NT screening, latest check-up, and visitors!

On Monday, Tim and I went in for our scheduled NT screening. Nuchal translucency screening is an advanced ultrasound to look at the back of the neck - there are measurements that a specialist can do to detect signs of Downs or other chromosomal anomalies. If something looks fishy, they order an amniocentesis to check; if not, you can be pretty confident that the baby won't have to contend with Downs. It also checks for spina bifida and some other developmental problems.

The first thing to report is that Speck is just fine. Everything looks great, according to the specialist. But mostly, Tim and I had way too much fun during the exam! The ultrasound equipment being used is so sensitive, we could see all 4 chambers of Speck's heart beating away! (He turned on the sound for us so we could hear it as well... that was pretty amazing.) We could also see both hemispheres of Speck's brain through his/her still-forming skull. The specialist said it's still a little early to tell the baby's gender, though we'd been kind of hopeful. But we have a healthy, and very active, Speck, who is almost precisely on average for size given his/her gestational age.

Wednesday I took the day off so we could go to the airport and pick up Tim's dad Chuck and his aunt Rosie. Chuck was in Germany once before, with Tim and Tom a few years back; it's Rosie's first trip here. It's great to have them! We spent Wednesday just chilling at the house, but we have sightseeing planned for the rest of this week.

Today (Thursday), Tim and I had our monthly check-up appointment with our obstetrician. My blood pressure is good, as is my weight gain (just a pound this month, which is really good; we're trying to keep my total weight gain for the pregnancy on the low side, since I weighed more than my fair share going into the pregnancy.) Just to check for himself, Dr. Büscher also did an ultrasound; all we could really see was Speck's back, though it was cool to see all the tiny vertebra all lined up. We'll have to speak with this child about not turning his/her back on us, though...

At Week 15, I am now definitely in maternity clothes (though with lots of room to grow), and very happy to have a third of the pregnancy behind us! I've been feeling a bit more energetic and a bit less morning sickness-y; here's hoping that trend continues...

The political education of Speck

Like many people in the US, and all around the world for that matter, Tim and I are following the US presidential elections very closely. Tim has more time to stay current with the news (this is especially impressive if you know how informed he kept himself while he was working), and we discuss the latest developments eagerly. Given the extreme interest in this topic in Germany, I've been working with my staff to organize a series of election events - we bring American experts together with German audiences to explain the process, discuss key issues, etc. This will continue even beyond November 4, as we then get to analyze the likely impact on US-German relations of the new administration. And most importantly, seeing how frustrated Germans are with Bush and how eagerly they're hoping for an Obama victory, we'll do a series in January/February on "transition" - i.e., whether it's Obama or McCain, don't expect changes overnight.

Last week Tim and I went to a fantastic discussion organized jointly by the Embassy and the German Marshall Fund. We listened to a German journalist based in Washington, an American foreign policy expert, and an American economist talk about the elections. It's so interesting to hear well-informed people discuss both the issues and the other factors involved in the election. We then had dinner with a couple who live in our neighborhood on Saturday - of course, the conversation turned to politics. And just today, I attended a conference to listen to a couple of fabulous speakers (the government affairs directors for the NAACP and the American Jewish Committee) talk about racial/ethnic minority communities and the election. Again, fascinating stuff.

With all of this, I seriously wonder if it could wind up impacting Speck. We've read a few things about people having an affinity for particular pieces of music or other sounds they were exposed to in utero. Could we be developing a political pundit by bringing Speck along to all these discussions? Or maybe just a well-informed citizen who's interested in politics? I wonder...

Speck's First Blog! (Week 13)

Hi everyone, and thanks for stopping by my new blog! Mommy and Daddy said they'd help me with it, at least until I can reach the keyboard and am old enough to type. So I'll turn it over to them from here. Love, Speck.

For those who haven't heard yet, Tim and I learned this summer that we're expecting our first child in March. After more than 6 months of trying to conceive, we're both ecstatic about the news and cannot wait to welcome the baby. We started referring to the baby as "Speck" right away, because we won't know his/her gender for several more weeks (and at first, s/he was really only as big as a little speck.)

We're almost done with the first trimester and according to our doctor, everything's going very well. I've had a fair amount of "morning" sickness and some other side effects, but as the doctor assures me, the worse I feel, the better Speck's doing.

We're very excited to have this baby in Germany, which is where Tim's ancestors are from; Speck will be the first Klitz in Tim's direct line of ancestors to be born in Germany in over 150 years. In the meanwhile, we're happy to have access to German medical care, which is outstanding. The best part is that German obstetricians use ultrasound very routinely, much more than in the States. So we caught our first glimpse of Speck as early as Week 6, on our first doctor's visit on July 28. There wasn't much to see yet, just a little Speck about the size of a grain of rice, with a little blinking dot where his/her heart is. Our last two trips to the doctor have shown us an actual baby-shaped Speck, moving very actively and growing just as s/he should. We have copies of those sonograms, which Tim has scanned.

Tim and I will both be updating this blog from time to time. Please stop back and join us as we watch our family grow!