Gladys
(including "Who is Gladys?")
May 4, 2005
The Gladys page has closed! Go see the Hayes page!
January 30, 2005
Notwithstanding our long absence, Gladys has been moving along quite steadily. In fact, we can see and feel her literally moving, and have been able to do so for about 2 months now.
We are now 27 weeks into Gladys, with a short couple of months to go.
We won't regale you with test results at this point. Suffice to say that we and Gladys have passed all the tests that we've taken so far, and everything is looking great!
Really, the most exciting thing to tell you at this point is that we have pictures. Granted, they're over a month old, but these are likely the last ones we will see until Gladys is actually born.
These are from the 20-week ultrasound, which as you may know is the really big one. It's where they test for all sorts of developmental issues and where, if they want, most people find out the sex of the baby. As you know, we don't plan on finding out if Gladys is a boy or a girl until delivery day, so for us the session was really about getting a really powerful sonogram where you see fingers, toes and all sorts of other details. Plus passing the tests (which, again, we did).
To me, these pictures are pretty self-explantory, but then I thought they were with Hadley too, and it turned out I was wrong. If these make no sense to you, please feel free to drop me a line.
If you were to somehow see Gladys in real life right now, she'd look something like this. Actually, I don't think that's right. I think she'd look more like an actual baby right now, but I'll have to go with what they say on the site.
She's probably a few inches over a foot long, and weighs about 3 pounds. She sleeps at regular intervals (usually waking up at about the same time as we go to bed), and her brain is developing rapidly.
Molly is feeling generally ok. Gladys is big enough now that she's starting to feel a little uncomfortable, and her sciatica is still kicking in from time to time, but things could certainly be a lot worse!
For those who've been looking for one, here's a photo of Molly's stomach:
Thank you all for your continued good wishes and we hope to have at least one more update before Gladys is born!
November 4, 2004
We're at 15 weeks now, and Molly and Gladys are doing very well,
Last week, Molly went for her Nuchal Skin Fold Translucency test, which tests for Down Syndrome.
We do not technically have our results yet, but the way these usually work is "no news is good news." Plus we got a new sonogram that looks a lot better than the last one.
This one is pretty easy to read even if you don't look at lots of these like we do, but just in case you are confused, that is Gladys in profile. She is lying on her back, with her head to the left. That white line down her back is her spine. The line going up to the right is her thigh. The lower half of her legs just look like smudges, but they are there.
So, where are we at 15 weeks? Gladys is about 4 inches long from head to bum and weighs a little less than 2 ounces. She is just beginning to grow eyebrows and hair, and her body is covered in fine fur (it will go away before she is born). She can grasp, squint, frown, and grimace and may be able to suck her thumb (researchers believe these developments correspond to the development of impulses in her brain).
We have another appointment next week, so expect more information soon!
October 13, 2004
We're pregnant!
That's right, we are happy to announce that we're having another baby! Hadley is going to be a big sister!
At the moment, we are almost 12 weeks along, with a due date of May 3rd.
Molly is just beginning to show, so those of you who see us regularly may have suspected something was in the works, but we wanted to wait until our second sonogram before announcing to everyone.
Speaking of sonograms, here is the sonogram we had today:
It's not a very good picture, we're afraid, but you are looking at Gladys' profile. The vaguely roundish bright outline is her head, and her chest is right in the middle. Here is a diagram to help explain it:
Hopefully, that helped...
As we did with Rufus (who eventually emerged as Hadley), we will use our site to keep you updated on Gladys' progress. Please check in regularly!
October 9, 2004
It's still a secret for the next few days, but if you've stumbled on this page, you might as well know...
We're pregnant.
Here is our first sonogram:
That's Gladys over on the left of the big dark spot. There is not much to see here, but during the sonogram session we saw her heartbeat and some of her basic shape.
We have another appointment in a few days, and we will have better pictures then.
(including "Who is Gladys?")
Who is Gladys?
Gladys is our pet name for the baby until he or she is born. Hadley lived in the womb as Rufus, so baby number two is Gladys. We actually decided on this name shortly after we came up with Rufus for Hadley.
When is the due date?
For the moment, the due date is May 3, 2005. That is likely to change by a few days over the course of the pregnancy.
Is it a boy or a girl?
We don't know, and we don't plan to find out until Gladys is born.
So why does Jamie keep referring to the baby as a "she"?
Only because the temporary name is Gladys. Referring to Gladys as a "he" just wouldn't feel right.
How is Molly feeling?
Molly is feeling more morning sickness than she did with Hadley, and is feeling very tired (though that might have something to do with the fact that we have Hadley to care for now as well). She's been feeling better recently, though.
How long have you known?
We've known since the 20th of August.
How did Molly tell Jamie?
Her initial plan was to find an "I'm a big sister!" t-shirt (much like the one you have probably seen elsewhere on this site), but wasn't able to find one in time. Instead, she bought Hadley a new stuffed animal - a stork with a baby. Jamie uncharacteristically got it pretty quickly.
What's has been your secret "I'm pregnant but nobody knows yet" drink?
You may recall that last time Molly used ginger ale in a champagne glass to disguise that she wasn't really drinking. This time around, the drink of choice has been a virgin Cape Codder - also known as cranberry juice and seltzer water. Worked like a charm.
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