We've decided to give the nickname of our second child Tiny Tiny (Eva's womb nick-name was Round 2). We have lots of nicknames for Eva that we toss around. Chunkus is probably the most common one, but Tiny (or little tiny or baby tiny or ____ tiny) is another common one. However, Eva is not the tiniest any more. This has become even more apparent as more babies are being born at church and she now looks enormous, particularly compared to our friends Ross and Emily's newborn, Laila. So we have now nicknamed the second one Tiny Tiny.
Other than that, there really isn't a whole lot to say. As you can see on the counter just to the right, Alison is about 23 weeks along (you'll need to go to the blog to see the pregnancy widget). To be honest, I haven't kept that close attention. Or at least not like I did with Eva. With Eva, I followed the week-by-week part vigorously. I was up-to-date with the development and how things were moving along. I usually knew how many weeks and often how many days Alison was along in the pregnancy. Not any more. I (and Alison as well!) have to check my blog to see how far along Alison is.
In a couple weeks, we have big scan of some sort. I think its the one that COULD be 3D if you're willing to pay for it. We, however, are quite happy with a few extra dinars and a 2D picture of our child. I'll post that picture when we get it.
your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment.
If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in.
Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.
Look to the right --------------> and you can see the latest development of our child. This is actually good for me because I can see how far along Alison is. With the second one, I'm following it a little less closely. Its hard for it to be too real before the baby starts kicking. This way I know what to say when someone asks, "How far along is Alison?"
In case you are wondering, Alison is currently... ... 14 weeks along. That means little buddy is about the size of a ...<checking website>... an apple.
It is important to note that yesterday (Monday, Dec 20th) began "the window". The Window is the space in time that the baby COULD come, which is up to 3 weeks before the due date and 2 weeks after. Most women have their first baby AFTER the due date, so we aren't on our way to the hospital just yet, but we ARE ready to bolt when the time comes.
Alison and I have been very appreciative of the community we have here in Bahrain through our church, Saar Fellowship. We have been particularly thankful for that the last few days as some friends have offered their support in very specific ways.
On Saturday, we went to some friends' house for lunch. They have three children of their own, and the wife has observed and/or been a part of quite a few births here in Bahrain. It was great to hear their stories, hear what was useful and what wasn't, things we can expect from the hospital here in Bahrain and just be encouraged. She even offered for us to call her whenever we wanted to, particularly when the baby starts to make its way out! She was very gracious - and we forewarned her that we will probably take her up on that offer, and it will probably be at 3am. While I felt very calm about the whole thing, the fact that we were talking about all these things over some salmon and squash helped. I dare say we will be a little less calm once the baby actually comes!
In general, we have been very blessed with the examples we have around us of good, Godly parents. We have friends who have children in all sorts of stages of life from newborns up to early teens that provide us examples of what we might want our family to look like in 2 years, 5 years or even 13 years. Even though we are far away from family, we are surrounded by people who will be able to help guide us through the maze of parenting.
However, we also were also given a night away by some OTHER friends! We stayed the night at a five star hotel and had a wonderful evening together. Here are some of the highlights.
Fantastic steak dinner at the island's best kept secret: Jim's Restaurant (secret from us, anyway). If you have a coupon for buy one get one free, it is totally worth it.
cable TV! We don't get any channels on our tv, so it was nice to watch The John Stewart Show, The Colbert Report, and The Office
I was able to watch little NFL football, live (the game was REALLY good, too)
A nice gym on site to do a little pre-dinner exercise. A woman even came in to check out Alison. I think she wasn't convinced Alison should be allowed to exercise while pregnant.
If you are thinking of spending time with Alison and I and our baby once Round 2 comes (however little that may be), this will be an important blog for you to read.
One of the things I enjoy doing is downloading podcasts from Talk of the Nation, an NPR news show on in the afternoons (US time). Its fantastic because I can stick them on my ipod and listen to them throughout the week and keep up on all the drivel that's happening back in the US. Today, the topic of the show I listened to was on baby development. That is, how do parents make their babies smarter (apparently disney is refunding people who bought the Baby Einstien videos). In the course of the show, various parents called in singing praises about their own child's intelligence, and the show's host and guests were very careful not to say anything that would suggest the callers child was in any way 'average' or 'below average'.
Lets switch gears, but this will all tie in beautifully in the end.
I found a website this last year called "Stuff White People Like" (SWPL)- a blog written by someone who wants to articulate exactly what it is that white people, like myself, like. The commentary is biting and hilarious at the same time, often making observations that, while absurd, are oh-so-true. For instance, sea salt:
Regardless of how much a white person cooks or how long they have lived in their current home, they all have a tube of sea salt in their pantry. In fact, it’s one of the few foodstuffs that white people will actually bring with them when they move. This is because sea salt is expensive and while white people have money, they didn’t get that way by throwing away $7 packages of salt.
When white people think about regular salt, all they can think about sodium and poor health. When they think about Sea Salt they think about France. So it’s no surprise that it has become so popular.
Now, I'm no chef, but the whole idea of sea salt does seem a little over the top to me. Alison might disagree. However, the observations are very true, particularly the one about France.
This website, SWPL, also has a very important blog post on child ettiquite. I'm not sure if this applies just to white people or if it applies across the board. If you are not white and have children (or spend lots of time with non-white people who have children) - please feel free to inform me of the proper ettiquite. More accurately, this post is on gifted children and how all children are gifted. I've included the most important part here.
If you see their kid playing peacefully, you say “oh, he/she seems very focused, are they in a gifted program?” at which point the parent will say “yes.” Or if the kid is lighting a dog on fire while screaming at their mother, you say “my he/she is a creative one. Is he/she gifted?” To which the parent will reply “oh, yes, he’s too creative and smart for school. We just don’t know what to do.”
But NEVER under any circumstance imply that their child is less than a genius. The idea that something could come from them and be less than greatness is too much for them to bear.
So there you have it. Guidelines for what you say to Alison and I about our child. He/she is gifted and will be the next Albert Einstine or Madam Curie.
I have reported before that we don't yet know whether Round 2 is a boy or a girl. Its still a mystery to us. Alison had a checkup a few weeks ago, and when she went, she refused the ultra-sound (the doctors here do ultra-sounds like they're going out of style). Its just an unnecessary expense.
Well, we* are solidly into our third trimester, with only about 11 weeks to go, and well, we've decided to do it the old fashioned way. That's right - break out your "I like Ike" stickers and start thumping "boogie woogie bugle boy" on your stereo, because we're going old school (in fact, Alison is quite often barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen making something scrumptious).
We've decided that we are going to keep the gender unbeknownst to anyone - particularly ourselves - until Round 2 is a ball of wriggling baby in Alison's arms. Then we can see with our own eyes if we have the next Albert Einstien or Marie Curie (or N. Gregory Mankiw or Barbara Ward, if you're into that sort of thing).
"But wait!" you might object. "How will you know what else to buy!? Boy things or girl things!?" We have been very blessed by friends both here in Bahrain and across the pond. This summer, people were very giving towards us, and we got lots of great things. So much, in fact, that we didn't spend a dime of our own money until about three weeks ago when we bought a stroller (for $50, no less!).
In keeping with the theme of surprises, Alison had a surprise baby shower thrown by some of the women in the church this last Saturday, and you can even watch the surprise below. I, of course, left her to her party and went home, but she came back with a whole bunch of loot for the baby. We have enough clothes now, that we probably don't need to go out and by a whole lot else (not to mention the fact that we're hoping to play the hand-me-down game with the other couples who've got kids who are just ahead of Round 2).
Some of the things given to Alison this last time:
Fantastic clothes
Soft ducky robe that fully wraps up baby (gonna be honest - not sure how to describe it. There'll be pictures at some point, I'm sure)
Bible story bath time books (complete with an elephant that squirts water from the nose)
A crib thing that twirls toys above the baby's head while it lies in the crib
books!
So I'm sure there will be more fantastic things to share in the 11 weeks to come. And 11 weeks makes it seem very, very close. Before I know it, the grand finale will be upon us. Don't worry - I'll document it all on here.
And now for the brief update of where Round 2 is in the developmental process. He's not doing anything all that new, just getting bigger (as Alison could tell you - he's pushing up against internal organs quite a bit these days).
The baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds
He is tad over 15 inches long from head to heel
His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature
His head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain.
I will say though, our little guy is quite active. He does summer salts inside the womb, I think, and he's even moving enough that I can see Alison's tummy poke out when he's pushing hard enough!
*To all the women who have been pregnant or feel the right to be indignant even if you never have been pregnant yourself: yes, I know that I myself don't have the same experiences as Alison - the one who is physically carrying our child. But she says "we're pregnant" and "our pregnancy" and "our trimester", so I feel quite comfortable in keeping the syntax on my blog.
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.
well... is that a...? Or is it the umbilical chord... we're not really sure.... so maybe it's a boy? But it could be a girl...
The doctor said she thought it might be a boy, but that the picture was inconclusive. I was having a hard time making anything out on the scans (Round 2 wasn't in an optimal position for getting a good "ultrasound pic", either). Another "scan" of some sort is scheduled for later next week. Alison informs me via facebook that it's not an x-ray, but rather "some kind of safer, better scan."
This post is my 110th post as a blogger over the last three years. Actually, this previuos was my 100th post, but I forgot to mention the milestone. I couldn't just do "101" or "103" - 110 seems to be the next best thing. I'll try to remember at 150 and/or 200 - which will probably come even sooner as I post updates about Round 2 after he/she is born. "Round 2 walked today!" "Round 2 smiled today!" "Round 2 knocked over his cereal bowl today!" How exciting!!
I may or may not be one of those people that sees every action as a developmental milestone and that milestone coming quicker than the average baby. I may or may not see my baby as significantly smarter and more mature than the average baby. Consider yourself warned. (for more new-parent-relations etiquette, see here).
So speaking of an update on Round 2: we will find out the gender of our baby tomorrow (Sunday, Aug. 23rd)! When we get back from the doctors office we will be able let the whole world know. Of course, below is the developmental information for the baby as Alison approaches finishing her 20th week:
He/She weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now.
6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he/she's measured from head to toe.)
He/She is swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system.
He/She is also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his/her first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).
Ok - so that was a little grosser than I had expected. But those of you who've had babies know that its not all fun and games. For those of you still waiting, consider it a preview.
One of the amazing things is that the baby has about doubled in size in the last two weeks or so! I think it'll continue those growth spurts over the next few months, too.
Even more exciting is that we've been able to play with him/her over the last few days! He/She has started moving around quite a bit (Alison can feel him/her all the time, and sometimes its enough for me to feel it). There have been times when he/she is really active that if I push on Alison's tummy, the baby will start squirming around even more and push back a little bit. Its a lot of fun!
Alison and I have started moving from pregnancy books to baby books. Here are some of the books we are perusing - either borrowed or owned. Suggestions welcome.
The Baby Whisperer
What to Expect the First Year (the sequel to "What to Expect when You're Expecting")
Lifespan Psychology (one of my college textbooks! Very exciting)
I am preparing to take some math classes online through LSU - Independent Study. Sweet. So how about taking some parenting classes online? I got my first lesson from my friend Russ. Here is what I learned in my first lesson:
Here's an update on the development of Round 2.
Hearing is starting to develop, so he/she can might be able to hear us!
The baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — his/her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker.
She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.
As for Alison and I, we are still in Texas, with my parents. We have done a few things, such as help paint my parents house, watch my brothers record in a professional recording studio, played LOTS of settlers, eaten superb home cooking, visited guitar stores, and generally hanging out. And on Saturday - the grand finale - we will go play some paintball. Fantastic times.
Many of you, I'm sure, are waiting in suspense for more information about Round 2. Is he/she a boy or a girl? What will his/her name be? How big is he/she? Well, Alison is starting to show, and I'm sure it won't be long till she is waddling like a pro.
On the right, I have added a poll where YOU can decide what you think the name of the baby should be. I've added a few new names and have included some original ideas and suggestions offered by others.
In our small group, before we left Bahrain, we had a brainstorming session for baby names. I think Alison was less than enthused, but we came up with some good ideas. Someone mentioned names like "Grace", "Faith", "Hope" or "Christian" - all very good, Biblically grounded names. So I thought, why not keep with the themes of theological concepts. Why not "Sanctification" or "Propitiation"? Maybe even "Justification"?
In related news, I thought I'd share some updated info about the baby itself. Of course, you can see the current size of the baby (the size of a nutter butter cookie). But here is some more detailed info from parentsconnect.com:
Your baby can make a fist and even suck his or her thumb this week—both skills that are über-cute during infancy ... and not so much at the age of 9. If you're really lucky, you might catch a glimpse of baby's thumb sucking on an ultrasound photo. That's a framer!
Your baby's eyelids are fused shut to protect his eyes as they develop. His bones and skull are solidifying and soon itsy-bitsy ribs may appear. (Baby ribs! How cute is that?!)
Baby's intestines are finally right where you want them—in his or her belly instead of poking out into the umbilical cord.
Baby's tooth sockets are all loaded and ready to pop out baby teeth six or seven months after baby is born (causing baby a lot of pain and you a lot of lost sleep).
Who's that singing? dc talk? Could be your baby: His vocal cords and larynx are completed now.
We'll keep you posted on Round 2's development, as well as my continued work to get Alison to at least consider some of my options.
Below you will find the first ultrasound pictures that Alison and I got of our little guy. Before yesterday, I have never been able to see the baby in the ultrasound pictures whenever I've seen them, but yesterday I pushed through my blindness and saw. It probably helped that the doctor was there saying, "Its there. No, its there. ahrhghg!! THERE!!" So for those of you who have trouble seeing, the second picture is labeled with the baby.
When we got to the hospital, Alison hadn't drunk enough water. Apparently more water helps the ultrasound. We went into the doctors office and she hooked Alison up to the apparatus.
You can see on the picture a few dots that go the breadth of Round 2. These are the measurements. Apparently, though Round 2 is only 10 weeks since conception, he/she is the size of a 11 week old. Good stock, those Perkins'. The little tike was quite active, too. Limbs seemed to be flailing all over the place as he/she moved & grooved about.
We were also able to see the baby's heart beating. Its fairly unproportional, at least in terms of our hearts/bodies. It looked as if the whole stomach area (or the midsection at least) was bulging in and out, in and out. Quite quickly, too.
I'm not sure if this is true, but it almost seems as if you can see the outline of the skull bones. I read in the pregnancy books we have that its this time when the bones start to harden and form a little more, even though he/she is only about 2 inches long!
Well, that's all for now. Enjoy the pictures. I'm sure we'll have more as time goes on.
This week has been chock full of excitement. I did something this week that I had never done before - when I went to get my haircut, I also asked for a shave and beard trim. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. It was a little less smooth than I had anticipated, and there wasn't a significant difference in a self-trim on my goatee. However, after a haircut, the barbers here always give a great head massage, so all in all I was satisfied at the end.
The I got my haircut because I had a raggedy mop on my head, and it didn't look professional enough for the person who was running security at the school's graduation. Well, it probably wouldn't have made that much of a difference, but I felt more respectable. And we didn't have any problems this year. It was really great.
So anyway, onto the great adventures:
1. Baby Names: We've gotten some entries for baby names from people. There are even entities who would like to contribute to Morejosh Inc, and pay for naming rights. However, we wouldn't want to stoop so low as to sell the name of our baby. Unless you have a lot of money. Here are some suggestions:
Ross Montgomery Emily Louise Fender Mepham (going for the quintuple middle name)
Owen
Wycliff (actually, it's someone else's suggestion, but I'm stealing it anyway).
You can see in the side bar, too, the current size of our baby. Right now, its about the size of a small plump. The little guy is really growing quite quickly these days. Fingers and toes already, bones are starting to harden. Its quite amazing.
2. The worst barterer in the world: So my car needed some work - part of the muffler was shot. I took it to the garage. He said that he needed to completely cut out the section, and he'd weld in a completely new part. When I asked how much he said, "12 Dinars." (about $30). Now, this seemed reasonable as he was going to completely replace the part, so I just said ok. I didn't feel like it was too much to pay, and didn't feel the need to negotiate.
However, I think this confused him. I think he was expecting me to barter with him. In his confusion, he said, "Ok, 10BD." It confused ME. But yes, he actually LOWERED the price. I'm not really sure why.
What would you say if I wrote on here that there will soon be an addition to the Perkins household? And I'm not talking about an extra room.
Yes, that's right! Alison is pregnant! She went in for a checkup a few weeks ago that confirmed things for us. Round 2, as we have affectionately taken to calling him/her, is due in early January.
We don't know if Round 2 is boy or a girl yet, and won't know for some time. However, we have started reading books about pregnancy, and after a while, will start reading all the books on parenting. ALL of them. We have started talking to all of Round 2's surrogate aunts and uncles who will be family away from family. Many people are really excited.
Now, you may be wondering why we are calling him/her "Round 2". There are a whole host of women in the church who have had their first child within the last year and a half or so (round 1). Now, most of those women are pregnant again! Naturally, Alison was feeling a little left out - she wanted to get in on round 2 with them! But we were looking at starting our family a little later, and she knew she'd be able to sneak in on round 3.
However, as many of you know, we don't wait around. We like to get the ball rolling, and now we are sliding in on the tail end of round 2. Thus the code name until our little buddy joins us in the post-womb world is "Round 2". He/she will join us in mid-January.
This brings up an important point: what will Round 2's name REALLY be? That's an excellent question, and Alison and I have started throwing around some ideas. In keeping with Middle Eastern tradition, I have come up with some names that reflect famous people that influenced me (not personally - through their writing, acting, etc). Not sure where the name comes from? Click on the link to find out (Careful! Repeated names do not always come from the same source).
You'll notice the unfortunate lack of women's names. For now, I'm leaving that one to Alison, and when we've compiled a list, I'll get back to you. Though if you want some ideas with names she will come up with, you can probably go read some Jane Austin books.
I live in Bahrain with my wife Alison and our children Eva and Gabe. This blog is about our exploits and daily lives, observations about living in Bahrain and random thoughts.
Pray for Bahrain
Our church has set up a website to help guide people in praying for Bahrain
Want to see more specific information about the sites? View Places to Visit in Bahrain in a larger map. You may be surprised at what fantastic things there are to do and see!
