World Traveler

By the time Schnabling is born, he (or she) will have already traveled to:

• A destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
• A Harvard Business School reunion in Boston, MA
• An international convention in Las Vegas, NV
• Prayer time at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel
• A bar-mitzvah in New York, NY
• A big evening wedding in Toronto, Canada
• A family reunion in suburban Pennsylvania
• Executive management classes at Kellogg (Northwestern) in Chicago, IL

And will have participated in:

• A Crohn's walk
• A prostate cancer fundraiser
• A breast cancer fundraiser
• A graduate medical education fundraiser
• A palliative care fundraiser
• And, most appropriately... a maternal fetal medicine fundraiser.

Heartbeat

Today Schnabling communicated to the outside world for the first time - through a heartbeat. Dr. Crochet warned that it may take some time to find the heartbeat through the other rumblings that the microphone picks up, but she found it immediately after that - nice and strong. 172 beats per minute. I kept laughing, which overwhelmed the subtle sound.

D worried that the rate is too fast or that my laughing is now too loud, but it's all just right (God willing). Dr. C says I'm very healthy and on track. That was a big relief. The next step is an optional first-trimester screen (sonogram at 12 weeks) and the full sonogram at 17 weeks. That's not too far off now...

Surprisingly after 32 years of cat ownership, I haven't been exposed to toxoplasmosis so I'm not immune to it. So D gets litterbox duty for the next 7 months...