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August 19, 1996
At this point my wife is now 8 weeks pregnant and the baby is approximately
the size of a strawberry (or so all the books say). There are no visible
signs of being pregnant except that she is tired a lot and feels quite
queasy. The baby has a basic heart and kidneys and arm and leg buds with
folds at the ends where hands and feet will be.
This is our first child, so we are excited and nervous about what to
expect.
My wife was starting her studies to become a midwife and has been a
nanny for many years and as such has been close to many pregnancies, but
it's different when it's your own.
I am a computer technician and have never been pregnant before. Yes,
I am a man, so I will never actually be pregnant myself, but I mean I haven't
been that close to a pregnancy before either. :)
So I guess this is my way of making it seem more real to me.
August 25, 1996
Well, apparently the baby is now resembling a human. The pictures I see
for this point in the pregnancy is just like all the ones you see on tv
about a fetus. The guides say that the baby will now react and move away
from pressure. I find it so amazing how the human body recreates itself.
I have to admit that the whole idea of being a father is thrilling to
me, but there is still one aspect that I'm not too sure about ...
October 11, 1996
Michelle and I went to see the ultrasound technician today to "see" a picture
of our baby. It was kind of neat. Just this fuzzy picture that looks more
like a picture a child took rather than a picture of a child! The technician
pointed out the head, brain matter {despite my genes :)}, the spine, the
general shape of the body and fingers and toes. I guess if you look at
enough of these pictures you'd start to see things too! Anyway. It was
a really neat experience and really brought home the fact that there really
is a baby in there!
October 19, 1996
Today we went to see our midwife (Sandy Pullin). This was the first time
we met her in person, though we saw her on a videotape called "Born At
Home" we got from the library. It was quite an experience. She actually
expects me to be involved! I love that idea as opposed to the usual hospital
idea of the man in the waiting room. Michelle still wants me to cut the
umbilical cord though I think I might pass out!
November 14, 1996
Michelle went to see the midwife by herself today. She came back all excited
about hearing the heartbeat! Next time we go I'll get to listen, too! Maybe
I'll try to record it... Earlier in the week Michelle felt a flutter (kind
of like bubbles or gas, she says). The midwife says that it was probably
the baby moving!
November 26, 1996
Today we
went to see our first movie at the theatre since the baby was conceived.
It was Star Trek 7: First Contact. Does this mean our baby will be a trekkie
(or trekker)? (Good movie by the way...) The baby should now be about 10
inches long, about 14 ounces (just under a pound), has hair, eyelashes
and eyebrows and sucks it's thumb. Apparently when it sucks it's thumb
it can suck in amniotic fluid and ends up getting the hiccups! The top
of the womb is at Michelle's belly-button and you can feel the difference
in firmness between the womb and the stomach.
December 12, 1996
Today
we went to see the midwife again and I got to hear the heartbeat. I taped
it and uploaded it here. It kind of sounds like it's muffled or underwater
(I guess it actually IS underwater.) If you would like to hear it, click
on the heart picture.
December 25, 1996
MERRY
CHRISTMAS!
December 29, 1996
Well, lately the baby is much more active. I have actualy been able to
feel it kicking a few times. Michelle of course has felt it kick MANY times,
usually at about 11 pm at night. (Definitely my child. Just starts to get
active at night!)
January 1, 1997
Happy New Year!
January 16, 1997
The baby is now so active that I have seen Michelle's belly move when it
kicks! The books say that the baby can now hear and respond to external
sounds. The lungs are also now formed well enough (the alveoli are present)
that it could survive on it's own outside the womb. It also weighs about
1.5 pounds. Brainwave patterns now assimilate those measured in a full-term
newborn. The ovaries or testes are now fully developed (though we don't
know what gender our child will be). The baby's eyes are now able to open
and close. Looks like Michelle is going to have to have a shot in case
of a problem with the blood type since she is O- and since I am O as well
and probably+ (I don't know for sure, I haven't gotten the results from
the Red Cross yet.) which could cause a problem with future pregnancies
(Michelle still wants a few). Apparently Michelle's immune system might
react to the next baby and reject it if this child ends up with O+ blood.
March 23, 1997
Well. We've been a little busy lately. Most notably, Jonathan Michael Wood
was born on March 14, 1997 at 2:33 a.m. at Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton,
Alberta. I don't have time to go into too much detail but there were complications
after the birth and he is now at the University of Alberta Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit. They have been treating him (and us) wonderfully there. He is
stable but still at the "wait and see" stage. Most importantly right now
is the fact that he's alive and we love him. To see larger pictures of
our pride and joy click on the images below...
April 20, 1997
Jonathan is still in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They still do not
know what is wrong. There is still the possibility that he may just outgrow
all of this. We hope for this and are terrified by this. We want him home
as soon as possible, but how do you know for sure that he's oetgrown it?
Even the doctors can not make any guarantees. On a more positive note,
we have been able to get an imprint of his feet and hands. (Click here
and here). He is also now wearing a sleepie (night
dress type of thing) and no longer depends upon the heat bed to keep his
temperature steady. He looks very cute!
April 28, 1997
On Friday, April 25, 1997 at 7am Jonathan passed away. The decision to
terminate the agressive support was made by Michelle and myself upon consultation
with the doctors and realizing that the machines were the only thing keeping
him alive at this point and soon they would not be enough. The doctors
let us hold him for a little bit and a photographer came in to take pictures,
then while Michelle was holding him the support was removed and he quickly
passed away. Our greatest comfort is that as he passed away his face showed
expressions of relief and comfort which are expressions we have not seen
for quite some time on his face. He looked very much at peace and content
with the decision. We believe this to be that he knew he was being called
to go home to heaven with Jesus and that we loved him and always would.
He may not have been here for a long time, but he will always be a large
part of our lives. We miss him already but are glad that his poor body
is finally at rest. The service will be on thursday at our home church,
Jasper Place Baptist, and his internment will be at Westlawn Cemetaries,
in the Garden of Angels. We have asked that those wishing to make a monetary
donation do so to the University of Alberta Hospital Neo-natal Intensive
Care Unit in Jonathan's name.
The story doesn't really end here as Jonathan is a constant part of
our lives and always will be.
He is our first son and we tell Christopher
all the time about his "Big Brother" that's in heaven with Jesus waiting for
us.
I will try to add bits and pieces about how he affects our lives and
how we celebrate his short life with us, but it is hard to do ...
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