From bug to lentil...

Click on the ultrasound to view a larger version

We had the fourth ultrasound today, took a while to get to the practice because of some bad weather, it's cold and snowy, a bunch of accidents along the highway. We got in a bit late but didn't have to wait long.

The baby is about 1.3 cm (hard to tell in another pic they had it at 1.7cm) which is about the size of a lentil bean. Here are the latest ultrasounds with a heartbeat. It was cool because you could see a head and i think even the bump of a nose forming!

We're headed off to see Mindy & Tom Blossom in San Francisco this weekend, going to attend her baby shower and just have a good time visiting. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Out and about

Well Maggie is pretty much past her cold, eating Carr's water crackers first thing when she wakes up has really helped with her morning nausea. I'm feeling pretty good following a small procedure to remove a patch of skin near my right temple that tested positive for basal cell cancer (it has a 99% cure rate), a reminder to all of us out there with fair skin, WEAR YOUR SUN SCREEN!

Maggie wanted to get out and about, she's spent too much time at home lately being sick and with morning sickness so we went out and did some shopping. Got a heated water dispenser for the chickens since it will be getting down to 5 degrees at night in the next few days, trying a new dog food for Clementine (she's gotten a bit finicky lately), and just enjoying being out together. We also got out for a walk around the neighborhood. A nice quiet day.

At Petco we spotted a pretty amazing truck, i'll let the pictures speak for themselves but this guy was a true artist. Maggie thought the dog in the truck seemed a bit embarrassed about being spotted in such a gaudy vehicle, but it was a sweet ride!

A heartbeat!

So far every day of the pregnancy seems to bring new challenges, for example, the last few days Maggie has been sick with a bad cold, so we researched what over the counter medications are safe to use while pregnant. It's been a flurry of doctor's visits, injections, medications, naps, and lots of checking on the internet for reassurance.

Well today was a real milestone, during this the third ultrasound (day 36) the doctor turned on the fetal monitor and we heard a strong, steady heartbeat! Completely amazing stuff. If you click on the sonogram above you can see the full size picture with the heartbeat shown.


The second sonogram shows how the fetus is growing. The bug is now about 0.5 cm in size and the egg sac is at least about 2-3 cm. Everything looks good, the doctor is taking Maggie off of the progesterone injections which should give her a nice break from the needles.

Changua to make it all better

Maggie's come down with a cold. Coughing, sneezing, runny nose and a not so good tummy to boot. So i fixed her my version of "changua", kind of like Colombian matzah ball soup. Here's the recipe for anyone wanting to give it a try:

Ingredients
1 package of Lipton Chicken Noodle soup
1 egg
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 1/2 cups of water
some diced onion
teaspoon of cilantro

In a medium saucepan heat up the diced onion, cilantro, water and milk till it boils.
While you're waiting crack an egg into a small bowl, make sure the yolk is intact.
Once the liquid has boiled stir in the contents of the dry soup mix, and gently slide the egg into the pan so it can poach.
Reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Serve in a bowl with a nice piece of crusty bread, you'll [like her] be feeling better in no time!

New years eve

We celebrated new year's eve at my brother's house in White Plains, NY. They put on quite a spread with shrimp, mini steak sandwiches (my favorite), a great lasagna, and lots of other good stuff. Sue's family (my sister in law) was there as well as some friends from the neighborhood. It was lots of fun, we managed to stay up till midnight (quite a feat), and usher in the new year with family.

Maggie and I wish all of you a wonderful new year, here's hoping its a great one for us all.

Bug take two

We had the second ultrasound this morning, everything looked good, the egg sac is about twice as large and you can see the developing fetus in the upper corner of the egg sac. They measured it at about 2cm, which is about as big as a sesame seed at this point (compared to a poppy seed last time).

Maggie's appetite has increased and she's sleeping more, it's hard work building a baby!

First visit to the local dog park

We just got a new dog park in the area, the Middle Island Dog Park. Maggie went to the town clerk to get our hounds legal, and they were all issued a "pooch pass".

With pooch passes in our eager little paws we got to try out the new park this past Tuesday. It was a cold, clear day which kept away all but the hardiest of souls, but we did manage to make friends with a Newfoundland, a couple of German Shepherd mixes, and a couple of smaller dogs.

They split the park into a large/medium sized section and a small dog section. Maggie took our Shih tzu into the smaller dog park and I took the two labs into the other. Of course Sunny, the older lab, spent most of her time by the fence trying to be near Maggie, and Clementine, the Shih
tzu, spent most of her time running along the fence trying to be near me. It was nice meeting the other dog owners and we'll try to get out there on a more regular basis.