milestones along the way...
DUE DATE: between January 21st & February 6th, 1999
(see notes on those days for explanation)
May 15th: estimated conception date, according to calculators used at www.babycenter.com and the calendar at www.pregnancycalendar.com (Olen's great pregnancy calendar was actually where we found most of the information on this page).
June 17th: we meet Valerie and Kathy, our midwives, for the first time.
mid to late June: Aimee and Chuck let the families know the big news around this time. Aunt Barbara Linder guessed it when we called her, before Aimee said a word - how did she already know? - it was in the stars.
August 7th: Aimee completed her first trimester of pregnancy. The fetus is 4 1/2" from head to toe.
August 15th: period of rapid fetal growth begins. Aimee feels the first mild Braxton-Hicks contractions at this point too. The uterus is already practicing!
August 27th: Aimee feels the baby moving for the first time while driving home from the Edward Tufte lecture on Information Design.
Early September: Aimee and Chuck travel out to California. The party on the beach in La Jolla was a memorable occasion and all Aimee's friends and family were happy to finally hang out with Chuck! Aimee has two dreams in which the baby turned out to be a girl...
Late September: Aimee and Chuck visit cousins Delia and Rob in fabulous New Orleans. Louisiana afforded some great culinary experiences, especially dinner at Brigtsen's courtesy of Delia and Rob. Another great meal was with our Cooper Union friend, Jen Fenton, at a lovely Italian restaurant in the French Quarter called Irene's. Chuck made major headway with his thesis - with Delia and Rob's help - a swamp tour, meetings with Atchafalya experts, visiting the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Festival Acadian were all great.
All of September: During all this traveling the baby was kicking away, and we cooked Mexican food for all the nights we were at home. Aimee's main craving is ANYTHING from Diane Kennedy's Art of Mexican Cooking. Maternity-type clothes are now the only thing Aimee can wear.
October: Aimee does her last bit of airplane travel till the baby arrives, to attend the ASPRS convention in Boston with the In/Form bunch. She stayed with her friend Heather who was able to witness the baby jumping around in Aimee's belly! The baby is likely hearing lots of sounds now, such as digestive noises, blood rushing around, loud noises from the outside world, and Aimee's voice - as well as Chuck's when he speaks to the baby at bedtime. As for cravings, well Aimee can be often found at the grocery store buying 5 artichokes at a time - but this is nothing new for the CAKEs. Try the artichoke recipe on Aimee's web page to see why we like them to much!
October 13th: At about 24 weeks, the baby will be almost one foot long from head to toe. It weighs around 22 ounces.
January 21st: Aunt Barbara's due date, based on the planets 'n' stars! (She got Monique's exactly right!)
January 27th: the Midwives say it may come this day (or earlier) based on first kick date and other factors.
January 31st: Date Marcel was actually born! Incredibly, I was ~3 centimeters dilated for a week - luckily my water did not break! So, labor officially started in the car wash and after a 4 hour labor Marcel appeared. What a surprise to have boy! Everything went beautifully.
February 6th: due date according to normal LMP calculation. Incredibly, this was Mom Ellingsen's due date when she was pregnant with Aimee 25 years ago!
