Connor discovers the mirror in his pack'n play

Christmas Morning

Connor opens his 1st toy on Christmas Eve

Connor and Santa Claus 2009

Connor's Rainforest Jumperoo

Connor 6 mo - eating oatmeal cereal

Connor's Activity Gym

Connor's Bath

Here's a video of Connor's second bath at home. It comes with a little surprise at the end.

Connor Coming Home

We shot this video when we came home with Connor.

Connor Test Video

I hope this works.

Catch-Up Post

It's funny how things work out. When Tanja was unable to feel Connor moving inside her, she was scheduled for monitoring twice a week. Several weeks went by and Connor seemed to be doing great. On May 7th, I accompanied her to the monitoring. We were excited because they were going to do an ultrasound that day. The monitoring went great, Connor was moving and Tanja felt fine. During the ultrasound, things took a dark turn. The nurse said her water was low -- amniotic fluid. Her OB/GYN came in and confirmed it. He scheduled her for a dopler Ultrasound at 4:00 pm that day. We went downstairs to radiology and got in almost immediately. Once the ultrasound was over, we were told to meet in the doctor's office. After some time, he entered the room and said that her water was low and that Connor was undersized for his age. He suspected a problem with her placenta. He said they should induce labor. Tanja asked if it would be sometime the following week. He said they should induce right now.

So Tanja was admitted to Labor and Delivery that afternoon. They had to wait to induce because one nurse thought Connor's heart rate dipped once. Tanja is pretty sure that the nurse lost Connor's heartbeat and got hers instead. In fact, the heart rate the nurse got exactly matched Tanja's. They considered a C-section, but Connor's heart seemed to be OK. They induced later that night. At 1:30 am, her water broke. By 3:00 am, painful contractions had begun. I was sleeping at home taking care of our dog and cat (I left her at about midnight). She called at 5:00 and told me to take my time, shower, let the dog out, and then get there because this was going to be the day.

I arrived at about 6:30. At about 7:15, we placed bets on when it would happen. I said 4:00 pm, she said 10:00 am. But the nurse said it would happen a lot sooner. She was right. At 7:55 am, the doctor told her to push. Connor was born at 8:04. I got to cut the cord, then Connor was whisked to the incubator where a neonatal team, including a neonatal pediatrician, was waiting. Though six weeks early and only 3 pounds, 9 ounces, Connor cried and cried and cried. His lungs were great and he required no ventilation.

He was moved to the neonatal ICU or NICU, his home since he was born. Tonight, we got word he might be coming home sometime this weekend. I'll update more on this later.

Easter Sunday

We had a very scary Easter Sunday. Tanja was unable to feel Connor moving last night and also this morning. So she called the Kaiser Advice Nurse and was instructed to come into the new Women's Health Center ASAP. When we got there, they hooked her up to monitors for both her heartbeat and Connor's. Fortunately, Connor had a good, strong heartbeat. Tanja's first blood pressure check was a little high, so they decided to watch for a while. In the meantime, though she couldn't feel Connor's movements, he was very active. We could both hear his movements through his monitor and see them through an ultrasound. This should have been it for the day. And after her blood tests came back negative for pre-clampsia (I know I didn't spell that right!), we thought we were going home. But they noticed something in Connor's heart rate. At one point, his heart rate decelerated. So they ordered a test where they had to induce contractions to test the strength of the placenta. After several cramps, Connor's heartbeat only dipped once (a failure of the test is to dip half the time). It was still very scary, especially with my wife being high risk because of her age. But, we were allowed to go home and she will be monitored twice a week for a while. An easy pregnancy (sans her bad back) had its first hic-up.

Hic-Ups

I still haven't been able to feel Connor moving within my wife's belly, but I did get a surprise early one morning. My wife excitedly awoke me and grabbed my hand and held it to her belly. "He has the hic-ups!" she said. I cleared the early morning fog from my head and concentrated on what my hand was sensing. There was a definite rhythmic pulse emanating from within my wife. I couldn't believe it. The ultrasound images, the sound of his heartbeat -- all of it had become animated into life. I was excited, but also a little scared. Is it a bad sign for an unborn baby to have hic-ups? Or is it natural? As it turns out, it is quite natural, but still a little unsettling. If he can hic-up, can he cough?


Hmmm...Not sure about that one. I do look forward to being able to feel him move. My wife reports that she has felt him move a few times from the outside, and I've tried, but it's like trying to catch lightening.

This weekend we are having a 3D ultrasound. I'll post images as soon as we get them.

Kicking and Screaming

My wife has begun to feel movement on a regular basis. Though these movements can not be felt from the outside yet, I hope they will be soon. One complaint she has is that Connor is resting on her bladder quite often, which makes her have to go to the bathroom. Sometimes, she barely makes it. In fact, she has considered bringing an extra set of clothes to her office just in case.

She is 25 weeks pregnant now and we are more than half way to her due date. We will likely have a 3D ultrasound performed during week 28. The images deliver a clear view of the baby. When I was born, my first picture was right after birth; my little ink footprint accompanied the birth certificate as well. Connor, however, already has quite a photo album underway. We have images of him when he was nothing but a tiny mass of pulsating cells, images of him during the Amniocentesis, images during the last series of ultrasounds (posted below), and we will have remarkably clear 3D images of him with just 12 weeks to go until his big entry into the world.

Measurement Monday

On Monday, we had our first good look at Connor through ultrasound. The nurse took images of his feet (photo above), arms, head, spine, and femur. The images were used to take measurements that helped recalculate the due date. Our due date moved from June 14th to June 18th. All of the measurements that were taken were in the normal range, so it appears as though we will have a healthy baby boy.

One unique thing that occurred during the ultrasound was Connor's movements. He was kicking and swaying a little, but the nurse couldn't get a good image of his spine. Connor just wasn't cooperating. Tanja tried to talk him into moving, but he didn't do much. The nurse asked me to talk to Tanja's belly and see if I could get him to move. I felt a little strange, but I told Conner through my wife's belly that he had to roll over or turn so we could take his picture. He turned just enough so that the nurse could get a shot of his spine. That was amazing.

Moving Moments...

The last few nights my wife thinks she has felt Connor swimming around. She says the movements are almost like a squirming, squishy feeling in her tummy. My first thought was, I've felt that before and it wasn't a baby. But she assured me this was different and I was immediately excited and intrigued. Could I feel it? No, not yet. Apparently, it will take a few more weeks before Connor's movements can be felt from outside my wife's growing belly.

Easy Pregnancy?

When we first found out we were going to have a baby, I immediately worried about how difficult the pregnancy might be on my wife. She gets car sick fairly easy and I thought she'd spend the first few months of pregnancy upchucking all over the place. But, funny thing, she really hasn't dealt with morning sickness. At most, she is very picky about what she eats -- and gets nauseous when I cook something her new taste buds don't approve.

What has troubled my wife is a ruptured disc in her back. Because she is pregnant, they can't take x-rays or an MRI, so the exact disc and its condition are unknown, except the intense pain. I worry how that will feel once she is 6-7 months pregnant. Hopefully, as the baby is more developed, they can take an x-ray and give her the treatment she needs. Right now, her chiropractor is keeping her walking.

So while she has been given a pass on one of the most notorious symptoms pregnant women have to endure, nature through her another curve ball. Connor will grow up owing his mom big-time.

How Many Weeks Pregnant is She?

The way this is calculated still baffles me. My wife and I know the conception date of our unborn son. It was September 20th, which equates to about 16 weeks. But her official term of pregnancy is 18 weeks. Why the discrepancy? They calculate how far along a woman is in her pregnancy according to the date of her last period before getting pregnant. I understand that not everyone knows the conception date -- especially those in their 20s or 30s -- but I would think that if you have a firm date of conception, they would throw out their calculation and accept ours. I guess that's not how it works. So, our due date of June 14 is more likely June 28 -- unless the little tike arrives early.

In the Womb

My wife and I are expecting our first child. She is 44 and I am 43, so we feared the possibility of a chromosomal abnormality. But we got the results of the amniocentesis today and everything was normal.

I decided to start this blog because now it seems real; we are going to have a baby, a baby boy to be more specific. His name will be Connor Dorwin, hence the title of this blog. I'll post updates on the pregnancy, discuss what I have learned thus far in this reproductive process, and will at times look ahead to the future, when I will finally meet my son.