Pictures!
March 30, 2008 13 Comments
Here is a slide show of a few pictures of Anoush. Click here if you wish to see the photos and download them.
The Name Controversey
March 30, 2008 6 Comments
After much debate consisting of me asking Terra, “How are we spelling our daughter’s name?” an “O” has been added to her name. “Anoush” is the French spelling of the name. “Anush” is the direct transcription of the name from the Armenian. Almost all the women I know with this name spell it “Anush” but there is logic behind adding the “O” to the spelling. Most English speakers will pronounce “Anush” as An-ugh-sh. The inserting of the “O” should encourage people first pronouncing the name to use “oo” instead of “ugh”.
The birth certificate will be: Anoush Lee Sprague. She will have numerous options for a nickname. Terra is leaning towards using “Ano”. I will call her whatever fits at the moment.
Welcoming Anush!
March 30, 2008 12 Comments
I am very happy to tell you that at 9:41 PM 29 March, Terra gave birth to Anush Lee Sprague weighing 6 and a half pounds. Mother and daughter are doing great. Terra’s water broke at 6:45 PM and Anush was delivered by two lovely paramedics at 9:41 on our living room floor.
For those of you who have broadband, below is a recording Terra and I made right after getting to hosptial. The doctors requested we come in so they could check both Terra and Anush because Anush was born breach. She came out backside first and was folded in half with her feet by her ears. Anush’s backside is bruised but it appears that is the worst of it. Terra handled the birth very well, starting and completing the task in under 3 hours with only 12 or 13 major contractions needed to birth Anush.
Enjoy the video. I am off to catch a few hours of sleep before going back to the hospital to bring home Terra and Anush.
Terra’s Ramblings and Thanks!
March 26, 2008 4 Comments
I went to a labor and pain relief workshop today, organized by my midwife unit. Being there made me so glad to have been involved with the helpful group of women at yoga class who have a positive and natural attitude toward birth! If today’s workshop had been the only one I had attended about labor I would have come home completely worried! There was no attention to different positions or using gravity to help you in labor, very little about breathing, and everything was framed in such negative wording. I actually feel bad for some of the women there today who are clearly terrified of birthing – this class clearly did not help them feel equipped to handle the experience.
The attitude of the group, overall, was confounding. Some people were so pessimistic about pregnancy. The midwife asked us to go around the room and introduce ourselves and say one thing we had enjoyed or not enjoyed about being pregnant. Some women said the best thing about being pregnant was being able to eat whatever they wanted and not worry about weight gain! Others said the best part was that all of the sudden they had a lot of attention from everyone, or that they could use being pregnant as an excuse to get others to do things for them. Husbands grumbled about their wives needing to get up too many times in the night or snoring and disturbing their sleep. I kept thinking, ‘people – get some perspective here – pregnancy is not about YOU! It’s an amazing experience all about bringing another person into the world! Get yourselves out of the way!’
People were clearly not comfortable hearing about certain parts of labor either – there was giggling, rolling of eyes…I felt like I was in a room full of 12 year olds (or rather back in middle school sex ed class!).
I didn’t really learn anything that I hadn’t already gotten from yoga class, having gone to the active birth class earlier this month, talking with other moms, being at Breanne’s delivery with Walker, talking to mother or my sister, who is expecting her second child in May.
This has all prompted me to say thanks, again, to everyone who has offered such wonderful advice and support about everything from birthing to diapering! Thanks especially to my sister-in-law, Breanne who allowed me to be present at the birth of her son, Walker! So many women I meet have never experienced a birth and I feel more comfortable going into this experience having witnessed the miracle before with you.
To my sister Kim, although I wasn’t able to be at your delivery, and I’ve never told you before, I learned a lot from your positive attitude with your pregnancy with Katrien. I remember visiting you and Mike the summer before Katrien was born and being so impressed at your energy. You never asked anyone to do things for you. When you needed a glass of water, you got up and got it yourself. You never treated pregnancy like a handicap – like so many others I meet. I know these examples may seem trivial, but they are the things I’ve remembered all through my pregnancy that have helped me stay positive.
And thanks, most of all to my loving husband, who isn’t afraid of body functions and human physiology! I know that sounds silly, but Jason has always been comfortable with communicating, sharing and doesn’t shy away from the unknown. He’s my constant cheerleader and is always telling me I can get through things when I think I’ve met the end of my endurance; whether that be in school or work and now as I begin to prepare for bringing our child into the world.
Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but I have really loved being pregnant and honestly am looking forward to doing it again soon! That’s not to say that I haven’t had difficult days, moments of insanity (particularly pre-placenta stage) or haven’t experienced discomfort over the last nine months, but keeping a positive attitude has been a saving grace for me!
Finally, to my pregnant lady friends, and those who are trying to start their families, just remember that attitude plays a huge part in how you experience pregnancy. Enjoy the experience, revel in the changes of your body, embrace what nature is capable of, and take care of yourself – mentally and physically.
As the days dwindle away and the baby’s delivery approaches, keep sending those positive thoughts, prayers, love and energy our way. We look forward to sharing the news with you once Tigran or Anush arrives!
What’s in a Name?
March 26, 2008 4 Comments
Recently, I have been asked by my classmates: “Who is the immigrant in your family?”. Everyone in the US is an immigrant, right? I have always had some interest in my heritage and that is frankly one thing that attracted me so strongly to the history and lore of the Armenians is the fact much of their history is intact. I have always felt somewhat without “heritage” as I have German (Maternal Great Grandmother – Immigrant), Swedish (Maternal Great Great Grandfather) and English (Sprague / Kimball / Walker lines) blood. In the end, I am American which represents more of an association than an ancestry. Absent is the ideal of a “homeland” and is its place is a feeling of support for the ideals of freedom and individualism.
At one of my rugby meetings, a fellow referee said to me that there were all sorts of Spragues around Gloustershire (the region just north of Bristol). I was under the impression the origin of Sprague was an Americanised derivative of a northern German name. I have no idea why I had that conception. Come to find out, we are living in the greater area that the name “Sprague” first is found. Another interesting tidbit is it is suspected of being of Dutch origin from the 8th Century. Isn’t the internet wonderful!?!? If found most of this interesting information here: The Sprague Project, The Sprague DNA Project, and come to find out there is even a coat of arms (if you believe that I have a bridge to sell you 😉 ).
You are probably asking why I am rambling but I do have a point. Our child is going to be born shortly and we will give it an Armenian first name of Tigran {tee-gran}, for a boy, or Anush {an-oo-sh}, for a girl. I was thinking if our child asks about its heritage, what do I tell him/her? I guess I will tell him/her that you have at least American Indian, English, Dutch, German and Swedish blood and a very strong Armenian name. Ancestry and heritage as understood by the ancient cultures will never be a luxury afforded to you as you come from a long line of wanders. Of course, you could argue that taken in the abstract modern man really is a product of a long history of migration. I will ignore that as it begs way too many questions to deal with here.
In conclusion, Anush Lee Sprague or Tigran Lee Sprague will fit right into the greater linage on both sides (Bensink / Sellers and Sprague / Tellinghuisen). It would be wonderful to know more about our great grandparents and their parents. I would love to know where they were born, what languages they spoke, did they leave any brothers or sisters there before they moved on? Does anyone have any of that information or know where I can get it?
Week 38
March 23, 2008 1 Comment
First, I must say that pregnancy has been an amazing journey and I’m already looking forward to doing it again! At times, I just can’t imagine myself without a baby belly anymore, and the thought of not having those little bumps and wriggles occuring inside seems strange. Although I think I will miss being pregnant, we’re very much looking forward to the arrival of our little Anoush or Tigran!
Jason and I took a helpful “Active Birth” class last weekend, run by the same woman that I take yoga classes from. We learned about the physiology of birth, practiced some helpful positions and tips for the labour and delivery. I will attend another similar day workshop on Wednesday run by the midwife unit where I go for my regular checkups. This one will be focused more on the medical side of delivery including the hospital aspects and pain relief options.
I went to my midwife last Thursday, and everything continues to stay on track. The baby is still head down, but not fully ‘engaged’ into the pelvis yet. I’ve been having sporadic ‘Brackston Hicks’ contractions, which are good practice for my body.
Only a couple of weeks to go until the delivery date, but I’m hoping the baby will decide to come a week late or so. I hope to complete two of my three term papers before April 5th, then take a few days to relax and do some cleaning around the apartment. We’re all set with the necessary items for the baby, and I’ve managed to wash all the clothes and cloth diapers, etc that we need. I’ve been so blessed to have a smooth pregnancy and I thank all of you who have sent words of support, advice and help throughout!
We will of course put pictures of the baby on the website as soon as he/she is born! Keep your eyes out – but keep your fingers crossed that they don’t appear for a few more weeks!
Day Trip to Salisbury and Stonehenge
March 23, 2008 Leave a Comment
Two weekends ago, I took the opportunity to go on a day trip to Salisbury and Stonehenge with the international students services. They arrange a different excursion about once a month, and when I heard that they were going to Stonehenge, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity! It was a drizzly and chilly day, but I’m glad I went.
We first visited the small city of Salisbury to see the Salisbury Cathedral. This Cathedral was built in 38 years from 1220 and is unique in being almost entirely in one architectural style, Early English Gothic. It boasts Britain’s tallest spire, at 123 meters (404 ft), Europe’s oldest working clock dating to 1386, the earliest surviving complete set of choir stalls in Britain and amazingly, is the home of one of the four surviving original Magna Carta (1215)!
After touring the cathedral, I took off on my own to see the charming town of Salisbury. I took a short walk to the city market, wandered around the stalls and bought a homemade cake for Jason and I to enjoy before heading back to the bus.
We then continued a short while to Stonehenge, which amazingly is perched atop a wide clearing and appears out of nowhere without any pomp or circumstance. There is a small ticket area and gift shop on the other side of the road – and that’s it! This is one of the things I love about England! Americans would have built a huge complex and made the entire area into a marketing and consumerism madhouse. Anyhow, there is a lot I could say about the history of Stonehenge and the theories about who built it and how, but instead of writing it all here, you can go to the Stonehenge Wikipedia site and read about it yourself.It was a good experience, but unfortunately, the cold and wind minimized my enthusiasm. I did get some decent shots, from different angles, which you can see by going to the photos pages. Enjoy!
University Update
March 23, 2008 Leave a Comment
I can hardly believe it, but the second semester is already over! My classes finished a week ago Thursday and now I’m writing my second semester term papers – three of them at 4,000 words each – just like last semester. Speaking of which, I finally got all my papers back from the first semester and I’m happy to report that I achieved all A’s! One was for my research methods course, and we were required to write about a group mini-research project that was conducted throughout the semester. The second was a comparative study between teaching styles in Armenia, and the third was about how international agencies and global education agendas are impacting the Armenian education system, particularly the manner of assessment.
This semester, I am writing, again, largely about Armenia’s education system and new policy changes: One paper about the new combined school-leaving and university entrance examination, and a second about the expansion of secondary school from 10 to 12 years. The third paper is on a completely different topic, for a course titled “race, ethnicity and education”. I plan to look at education of refugees, particularly the barriers to their success in school (like interrupted learning time, dislocation and adjustment to a new education system, and language barriers). There is a large Somali population here in Bristol, and I plan to take this group on as a small case study. The first two papers, I aim to complete before the baby’s arrival, while the last paper I will ask for an extension, hoping to submit it in May.
So, I’m trying to stay comfortable in front of the computer as I type these first two papers up before the baby arrives. Then, I’ll take a break for awhile and get back into the swing of things at the end of April. At that time, I will have to begin writing my dissertation proposal, along with writing my third term paper as well as a book review, which I’ve been invited to write for an international education journal. Lots to accomplish, but you know Jason and I – we like to keep busy!
Here’s a picture of me with some classmates at a small, end-of-term dinner we had last week. In front are Wing from Hong Kong and Gina from Korea, in the middle is Pi-Yin from Taiwan, and in the back with me is Shawanda from Jamaica.