The Kick

The reality of becoming a father took hold today. Karen and I were lounging on the couches, watching some TV, and the little guy was just having a party in Karen's belly. Really, it was like he was doing martial arts. Karen told me that he had been kicking, and that I might be able to feel it from the outside. So she pointed to where she had been feeling the kicks, and I skeptically held my hand there for a few seconds, when BAM--he threw a jab right into my hand. I really couldn't believe what I was feeling. It was a very special moment. It's fun to imagine the little baby in there, waving his arms and legs all around, twisting and turning, as he grows.

The Half

So I went down to Adana with some friends the last weekend in March to run the half marathon in Tarsus. Adana is in southeastern Turkey, and Tarsus is about 40 miles west. The guys who went stayed with Chris, who showed all of us around Adana and Tarsus. The ladies who went stayed with Jessica and Melissa, who had everyone over for breakfast and dinner on Saturday and were great hosts. We spent Saturday touring Tarsus and making sure we were all registered for the race (online registration SO didn't work--that's Turkey for you). Steve and Jessica cooked us some great pasta for dinner, and we got the train to Tarsus early Sunday for the race. We had the last of our great--and super cheap--meals in Adana before the huge thunderstorm came in, the skies burst forth, and we guys raced through the floodwaters to Chris's apartment. There, we found no power and no water. Very fortunately, Jessica let all four of us shower at her place before we headed to the airport.

Below is a picture from the race that Jessica took, about half a kilometer from the finish line. Thanks for the support, ladies! I had a huge smile on my face because I was having a good time, and a pretty good runner's high. My finishing time was 1:44:39, which was 281st out of 739 male runners.

20 Weeks

We had a doctor's appointment today and had a super-cool ultrasound. Baby D is weighing in at 354 grams (about 12.5 ounces) and appears to be an aspiring basketball player. He has long arms and legs! All of the genetic markers the doctor looked for were normal, so he's in good shape. The doc predicted that Baby D will be about 3.5 kgs at birth (7.7 lbs). We'll have to see if his prediction comes true! Let me see if I can list all the body parts we could see today. (Please keep in mind this is not an exhaustive list. If I leave out something crucial, it's not because he doesn't have it but that I couldn't remember it.) Here goes: head, brain (right and left sides), two eyes, jaw, tongue, nose (measuring 5.5 mm - cute as a button!), spine, heart, lungs, kidneys, galbladder, bladder, stomach (he's got a big tummy!), intestines, penis (it's definitely a boy), two legs, two feet with toes, two arms, and two hands with fingers. Can you believe all of that is already there and developing in such a tiny guy?! Well, here's your chance to see if you can identify Baby D in the pics below. Isn't he handsome?! Enjoy!

Here's a picture of the bump now.

The Earthquake

So we felt our first earthquake in Istanbul this week. It wasn't a big one (4.2 on the Richter scale), but we still felt it. Byron had just returned from taking Ernestine out, and I was sitting in the big chair in the living room. We were waiting for "Lost" to come on, and the building shook a little. We could hear things in our apartment shaking and the floor felt rubbery for a few seconds. Nobody was injured and all of our things survived. Surprisingly, Ernestine didn't seem to notice a thing! She was intently watching Byron who was retrieving a treat for her when the quake started. It only lasted a few seconds, but admittedly, it was a little freaky.

The Flutter

I had a very exciting experience this afternoon - I felt a little flutter in my belly! It felt like a light tapping for a quick moment. It must have been all the excitement from yoga that got Baby D energized!

Yoga

This morning I attended my first prenatal yoga class. It was a great class, and I learned that I'm definitely not very bendy. At any rate, I'm gonna keep going weekly and we'll see how it goes. Stay tuned for more news on this front.

Pregnant in Turkey

I had a typically Turkish experience this week. I had to ride out to the airport for work in a big truck with one of the Consulate drivers. He's the sweetest man and has the best intentions; HOWEVER, a common belief here in Turkey is that driving over bumps in the road (of any size or form) will injure the baby. For those of you who've spent any time on the road in Istanbul, you know where this is going. It easily took us twice as long to make our trip to and from the airport because we came to a near stop before each and every uneven spot in the road - even on the highway. We dodged every manhole and pothole, and he took the long way around back to the Consulate because the more direct route required driving on worse roads. Every time we slowed he would tell me in his broken English how we were protecting the baby by avoiding the bumps. Although he was truly being very considerate, I thought I was going to pull my hair out by the time we got back. I guess that's what I get for being pregnant in Turkey. =)