01/07 1ere semaine/ 1st week

Cette semaine se passa a preparer comme on peut l'arrivee de Florence.
Kate passa de nombreuses heures sur l'internet, de maniere a devenir l'experte en poussette, lit d'enfant, en divers accessoires, en vetements, etc.... Nombreuses visites a BabiesRus, Target, et parfois Walmart, bien que tous ceux vivant aux States connaissent la qualite souvent douteuse.

Nous avons egalement renvoyer le docteur et le staff qui lui entoure. Incompetence est le premier mot qui vient a l'esprit, mais aussi un "j'm'en-foutisme" qui a fait que nous avons trouve une autre equipe, et des les premieres minutes passees ensemble, ce fut le jour et la nuit comme difference. bref, y'a encore du boulot a faire pour la nouvelle venue, mais le principal est pratiquement fait.

Affaire a suivre pour la fin avril-debut mai.

Hello all! Richard has attached here a picture of Florence's room-to-be. We've chosen the airplane motif. In that way, Richard can impart his passion for aviation to our daughter, who will, inevitably, become a pilot and join our family flying team.

As Richard wrote in French above, I've been going nuts reviewing every single baby item on the Internet, wanting to make sure we buy good products, wanting to make sure we buy products proven in the field (via positive feedback from other parents) and also so that we buy efficiently (not going crazy and buying the store just because we can).

We're very happy to have found a new doctor's group. Prior, in Arizona, I went to a great OBGYN. However, that office is an hour one way (in good traffic!) from our current home so it was necessary to try someone local. Our first time out the gate, however, was unsuccessful so we went to an OBGYN recommended by our GP, who turned out to be just terrific, including his staff (a miracle, no?) He is a Chinese doctor. In California all my doctors were Chinese, including my vet. I have a prejudice toward them because all the Chinese doctors I have ever went to were highly competent, smart as a whip, and, frankly, gifted with a sixth sense of medicine. So, we're very happy and content now. This doctor is a bit farther away from the bad one, but as many other moms have said - well worth the longer trip!

We've settled into the concept of our pending arrival - our daughter Florence. It also helps in solidifying the pending reality in that she kicks me roughly two hundred times a day, beats me with her fists, and shoves legs into stretched out position, which make for quite a pain in my ribs. It is feeling her movement which has made her so real. And each night I always take out my stethoscope, placing it over her, so that I can listen to her wiggle and kick (the kicks are especially loud against the stethoscope). And I do this until I fall asleep. Hopefully, in a few more weeks I shall be able to hear her heartbeat too, as it usually takes about 28 weeks to be able to hear it with just a stethoscope, as opposed to an ultrasound machine, which allowed us to hear it when she was just 5 weeks old. How miraculous is science, is it not?

Well, that's all for now. We're tired! And we're off to slumber. Good night!

Oh, by the way, if you click your mouse on the pictures, they expand so you can get better detail. Adios!