My voice has been gone for almost a week now. It comes and goes, but even when it comes, it’s like listening to a human being shouting through a garbage disposal. So, on Tuesday night I hit the bed early. Nola was standing next to me, playing a spirited game of peek-a-boo by throwing my [...]

Filed under: Doctor, Doctor, Firsts, Oops … | 3 Comments »

At Nola’s one-year checkup, which came three weeks early due to our delayed vaccination schedule, our pediatrician told me to start giving her whole milk in her sippy cup during the day instead of bottles. She said to start slowly - 3 ounces or so - to make sure Nola took to the cow as [...]

Filed under: 3rd Trimester, Daddy Things, Doctor, Doctor, Firsts | 7 Comments »

On Friday Constance went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a sinus infection, a secondary blow following our flu ills. After a few days of ingesting white pills, suppository-sized mucus-busters and antibiotics, she’s nearly back to 80% of her former self. Which, after two weeks of feeling like shoe mud, is a boon.
That same [...]

Filed under: Daddy Things, Doctor, Doctor, News from the Parent Front, Nola Eleanor | 5 Comments »

Up and down, like an elevator with doors that never open, my health remains a mystery. But there is no doubt that I am on the mend. Every day I feel a little bit better, even though there are stretches where I feel like I’m getting sick all over again.
Constance, however, is on day 10 [...]

Filed under: Doctor, Doctor, Husband & Wife, Nola Eleanor | 14 Comments »

It’s hard to be a good dad with a bad back. I’m afraid to pick up Nola, let alone carry her around the condo, because my pinched nerve continues to pump seizures across my lower back. Constantly.
My doctor says the offending nerve is in my hip and it is pinched so bad that I’m [...]

Filed under: Diversions, Doctor, Doctor | 5 Comments »

Anyone who has read this blog for any length of time knows that Dr. Leya, our infertility doctor leading up to IVF, is one of our favorite people on earth.
Today, while I was stuck at the office, Constance drove to Evanstan to introduce Nola to the woman who worked so hard to enable us to [...]

Filed under: Doctor, Doctor, Matthew I.V.F. Miller, Nola Eleanor | 9 Comments »

I guess there was a part of me that underestimated Constance’s strength. It’s difficult to know what a person is capable of when any possible estimation is theoretical in nature. I mean, I’ve seen her carry a heavy backpack for two miles but when it comes to pushing a child out of her vagina, I [...]

Filed under: 3rd Trimester, Doctor, Doctor, Husband & Wife, Nola Eleanor | 18 Comments »

Since we find ourselves living in a world where babies don’t come out on time, we also found ourselves back in the office of our midwives this morning. Fetal monitoring was the order of the day, two blue bands with blue nodes wrapped around Constance’s belly, and we sat in near silence for nearly an [...]

Filed under: 3rd Trimester, Baby Prep, Doctor, Doctor | 9 Comments »

Today brought us the most uneventful midwife-appointment to date. At the apex of the midwife philosophy, and ours as well, is a hands-off approach. No vaginal exams, minimal monitoring – the body is allowed to do what it does naturally without a lot of intervention. Constance only had diarrhea and sudden onset lower back pain [...]

Filed under: 3rd Trimester, Baby Prep, Doctor, Doctor | 8 Comments »

As it turns out, the delicate ecosystem we refer to as Constance’s junk has turned out to be a breeding ground for Group B strep. Once she enters active labor, she will have to have an IV bag of penicillin pumped into her veins followed by another round 4 hours later. It will not limit [...]

Filed under: 3rd Trimester, Baby Prep, Doctor, Doctor | 9 Comments »