| Dad's Diary |
| Archived Journal |
| Week 11 The Health Update Erika continues to feel fatigued and has an occasional headache. However, nausea is almost non-existent and for that we are thankful. Gala apples and grapefruits are her favorite foods. She flew to Miami for work today so I have a few days to restock the fridge. Before she left, however, we had a doctor's appointment today where, among other things, we got to hear the baby's heartbeat! This was very, very cool and certainly makes this seem more real. The midwife found it right away, after warning us that we might not be able to hear it today. Hopefully, this was the first of many overwhelming moments. Erika has decided to use a midwife and prior to today I didn't really know what to expect with that. However, I got a really good sense from the midwives today. For example, we got way more time today than you normally would with a regular doctor. We spent about two hours talking with the midwife, going over our medical histories, and so on. It just seems like a more relaxing, personal setting, espcially at the otherwise crazy U of Chicago hospital--and the doctors are always nearby if they're needed. But, I realize I am a mere novice in this area, and I know the midwife route may not be for everyone, so I am not proselytizing here. Couvade explained As soon as I found out we were expecting, I went out and bought a few books on pregnancy, some from the woman's perspective, others from the man's (I'll do some book reviews in a future entry). All of the men's books mention this phenomenon of couvade. Couvade essentially is when the man begins to exhibit symptoms of the pregnancy (I think it's French for "freaked out American father"). Common couvade symptoms include weight gain, nausea, fatigue, even cysts and food cravings. Supposedly 90% of men get some of these symptoms while their wives/partners are pregnant. I immediately discounted this possibility occuring to me when I first read about it, although I found it fascinating. However, since then, I've been very tired, just like Erika, and yesterday we both developed a splitting migraine headache, even though we were apart at the time. Not to mention my weight gain. Hmm, maybe there's something to this couvade after all. No cysts or contractions yet, however! If anybody has any interesting couvade stories, I'd be interested in hearing them. Since I gave a long health update today, I'm going to wait until next time to talk about day care waiting lists. Thanks for reading. |