Cousin Bobby takes us to the Buffalo Zoo



One of the highlights of our July trip to Buffalo was when cousin Bobby took us to the Buffalo Zoo!  It was so wonderful to have Bobby show us around the zoo on Eli's first visit!  Bobby is an expert when it comes to the Buffalo Zoo and we had a super great day!

 

Aunt Kelly and Daddy checking out the rhino!

Bobby and Eli at the Sea Lion tank.

There's the Sea Lion!

The highlight of our day was this baby gorilla.

We might have been the highlight of this baby gorilla's day too!

Eli and his "cousin"!
Greatest. Evolution picture. Ever.

"OMG! Are you getting this on film!?!"

Eli's first pet

Could the son of two nerdy science professors possibly have a normal first pet?

No, of course not.

Eli's first pet is a shoal of transgenic zebrafish known as GloFish.

Eli with his GloFish!

 What are GloFish?, you ask?

GloFish are a zebrafish (Danio rerio, as my 8-year-old nephew quickly identified!) with an inserted transgene from either a jellyfish or a sea anemone.  These genes are for fluorescent proteins that are expressed in the muscles of the zebrafish and make them "glow".  They now sell red, orange, green, blue and purple (you can now buy them at your local pet store!).  Eli has a few green and a bunch of blue ones.

Green GloFish
(Photo by Ryan Wynne)

Blue GloFish
(Photo by Ryan Wynne)

 
Sure, Eli is probably a bit young for a pet of his own (Wait, I am not supposed to buy my 5-month-old his own pet?).  Truthfully, these are some research subjects that are just spending the summer with us from Ryan's lab.  Ryan has been working on a few shoaling studies with his undergraduate students, based on some experiments I did during my thesis work** (a long time ago!). As Ryan is home with Eli all summer, we thought it would be fun for Eli to start doing a bit of research and earn his keep (Wait, I am not supposed to have my 5-month-old doing research?).  


**Totally nerdy side note -- While getting some links for this post, I discovered that my old thesis paper is actually mentioned on the GloFish Science page.  I am that much of a nerd that I am a little excited about it!**   

Baby Bumpers

What to do with those crib bumpers that came with the nursery bedding set?

After I posted photos of our nursery, my friend Mary Beth contacted me to let me know that currently, many groups are recommending to REMOVE the bumpers from cribs because many babies have been injured by them and they may increase the chance of SIDS.  She sent me some great info (Mary Beth works for EPIC Every Person Influences Children) and I found this article (and its links) full of good information too.  Before Mary Beth contacted me, I honestly didn't realize what a safety issue bumpers were, but I definitely removed them before Eli started sleeping in the crib (Thanks MB!). 

Then I thought to myself "What can I do with these adorable bumpers?".  I am not crafty enough to sew them into something cool.  So I just added them to the very, very bottom outside of the crib.  We live in a small apartment without much storage (for all of the diapers that I hoard when they go on sale!!), so this was a good way to hide all my stored items under the crib and add a bit more color!

Anyone else do something cool with their bumpers?

A sweet SMA baby

I am currently sobbing because of a blog I read by a sweet little girl named Avery who had suffered from SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy).  Sure, the crying is due to the lingering pregnancy hormones that I just can't shake, but it really is such a sweet and sad and important story, so I just had to share.  Please check out her story http://averycan.blogspot.com/2012/04/smavery.html.  And you better believe I will be looking into this genetic test before the next Baby Wynne is born!

Eli gets his own place

Just before he turned 6 weeks old, we decided it was time for Eli to leave the nest and go out on his own.

We moved him to his crib.

He was originally sleeping in the bassinet of the pack-and-play in our room.  He slept great in it and it was wonderful having him so close to listen for him and get him for feedings all night long. 

For the most part, I wanted to get Eli on a sleep schedule.  I had read in quite a few places (including some articles and books from my old advisor's wife, Jodi Mindell, who studies children and sleep) that having a "bedtime routine" helps babies get on a schedule and sleep better at night.  Eli definitely slept a lot, but was up every few hours all the time.  No real night vs day.  I thought it would be good to start establishing night time. 

Also, Ryan had gone back to work full time and I was about to start back too, so we thought we should start the transition in case it went horribly wrong and would take a while for Eli to adjust.  It would be better if we both weren't working sleep deprived!

So, right after Grandma left, we put Eli in his room in his very own bed.  We started his bedtime routine: bath (or cleaning with a warm cloth), new pjs, a cozy swaddle, and a bottle while snuggling with mom or dad.  Then we put him in the crib.

And he slept.  Yay!

Little hiccups

Baby Wynne's new favorite activity -- hiccups! 

At least 3 times a day (sometimes more!), I feel Baby Wynne hiccuping like crazy! 

It happens at all times of day and night and can last for a few seconds or about 5 minutes!  So far today, Baby Wynne had hiccups at 4:45am, 11am, 3pm and 4:30pm. 

Cute.  But totally weird too.

My whole belly moves ... even Ryan could see it! ... and Baby Wynne usually starts shifting around, as if trying to get comfortable. 

There's not too much scientific information out there about fetal hiccups, but no one seems to be concerned about it.  Like in adults, it is a spasm of the diaphragm.  In unborn babies, some doctors think hiccuping is one way babies practice breathing and strengthen the muscle to do so. 

I have also read that there is a correlation between hiccups in the womb and newborns that hiccup!  So we'll have to see if Baby Wynne is a hiccuping little newborn!

Certified for Birth!

What's more fun than spending a Saturday at a Child Birth class at the hospital? 

As you probably know, Ryan and I have spent the vast majority of our life in school.  Collecting degrees and now helping others collect degrees.  So the debate for taking a birthing class came to an end when we found out we got an actual certificate (too bad Ryan's name isn't spelled correctly!)!

In addition to getting a new "diploma", we also learned a bit about the birthing process. 

Well, I do want to say that we knew a lot of the stuff already.  We've read a lot of pregnancy books.  Our friends have all had lots of babies.  And we're biologists, so we know a bit about the actual process of it, like the stages and the hormones involved, all the anatomy of it, how the drugs work, etc.  That part wasn't as helpful for us as it may have been for others, but there were some terms that we learned to describe things that we didn't know previously.  It's good to know the terms used by the nurses.

I think the most valuable portion of the class was the hospital tour and learning how things worked.  It made me feel a bit more comfortable for when we actually have to go there for "the big day".  I am not someone that feels comfortable at a hospital.  All of my hospital visits have been to see friends or family members that were very sick. Hospitals are "bad" places in my mind.  They make me anxious ... the smell ... the thought of germs ... yuck.

But our maternity ward is nice!  It smelled very clean!!  And it was bright and sunny.  Nice views of the river!  Our own private room (for delivery and recovery)!  Lots of nice nurses, everyone is friendly and helpful.  We found out where to check-in, where to park, what to do.  It made me (and Ryan) feel more prepared and less anxious.  Definitely worth taking the class!

On an interesting side note, we were one of two couples that took the Saturday class.  The other couple -- a woman with a PhD in physics and her husband who is finishing his PhD in physics at the University of Rochester.  She grew up in Ontario (not too far from Buffalo) and he grew up near Ryan's hometown in PA.  Seriously ridiculous.  It really is a small world!

Now that we're officially certified, I feel like we're ready for the birth of Baby Wynne.  Of course, I hope Baby Wynne waits at least 3 more weeks!!

Mommy loves Baby Wynne ... and Caffeine!

I have never denied it.  I am addicted to caffeine.  Specifically, I drink Diet Coke. 

At its worst, this habit can reach 6 cans of diet coke per day.  At its best, this is just one diet coke per day.  It definitely hasn't been ZERO diet cokes ... since before I started grad school (8 years ago)!

When I get cranky and snappy and impatient, my husband/friends/labmates/advisor/boss have learned to ask "Did you have your diet coke today?".  Caffeine has also been my weapon against migraines and long commutes to work.

But when we started thinking about maybe having a baby, I knew it was time to let this addiction go.  And I had a plan.  A good plan.  I would be totally off caffeine before I got pregnant.  I would not let my "drug problem" affect my baby.

And then I was pregnant.

I know there was definitely one or two 6-diet-coke-days during those early days of pregnancy (during which I was ignorant to a growing Baby Wynne!).  And I felt so guilty about it.  I tried to quit cold-turkey, but the headaches (from withdrawal) combined with the nausea of early pregnancy was too much.  I have had only two really bad "pregnancy days" and the first was after 4-days of headache from the lack of caffeine.

So I did what any good scientist would do.  I went to the primary literature!  Forget those baby books that just say "don't drink this" and "don't eat that".  WHY can't I have caffeine?  And HOW BAD is it really?? 

Here is what I found from some very recent papers:

• One study found a slightly increased risk of miscarriage before 20 weeks with high (greater than 200mg per day) caffeine consumption (Weng et al. 2008 Maternal caffeine consumption during pregnancy and the risk of miscarriage: a prospective cohort study. Am J Obstet Gynecol).
• Though a recent review found that moderate or even high amounts of beverages and foods containing caffeine do not increase the risks of congenital malformations, miscarriage or growth retardation (Brent et al. 2011 92(2):152-87 Birth Defects Research (Part B))
• A review of dozens of articles found no risk of pre-term labor associated with caffeine intake (even at high levels) (Maslova, et al. 2010 vol. 92 no. 5 1120-1132 Am J Clin Nutr)

So, overall, it seems like high caffeine intake during early pregnancy slightly (very slightly) increases the risk of miscarriage, though it seems like normal amounts later on are not associated with bad things for Baby Wynne!  Yay!

(As for diet drinks, I did find one study that found a slight increase in the risk of preterm delivery with overuse of artificial sweeteners (Halldorson et al. 2010 Sep;92(3):626-33.Am J Clin Nutr.).  Which means I might need to cut back on the DIET Coke. )

There you have it.  This pregnant scientist plans to continue drinking small amounts of caffeine until delivery!  (And then a newborn might push me toward more caffeine again!)