Indy is 2 years old!

Is a 2 yr dog still a puppy?  Well Indy certainly doesn't realize that he is an old man now.  

Who is the prettiest Eskie around?

A few weeks ago, I talked about how Indy is still a baby and has been going through some new changes with this Spring.  One of the good changes is that he is getting slightly better at welcoming people into our apartment... which is good because we had a lot of visitors in early June.  

For his birthday, we made Indy a dinner of chicken with some parmasean cheese and dog food sprinkles.  He was so still in his "wait" because he wanted this food so very much.

After demolishing the dinner in record time, Indy did something new.  He ran around the house sniffing up at every table and surface - clearly looking for more chicken.  While he's had some pieces before, he has never had a whole bowl to himself.   He was clearly a happy birthday boy!  

Chirphead's Gender Revealed + 20 Week Ultrasound Photos

It's a Boy!!

The story behind the gender reveal

Rebecca makes a lot of yarn dyeing tutorials for her YouTube Channel, and she had a great idea for her Dyeing Experiments series.  White vinegar (an acid source) is an important component of dyeing yarn, so the plan was to have two dyebaths, one with vinegar and one with plain water and to "dye" two skeins of yarn.  Only one would retain the color, thus revealing the gender.  Unfortunately this did not go as planned and we ended up with a vibrant pink yarn in addition to the blue.  Reds require less acid to bind to yarn than pinks, so it is possible that this experiment would have worked better if Chirphead were a girl.  Nevertheless, it is still a good video for the YouTube channel, but meant that we did not use the video itself to share Chirphead's gender with the world (Facebook) as planned. Thus the miniskein of blue yarn. 


20 Week Ultrasound

The anatomy scan went extremely well.   Chirphead is really healthy and is moving like a champ.  Below you will find our favorite pictures.

Look at that cute little mouth!!

Chirphead is really advanced! While we were watching we saw him grabbing his foot while sucking on his thumb. (I'm pretty sure it is supposed to take them months after birth to discover their toes.  The next two pictures are the attempt to capture these impressive simultaneous acts.  

And finally, a 3d image of little Mr. Chirphead. Rebecca sees Keith in this face shape.  Something about the forehead and nose makes him look just as handsome as his daddy! 

If everything continues to be healthy, we may not get a chance to see Chirphead again until he is born.  We already think he is beautiful. 

Indy is very interested in his baby brother!

Rebecca had a gut feeling that Chirphead would be a boy.  Just in case, before the ultrasound she and Indy had their morning nap and an extra snuggle session.  Rebecca has been calling Indy her "baby boy" ever since he was a puppy and knew that this might be the last chance that Indy was her ONLY baby boy.   After the ultrasound, Indy was greeting Rebecca super enthusiastically and Rebecca felt nothing but excitement to be playing with her baby boys.  :)

20 Week Update

We're half way there!  We are so excited to meet Chirphead, but we need it to stay inside me a little longer, okay baby?

My 20 week checkup went very well.  Chirphead's heart rate is 140/145 bmp.  My Dr. is fantastic and addressed a lot of the concerns and fears I have for labor and delivery.   All my blood work etc continues to be normal, so we are in the midst of a healthy pregnancy!  We are about to sign up for some classes to help us prepare for birth and beyond.

The most prevaling symptom continues to be increased fatigue.  This can vary greatly from week to week, but in general it is something that I am experienced handleing.  I had expected to feel general discomfort, but I did not expect to feel so many pregnancy related aches and pains!   My Dr. recommends getting used to sleeping on your side early, but boy is it making my hip hurt.

There are some good symptoms that are happening.  I'd felt the baby move a few times in the last few weeks, mostly in the evening when I was laying down trying to fall asleep.  At 20w1d I started feeling the baby move multiple times in a day!

Whenever I talk to the baby, Indy comes running over.  I suppose I'm using the same tone to talk to Chirphead as I do to talk to Indy, so I'm starting to explain to Indy how he

Stay tuned for pictures from the 20 week ultrasound... We now know whether Chirphead is a boy or a girl!

ChemKnits Featured in C&E News!

My knitting blog, ChemKnits, is featured in this week's American Chemical Society publication Chemical and Engineering News!  The feature is in Volume 91, Issue 21, p 56: NEWSCRIPTS - Settlers Of Mars, Molecules Tied Up In Knots.

I have not yet seen a paper copy of the blurb, but the editor is sending me a copy of the issue.  Thankfully it is online so I can share it with all of you!

For those of you that don't know about C&E News, it is a weekly magazine that is sent to all members of the American Chemical Society - I had a subscription while I was in gradutate school.  In graduate school, I published a peer reviewed article in the Journal of the American Chemical Society and attended the national meetings.  You can imagine my surprise when an editor of C&E News contacted me a few weeks ago asking to interview me!

Indy - Still a Baby

We are less than a month away from Indy's 2nd birthday.  This spring, he has started exhibiting some new behaviors that show he is still a puppy and learning how the world works.

• He is exploring a lot more.  He is taking the time to sniff things carefully to the point where he won't notice us calling him.  I prefer to think he is focused rather than disobedient.  
• He considers commands before obeying.  We tell him to go somewhere, and you can see him pause and think, "what is in this for me?"  If you have food, he will obey 99% of the time.  We need to step up some of the obedience training again because he thinks that he can make up his own mind.
•  Scent marking.  Indy pees like a girl, and for the last two years any time he's lifted his leg we've given him loads of praise.  This spring, he started scent marking on walks - 7-8 times each walk.  Half the time he lifts his leg I don't think he has any pee left! (While not on walks, he still pees like a girl.) 

Thankfully he still enjoys things like family nap time (Indy, Rebecca & Chirphead) and other snuggles.

Today, I caught him licking my running shoes.  When it was clear that I was watching him, he just looked at me and wiggled.  Do you think he was trying to tell me it was time to go for another run?  

Reintroducing Indy to the Tunnel

Alan and Jenn gave us a fantastic backyard agility course for our puppy adoption almost two years ago.  Since we don't have a fenced in yard, we haven't been able to set it up outside.  The only part that really works inside is the tunnel because you can just set it on the ground.  Well it had been a while since we had taken it out, and Indy has forgotten what to do with it.  

"You want me to do WHAT?!?"

"I don't know, it keeps moving..."

When in dobt, Indy always goes back to barking.  Sometimes it is for something he wants, but in this time I think the tunnel was frightening him a bit.  Treat lures weren't helping.

"Bark!  Bark Bark!"

I tried moving the tunnel to the hallway where there would be more space for Indy to run through.   Indy was not impressed, and a little suspicious.  He kept running into his jail in the living room, afraid that I was going to try to trap him maybe?  

"I have to keep my eyes on it at all times, expect for when Mommy comes near, then I'll run away and hide."

Treat lures helped a bit, but Indy continued to be suspicious if I moved while he had paws in the tunnel.  He would go in with his front two feet, and then STRETCH as far as he could to get the treat in the middle.  

"I want the treat SO BAD!"

I finally left the tunnel with some treat (pulverized freeze dried chicken liver) in the tunnel.  I could hear him licking the floor of the tunnel from the other room.  I figured that his exploration was a good thing and that he was getting more comfortable.  

Come dinner time, we gave him his food in a dispenser ball.  I rolled the ball through the tunnel and SUCCESS - he chased after it!  He would also go in to pull the ball out if I placed the ball in the middle of the tunnel.  

"I'M HUNGRY!"

Finally, 24 hours later... it happened.  Indy got over his fear and started happily running "THROUGH" again!  

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

And then I was finally able to capture the picture that was the whole goal of this process - Indy laying down in the tunnel.  

"Can I have that treat now?"

Indy has done pretty well with agility at the dog park, but we would love to work on it with fewer distractions.  Now we're ready to go set up this whole set on Mackinac in July!  (Hopefully all of the roaming dogs and passing by horses won't be too much of a distraction...)  

17 week update

(Caroline, this picture is for you!)  At 17 weeks I am definitely showing that Chirphead is within me.  I frequently feel like I just look fat rather than pregnant, but in yoga pants the baby bump just pops.  

This week we got another batch of test results back, and everything continues to be normal.  A few weeks ago we found out that our risk factor for Down Syndrome and other trisomy disorders (21/18) was as low as it possibly could be.  This week, we had the alphafetoprotein (AFP) screen, and our risk of spina bifida and other neural tube defects is also about as low as it can be.  Each time we hear that our Chirphead is healthy it is a huge relief!  

My pregnacy symptoms continue to be "normal" - Aches/pains as the uterus grows, exhaustion levels that would be reasonable even if I didn't have CFS and I cry really easily.  (I have always cried easily, but now I cry at REALLY stupid things... Poor Keith!  He has been a great sport dealing with these new emotional levels.)  

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And here is a cute Indy picture with his newest toy, ROPE.  (A fake rubber rope that we thought would last longer than the fibrous variety, but it already has some cracks in it.  This pup loves to destroy "indestructable" toys!)

15 weeks 5 days

Today we had our monthly appointment with the OB, and we are thrilled to say that everything is still healthy.   Chirphead's heart rate is slower now, ~140 bpm as estimated by the Dr, but this is because it is growing bigger.  My uterus is just shy my belly button now!  

Keith decided to be cute while we were waiting for the Dr to come in, and I couldn't resist taking a picture.   Unfortunately, I missed the great portraits he drew of me next, the first two were actually very cute!  

And so it begins...

There are many things we are going to need to do to make space for Chirphead in our 1-bedroom apartment.  I figured that I could start by clearing out some space in my dresser for our upcoming roommate.          (This also forced me to get rid of some of my clothes.)

We have started to make other changes to the apartment, but that has mostly been trying out new furnature configurations slowly to help Indy adjust.

A baby dresser in Mommy's dresser.

Pregnancy And CFS - The First Trimester

It is no secret that I have had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) for a long time.  I don't often talk about it publicly but I am very open to talking about my experiences.  I therefore thought it would be worth keeping track of how I am managing the increased fatigue that comes with pregnancy and eventual motherhood.  I know that these stages are difficult for all first time parents, and adding persistent chronic fatigue and corresponding anxiety issues to the mix can make things complicated.  

Planning

Before Keith and I considered getting pregnant we talked about it with my doctor.  She was very supportive and encouraging that I would be able to handle the crazy tasks, both physically and emotionally.  Nothing about my condition prohibits me from becoming a mother.  I am also thrilled that this is one of the life goals that my disease HASN'T taken away from me.  (I am also excited to be able to say "I'm a stay-at-home Mom" when people as me what I do rather than "disabled" or "taking some time off."  Being a mom is a non-awkward explanation for not working outside the home.)  Being a stay-at-home mom was never my plan as I attended Wellesley and then completed my PhD at Harvard, and I still hope that someday in the future I will be able to work a full time teaching position.  However, I know that I will soon have a little baby who is ready to learn from me and I am so excited for the next chapter in our lives.  

Secondly, I know that it is going to be hard.  Keith is extremely supportive and we have talked about plans for dealing with the extra chores that come with parenthood.  We are aware that there are many things that will come up that you cannot plan for, but we plan on taking things one day at a time.  It is very possible that we will need to extra help, whether that comes in the form of a cleaning service, dog walker or a babysitter some afternoons.  

Pregnancy Symptoms 

I have been very lucky in the pregnancy symptom department.  (Poor Keith has dealt WONDERFULLY with my random crying and mood swings!)  Here are my experiences with some of the more common pregnancy symptoms.  

• Morning Sickness - Between Weeks 5-7, I had some afternoon/evening sickness that I was able to manage by napping.  The nausea was very light and very manageable   I think that if I were on my feet all day rather than resting on the couch, I may have found it more burdensome  but since most days there was nothing urgent to attend to, I didn't mind it at all.  By week 8, this rarely happened.  
• Aches and Pains - Sorry if this is TMI, but my boobs are now HUGE (not that they were ever small before.)  They are a bit tender, but that comes and goes.  The first few weeks I knew I was pregnant (weeks 4-5) I had pretty constant aches in my lower abdomen, but rarely was it more than just a slight discomfort.  Unfortunately in week 6 I started having HORRIBLE lower back pain to the point where I could not fall asleep due to being so uncomfortable in every position I found.  Thankfully this was done by week 7.  
• Fatigue - Week 3 (before I even knew I was pregnant) I had increased fatigue to the point that it concerned me.  I was feeling so frustrated... until we got that positive pregnancy test.  Suddenly everything made sense and the frustration I was feeling evaporated.  I'm pregnant, I'm supposed to be tired!   Since then my fatigue levels have gone up and down.  I am able doing a little less physically because I am extra tired, but it is much better than it was in those really early weeks of pregnancy.  The biggest difference from pre-pregnancy is that I am now doctor encouraged (and self encouraged) to nap.   I am HOPING that my experience dealing with fatigue is helping me function and cope with this better than the average person, but we shall see.  
• More Fatigue - Weeks 10-14 - After a brief break, the fatigue got a bit worse again.  I am sleeping around 12 hours a day (between night time and naps).  Thank goodness this is something that many pregnant women experience, and not just me!  I do tend to be a little crankier (poor Keith), but this is also somewhat related the mood swings mentioned briefly above.  
• Cravings - I'm not sure if I'm having pregnancy cravings, but if I start thinking about a particular food it suddenly becomes very important that I get it QUICKLY.  Keith has been very supportive of this, running to the supermarket or a drive through to pick something up for me if if I'm too tired to go myself.  The thing I've been craving the most?  Steak'n'Shake burgers.  

Ultimately, I feel that my pregnancy symptoms are extremely managable, and the experience of being pregnant is pleasant!