Sonogram visit today

We just got home a short while ago and all is going well. According to the Ultrasound readings, Ryan is now at 3.9 Lbs and 16 inches (a hint for anyone trying to guess the birth weight, so far he's very average).

I have just finished review the vcr copy of the sonogram and their isn't a lot to look at for an untrained eye.
(read: I can't make anything out of it)

I hope I will be able to get maybe a minute off of it into a new video file. I should have a new picture pulled from it shortly. (Image now posted)

How to Talk to Your Baby in Utero

Babies are capable of hearing even before they are born, and many people believe that talking or singing to a baby in-utero is a great way to begin the parent-child bonding relationship, and perhaps even to stimulate a baby's intellect before birth. Whether or not this is true, many parents enjoy talking to their babies-to-be.
Instructions
STEP 1: Get into the habit of talking out loud, even before it is possible for your baby to hear you. Talk (to yourself or others), sing and play music as you go about your daily activities; you may eventually find that changes in your baby's patterns of movement correspond to the type of music you are playing, or to the level of your conversation.
STEP 2: Give your baby a pet name, or use the name you have chosen if you know what sex your baby will be. Many parents continue to use in-utero nicknames like "peanut" or "sprout" long after their baby arrives.
STEP 3: Get both parents to talk to the baby, if possible ' this is often an excellent way for fathers to begin bonding with their babies.
STEP 4: Read books out loud to your baby ' these can be children's books, or they can just be whatever you happen to be reading for your own enjoyment. Some parents choose to read a bedtime story to their unborn babies every evening, while others take a more casual approach.
STEP 5: Set a little time aside every day just to communicate with your baby, perhaps just before you go to sleep. Your baby won't understand the words you are using, but will certainly become familiar with your vocal patterns. This can also help you to relax and focus on your pregnancy, your body, and the hopes and dreams you have for your baby.

RSS, Feeds, Blogs

Ok, you might be thinking what is this techie stuff doing on the Family Blog???

I just wanted to add a quick note to those that might be reading these to have a little helper. I am not going to go into any great detail about the stuff but just going to make a recommendation and point out some links (If you need some technical reading on this see here) .

RSS, feeds, blogs are some of the current big news for the past few years and for those of you that aren't taking advantage of Feed Readers / Aggregators, don't let the names distract you, they will make your discovery of new information that matters to you much more easy.

Once you have a reader set up (recommendation below), as you are surfing around various sites that you find interesting look for the subscription link (and no, money is not always, in fact hardly ever, exchanged with these subscriptions...you're not buying a magazine although the article's you read may influence you to buy a magazine, but thats not what I'm talking about). Sometimes it'll point to various websites that feed the information: Google, Yahoo, etc (there are dozens...)


The link I usually look for is: (Some browsers like Firefox have this immediately in the address bar to subscribe to the site)


I am currently using Google's: Google Reader and really like it.
( Warning tech note: I like the Ajax scrolling to get new articles and how to easily it is post article links to a blog)

So please try one of these out and remember to add us to your reader to keep up on any new posts.

How to Keep a Baby Entertained - WikiHow

Another parenting tip. This site is the second one that I've linked to. Its based on a Wiki, which is gets my geek side up...pretty cool stuff, it enables everyone to join into the conversation on making recommendations, additions, subtractions to the greater knowledge....
How to Keep a Baby Entertained - WikiHow: "
Tips
* When making faces you want to be careful as to what faces you make, you don't want to scare the baby and have them crying. Also when talking to him you want to talk in a nice soothing and calming voice, nothing to alarming for them.
* If the baby does start to cry, blow a stream of air towards his or her face, gently like you were trying to cool a bowl of soup. This will calm the baby and he or she will usually stop for a deep breath; this is your chance to amuse.
* Babies respond better when you talk in a voice that is a little higher pitched than its normal register.
* Be creative. A lot of everyday objects and situations can become a source of entertainment for a baby.


Warnings

* Make sure you play gently - babies are delicate creatures!
* Keep your eyes on the baby at all times (or make sure someone else in the room is watching).
* Avoid objects that are sharp. Avoid playing in areas where a baby could easily bump his/her head and furniture with sharp corners.
* Babies need their own space also. They like to be left alone with books to check it out. Watch your child, but also allow them to have time alone. Do not think you have to entertain them all the time!"

How to Soothe a Baby - WikiHow

A good parenting how-to article. I'll post more as I find them...

How to Soothe a Baby - WikiHow: "If you are calm, the baby will be calm also, as a baby senses his caretaker's anxiety."

Our First Snowstorm

Wow!!! What a Valentine's day to remember and our First Snowstorm of the winter season. Well Jim is working from home today, which was for the best. I am taking it easy and not doing a whole lot. I'm taking advantage of being snowed in and having Jim at home, even though he is working. I feel much better knowing that he isn't taking any risks driving in this storm. The baby has been alot more active lately and Jim has felt him kick alot. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable sleeping at night but I guess it's preparing me for all of those sleepless nights ahead. We had our tour this past monday night at the Northern Dutchess Birthing Center where we will have our baby and we are looking forward to the big day, it's starting to feel more real everyday with the upcoming decisions we have to make. All is going great here and my diabetes is under excellent control the doctor says. We are truly Blessed that everything is going great with this pregnancy.

Sonogram Pictures from 01.31.07

Here are the latest pictures from the sonogram taken on January 31, 2007. The first shows Ryan sucking on his index finger. The second image was taken from the 4D scan. Renee thinks he looks a bit more like me at this stage around the eyes and cheeks. Although she thinks he has her smaller upper lip. Looking at it again, I think he might also have Renee's chin? (We should put up some comparison photos and have a vote....)

Everything's OK

We spent the evening Tuesday at the Hospital(got home Wednesday morning @ 2:30 AM) as Renee was not feeling well. After getting everything checked out, Baby and Mommy are doing fine. (Now to get a little rest)

20 Week Sonogram Picture

This is one of the sonogram pictures taken during the 20th week. We will post some others shortly.

Renee's First Post

Ok this is my first blogging attempt. I hope this will be a way to let family and friend's know what's happening in our lives

First Entry @ the our new blog

Hey this is Jim, finally set up my family blog here. Renee & I struggled with the name (quite a stimulating name huh ! :) ) . I was thinking along the lines of combining some of different words: relax, comfortable, random, thoughts, mindful, bliss, but we chickened out went for the mundane title "Jim & Renee's Family Blog".

About the intent of this blog....I've recently gotten into a lot of blogging at work and am starting to get hooked on it. Being the tech geek that I am, and after just enjoying the week at Lotusphere2007, I am hoping to translate some of the inertia to write about things on the family side. I have been writing a bunch of journal entries to share in the future with our soon to be born son, but have decided to hold of on transferring them here( I would have to edit it too much currently).

Once I get a little more comfortable with the use of this new tool, I will be encouraging Renee to also post her thoughts. So for now, I just want to say WELCOME.