Ben Rousch's Cluster of Bleep

Last Saturday I had a nasty sore throat that dulled a bit on Sunday. Then Sunday night it came back with a vengeance and I could hardly talk. Poor Asher wanted me to read him an ABC’s book, but I couldn’t because of the pain. Starting Monday the sore throat went away, but I have had a lot of interesting snot colors and an occasional cough. It seems to be the worst at around 3AM, which is why I am blogging now until the NyQuil kicks in. In the hope that Koba won’t catch what’s ailin’ me, I’ve been sleeping on the couch and have not been preparing food for her.

Last week Duncan’s four year old foot injury flared up and I had to take him in to the vet. They said it has gotten infected and recommended surgery to remove the infected bone comprising the remainder of his dew claw. One day and $866 later, you can see how pathetic he is in these three pictures. He always checks his food and treats for nasty pills before he swallows him because of the drugs he had to take last time he had surgery. Now he has five pills to take twice a day, and it’s always an ordeal prying open his mouth and jamming them down his throat. Tara is much easier to medicate.

There’s not much news on the baby front. Lori has had a muscle ache in her side for a few days now and has been on Motrin Jr for a couple of days. She borrowed a bunch of maternity clothes from my sister last week, so she has a pretty good stock of them for now.

Koba was still 37 inches around last Saturday. The neuchal translucency test came back clear, so there is an unlikely chance of many defects. We had a doctor’s appointment last Monday, and the baby’s heartbeat was loud and clear this time. The doc measures from the top of the public bone to the belly button to see how Koba is progressing, so now we have another measurement to track: 13cm. She is on a prescription for the nausea, and she is OK as long as she takes it once a day. She has taken to calling the fetus “The Munchkin” until we know the sex and can decide on a name.

The basement is finally clean enough to start moving stuff down there from the guest bedroom/future nursery. I moved the futon down there, so Mount Laundry is now sitting on the floor. Hopefully I’ll get that cleaned up this weekend and also find some place to put my father-in-law’s old dresser.

I actually cleaned a bathroom myself, which I haven’t done in a long time. I didn’t want Koba huffing those cleaner fumes! I’m also keeping on top of the dishes instead of letting them stack up all week. Hopefully these things will become routine by the time the baby comes and it will seem like less hassle to keep things reasonably clean.

Golf league started last Thursday. I shot a respectable 42 on the back and had my first birdie of the year. The new driver is still pounding drives 40 yards farther than they should go. I played tennis with a friend last night and it made me realize how out of shape I am. I may be able to walk for miles, but I’m quickly winded by sprinting. I need to get myself in better condition for when The Munchkin starts running around or I’ll be left in the dust!

I took Koba shopping for maternity clothes today since she is complaining that none of her pants fit. We went to the Motherhood Store, Kohls, Old Navy, Lane Bryant, and two different Targets. She ended up getting two bras for her growing boobs, and a pair of panel pants for her growing belly. I added a photo of her in the first maternity clothes (the pants, sorry guys) to the photo album. I also got her to finally start measuring her belly since she is starting to show a bit. Today’s belly is 37 inches.

We had the follow-up ultrasound for the neuchal translucency test. They got the pictures they need for the test this time, and a cute one of the baby’s hand. I added the hand picture to the baby photo gallery.

I haven’t written in a while, but a lot has happened lately. I’ll try to blog regularly now that the baby is on the way and everybody wants updates.

We had our first ultrasound today. It was very exciting to see the baby kicking and punching. We got a few good pictures, which I am posting in the official Baby Rousch Photo Album. As well as checking the baby’s age and due date, this early ultrasound is used to detect several possible birth defects. More information on the specific test is available in this Wikipedia article.