Ultrasound #2 - 20 Weeks

Hello everyone!

First of all, I apologize for neglecting the blog these last few weeks. Our life right now is the busiest it's ever been, for better and for worse. : I'd also like to start a blog specifically to chronicle my musical thoughts and experiments, but we'll see if I get around to it...

Most importantly though, I need to keep you updated on Melissa and the baby!

Last week she had her 20-week ultrasound scan. As far as we can see, everything is looking great. Here are the pictures...









We're getting more excited about it every day. I know that after the arrival I will think back longingly to my last full night of sleep, but I can't help looking forward anyway.

Melissa's belly is getting bigger every day, and I was even able to feel the baby kick one time. Melissa feels movement every day.

We're at the half-way point, so there probably won't be much news on the baby front until it's almost time, and of course there will be lots to say then. In the meantime, I hope to keep you up-to-date on my music, and hopefully we'll take some nice pictures when my parents come to visit in a week. Stat tuned!

First Contact

On Monday of this week, Melissa had an appointment with her midwife, and we were able to hear the baby's heart beating! Unfortunately, we couldn't record it to play for you.

Then on Thursday she had her first ultrasound, and we made visual contact! We were excited to see for the very first time...





The due date is set for March 21st, the same day as Melissa's birthday. But everyone knows that the Bryans have a tendency of being fashionably (cough) late, so we won't be surprised if it's an April event.

It's too early to know the gender or anything, all that they can tell is roughly how old it is, and that everything seems to be going okay.

We hope you enjoy these first snapshots. We'll keep you informed in the coming weeks!

Chris & Melissa

A short update (more to follow...)

Hello, I am writing from the University because (for some reason) it takes 10 - 12 days to change the address of our account with our internet provider. After that I will post some pictures, and I'm also planning to include a video walk-through of our new home! Here is our new address:

1 Daysfoot Court
York
YO10 5BP
UK

In other news, I received more financial aid from the University! About 2/3 of my tuition is now covered, meaning less loans to pay back, which makes us very happy.

We're busy unpacking our few boxes and buying home stuff (I always get excited when I can get a new frying pan). We'll be having a house-warming party later this month and you're all invited, so buy your tickets now! :)

Pictures are forthcoming,

-Chris

And then there were three

We know that most of you already know, but you can consider this the official announcement...

Melissa and I are expecting a child.

Yes, repeating it hasn't made it sound any less weird. Childbearing? Yes, maybe someday... but suddenly that someday has become this day. I remember having the same feeling about getting married, and I expect (without being morbid) to feel the same when I die. Each represents a massive shift in the experience which I call my life. Since the circumstances of my life define who we are, it is we who are changing, transforming in the same way that the joining of two strands of RNA is quickly becoming a full-fledged human being.

It is in these experiences that I come to understand what theologians mean by 'mystery'; the things that we experience without being able to understand or explain. The experience is both humbling and exciting, as our perspective is transformed in ways beyond our control.

Yet, the whole thing is still only a theoretical reality; our day-to-day life is not much changed. Sometimes we wonder whether it could really be happening at all. In three week's time we'll have an ultrasound scan, which will hopefully add some sensory evidence.

And there are all the tantalizing questions: Who will this person be? What will they be like? What will it be like to have her or him in our family? Will I be an okay parent, and will that be enough for them?

I set up this blog to keep record of our journey to England, and suddenly we find ourselves on the brink of a much longer journey. At the moment we both have a strange sense of calm; maybe because we're getting used to these expeditions into the unknown, or maybe because this one hasn't sunk into our psyche yet, who knows. Anyway, I will try to keep some record of the medical checkups and the state of our life for anyone who is interested, as well as our own posterity.

Melissa's first appointment was today, not much happened except answering the doctor-type questions ("are you the father of the baby?") and the upsetting questions ("is this a wanted pregnancy?"), and some blood tests to check for diabetes and stuff.

The whole birthing process is different here than in the US, something I will talk more about later. Melissa's main point of contact is a midwife. Also, she has the option of giving birth at the horspital or at home, as long as things look okay. There are also some pregnancy perks, including free prescriptions and dental care!

Her next appointment is in three weeks' time, when they will check the due date (tentatively March 17th, St. Patrick's Day!) and do an ultrasound scan. So, with any luck, the little one can make her/his online debut at that time.

If this news has renewed your interest in keeping up with the blog, make sure you've subsribed to the RSS feed, so you don't have to keep coming to the website! The address is http://bryanadventure.blogspot.com/rss.xml If you have no idea what I'm talking about, search the internet, or just ask me.

I think that's all for now. Send us all of your questions. I'll try to get Melissa posting at some point as well. As we begin down this long road, it is nice to have others to share the experience with...

-Chris

Anniversary celebration week

Hello, and get ready for lots of pictures!

This week has seen the close of our third year of marriage. We keep saying it feels like so much longer... but in a good way. We both took some time off work and spent a couple of days exploring (in between the days of rest, of course...) I hope you enjoy the photos and brief synopsis of our expeditions. Remember that you can click on any of the pictures for a larger version.




On Tuesday we went to the town of Harrogate. One consequence of living without a car is that the world seems so much bigger than it used to! Even a 20-mile journey is a big to-do.



Harrogate was originally a Victorian town built largely around the sulfur springs.





Mostly we just spent the day exploring, so below are pictures of an interesting church building, the outside of the mall, and a park where we hung out (including when Melissa shrunk to a midget... or maybe it was just a big plant? and the shrubbery-person)












On Thursday we took a free ride to Scarborough on a 1930's steam train as "Friends of the National Railway Museum"! Basically what that means is, our friend, Ian Smith, receives commissions from the museum to write glossy picture books about the trains, and he's allowed to bring people along to sell them to people as they ride. Cool, eh?




Notice the "Hogwarts" sign; part of the train was used in the Harry Potter films!







Scarborough is slightly further away, a coastal town on the North Sea. Unlike York, it is very hilly. Like Harrogate, most of the history is Victorian, but up on a very high peninsula there are the remains of a castle which was built in the 12th century. They have also determined that the area has been inhabited for at least 3000 years.








I hope you've enjoyed the pictures, it took me so long to organize and upload them that I don't have time to say much about them; you can e-mail or comment with questions and, well, comments. It's been a fun week, but now it's time to catch up on work. Later!

Chris