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"Yeah, I'm in the 97th percentile in height & weight which is nice; so I got that going for me..."

Tuesdays at Cunningham Lane 2

Nikon CoolPix 3100 Retired!

It's offical, the Nikon Coolpix 3100 has been retired and all future publicity shots for JT will be made with the Nikon Coolpix S51C ! I briefly flirted with the D40/D80 but opted instead for a camera I can stick in my pocket and use without looking like a Japanese tourist !

Tuesday Trips to Cunningham lane

On my last trip to Mom and Dads, I left the room for about five seconds, returning to find both Dad and JT fast asleep. This is one of those moments that needed to captured for posterity, but I was without my own camera.

I raced back to the kitchen to grab Moms digital camera to get the shot, but then to my chagrin, found that the batteries were dead. Later I found out that she stopped using her Cannon PowerShot once she drained the rechargeable battery the first time. This was a Christmas present from her husband, which I can only assume is thought of in the same light as the bicycle helmet purchased years earlier. I ran to the computer room to try dads super mega digital SRL, with similar results. The camera had enough juice to power up the lens, but any attempt to actually take the picture shut the camera down.

My only remaining option was to pop out the trusty camera phone and take the shot. Dad began to snore at this point and woke himself up shortly after the picture was taken.

Halloween

JT Halloween

JT at Cox's Farm

Bumbo Recalled!

In words of Patrick Swayze - Nobody puts baby in the corner; or in this case a Bumbo! It's a sad day when you find out the Child Neglect Chair has been recalled. JT hasn't quite figured out how to do the escape trick yet and fortunately he can't read how on-line either; but I guess we need to start watching closer when he is encased in his foam rubber prison:

"If the seat is placed on a table, countertop, chair, or other elevated surface, young children can arch their backs, flip out of the Bumbo seat, and fall onto the floor, posing a risk of serious head injuries. "

My favorite picture of the little guy is actually taken of him in the Bumbo, or as Mrs. Gourzis likes to call it the "Bimbo". I suppose we don't need another cry baby head injury survivor in the family and soon as Areti finds out about the recall we'll probably have to throw the chair out.

Angie and Dee's House

Going to Dee and Angie's for dinner was a great change of pace from the regular monotony of parenthood. It's always great to visit with family, but with Dee and Angie also having a newborn, Palmer, it was good to swap baby stories and experiences. Palmer is a little bundle of energy and a glimpse of what we have in store in the near future with JT.

The only problem with going to someones house who also has a newborn is Areti ends up having to get whatever "magic" baby item/toy that we don't have. The Baby Bumbo chair, or as Dee likes to call it "the neglect chair" has made the list. Secondly we will be investing in a over the door frame bungee jumper. Palmer seemed to go nuts for his, video to be posted soon, and JT will love his too as soon as we get one.

Dee, Angie, Palmer and the pugs looked great and we wish them the best of luck with baby number two! Below is a link to the photos from the visit from Dee and Angie, with more pictures on their way soon (As soon as we find our cameras that is; we misplaced them in shuffle of baby equipment from the trip).

Dee, Angie and Palmer!

Big day tomorrow.

JT, Areti and myself will be heading over to Maryland to have dinner with Dee, Angie, Baby Palmer, Uncle Don, Aunt Maryanne, Gary and Susan. JT will no doubt scream his head off the entire way there, then act like a perfect angel while around strangers. That seems to be his new thing, which I suppose is a good thing because it makes us look like better parents than we actual are (and by "we" I mean mainly me). In any event, it will great to see everyone and who knows maybe if we're good we'll get some free chiropractic care. Pictures and details to follow.

On another note, the polls are about to close on the topic of changing blog names. Currently changing is in, with half the poll participants pulling for the change it might be time to say goodbye to baby725.blogspot.com! Next poll: "Should we change blog color schemes?". Right now it seems very October-ish, but I think it's time to shake things up a bit.

Latest JT Photos

JTs Latest videos

I was quite honored today when I realized that someone had comment one of my last set of JT videos. With support like "UR STUPID" I've decided that the public shouldn't be forced to wait for the next installment of JT videos.

Here is a shot of JT and his mother sleeping, where I prove my stupidity yet again with my obvious commentary "sleepy":



JT and Grandpa G hang out together:



Here is an action shot of Max holding JT:



Finally, my last video of this installment is a surprisingly happy JT after his latest set of immunization Shots:

USB Cable

I finnaly found the USB cable to hook the Digital Camera up to the computer, so here are some belated pictures from the hospital and the house. Most of the Pictures in the original Album have already been seen, but there are a few new additions.

On a side note, given the fact that my new cell phone takes higher resolution pictures than my actual digital camera I think it is time to upgrade.

Baby JT arrives

Grandpa

Daddy

Mommies Little Monster

The Breakout

Shortly after 10:40AM 7/19

Latest update

Areti has hypertension and we are being induced this Thursday.

At our latest doctors appointment we found that she 1cm dilated and her cervix is about eighty percent thinned out. This is all good news, as when we go in we'll have less sitting around. The little guy is moving around less and less, as things are getting tighter and tighter in the womb.

I can't wait for the baby to get here. Right now, with both of us off, either we are cleaning and recleaning or spending hundreds of dollars on baby products.

The Bjorn Identity

We recently received our second "BabyBjorn" in the mail, but it contained no from information. Who ever you are thank you :)

My personalized Google

My personalized google had this on the front page today: Accommodate a new baby in a Shift work schedule . Google is scary sometimes....

Knocked Up - the Movie

While I found the movie to be funny I hated it. I go to the movies and somehow end up getting homework. I have to read the happiest baby on the block and the week by week guide to the first year. Stupid movie!

Cord Blood Continued

The OBGYN said the following in regards to the doing the cord blood.

• A the present time saving the cord blood would not be that useful for people of our particular medical backgrounds
• If they continue to make the strides in research that have happened in the last five years saving the cord blood could become quite useful to baby.

Basically the doctor told us if you can afford it then you should probably do it. He also mentioned that the two companies that they work with Via Cord and CBR both often have specials or coupons to reduce the price.

I'm still a little bit unsure, but I suppose if we can get our insurance to pay for it, it certainly wouldn't hurt any.

Cord Blood

The doctors really seem to be pushing us towards saving the Cord Blood at birth, but I am a little skeptical. Roughly it equates to $2000 plus $125 per year moving forward. The claims on the website are pretty fantastic, but I think the bulk of these testimonials are "best case" scenarios.

I guess the question really boils down to is $3700+ worth spending for Cord Blood for 18+ years? I kind of feel like at this point in time( in terms of stem cell research) that cord blood might be the equivalent of buying "under coating" on a new car. If I had to guess I would image the doctors receive some kind of kick back on referrals too, which makes me less inclined to listen to their advice. If you have any thought on the matter please feel free to chime in on this post.

$1700 One-time fee includes:

CBR's proprietary CellAdvantage technology for collection, cell processing and storage

Collection Kit

24/7 customer service

Quality Service Guarantee

Certificate of Deposit

$150
One Step Shipping Service

$125
1st year Annual Storage Fee (or save $400 when you prepay the first 18 years of annual fees.)

$1975
Total Initial Fee

The latest doctors appointment

Baby JT is in great shape. They estimate he is around three pounds and we were told that he has an exceptionally strong heartbeat. After the next doctors visit we go to a once a week appointment schedule, which means more frequent updates!

The doctor gave us a little homework; we have to do our admission paper work for Fairfax hospital and find a pediatrician to take over once the baby is born. They gave a few recommendations on a pediatrician practice, which we will have to look into.

We took or first trip to babies-r-us to look at strollers and various other baby products. The thought was we would create a baby registry, but we ended up bagging it after a few minutes, we were a little overwhelmed and tired. I also found out that the diaper genie is no longer the top dog in diaper disposal, however I forget the name of the new "industry leader". I did manage to get the little guy a Nationals hat, so he will now forever hate the Orioles....

The long awaited update

The baby is officially viable, i.e. in the event the baby was delivered tomorrow he could survive outside the womb. Granted this shouldn’t happen for quite some time, it’s good to know that he can make it on his own nonetheless. The baby weighs 1.3 pounds and from this point any weight that Areti gains should actually be on the baby.

Areti was also found to be very iron deficient, to the point of being almost anemic. This will all be taken care of by a new supplement, and her iron level should reach normal levels in a few days. Apparently this has been the cause of her sleepiness and short temper as of late, so I’ll be on top of the new vitamin intake. Not much you can do to appease a grumpy pregnant woman, so go iron!

On another front the Mom and Dad are making it legally binding this weekend, which has been a source of A LOT of stress. It’s a Greek orthodox service on Saturday, with more people coming than we can probably afford. Oh well. After the wedding the stress level should return its normal “too much” state.

New Feature

I've added a chat widget on the right hand side of the page, please feel free to drop me an instant message if you are so inclined. I've also change the color scheme around a little bit, but I must confess I am not enamored with it and will probably change it about a million times more.

I promise, last time for a post this dorky...

Sonogram Number Two

While it's not totally scientific, we have it on good authority that we are having a boy. The photographic evidence to confirm sex this will not be release, as we respect our new sons privacy. Here is the latest and most expensive pictures we will ever take of our new son.

We have decided to name our son James Thomas, after both of our fathers. Our latest round of test results will be recieved in ten days; which should clear little JT of problems. Keep us in in your thoughts & prayers and we will update you all as soon as we get the latest round of tests back.

Latest Doctor Appointment

Nothing much to report, other than everything with the baby is good. We got to hear the heart, which beats at a techno speed of like 120-170 beats per minute. Areti asked the nurse if she thought it was a boy, to which the nurse gave a solid answer of maybe. It was very non-committal response.

Baby Names

After reviewing the Social Security Administration's list of common baby names for the year 2005 we are in the clear with our choices. I feel bad for the little girls out there that were named after the baby on "Friends".

First Weird Cravings

As if the sonogram was not proof enough, it's offical she's pregnant!

The first of the weird cravings - Peanut Butter and Jelly with Utz Sour Cream and Onion potato chips. For anyone wanting to try this concoction at home; only buy the ripple cut chips because the regular chips are sub standard.

Gathering of Information

After reading through our Obstetrics package we've ended up with some of our questions answered, but mainly a new set of questions to look into. Fortunately Inova has some great resources and a customizable calendar that shows relevant dates during the pregnancy.

Now all we have to do is a ton of paper work and review the next set of tests that will be done at the next appointment:

• CVS Chorionic Villus Sampling - A genetic test to determine the presence of chromosomal problems.
• AFP+ Maternal Serum Screening - A test to determine risks of low birth weights and certain types of birth defects (spina bifida, Down syndrome, etc).

Sonogram Number One

On the second day of Janurary 2007 we had our first sonogram, and it was amazing. The baby is 4.5cm long, roughly eleven weeks old and scheduled to arrive on 7/25/2007!

While mom was not to thrilled to be seeing Dr. Hou, as opposed to her regular female doctor, I like him and his flamboyant nature helped to put me at easy. He checked for twins but fortunately we dodged that bullet, as we both agreed we'll have our hands full with just one baby.

It was so exciting to see the tiny little heart beat go and the little nubs that will soon be the arms and legs! The doctor said that everything looks good so far but there isn't much you can tell this early. The next appointment is 1/29, so we should know more then.