The Heartbeat

150 beats per minute through a Doppler monitor sounds a bit like underwater techno music. whoomsh- whoomsh-whoomsh-whoomsh...

Also, the myths you hear are true. Heather did in fact crave pickles and ice cream today. Not at the same time, and the ice cream was in the form of a chocolate shake, but still... pickles and ice cream. She has been awesome through everything so far, and is glad to be celebrating her first day of the second trimester.

"Beautiful" and "Perfect"

"Beautiful" and "Perfect" are about the two best words you can hear from your sonogram technician and doctor. Heather and I were delighted and very relieved to hear these in our second appointment last week. The main point of the sonogram was to test for big problems, and Baby George passed swimmingly, growing an extra 11 mm (now at 54 mm) and developing in all the right ways. S/he was very active, kicking and making swim strokes. Here are a few pictures we got to keep:

The first looks a lot like the earlier sonogram, except that here you can better see the lobes of the brain, the face (a bit alien-like if you look the right way, but I'm going to assume it's just the sonogram), and arms.

The second is shot from the side, zoomed in, of the baby on its back. The right hand is up against the head, in very dramatic pose. S/he's either running lines for a melodrama, or pounding the forehead to finish some proof, so either way the parents are proud of their beautiful, perfect baby.

About the name...

You may be wondering what all the George/Geordi business is about. For those lucky enough to never have been subjected to "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Geordi LaForge is the chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise, played by Levar Burton. I know this because I got called Geordi a lot growing up, by Star-Trek-loving dorks.

George LaForge is what my mother's obstetrician called me before I emerged and got the name Andrew, so we thought it was only fitting to carry on the tradition. Maybe that makes this baby George LaForge, Jr... Also, when people ask, I say that the name "George" is "better than Geordi," hence the blog name. And don't worry, "George" will just be the in utero name. The real name will be a surprise when the little guy finally arrives.

One last note: "George" doesn't necessarily imply "male." The name is actually a family name in Heather's lineage, as her great-grandmother was named "George Robert" at the insistence of her father when she popped out as the fourth daughter. This undoubtedly helped foster the strong female presence in the family, which we hope to pass along if it is a girl.

The First Blog Post

Heather and I are having a baby!

For the last seven weeks it has felt a little surreal saying that, but after seeing a wiggly little person on a sonogram screen two days ago, it suddenly feels very real. And exciting. And scary, but mostly exciting.

After watching my good friend Stew update the world on his thug son Isaac's progress toward and from birth, I thought it might be worthwhile to start a blog. This way I can chronicle our little one's journey, keep friends and family informed, and vent some of my feelings without sending a million emails or resorting to interpretive dance. I have never done anything blog-like before, so please be patient with me, and in return I'll try not to get too long-winded.

Heather had her first real doctor's appointment on Wednesday. We had both been waiting for this day for weeks. Up to this point the baby had only been a test result, a collection of symptoms, and a firm lump in Heather's belly; to see legs and arms waving, torso flipping, and knees poking up was a supreme thrill. I couldn't stop laughing and commenting that it looked like a little monkey, while Heather wept tears of joy. The image of our little monkey is above (head on left, body on right, hands top and bottom, and check out the brain forming!). Sonograms have always looked like Rorschach ink blot tests to me, but when you are watching as the image on screen is shifting, you can really make out what the baby looks like. At one point s/he help up a fist; I think it was trying to give me a little fist bump ("w'sup dad?"). This was the first of what I expect to be many mind-blowing moments in the next 29 weeks --> 18+ years.