You should have seen the other guy...

The occupational hazard that is commuting 55 miles caught up to me. While driving to work at 7:55 AM on Thursday March 22 I came upon a sudden slowdown in traffic. As mentioned in an earlier post, this is a daily occurrence in Livermore but I still felt it sudden enough to check on the car behind me. I decided not to turn on the hazard lights because they were slowing down. Unfortunately the car(s) behind that car did not get the message and came plowing in once we were stopped.

The detail of the accident are not clear, there were either 5 cars involved in the collision, or 4 and the truck just hid from view the traffic the final car was surprised by. Either way the impact was enough to push me into the car in front. There was no damage to the car in front, but my car was written off as a total loss when the estimate to fix was over $6k. The rear quarter panel needed to be replaced, the trunk mechanism was all busted up, and the frame was bent as well.



Nobody was seriously injured though my neck and back were sore for a week or so after. The last car in our lineup had the airbag deployed, windshield broken, and was pretty smashed up overall. The Volvo in between also lost their bumper to the side of the road and had some significant damage.

Latest Belly Pictures

Yeah, I know - I'm getting HUGE! This brings us to 31 weeks!

Shrek appears on American Idol...

For the record, May 18 -- not June! In case you missed it, here's the video:

Prenatal Appointment - April 19

All is still well with Nugget. It's really annoying to have to go to the midwife every two weeks now, especially since everything is going so smoothly and there's no new information.

Our midwife estimates that Nugget is about 3 lbs right now (which is right on track). Plus, Nugget is head down, which is good.

In other pregnancy related news, I discovered that my heartburn was linked to lemonade and that my couch and drivers seat in my car are causing middle back pain. I seem to have an insatiable appetite for sweets too. And my sushi craving is pretty much constant - I can't wait to give birth so I can bite into some yummy yellowfin nigiri!

It's not too much longer now though!

Snopes is sinister

From my favorite comic xkcd:



but seriously, don't send us forwards.

The future of text messaging...

Work can be amusing at times.

Zazzle and Dreamworks BFF

Nugget's Tour of the Birth Center

Today we visited the place where, barring any traffic delays coinciding with a fast labor, Nugget will be born and get a real name! My mom went through the first twinge of labor to holding me in her arms in 4 hours flat - so it's possible given my genes that I could give birth in the car on the way.

The birth center is in the Alta Bates Summit Hospital in Berkeley. I've mentioned my apprehension about hospitals, and this still isn't my ideal (after all, birthing at home with a portable hospital parked in my driveway just isn't realistic - and we're just too far from a hospital if anything were to go wrong), BUT I am comfortable with our decision now that I've seen the birth center and heard their philosophy and policies about birthing.

They seem to share the general philosophy of our midwife, which is no unnecessary interventions, and to always try the least invasive, most natural interventions first if they become necessary. For example, IV's are NOT routinely given to healthy laboring mothers if not having an epidural or IV drugs. Episiotomies are also NOT routine. The labor/delivery rooms are all private, and they have a rooftop garden in which to wander around while laboring, tubs for laboring in particular rooms (and either showers or regular tubs in the other rooms), and are amenable to what seems like many different labor and delivery positions, including squatting with the squatting bar - which is supposed to be best for opening the pelvis and minimizing tearing. I was VERY happy to hear about the squatting bar since we learned about this method in birthing class and it seems to make the most sense, given gravity and positioning of the baby.

I am allowed to have up to 4 visitors/support people in the labor/delivery room, including the time of birth, and unlimited visitors after birth. And if we already had children, they would be allowed to watch the birth as well, provided they had their own support person to look after them.

I was also happy to hear that they had no restrictions regarding videotape, since we plan on buying a tripod for our video camera in order to catch the whole thing on tape. Don't worry, no one will be required to watch it - including Nugget's future significant others or anybody that would be equally embarrassed by it (i.e. Sully). I'd just really like to see myself birth a baby from another angle when I'm not experiencing the pain.

So, overall, I'm very pleased with our decision and feel MUCH better now that we've seen the place. Now here's to actually getting there before the baby comes (i.e. Berkeley is about 45 minutes from our house when there's no traffic)!

Other highlights include the Whole Foods grocery store across the street and Barney's and Zachary's, considered the best burgers and pizza in the bay area respectively, only a couple blocks away.

Breast is Best! (Why we're Breastfeeding)

I figured since I was all excited about my breast pump that I should explain why my choice is to breastfeed.

First, it's the best food for babies. Numerous studies have shown that there are compounds in breastmilk that can't be synthetically created in formula. So much development occurs in the baby's first year, that I want to give the baby the best start I can - some of the compounds in breastmilk are linked with increased cognitive function. The other components of breastmilk that are really important are my antibodies that I give to the baby. With my seasonal allergies and history of asthma, giving my baby breastmilk can help little Nugget maybe avoid some of those allergies. Granted it's not certain that it will do anything - I was breastfed and I still have allergies and asthma, although they didn't show up until I was 11 or 12. But it's worth a shot!
I'm not going to say that formula is evil or anything, it's certainly a good thing for adopted children and for those children whose mothers can't physically breastfeed, and we have made excellent advanced in formula that make it closer than in years past, but if you pit breastmilk against formula, breastmilk will win by a landslide.

Second, breasts are smart - they read signals from the baby's saliva and create milk that has the exact balance of nutrients and fat, in the exact amount that baby needs. I would like my boobs to live up to their intelligent potential instead of just being body ornaments.

Third, the action of suckling on a breast promotes good jaw strength and development. There is no bottle on the market that does this, despite their claims to be "like the breast".

Fourth, breastfeeding encourages my uterus to contract back to it's dormant-state size (and can reduce the risk of post-birth hemmorage if done immediately), and some women find that breastfeeding helps with taking off any extra pounds that came with pregnancy. I have a matron-of-honor gown to wear just over a month postpartum - so I'll take the benefits to me as well.

Fifth, not only does it promote attachment and bonding with baby, but breastfeeding also releases oxytocin in the mother, which has calming properties in addition to creating the neurochemical balance needed to stimulate caring behavior and bonding. Oxytocin has also been implicated in the post-natural birth euphoria experienced by mothers.

Sixth, It'll keep my boobs bigger for longer, which will help my waist look smaller as I'm loosing baby weight and toning my tummy again (yeah, I know they're still small - but every little gain in size counts!)

Seventh, on average exclusively breastfed babies diapers don't smell AS raunchy as formula fed babies - they're no picnic either, but it's not AS bad. This all goes out the window the second cereal is added though.

Eight, you can feed wherever you are without needing powders, water, can openers or anything - you can just whip out a boob and baby is fed (this also means less dishes when you're not pumping). I really did need a viable excuse just to post the phrase "whip out a boob" on the internet.

Plus, I think that it's really neat and I'd like to experience all the neat things that my body can do. I know it won't be easy (after all if it were, formula companies would go broke - there aren't statistically enough women who adopt or who physically can't breastfeed to keep them afloat all alone), but I think it's well worth the sacrifice - even if it means that I'll have to keep my wine tasting to a minimum when we go to Napa Valley!

Breast Pump

My breast pump arrived via FedEx today! Thanks Mom, Amy, & Gramma Ho! Ho! I got a Medela double electric pump (it's called the Advanced In-Style Backpack pump), which has fantastic reviews and NICU RN Mom says is the best brand. At some point I'll have to figure out how all the tubes and bottles and cones go together, but for now, at least I have it, so I'm ready when Nugget arrives and I start lactating. I plan on exclusively breastfeeding off the breast at first, and pumping to amass a supply of what Lance once referred to as "breastmilk freezer pops", so we can have a babysitter from time to time or go winetasting. Also thanks to Stef and Koos for sending us the bottle kit to use with the pump! We'll definitely be using the whole set of them!

The pump will also be a necessity when I go back to work in September and Nugget will be in daycare for half the day. I would really like to exclusively breastfeed Nugget until he/she is interested in other foods (usually recommended around 6 mos.) and continue breastfeeding at least until Nugget is a year old, at which point I'll continue until he/she weans him/herself. Having the pump will help to ensure that I can do that and bring home the bacon!

Plus I'll get to fulfill my lifelong desire to understand the experience of a dairy cow. :P

Prenatal Appointment April 5, 2007

I like to try and keep you all updated on the health and well being of Nugget and myself. Be reassured that all is going well and everything is right on track.

Earlier in the week I had to get some routine blood work done and at my appointment we found out that everything is looking good. And for the first time in my memory, including my first round of pregnancy-related blood work, I didn't pass out. Perhaps the extra blood volume in pregnancy is good for me.

I was tested for anemia and I'm not anemic.

She also had the glucose challenge test (this is the one where you have to drink the stuff that everyone says is awful but just tasted like 7up to me, and then get your blood tested an hour later), and there is no sign of diabetes. Also, for added information, my Mom tested my glucose with my Gramma Ho! Ho!'s glucometer at my sister's shower last weekend and my sugar levels 2 hours after eating are right at the normal level too.

My midwife said that all of my numbers looked great.

And finally, since my blood type is A- and Lance is B+, I had to be retested for Rh Antibodies again. Everything checked out and so she gave me the Anti-Rh Antibody injection at my visit.

Nugget's heartbeat sounded good and was head down at my appointment - which is a good sign even though he/she doesn't have to be head down quite yet at this point.

So both Nugget and myself are healthy and right on track for 29 weeks and we're starting to see the midwife every two weeks now, which is normal once hitting 30 weeks.

Also, new in Nugget's repertoire of behavior is kicking me in the ribs and stretching his/her little foot into my rib cage. At least I'm still sleeping through the night for now!

Staying in touch...

While I'm sure most of you go to the website twice a day, we'd like to make it even easier for the rest of you to keep up with what's going on as we near d-day. To that end, you have two options:

1. Subscribe to the RSS feeds. I will just refer you to Koos's instructions rather then repeat them here. Just substitute delanceyfamily for salmagundis in the description. Read the instructions here.

2. I have setup an email mailing list that will receive every post. You don't need a gmail account but you will need a google account to subscribe. Just go to the google group and we'll approve you.

New Belly Shots

The most recent belly shots have been posted. Just click on the bellies to get to the clothed and bare-belly albums.

We're on Week 29 now!

Amy & Luke's Bridal Shower

On April Fool's Day, my sister, Amy and her fiance, Luke had their Bridal Shower and I was able to attend - it coincided with my conference trip, so I sort of got to hit two birds with one stone.

Anyway, Luke and Amy had fun at this couple's shower, and I had a great time getting to see my family again this year. I was really glad I was able to come!

It also gave a number of people the opportunity to feel Nugget's kick-boxing - even though Nugget is not one to perform on command!

Just click on Amy's face for more pictures from the event!

Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD) Conference

Some of you might wonder what goes on at a professional conference while many of you might have an idea since you've been to conferences in your own fields. Either way, I figured that I'd talk about what my conferences are like in case you're curious.

As an academic, part of my job is to stay abreast of new research and techniques being used in my field and also to be engaged in my own "cutting edge" research. Most of the time one can keep up reasonably by reading the recent research reports, but even then, some articles take well over a year to be printed. And before they're accepted, there's probably a year or two between when the data was actually collected and the article is even accepted to a journal. So, that's really where conferences come in - you get a slightly quicker turn around time on acceptance AND unlike journal articles, you can present pieces of research that are in progress, and you can submit preliminary data in liu of having your complete data set. So by the time the conference rolls around, those people who had preliminary data accepted are going to be presenting their full data, sometimes only a month (or a few days) after data collection is finished! So you really do get to see what people in the field are working on at the moment - and you get to talk to them one-on-one at poster sessions (which are condensed presentations of studies that are literally in the form of a big poster put up on a tack board) or ask questions at paper symposium talks where they verbally present their research (usually using powerpoint as a visual aid). The only drawback of conferences, or at least in the case of SRCD, is that it's HUGE and you can't possibly hit everything you want to, and a full day of information can lead to quite a case of sensory overload (particularly just walking into a huge room filled with over 200 posters!).

This year I didn't present anything - since I pretty much exhausted my dissertation data between my conferences in Louisville and Melbourne last year and don't have data yet for the project I'm working on now.

As it's name suggests, the Society for Research on Child Development Conference, has a really broad focus on the many different facets of Child Development and Developmental Psychology. I tend to try to find the sessions that focus on Emotional Development and Gender Stereotyping in Children, but this year I also was drawn to a lot of the infant research and parenting socialization research as well (surprise, surprise!).

Also, I was lucky enough to be able to attend this year's Teaching Institute on Developmental Science, which was a fabulous experience. The Teaching Institute was actually a special pre-conference which focused on how to teach development to both undergrads and graduate students. Being new to the teaching game, I was incredibly excited about all the information that was presented. Now I just need to find the time to implement all these fantastic ideas!

So, all in all, I learned a ton at this conference, even though my brain was all cloudy from the cold I had!

Cheryl & Nugget's Trip to Boston

Most of the reason that I wanted to go to the SRCD conference was really to get a partially subsidized trip to Boston, which was conveniently the location of the biennial conference this year. My evil plan might have worked better if a.) I didn't end up with a nasty cold and had more energy to actually get off my butt and call more of you Bostonians that I wanted to see and b.) if the conference wasn't so darn intellectually engaging and c.) if my department wasn't trying to recruit a new faculty member. But I was happy that I got to see some of you when I was there!

A special thanks to Sully for letting me crash at his place, picking me up at 7am at the airport, and dropping me off at the airport during half-time of a basketball game, not to mention providing a door-to-door morning shuttle service to the conference, etc..

Nugget would also like to say thank you for his/her new kickin' footwear!

Coming back to Boston really showed me how much I miss you guys though, and while I don't miss the cold at all (55 degrees is NOT shorts weather Sully!!), I really do miss Boston too! In fact, I even got Nugget a Red Sox onesie so Nugget will learn how cool Boston is too. However, don't get too excited - Lance has made it clear that the little one won't be sporting any Patriots attire.

Nugget's Last Prenatal Flight

Nugget has flown across the country a total of 6 times, and has been on a total of 12 airplanes to do so. Pretty impressive for someone who hasn't even been born yet!

This last trip to Boston and Buffalo was Nugget's last airplane ride as a fetus though, just because a.) I'm in my third trimester now and there's something magical about that milestone that equals not flying. I think it probably has something to do with the airlines not wanting babies prematurely born at 30,000 feet! Although how cool would "somewhere over Cheyenne, Wyoming" look on a birth certificate?
and
b.) I don't really have anywhere else I HAVE to go before Nugget appears on the scene and it's tiring to travel.
and
c.) While my midwife had no qualms about me flying at 28-29 weeks, I wouldn't expect her to be thrilled about me flitting about the country any more from now on!

But as far as flying is concerned, Nugget seems to be mostly unaffected by it. For his/her first flights, he/she wasn't strong enough to have me feel any movements, but for this last one, Nugget was as active as ever. In fact, Nugget was particularly active during decent and landing. Whether that indicated enjoyment or discomfort is indistinguishable, I think that moving around a normal amount is an indicator of "goodness", so that's what I'm sticking with.

Now if only my flights didn't include such characters as "Seat back gripping turbulance freakout woman", "Incessantly Snoring Man", and "I've eaten a stock-pot full of beans Man", I would say that flying pregnant hasn't been too bad.

This could've been worse had I not had aisle seats so that I could get up and stretch my legs (and use the toilet!), but overall travelling pregnant is really not bad at all.

And the media/marketing frenzy begins...

Am I really a geekatron?

Okay, this is completely off topic, but ... if you are wondering where all the stylish and adorable lads and ladies are—they’re at DreamWorks! I couldn’t believe how many cute, geeky, quirker bees I saw floating down the halls and around every corner. Seriously, I was in pain. By the end of the day, I couldn’t bear to see one more tousled-haired, black-framed, well-shoed geekatron.

Actually her write-up is entertaining and insightful if you are interested in some of the inner-workings:
IESB's Shrektacular Day at DreamWorks!.

Stop Kicking my Bladder!

Okay, so I've played the role of the pregnant woman that everyone loves to hate, because well, this pregnancy has been really really nice to me.

All my weight gain has been adding onto the "basketball also known as nugget", I haven't had a drop of nausea, I've been able to stay active and move around pretty comfortably, and since my second trimester started, I've been sleeping through the whole night about 95% of the time, AND I really have yet to have a negative mood swing (I've been in a really good mood most of the time). So without the requisite pregnancy scatterbrainedness and the fact that I crave yellow tail sashimi, which I can't have, it's been really easy.

But as my third trimester is kicking into high gear, I figured I'd share some of the not-so-fun things that have been happening too.

First, as the post title might have indicated, Nugget seems to like to kick and punch my bladder. This has led to some interesting teaching methods on my part, since Nugget has a penchant for doing this right in the middle of my lecturing, and I have to quickly think of some question for my students to discuss in groups for five minutes, while I take a potty break. Half the time, they don't even realize that these breakout sessions weren't "planned", which is good. Luckily, there hasn't been any Nugget Kickboxing-related leakage (or any leakage of any kind). I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Also, my lower back and lower rib cage are sore. I'm carrying the baby really high, so my ribs are way separated and I think all my organs are competing for space. At the end of the day, these aches and pains get worse, and when I wake up, they're generally better. And my back just gets tired of holding my "basketball" up.

And I have a touch of heartburn on occasion.

So, these things still aren't BAD, but I thought some of you might appreciate that I don't have a totally symptom free pregnancy!

So-called "child psychologists"...

The THE ETIOLOGY & TREATMENT OF CHILDHOOD was written by Jordan Smoller and published in a book called Oral Sadism and the Vegetarian Personality.

Childhood is a syndrome which has only recently begun to receive serious attention from clinicians. The syndrome itself, however, is not at all recent. As early as the 8th century, the Persian historian Kidnom made references to "short, noisy creatures," who may well have been what we now call "children." The treatment of children, however, was unknown until this century, when so-called "child psychologists" and "child psychiatrists" became common. Despite this history of clinical neglect, it has been estimated that well over half of all Americans alive today have experienced childhood directly (Suess, 1983). In fact, the actual numbers are probably much higher, since these data are based on self-reports which may be subject to social desirability biases and retrospective distortion.

Under Construction...

My commute sucks, and that's only if I travel at off-peak hours. Fortunately, help is on the way:

After legislative leaders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger demanded that the list be changed to favor congestion projects, and more of them, the staff put out a new list Monday with $1.1 billion in Bay Area projects. (http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/ci_5329443)

Here's another amusing tidbit:

Transportation officials' carefully organized media event Friday to celebrate progress in highway construction turned into a live demonstration of just how unhappy life is for commuters on Interstate 580.

Caltrans Director Will Kempton, California Transportation Commissioner James Ghielmetti and Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty were to update the media at 2 p.m. under an awning set up next to the eastbound lanes of the interstate, a short distance east of the El Charro Road interchange.

Haggerty, however, didn't get there until close to 3 p.m. after leaving Oakland at 1:45 thanks to the very traffic bottleneck that was to frame the event.

"There is no reason that any taxpaying citizen should have to go though this traffic," Haggerty said to a reporter who had made the same enervating journey with similar results. "Just getting from the 580-680 interchange to here has totally drained me for the rest of the evening."

Haggerty said he could not blame passing motorists who saw the assembly of transportation officials for flipping them "the one-fingered salute." (http://origin.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_5406547)