It’s a boy!

…or maybe a girl. We didn’t get any confirmation at the last visit. We did, however, get plenty of waiting time between Rie seeing the doctor and midwife. This visit lasted about three and a half hours, and I, in my ultimate wisdom, didn’t bring my ipod or a book. The past few times it was just in-and-out (which is how we wound up in this situation in the first place) and I didn’t think that I’d need anything to occupy my time. The most useful lessons are often the hardest, so I will not be caught unprepared again.

Hmm…where to begin? Rie is feeling much better, although she still loses most of what she eats. Her stomach is definitely getting bigger, which was a bonus this past week when we went to visit her family in Saitama. Any passengers who have small children or are pregnant get to board first. Since we will never have enough money to fly business class, I milked this for all it was worth, pushing my way to the front of the gate. A couple of kids who were traveling alone for the first time started to head me off, but I would have nothing to do with that. In my experience, I’ve found that a long hard stare will usually do the trick, but sometimes a slight hip bump is required. Nothing too physical, just a show of who’s in control; something I learned from the BBC series “Planet Earth”. To my dismay, once we boarded the plane the attention of the flight attendants was focused on Rie. Um…hello? Maybe I’d like something to drink and an extra pillow too! Just another example of the lack of appreciation shown to me in my everyday life.

All in all, it was a pleasant visit. Rie went out to lunch with some friends on Saturday. One of her friends is also pregnant, due about one month before Rie. Her other friend is a nurse, and said that the way Rie’s stomach is poking out indicates that it will be a boy. Everybody I talk to says that it’s going to be a boy, and I’m starting to believe it. I really don’t care either way, as long as it’s healthy.

I have two more weeks of vacation until school starts up again, so I need to get my classes in order and put together my syllabuses. It’s been a relaxing vacation, and I am sad to see it end because that means spring is coming (not bad) and summer is just around the corner (bad). I’m going to cook dinner now before Rie gets home.

…And the Curtains Close Again

Well, that will teach me to be optimistic so soon. The day after my last post, Rie got really sick again and has barely been able to move off the sofa. She said that this past week has been the worst to date. The doctor says everything looks fine though, so that puts my mind a little more at ease. We went to the doctor and got the 3-D images. This one is the baby with its right arm coming up over its head.

I also learned that in Japan pregnancies last ten months. So everything I read or hear about in terms of time, have to be re-calculated.

Not much else has been going on. I got a new computer chair. It’s much more comfortable and it moves around a lot easier. I’ve started my web page that I will be presenting this spring. So far it has been a little slow going because I’m thinking about the layout of the page. My next step will be to add sub-pages and link them together, so the rest of my vacation will be filled.