The Number Field

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Previously , we found the less-animated members of the family at leisure. In today's busy times, they also pitch in with household responsibilities.

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Because Elena was somewhat of a large child, the doctor scheduled a late-term sonogram for this week's appointment. Jenny is at 38 weeks, so Moonbeam could arrive any day. Jenny says his kicks are getting stronger, and as I see him squirming around in there, it certainly appears that he's ready for the outside world.

We didn't get any pretty pictures from the sonogram; he's pretty squished. We did get to see some interesting pieces, including practice breathing in his lungs and a considerable amount of hair on his head. The technician took the three important measurements: head circumference, belly circumference, and femur length. From those the machine derived his estimated current weight to be eight pounds, plus or minus a pound.

The sonogram technician was confident in her assessment that Moonbeam won't be as big as Elena. Eight pounds is already a very healthy weight, but Elena's late-term ultrasound was two weeks earlier and her estimated weight was already larger. Not only that, but Jenny seems at least a little more comfortable, so I tend to agree with the sonographer, but I have some doubts. In particular, the head measurement seemed to be relatively smaller than the others, which was also the case for Elena, so I suspect that makes the estimate lower than the actuality. We'll just have to wait until he arrives, and the sonogram results indicated that we should wait, and not schedule an induction or C-section.

With labor possible at any time, I want to review my labor responsibilities and the techniques for helping Jenny be as comfortable as possible. I thought we had a book left over from the Lamaze class we attended last time, but we couldn't find it anywhere. Last night Jenny and Elena checked out some other references at the library.

Typical of the genre, the books mostly read like propaganda for 'natural' birth. For example, they suggest that many doctors and nurses have negative attitudes towards labor and childbirth or treat it like an illness. I don't believe that, so I try to skim past those sections while scanning for the parts I find useful. I want to help Jenny be as comfortable as possible and to progress at her natural pace through early labor. We both want to be ready for unknown twists and turns in the process--another thing that bugs me about these books is their insistence on a detailed, written 'birth plan,' as if this process is something that can be controlled. When we're in the thick of things, we plan to take full advantage of the expert medical care and technology that's available to us.

One last thing--I didn't think this was something anyone would want until I started looking at these books--we have no interest in having Elena present for the actual birth. She would be bouncing off the walls, I need to take care of Jenny, and we certainly don't want to drag another adult into the labor and delivery room to mind her. We're counting on Gran to take care of her, but are also making contingency plans in that respect. As with everything, we won't know until the time comes, but we hope Gran is close to a phone and has a full tank of gas. Beyond that, we'll prepare for everything we can and take the rest as it comes.

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Pregnancy is a marathon, and the last stage drags on interminably, according to Jenny. In order to make the time pass more quickly, she likes to look forward to regularly-placed milestones, no matter how small. A milestone can be as little as completing an item on her to-do list. Some of the more notable things she's crossed off the list in recent days include:

• finishing the digitization of the 600 pages that comprise her scrapbooks,
• putting up at least three weeks of reheat-and-eat dinners in the freezer for after Moonbeam's arrival,
• having portraits of Elena taken at Picture People ,
• finding a new pediatrician for both children,
• collecting addresses, buying stamps, printing out labels, and getting as ready as possible to print and send baby announcements, and
• amassing a month's worth of diapers for Moonbeam and Elena

Other milestones are not just items on her to-do list. In particular, there was one important event that she wanted to make sure Moonbeam waited for--his baby shower. It was last Saturday, and Jenny had a great time. Many thanks to those who organized the event and those who joined in the celebration!

Everything about the shower was just right. The decorations featured a zebra print motif with accents in turquoise and lime. Among the incredible variety of refreshments was some sort roll baked with a cream cheese and bacon filling. Jenny brought one home for me so I know it was great. There was a shower game Jenny hadn't played before which involved scoring the items in her purse--if Jenny hadn't cleaned out her purse the previous week (it must have been on her to-do list), she would have taken second place.

Finally, the presents were wonderful. There were cute clothes, an instant thermometer of the type that we've almost purchased every time Elena's been ill, a diaper cake, and several other wonderful gifts. The least expected one was a stuffed animal with an internal fragrance pocket. It comes with one fragrance packet, but when that one runs out we can get refills. I'm not sure if Moonbeam will be into that, which is all right because Jenny and Elena will both probably want to claim ownership.

After the shower, and with so many things crossed off her list, I was worried that there wouldn't be enough milestones left along the way. My fears were unfounded--the to-do list, at least, is filling back up.

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Through our church , we frequently have opportunities to perform service. The service may be putting together Thanksgiving dinner baskets for people in need or helping someone to move into or out of a new home, but sometimes we also have opportunities to serve at the church itself. The church does not employ professional custodians and gardeners for buildings and grounds, or at least not as many as are required; instead, it relies on the volunteer efforts from the members.

I performed two such service activities in the past week, and Elena was able to help with one of them. First, I helped with the landscaping at the nearby temple , which had issued a call for volunteers. The temple was closed for summer maintenance, and my assignment was to help spread mulch on the grounds. It was backbreaking work on a sweltering hot day, but we completed the assigned task, and I was happy with the work that we did.

Elena loves to talk about and visit the temple. She knows that sometimes when she has a sitter, it's because we're going to the temple. She doesn't understand what goes on inside the temple--the idea of "sacred ordinances" is pretty abstract, but the next time we go to visit the grounds I can show her the part that I helped to beautify.

On Saturday morning, we were asked to help with regular cleaning at the local meetinghouse where we attend Sunday services. Since the assignment was for our family, I took Elena along. The young men are in charge of the cleaning operation, so when we arrived I asked for an assignment, and was asked to clean the chapel. He handed me a basket with the requisite supplies and a laminated card listing the sub-tasks.

Elena and I got to work: we picked up trash (like leftover programs from the previous week) and tidied the hymnals, then started to clean the surfaces. I found a duster for Elena, and showed her some of the woodwork that she could work on. She was happy to help while I sprayed and wiped the non-wood surfaces.

In one area, Elena decided that dusting was not enough. While I wasn't looking, she found a pump bottle of hand sanitizer and squeezed some out onto the area she wanted to clean. Then she started to wipe it around with the duster. By that point, I had caught her. We cleaned the duster off, and I gave her a paper towel to wipe up the rest of the hand sanitizer.

At church this morning, Elena pointed up at the podium and said something to Jenny. She had to repeat herself once or twice before Jenny figured out that she was saying "I cleaned up there!" I was pretty proud to hear her recalling, unsolicited, our previous day's service.

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Grandpa and Grandma are on vacation, but their beautiful garden continues to produce while they're away. We made the trip up to their house to take advantage of the bounty. Our primary target was raspberries, but we came away with much more than that. When Elena and I were at Science Camp, Jenny visited my parents to pick berries and learn to make jam and jelly. I probably should have learned this skill when I was young, but I wasn't usually helpful when jelly-making time came around, and didn't pay attention when I did help. I'm sure my parents were happy to have a willing student, because although the process does require work, it isn't too complicated. Jenny was happy with the results and wanted to make more, and yesterday gave us a great opportunity. First we had to pick the berries. Each of us got a bucket, and grazed through the extensive raspberry patch. Jenny worked the tops of the bushes, while I searched the lower tier. Elena picked whatever she could find, but much like the protagonist of Blueberries for Sal , more of the berries ended up in her mouth than in her bucket. It's close to the end of the season and the bushes have been picked pretty clean, but we were able to find just enough for one full batch of jam. Having accomplished our main goal, we looked around the garden to see what else was ripe. Some cherry tomatoes were ready, which was great. I think just-picked cherry tomatoes have an amazing taste; it's like taking a bite of sunshine. I encouraged Elena to try one, but she spit it out as soon as she bit into it. The same thing happened with the second one she tried. Something must have clicked, though, because not long after that she started to eat them. She even started picking them herself. We also found a few squash and zucchini, a good helping of string beans, and a few peaches from their still-young orchard. It looks like there will be plenty of produce for the rest of the summer, as the full-sized tomatoes and bumper crop of pears ripen. I think that helping with the garden and enjoying its fruits will be a staple of our visits for the rest of the summer and into the fall. We brought the berries back to our house and made jelly in the afternoon. I was somewhat scared of this step, because I remember that my one previous jelly-making attempt ended in failure, but I trusted Jenny's recent experience. It was surprisingly easy--mash the berries, boil them, add sugar and pectin, and seal in sterile jars. Now we have beautiful raspberry jelly that will give us a taste of summer even in the upcoming winter.

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We've hit week 36. For those who remember their multiplication tables, that is nine full four-week months. More importantly, it is the point at which Jenny's will to be done with the pregnancy begins to match and eventually overcome her fear of labor. He could be coming any time. Elena is ready for everyone to know her baby brother's name.

Leave interpretations in the comments; we will eventually confirm if no consensus is found. (Please no hints from those in the know!)

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There comes a time late in pregnancy when it is clear that the being inside is more like an invading alien than anything else. Jenny signed up to get weekly pregnancy updates via email; the messages always give a comparison between the size of the fetus and a piece of fruit. It's a terrible comparison--Moonbeam is not as benign as the honeydew that served as this week's comparison. He doesn't just kick; he pushes and presses with knees and elbows, trying to expand his space. Right now it looks like he's trying to escape via her bellybutton.

Pregnancy during summer must be unbearable. There are some consolations that make it a little bit easier. For one thing, we no longer live in Texas, so we know that the heat isn't as bad as it could be. In Texas, a blast furnace greets you every time you open the door, no matter what time of day. Here, we get respite in the morning and evening.

Second, we have a community swimming pool. Jenny found a cute swimsuit and at first worried that she wouldn't use it, but she's already gotten her money's worth. The pool isn't usually very busy--it wasn't tonight--but it did have three pregnant women relaxing in it.

While Jenny and Moonbeam were enjoying the feeling of weightlessness, Elena was making some important swimming discoveries. By holding a noodle under her arms she could keep her head above water, and as soon as she was doing that, she figured out that she could propel herself in whatever direction she wanted just by kicking a little bit. As soon as she started doing that, she didn't need me holding onto her anymore. She made it all the way across the pool to Jenny. For a brief moment she thought she didn't even need the noodle, but I wouldn't let her follow through on that idea.

Later on we went the shallow area near the stairs and practiced kicking. We were lying on our backs and holding the stairs, making the biggest kick splashes we could. Elena has strong legs--her kicks sent waves all the way to the other corner of the pool.

With all of these good pre-swimming skills Elena is acquiring, we want her to be comfortable holding her breath and going underwater, but she still isn't a big fan of the idea. She usually agrees, albeit reluctantly, to one dunking, and knows to hold her breath, but loudly objects to further practice. I think we made some progress on that front when I showed her how to pinch her nose, and after that she was more willing to partially submerge her face.

We've been working on swimming quite a bit, and these advances are exactly the things we hoped Elena would figure out. At the beginning of the summer Jenny and her friend Lauren tried to find swim lessons that their husbands could take daughters to together. They didn't find any good options, so Lauren acquired a pool for their house; it's about two feet deep and ten feet across. We try to go over there for swim time once a week, which is always lots of fun for Elena and Saiorse. At our last visit, Elena realized she could float horizontally if she used two noodles. That's what gave her the confidence to try floating with one noodle in deeper water today. I'm holding out hope that she'll be able to swim-float without the noodle by the end of the summer.

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Elena goes through cycles with her favorite things--especially books and toys. We recently spent a few minutes organizing her bookshelf, so maybe she will rediscover some old favorites that have been out of the loop, and we'll spend more time reading those in the near future. For the past few days, however, her focus has been the classic A Pocket for Corduroy .

We've read Corduroy so many times that I decided it was time to start seeing how well Elena knew it. At first I would pause before the last word of some sentences, especially ones ending in nouns, to see if Elena would fill in the blanks. She did! I started expanding the program--now we're up to phrases in some places. One of her favorite parts to repeat is when the laundromat is closing and the manager says "closing time, everybody out!" Elena says the manager's whole line.

I try to to notice when she deviates from the words on the page and figure out what's going on with her thought processes. When I stop too early, she usually paraphrases and drops most of the words that aren't nouns, verbs, or adjectives. Sometimes I see what happens with an unfamiliar word: one example is when an artist is described as wearing a beret, which Elena calls a beret-hat. We must have talked to her about what a beret is one time, and the explanation stuck. Finally, there are things that are still outside of her imagination, like when Corduroy pretends he is skiing down a steep mountainside. Elena replaces that with something that makes sense to her (although I can't think of what that is at the moment). At the end of the book, she always likes to nuzzle noses, just like Lisa and Corduroy.

We're also starting to make up our own stories. Somehow she has managed to train me for cuddle time after we brush her teeth and before she gets into bed. She usually wants to look at pictures of cousin Ginny or other things on my iPod, but I tell her we can't do that every night. On the other nights, I've started to spin stories about Elena and her horse Kaya--Elena chose the horse's name. I think I started out calling Elena a princess, but that hasn't been a big part of the stories so far. The main thing that Elena and Kaya do is find bodies of water and splash rocks into them. That's what Elena likes, and I'm still getting used to this new medium, so I'm not very good yet. With practice, I hope we can find a storytelling style all our own.

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