Gametes In Love

So when G and S2 are old enough to ask where babies come from, do you think it will be too much to break out these plush toys?

And to be accurate to their specific conception story, a petri dish too:

Following my cord blood donation rant, I continued making calls and asking around for organizations that accept cord blood. And I found some!!!!

There are 2 organizations that will accept cord blood out of state: LifebankUSA (which focuses on clinical research), and Cryo Bank International (which places collected cord blood on a national transplant registry).

Sadly, LifebankUSA cannot accept a donation from me. Turns out that my Eastern European residency in the 1980s may have exposed me to mad-cow disease contaminated meats. While my brain doesn’t feel particularly swiss-cheesey (pregnancy and mommy brain excluded), this was a sad blow to be honest. It’s one thing to be rejected for something that I was personally in control of (say getting a tattoo recently, or sharing needles), but when it’s something that was not my choice, it hurt. Our conversation lasted all but 10 minutes once we began discussing my origins. On the bonus side I didn’t have to fill out 14 pages worth of forms 🙂

However, Cryo Bank International doesn’t have this problem. I asked them to confirm, and the donation coordinator said I looked good, and pending three wet signatures from my doc (I had forms faxed over from them) my paperwork should be final and they’ll send me a donation kit.

Kinda cool!

I AM a little disappointed that my OB’s office charges for the collection of cord blood when used for donation purposes. $200 ain’t cheap, yo! The moms that directed me to these 2 organizations said that their OBs did not charge, so I was kind of expecting Dr. M wouldn’t either. Given how awesome she and her office is on everything else, this was just a surprise. However, our very own (version of) Suzie Orman confirmed that any money I spend on the collection of cord blood can be considered a donation for tax purposes, even though it’s not being paid directly to the donation organization.

So… as of right now, all systems are a go. This does add a bit more complexity to the “todo” list when I go into labor, and then the hours post-recovery, but it’s important to me and I’m glad we get a chance to do it.

I would still prefer to donate to clinical research, and if I get a call from Genentec I’d be thrilled, but I’m glad that there’s a plan.

Woot!

I’m a cheap date.

I say this because typically one glass of wine is plenty for me. I don’t drink often, which is a major contributing factor to this too. So, why is it that during this pregnancy white wine seems to be one of the items I’m consistently craving? I stare longingly accross the table when S has wine with dinner.

I haven’t been drinking, don’t worry, but I’ve made it very clear to S that I’m fully expecting a bottle of chilled Crios Torontes in the recovery room.

I just hope the nurses don’t think I’m a lush.

How far along: 35w. (Oh, and 35 days to go)
Weight: 151.6lb. By the way, HOLY growth spurt!!! If you look at my belly this week vs. last, major difference. Kinda explains the 2.5lb weight gain. Someone’s putting on the poundage. I just hope it’s the kid, not the mom.
Measuring: 40.5″ across my widest point.
Sleep: Good. Although I wish that I will stop waking up at 5:30 every morning, just ‘cuz.
Gender: Nutsicles
Movement: Calming down a bit, but still a wiggly worm.
Feeling: Overall good, and progressively more excited about my next life transition here.
Food cravings: It’s not food, but I want wine.
Fetal development:
Your baby doesn’t have much room to maneuver now that he’s over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds. Because it’s so snug in your womb, he isn’t likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he’ll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

I really want to donate the cord blood from Storm’s delivery. I don’t want to bank it for our use, and I hate the idea of it going to waste (when stem-cells are supposedly in such high demand), so I would really like to donate it. Stem cells collected from cord blood can be used for research. There is ongoing research using stem cells for treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Cerebral Palsy, Diabetes…

Except identifying a place that will take it has become a royal pain in the rear.

My hospital does not participate in a donation program.
There is only 1 hospital in our area that does, and they do not accept donations from non-patients.
I contacted Stanford to see if they have any ongoing research projects that would want it, and came up with a big fat 0.
Children’s Hospital of Oakland will only accept cord blood from siblings of children already requiring a transplant.
StemCyte only works with hospitals who have a donation program due to FDA regulations.
I’ve left messages for LifebankUSA and Joanne Pang Foundation. I’m also trying to get a hold of SaneronCCEL, but their answering machine has me on an endless loop.
I’m also trying a contact at Genentec, and hoping they might have programs that would be interested.

WHY is this so hard? As far as I’m concerned clinics doing this research should be knocking down OB office doors and asking for fliers to be made available to interested parents. I shouldn’t have to hunt down these organizations. I want to help. It shouldn’t be this hard!

I had to get into the driver’s seat via the rear of the car today? Why? Because I locked myself in the backseat of my car.

Since G has been playing escape artist after being unbuckled from his seat, I’ve started applying the child-locks on the rear doors. And of course, I’d forgotten all about this when G asked me to sit next to him after he got in the car. In my “smartness” I wanted to illustrate to him that if I sit in the back with him, then no one would be able to drive the car. So down I sat, and closed the door behind me. G didn’t find his lesson particularly amusing, enlightening or insightful, so I decided we were done and tried to get out. Only to realize I couldn’t. I had two options: 1) yell for help and look like an idiot; 2) climb over to the front of the car and also look like an idiot.

So… what I learned:

1. The Honda Fit has a very narrow space in between the front side seats.

2. The headrests on the Honda Fit are pretty darn tall.

Those two factors, paired with an 8m pregnant lady mean some hilarity watching from the side-lines as she (I) navigates the way to the front. There was definitely some booty wiggling action trying to inch over to the front. Carefully at that, so that I didn’t kick G in the head as I was trying to swing my legs over the seats. What saved me from a line-up of parents laughing hysterically at this sight was 1) tinted windows; 2) me parking at the last spot of the school lot.

So yeah… while G learned nothing from today’s adventure, I learned to never close the rear door behind me… unless I have someone around that can rescue me. Or at least I hope I learned this. We won’t know until the next time I try to lock myself in though 🙂

Who knew that an activity center has value past the infant stage?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BITl-qk5uaE]

How far along: 34w
Weight: 149lb
Sleep: Some nights great. Others not so much. Last night? Not a great one.
Gender: Nutcrackers give the boys nightmares
Movement: I’m pretty sure S2 is trying to expand my belly sideways. In some respects it’s kind of painful.
Feeling: Sleepy! And stressed out at work. Last week, I had the unfortunate insident of dealing with someone from our Sales team who had clearly decided to ignore my previous recommendations and attempted to pressure us into a commitment I refused to give. This irritated him (bonus for me), but it also sub-consciously made me so upset that I spent my evening with contractions. Go him. I really need to limit my interactions with said individual as much as possible over the next 4 weeks.
Milestones: Did I mention only 4 more weeks of work yet? I called Matrix Absence Management on Friday as it marked 30 days away from my first day off. It felt good!
Food cravings: I’m pretty sure S2 is hugging my stomach in some way and not making me very hungry. So no particular food cravings.
Fetal development:
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he’s born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well.

Do you ever feel like negotiating with a toddler is like negotiating with a terrorist? Toddlers:

1. Have no patience

2. Do not understand/follow logic

3. Are often-times incomprehensive (verbal skills wise)

4. Do not tire of saying “No!” or insisting on whatever it is they want RIGHT.NOW

5. Are happy to blow up your personal sanity in order to achieve their goal

I really feel that the best way to train a negotiator is to put them through a few months of working with toddlers. Negotiating my guy, for example, into a new diaper is both a mentally and physically exhausting activity.

As a related example (although not a true illustration of G at his worst), here’s a story of yesterday’s snack time negotiation.

G (after he had finished a container of yogurt): Cookie!

Me: Ok G, I can give you half a cookie.

G: TWO cookies!!!

How did we get from 1/2 a cookie to 2? S has trained him for two by offering him one for each hand. Thanx, S! So this is where Mommy thinks fast and breaks 1 cookie into 2 halves, and gives each hand something to hold. Yeah, I lost. It wasn’t half a cokie. He got double what I offered. But he didn’t win either, and it was an arrangement I could live with.

I’ve been worn down many times though, and G’s won many more than I’d like to admit. This whole parenting thing is not quite the dictatorship I thought it would be. Sigh!

If you can’t find the bra you wore yesterday, to put in the laundry hamper, look down and make sure you’re not still wearing it. Like perhaps, you just put your PJs right on top and slept in it all night without noticing.

This moment has also been brought to you by: pregnancy brain.