Our Little Corn on the Cobb

On the right, you'll see an updated picture of the size of our little Round 2 (or you should... my changes haven't taken place yet). The size of an ear of corn might be a little misleading. I don't think he* is as thin as an ear of corn - I'm pretty sure it's a reference to the length (which is about one foot long). Alison can feel the baby moving quite a bit, particularly when something is pressing against her tummy (such as my hand!). He also seems to be active about the time we're going to bed. I've heard stories of people being able to "tickle" and interact with the baby, so I'm hoping that at some point we'll be able to do that!

Here are some of the developments taking place in our little Round 2.

• Round 2 is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up.
• His brain is growing quickly (duh - he's going to be a genius)
• His taste buds are continuing to develop.
• His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world.
• His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

There are, of course, other things going on besides the development of the baby. I mean, Alison and I do have jobs, you know. We have other things to do besides sit around and watch Alison's tummy get bigger.

As many of you know, I've started working for our church part time. I've also been teaching English at one of the language institutes here in Bahrain. I've taught one section so far that has started and ended, and I enjoyed it. The students were beginners, and we were learning things such as "Hi, how are you." "Where is this?" or "Whose is this?" The students - all guys - were a lot of fun to work with. I start my next session in two weeks.

Alison, however, has had a bit of a roller coaster ride. Many of you have heard of H1N1, or "swine flu" as its more commonly known as. Bahrain started the year trying to get schools to close until after the Eid Break (this last week). Though they did delay opening for a few days, most schools were open at the beginning of september. After Eid started, the government has again declared that all elementary and high schools will be closed until mid-October. Of course, parents aren't happy about this because 1) their kids aren't learning and 2) their kids are at home ALL THE TIME. There has even been a facebook group created protesting the governments decision to keep the schools closed! It'll be interesting to see how long the schools will actually be closed for.

While this is bad for students and learning, it is kind of nice because it means Alison can take it a little easier. She will still go into work next week, and aparently there will be some correspondence work that she will have the students do, but it will be more relaxed than a full on teaching schedule.

Lastly, I have been growing my goatee out. It hasn't been all THAT grown out, and I'm not sure it will grow as long as I want it to. But I met a guy the other day that has the beard of my dreams. I thought I'd share.



*We still do not know for certain what gender the baby is. Doctors have split 50/50 on their answer, and Alison and I each have a different 'intution' about what the baby is (she says girl, I say boy). I hate saying a gender-neutral "it" and saying "he or she" everytime gets cumbersome. So I've decided to alternately use "he" and "she" in subsequent blog posts. It might cause confusion, but that's ok.