of Grammie and Aunt Joanne and says "Grammie de jie jie"
• Yesterday he saw an errant scrabble piece on the table (the very same scrabble piece that has cost Gail her last 2 games, by the way...) and said "Oh, N. Baby one" Now - that's amazing! Baby means small.
• He loves snails, lightning bugs, jumping spiders, stink beetles and butterflies. He can identify and say wings. We are working on antennae.
  
• He knows that if something has wings, it can fly and if it doesn't, it cannot.
• This week, he's started to say "can" vis "cannot." He asks jokey questions which he answers himself; "Can ant fly? - Nooo, ant cannot fly." Can Dash fly? - Nooo, Dash cannot fly." Formerly, he would have said "No, Dash no fly"or said "Dash fly"while shaking his head no, to mean cannot. We're sooo proud!
• Ivo woke up yesterday and said "Want watch Baby Einstein." He's never said that before. Usually he'll say "want watch rhino" or dolphin or whatever animal he's craving from his favorite shows. He still loves Toy Story 1-2, which he variously calls "Cow, Moon" "Cowboy" "Moon Man" "Astronaut"
  

Burl's Due Date - Yay!

We spent the day out and about. These pics were taken at the big park on Wen Xin - site of this year's Lantern Festival.

Then we went to ee i oo for ice cream.

Later on in the evening, Ivo and Grammie were playing matchbox cars. Gail asked him if he's been on a double decker bus. Long story short, he told her that he'd been on a bus in "Taipei" and also "Hong Kong." He's never said Taipei or Hong Kong. AND then Gail asked him if he'd taken a bus to HK - he said "a plane." We can't believe he can remember that trip in July.

T -1 til Burl is due

Yesterday we went (ALL of us) to the hospital to see Dr Fu. Last week (15th - Thurs) he had said to come in on Tues or Thurs... I wanted to go earlier than later.

Super good news! Burl isn't engaged anymore - he's "floating." I don't know why or how. Maybe I'm drinking so much that there's extra amniotic fluid and he got unstuck... Maybe it's the squatting, the walking, the worry, the attempted relaxation, the naps?... Probably Burl is a genius...

Also, Burl weighs b/w 3600-3700g. I'm not dilated and have no contractions.

I don't care - Burl can wait as long as he wants - I know he's reasonable so it won't be too long...

Ryan's supposed to start work on 2/26 but he can take time off - even if his Catholic-love-the-lord-cheap-as(s)-cheating school, where he's worked for 4 years, won't give him the legal paid paternity leave - he can still take time off. It's not a chain gang! They're not gonna fire him.

So, yesterday Ivo Karin and I went to the park (pics). In the evening, Ryan and I went to dinner by ourselves for the first time since Ivo was born (pic). The first out of the house meal we've had where we got to sit and talk and think and follow-through... Very fun! Thank you Grammie!

Note how good Gail is at not being photographed!
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I need to hurry cuz Ivo's a nutcase... Here are some things he can say as of this past week

• Andrew - Papa de didi
• Dash sad
• hey man!
• suckazz!
• fight the papa
• no wash car
• ______funny (nodding and hand over mouth)
• No funny (things he doesn't get)
  

Ivo: No bath

Ivo has eschewed baths for a couple months now. No one knows why and as with all things unpleasant, we'd hoped it was temporary - so we don't even know how long it's been.

Not how long it's been since he bathed (Thursday - it's Tuesday now). Just how long it's been since he hasn't hated it. I remember him being less interested but not in mortal panic over baths as "winter" (all 28 degrees of it) hit. I didn't worry though because he still loved baths at the babysitter's. But one day, in the car, as he realized where we were going, he told me "no aiyi" and then "no bath aiyi home." So - I mark that as the death knell of the happy bath.

He used to love baths. After dinner either Ryan or I would sit/play/bathe him for almost an hour while the other cleaned up after dinner. Ivo took so many baths, the majority didn't involve hair washing.

Now, every bath has hair washing. Poor little guy stands in the half-foot of water screaming, red-faced, looking like a wet rat, trying desperately to reason with us. "W-w-w-want towel..." "w-w-want bao bao papa..." He hates baths so much, he mentions "no bath" while just walking by the bathroom. He doesn't like to hear the water running and doesn't want other people to take baths either. No papa bath. No mama bath. No gwammie bath. When we tell him that he doesn't have to take a bath, but some of us like baths, he says, "No."
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This morning, I was up early at the computer when Ryan and Ivo came down. Ivo's having some half-wake/half-sleep booby. When I told him we're gonna change sides he nodded, eyes-closed and said, "no bath."

Pics are from 0905 and 0806.

T -3

I still can't sign into Blogger from internet explorer. I guess that's ok.

Also frustrating computer-wise is that something has happened to my licensed Nero photo editing program - so now I can't vignette or age or black and white stuff. Boo hoo. I've tried several times, different ways to reload the software and it won't work. Boo boo hoo hoo.

Last night we all went for a long walk and ate at Friday's on Ing Tsai. We were not alone. There was a half hour wait - but it was worth it. Taichung is still pretty quiet, save a few firecrackers (Ivo can say!) - Enough, but not much, is open. Including our laundry place - which I think opens on 2/22... Why does that date stand out in my mind?

Anyway, the walk was nice - Ivo and Ryan did a lot of running (pics).



















Today, Heather, Ciro and Dylan came over and played (no pics... don't know what i was/n't thinking!). Very fun. Ivo was excited for their visit and even asked "Kayababa coming too?" But alas, Kayababa is off in Miaoli doing manual labor for his inlaws. I don't think he's even allowed to make phone calls. It's sad. (pics from AJ/Sian's wedding and at our house with Ivo, both from Apr, 06)














Tonight we ate quinoa - which everyone but Ivo gobbled up - and Gail made apple crumble, which we're gonna get to eat when Ryan, Gail and Ivo get home from the park. Yay!

Baby Burl's moving kicking and hiccoughing - seems strong. I can't wait to hold him and hug him. I feel like I miss him! As of today/yesterday (depending on yr count), he's a pisces. So now we know Burl's a pisces/pig for sure. Just like my brother BerTim (pic from 2nd hand clothing store, half price day Cleveland, 0705). Yay!

Ryan has rented a bunch of Rome DVD's. Let's just say this, it's no Lost!

T -4 days, 1st day of the Red Pig Year

Bad time for Blogger to have a glitch... It may be me... I still can't sign in on internet explorer - but am in on mozilla... the keyboard is acting funny too..

I spent about an hour and then a couple subsequent attempts on my last post - all in vain... Tried again the next day... So I'm gonna keep this short.

We are still pregnant and everything is basically ok- just less than perfect. As of the doctor visit on Thursday 15 Feb, Burl weighs b/w 3200-3400, is engaged at station -2 (not sure of the proper prepositions...) and is in an occiput posterior position. My cervix is effacing but not dilating. Since Burl's head is between my pelvic bones facing my front instead of my back, the doctor assures me that this labor will be "long and painful." In case he was just sweet talking me, I've been looking online, and "long and painful" seems to be the consensus. Also "unbearable" "excruciating" and "intolerable."

During the office visit, Ryan had to lie down on the exam table to avoid fainting, had his bp taken and hot cereal brought to him. I was crying a little bit. We were a big mess. Initially the dr said there's no way for baby to turn until labor contractions start because his head is engaged... But after seeing what a mess we were, he half-heartedly suggested some squats and stair climbing. Also he gave me pitocin tablets to take home and use if and when I want to induce labor!

I was cranky, uncomfortable and feeling sorry for myself (heavy, heartburn, peeing, coughing, sleepy, headache) but this visit has helped me put that into perspective; it's gonna get much worse before it gets better! I'm seriously considering an epidural. I feel like Burl's gonna have a hard time and I can't stand it... forceps and suction and possible surgery. But I'm trying to relax and prepare and be calm... I almost know everything is gonna be alright.

I've broken out and into the magazines that Ryan bought me last week. I had packed them in my hospital bag to entertain myself after Burl's birth but I need them more now.
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We have been lucky to have Adriaan and his family and Dylan and his fam over on Thurs and Fri respectively. When Ivo saw Adriaan jumping in his red and blue suit, he said "That Super-Boy!"

Also, it's about 28C outside - sunny, hazy and gross. But the quietest day, New Years Day; no garbage collection, no deliveries of any kind... it's nice.

Ryan and Gail are in a tight scrabble tourney (Ryan's up 2 games but only by a a dozen points). We are playing trivial pursuit and scattegories too...

As par for the course, I can't make the pics move around - so I will just say, yes we still have the xmas tree up...