Making babies without men....

Just in case my pregnancy and reproduction infused blog hasn't bored you yet, I found an interesting article today that suggested that sperm could be created from bone marrow stem cells, thus negating the need for men in reproduction. The article was supposed to be funny, and alluded to women taking over the world, and men living in stag colonies, subsisting on Doritos..... however, this got me thinking.

If it is possible for a woman to create sperm, or men to create ova from his or her own stem cells, could this not be the start of same-sex couples being able to create genetic offspring with their partners? I think that would be pretty great.

Pregnancy Update - Week 23

There have been a few nervous moments this week. Little girl appears to have relaxed or something, because she's not moving as much as she was last week, or at the very least, I can't feel it as well. So, the Doc wanted to see me. They're going to be so sick of me by the time I deliver. However, when I apologized for another un-scheduled appt. the nurse and the doc assured me that if there's something wierd, they certainly prefer to have me call and ask and let them decide if I need to be seen rather than just assume everything is okay. They also let me know that I am certainly not the first first-time mommy to make a lot of calls and ask a lot of questions. At least I don't panic or get demanding. I think they like me. And I love the staff there. Pregnancy can be spooky, and they always make me feel great about it all.


The good part of going in for this appointment was that I got to try out a new toy- the fetal non-stress test machine. This is the one where they put two straps with monitors around your belly- one to measure uterine contractions, and one to measure the baby's heartrate. The heartrate and fetal noises are amplified on a speaker, and you get to watch the little richter scale of both readings print out while you lay there for about 20 minutes. Baby Girl's steady heartbeat was so fun to listen to, and while I couldn't feel her terribly well, you could hear her swimming around in there. Getting very close to the monitor (loud heartbeat) as to investigate, and then swimming away and giving it a swift kick. She's funny. And spunky. I like that. Dr. Hannah said that even though I'm not feeling it well, she's a very busy and healthy little person, and the fact that she was annoyed by the monitor is a good sign. It means she's hearing well enough to be annoyed by the echo of her own heartbeat.

Just to check, she also did an ultrasound. The good news is that it appears my placenta is moving away from my cervix, but is still totally upfront. While that takes a lot of risk out of the equasion, it's still giving Baby Girl a nice squishy pad to hole up behind. I could see her wiggling around, but can't feel it because of all the padding.... Hmm. Perhaps that means I should rethink the chocolate croissant I'm about to munch? I think not.


Getting another reassurance of her health and wellbeing won't be great before heading out on our vacations. Now I can really just enjoy myself, and enjoy feeling her move when I can. It's the greatest.

4 Real?

Apparently, there is a family in New Zealand going to court because the government is refusing to recognize their baby's name. They have named the baby ..... wait for it.... 4real. Because they were so overwhelmed with the reality of actually having a child. I mean, you should be allowed to name your kid what you want, but I have to kinda side with the gov't on this one, if only for protecting them from their own idiocy.

Apparently, this same authority has also blocked the names Satan and Adolf Hitler. Do people really want to do these things to their kids?

Sextuplets

I know it was very important to Hubby and I to see that there was only one bun in the oven early in the pregnancy. We could have handled two, but prefer one at at time. This year, however, there appears to be a rash of multiples in the news. Most visible, were the two sets of sextuplets born just a day apart.

My first comment on this is humorous. Look at this poor guy. Interviewed for the Today show, he looked like he just wanted to end it all. Hell, mom had to carry them, then had heart failure after the delivery and she looks downright perky. I dunno what I'd do with 6, but I certainly hope our one doesn't leave Hubby with an expression like this.

Sadly, for second set of sextuplets, 4.5 months early, news came today that 4 of them have died. I can't say what I'd do in a similar situation. I know that doctors recommend selective
reduction in cases of more than three fetuses. While it would be an agonizing choice to do this, one has to wonder how someone can go through a pregnancy, knowing it'll be wrought with complications, health problems and low survival rates for the babies, risk to the mother herself, and the physical/financial/sanity challenge of raising 6 children of the same age, something I imagine very few people have the wherewithall to undertake. I have to wonder if delivering 6 babies in an emergency at 24 weeks, only to watch 4 of them die is easier than making the decision to remove 3 or 4 embryos early in the pregnancy. As I've said, I have no idea what I would do. I am so very sad for this family, and am so very grateful for my easy and healthy pregnancy (knock wood!).

I am converted.....

Say will be horrified. Today, at the behest of some friends, I tried on a pair of crocs. True, they're not attractive, but they may be the most light and comfortable shoes I've ever tried on. I wore them for hours and my pregnant feet are very, very happy. In fact, I may get a second pair tomorrow. And make Scott try some on. Wow.

My friend's Kickass job....

This is awesome.

Addition to Muggle Blog....

I totally forgot to add that I think I found evidence to prove that Snape may be ultimately good. When Harry is in the office with the faux-Moody, faces become clear in the Foe Glass- Dumbledore, McGonegall and Snape. It was unclear to me whether the faces became clear because they entered the room, or if they became clear right before they entered the room. Because of the way the foe glass was described as working, it seems that it would only show your enemies. If Barty Crouch Jr.'s foe glass showed those three, one could assume that they're all on the side of good. Devices like these are not fooled by behaviors. I'm open to suggestion on this one. I think I could be wrong.

Muggle Blog II

So my Dude over at www.mysocaldlife.blogspot.com has already made some good points about Goblet of Fire, but I have a few of my own to add. However, I can poke a hole in his theory about Voldemort/Tom Riddle. Voldemort was Tom Riddle. Named for his muggle father, and his middle name was from the wizarding side of the family. So the Riddle's grown up son was the one who got Voldy's mom preggo, then left her when she found out he was a witch. Same name. Makes it confusing. Because there was no record in the Muggle world of Tom Riddle having a son, Tom Marvolo Riddle, he probably wouldn't have inherited the wealth.

So, on to my observations. At first, I thought I'd found a HUGE problem in the Priori Incantatem scene, where James came out of the wand before Lily. Meaning that James would have been killed AFTER her.... Unfortunately, after spending more time researching, this was a mistake made by the American editor in the rush to get the book out, and was changed to the correct order in later editions.

The planet Mars seems to be very important to the series. In Azkaban, the centaurs keep repeating that "Mars is bright tonight." And now, in Goblet, on page 575, professor Trelawney says, "We have almost finished our work on planetary divination. Today, however, will be an excellent opportunity to examine the effects of Mars, for he is placesd most interestingly at the present time....." Mars was the God of War, so it may just be that simple. But perhaps Harry and the others should pay a bit more attention in Divination, because it seems to forshadow big movements by Voldemort.

My final observation is also small, and could just be a editing mistake. On page 725, the book refers to the horseless carriages that will take the students to the train. At this point, Harry has witnessed the death of Cedric, and therefore should be able to see the Thestrals that are pulling the carriages as he does upon his return to school in book 5. This is far more likely an editing mistake, but it's something that caught my eye.

Pregnancy Update - Week 22

So, there have been good times and bad times this week.... The whole uncomfortable body- image thing finally came to a head. think I finally figured out what's been bugging me lately. I love being pregnant. I can't wait to have this little girl in my arms. I'm happier and more content than I've ever been in my life. I feel feminine, and radiant and glowy. So, every time I try to shop for clothes and things either make me look just fat, or are like a tent, and looking in the mirror presents, pasty, zitty skin, and dark eye circles, it's twice as disappointing. Why can't my outside reflect how I feel on the inside? And it REALLY doesn't help that two people this week said, "My GOD you're going to be HUGE!" However, in the last day or two, I've realized that how I feel is really what matters. It's a high and low thing and I'm sure it'll hit again.

And the great news is, that just in time for Father's Day, little girl kicked hard enough for Hubby to feel it.

Muggle Blog

There are spoilers here just in case anyone is so far behind that they haven't read books 4 and 5 of the Harry Potter Series.

So, one of the Dudes and I are rereading all the Harry Potter books in anticipation of the new movie and book coming out next month. I searched in vain for new information in the first three books, but hit something interesting while rereading Goblet of Fire. I'm only 250 pages in, but I may have stumbled across something. One of my favorite elements of Order of the Phoenix is the fact that Harry has to take Occlumency lessons from Snape in order to control Voldemort's access/influence on his mind. Book 5 is the first time we hear of this practice. HOWEVER, now that I'm looking back, I noticed that Harry, even though his rational mind tells him he can't enter the Triwizard Tournament, he continues to dream and get visions of himself winning said Tournament. Is this, perhaps, the first time Voldy is exhibiting influence? Has it happened before book 5? I certainly think so. It's not a game changer, but it shows that JK knew what was coming and wanted to set it up. It also begs the question, if Voldy can influence Harry's thoughts and ambitions about the tournament, what information could he have been taking from Harry all along?

Oh yeah, and I'm 28. Yesterday was my b-day. Yahoo.

Pregancy Update- Weeks 20 & 21

Lots of action!

At the beginning of Week 20, I felt something I thought could be here. It is. I'm certain of it now. Lots of little thumps and rolls. Inconsistent, unfortunately, but getting more frequent. What I feel was described best by a friend as "a goldfish bumping up against the side of a bowl." Already they're getting stronger.... I'd say she feels more like a small koi fish now. I appear to have missed flutters completely. I had assumed they were gas.

Speaking of gas.... with the good comes the bad. Gas is a fact of pregnant life, and up til now I've been able to keep it pretty discreet. Last night, however, the sound barrier was breeched. I audibly farted in the presence of my husband. I was in the other room, and it snuck up on me, and managed to get up before I could get to a more soundproof location. Not big and scary- just a breezy little toot, but enough to result in a, "Ummm..... did you just fart?" from the other room. Followed by both of us in fits of laughter the likes of which we haven't seen in a while. I'm flushed and giggling again just talking about it.

In addition, I appear to have hit the part of pregnancy that includes middle-of-the-night bathroom runs. 3:45 a.m. on the dot for two nights now. No biggie for me. I've managed to shuffle to and from the potty without turning on lights or opening my eyes completely, but I feel badly because it wakes Hubby (even for just a moment) and the cats appear to be very disgruntled by this new schedule. They sleep cuddled by my feet and have to move out of the way so I can get out of bed. Poor boys.

Best Friends

I hope that this little girl is lucky enough to have a friend in her life like my best friend. She was only here for three days this weekend, but with us, it's like no time has passed. We don't have to do anything special, or go anywhere special... we just have fun. Honestly, we spent most of the weekend wandering around malls and sitting on the sofa reading (and eating ice cream) and it was the best weekend I've had for a long time. Female companionship is something you can't put a price on. I wish so much that Say was closer. She's part of the family that I've picked. People should consider themselves lucky if they have one friend in their life that is that good. I know I do. I'm even luckier... I have two or three great women friends, and a few great guy friends too.