The Joys of Sleep Deprivation

We are busy, busy, busy -
with countless feedings, explosive poopies, long hours of sleep for Lia, short naps for us (haven't had a REM-phase in three weeks!), and lots of cuddling!

We proudly present:

Lia Cordes - the peanut

born December 6th 2006 at 1.58 a.m. in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

weight: 2962 g / 6.8 pound
lenght: 48 cm / 19 inch

High Tide

After more than 2 weeks of bed rest our baby is swimming safely in a great amount of amniotic fluid. The 'water level' miraculously rose from a meagre 6 cm to almost 14 cm. Funnily enough the amniotic fluid is measured in centimeters. At 5 cm the alarm goes off and you are immediately sent to the hospital - thank God this didn't happen. Our little baby, despite the chubby face, is a flyweight with her current 2.6 kilograms. Ultrasounds are never quite accurate, but with the baby being on the small side it's definitely less scary to think of the delivery. Due date is coming closer!!! Today being December 1st , we are entering the season of Advent calendars. Our special "Birth Advent Calendar" has a maximum of 18 doors, as our pumpkin is due on December 15th and will be induced on the 18th at the latest. And after that baby surprise, I'll open the doors of my chocolate Advent calendar all at once! Where there is chocolate involved, I'm happy to share Christian customs. Even more so after I'll finally get rid of the diabetes. Running around with a blood glucose meter all day long makes me feel like an old man anyway.

Learning Labor


We are 36 weeks preggers now, getting ready for childbirth in various ways, some pretty common, like the prenatal yoga and the childbirth classes offered by the hospital, others rather special, like having our own British midwife Linda come over to North Carolina to initiate us into the rituals of breathing "light like a featheaaaaa" when the pain will strike. We had a lovely time with Linda and her knitted uterus that helped us to visualize how the baby is going to pop out - if she is willing to act according to our quick and easy birth plan.

Thiemo is doing a great job coping with the new curves that have become part of our life. Recently he found himself in a couple of 'unmanly' and 'un-macho' situations. In one of the childbirth classes he had to put on a sad and sagging sack that only remotely evoked the shape of a pregnant lady. Poor guy. I believe Thiemo made enough of a contribution lately. He desperately asked to skip "Bootcamp for New Dads", a very American class for expecting fathers in which advice, doughnuts and a new born baby are passed around. That was fine with me, I don't believe that chocolate covered babies and doughnuts will really prepare us for what lies ahead.

Well, we all have to carry our burden these days. My little burden isn't as heavy as it's supposed to be. Our last ultrasound showed that we are running pretty low on amniotic fluid. Unfortunately we are on bed rest now, lying around on the sofa in an eager attempt to accumulate more fluids! Keep your fingers crossed that the water level will rise again, otherwise baby will be induced before our actual due date. I already received a steroid shot for baby's lungs to mature, just in case they'll gonna get her early. Meanwhile my blood sugar levels are in their upper highs, throwing a great, big party, but "you gotta do what you gotta do", as Jose would say. So baby and I are resting and cuddling on the sofa, counting the days...

"Having Babies is not for Sissies"

says Becky, my nutritionist from the Carolinas Diabetes Center, presenting a nice and shiny needle for the insulin she is going to provide me with. Yes, damn it, I have gestational diabetes now, a rather annoying side effect of my pregnancy. I am a chocolate addict, but not a sissy, hell no, and so I have learned to control my blood sugar as well as my sugar cravings and even give myself insulin shots at night. And Becky is right, you can do anything for 8 weeks (six weeks now) and anything for the baby. And as I don't want my sweetie pie to cry for more SUGAAAR once she has left her gingerbread house, I have put us on a strict diet and set up a tight workout schedule, which now define our daily routine. It's a low-carb, non-sugar and almost no fruit diet that allows you to have 17 small grapes per day. What a joke. But as I'm not willing to give up on the sweet things in life, I have already provided my parents with a nice list that reads something like "Christmas cookies, Kinderschokolade, Milka, Lindt..." and will make our reunion in December even sweeter...

But hey, I'm definitely enjoying my pregnancy and the ever growing pumpkin, which I have eternalized in a belly cast a couple of days ago. Not that I'm too fond of having this humongous piece of plaster (that unashamedly displays a pair of gigantic breasts I'm not allowed to keep anyway) standing around in our apartment, but this belly cast project I participated in earned us a nice prenatal massage. And who would say no to a free massage??

A Night in Atlanta

This time we didn't drive all the way to Atlanta to shop at IKEA, but to attend the 11th annual Gala of the German American Chamber of Commerce. Yes, you're guessing right, a rather stressful "black tie event" defined by a lot of small talk with eldery men and a stiff dinner during which we had to work our way through the silverware starting from the outside - Pretty-Woman-style. Buying a new dress always does appease me, and so I didn't really mind. Thiemo had a harder time with his tux, but we made it through the evening and definitely cut the average age.

Rocking that Pumpkin

It's October now, and the country is swept with pumpkins of all sizes, a harmonious scenery into which I seem to blend perfectly, given the well-proportioned pumpkin I carry in front of me. Especially when I look at the 'expansion rate' I covered during the last couple of months. But not according to American standards, mind you! I have been exposed to a lot of "Oh you're so tiny!" exclamations, and even the doctor, who measured my better half, pointed out that the belly was a bit too small, and ordered another ultrasound. With great expectations of a small load we went to our ultrasound appointment and found out that our mini-pumpkin is in fact a "chubby little girl". At thirtyone weeks our load weighs almost 1800 g, which is far above average. So much for common sense. Our snug little buddha, head down and butt in my face, has found her favorite spot in the right part of my belly, whose shape, if looked at closely, is slightly slanted. Which leaves us amazed, but not out of balance.

Destination Maternity

How about being a fashion model, walking the runway and displaying nothing less than a round BELLY? In America dreams come true, and being admired for a protruding belly rather than a skinny and boringly flat stomach is not only my, but probably every woman's dream. As baby and not chocolate is the cargo that is asked for in a 'belly fashion show', this catwalk career offers no future prospects but merely a brief moment of fun. And fun it was, equally for mom and belly: I was urged on by an excitedly kicking and certainly also wildly waving baby. As mother, as daughter, I'd say...

Tying the Knot!

The real thing! Our wedding in November 2005. Nirit and Thiemo, all slim and beautiful, getting married after a good 14 years of wild marriage. Who would have thought? (Everyone, I guess.)



Land of Plenty


And here we are, in America, making a decent living with two SUVs and so much time at hand that family expansion seems the right thing to do. As the United States of America and success go hand in hand, it didn't take long! But you still have to point at it (as Thiemo does in the pic): a new Cordes-generation is on its way. Should we warn the world??



Dance and Dine


Back home for the summer and our medieval wedding party in Isernhagen, Germany. We promised a big party and kept our word! Thanks to all of our guests, who found their way from Afula, Ulverston, and Altwarmbuechen (among other world-famous places) to celebrate and misbehave with us at the famous Grapenkieker!!! And it's obvious now: I have a little bun in the oven. So here we are, or at least I am,
expanding, expanding, expanding...