Henrietta Lacks.

BOOK REVIEW

27. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Rebecca Skloot

Oh my gosh, LOVED this book. It was just so fascinating for me. I'm totally a microbiology nerd so I loved the science behind the story... and the author did a great job of blending in the personal stories behind the science as well.

I find it so amazing that HeLa cells are so widely used and have been so instrumental in science and medicine, yet the story of the person who contributed the cells has never been told...until now.

Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman who lived in Baltimore in the 50's. She had a tumor on her cervix and went to Johns Hopkins for treatment. She eventually died, but while she was in the hospital, a sample of her tumor was given to a scientist there who was trying to grow "immortal" human cells... cells that could grow outside the body in culture and be used for scientific testing. Until this time, no one had successfully been able to do this... until Henrietta's cells showed up. They grew... and grew and grew! They were passed around, sold by the billions, and used in hundreds of scientific experiments. They lead to the polio vaccine, the HPV vaccines, uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects, and helped lead to important advances in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping.

Yet, until this book, Henrietta Lacks was virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta, nor her family who survived her, didn't know that her cells were being used until decades later. This book describes Henrietta's life, her medical treatment, the journey of the HeLa cells, and her family's efforts to come to grips with the entire thing. The author also discusses informed consent (at the time of Henrietta, that phrase didn't even exist) and the rights of patients to their own tissues. Very fascinating, easy to read, makes you feel smarter... I thought it was awesome!

It's A Boy!

It's official! We've now got one of each! Baby #2 is a BOY! We are sooooooo excited!




Lounging around...

The Boy Part...

Waving his hand, upper left corner...


He flipped over several times while we were watching him. So cool!

Long Spears legs...

Standing on my cervix. Thanks, boy.




I tell you what, I love those 3D ultrasound places. We did one with Sonnet when I was about 28 weeks along and it was so fun! It is SOOOOO amazing to see what is going on inside your body and to get a glimpse at the baby. It makes it all feel so much more REAL for me. This time we didn't do the 3D, just a gender check, but we'll for sure be going back later on to get a sneak peak of our little guy's face! It's so nice to just lay back and watch the baby on the big screen. They had couches for my people to sit on and we even got to pick our own music for the little video they made us. I brought "My Funny Valentine" since we're due on Valentine's Day. Aww. It was SUCH a good experience, and reasonably priced (we went here, in case you want to know)... and now the anticipation is OVER! It's a BOY!!! Love. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

The Cake Test.

Last year, when my buddy Jenae was pregnant with her baby, she did something called "The Cake Test." It's very scientific, I assure you.

Basically, before you have your ultrasound to find out your baby's gender, you make a cake. Half the cake should be pink and half the cake should be blue. Then you frost over the whole thing so you can't see the different colors, spin it around a few times, and the mom-to-be makes a cut. If she cuts a pink slice, supposedly your ultrasound will say girl. And you guessed it, blue cake equals boy.

Well, of course I wanted to participate in something involving dessert! But... I have a slight fear of eating weird colored things. For real.

So, we made a cake that was half butter yellow and half milk chocolate. We covered the whole thing in chocolate frosting and then carried out our very official testing process. For us, yellow meant girl and brown meant boy.


Turns out I am the worst cake maker ever. The cake tasted great, but it looked horrid. And I didn't make quite enough frosting to cover the yellow, so we closed our eyes while we made the cuts. Yes, blind and wielding a knife. Very safe.

I took a turn and so did Nate. I cut a yellow piece. Nate cut a chocolate piece. So, our results were inconclusive.



Sonnet got in on the action and she cut a yellow piece too. If majority rules, we may be looking at another girl come Monday!

If not, at least we had a yummy late night snack!

New Wheels.

I know most women don't care about cars, but I do. And I just got a new one! So, I'm about to yak on and on about it. Please skip this post if you're not interested or simply don't want to hear me brag.

I've always been a fan of SUV's. I drove an Isuzu Rodeo in high school and a Jeep Liberty in college. I love the space, the height, the muscle. I like the way they look. They feel sporty... and just... me. I figured I'd always have one of some type.

When Nate got on the fire department we sold my Jeep and bought him a truck. We got a great deal at the auction and it was a great truck. Trucks don't get the best gas mileage around, so when we decided to get a second car, we figured we ought to get a sedan that didn't guzzle fuel. I ended up with a Nissan Sentra. We've had it a couple years and I still love it. As far as cars go, it's a fantastic car. But, I've always missed driving an SUV.

A while back Nate started talking about selling his truck and I started whining about how when we go on trips and take the dog with us (which we usually do), we're either all squished inside my car, or Blaze is out in the weather in the bed of the truck. And once we have another kid, we're going to have even less space.

So we decided that if his truck sold, he would drive my car back and forth to the station and we would get something bigger for me to drive with the kids. Kids, plural. That's weird! :) I know, we're only talking 2 kids here, not 4 or 5, so I don't need some huge vehicle, but any new car talk gets me excited...

Well, we sold Nate's truck last week. And we decided we wanted an SUV with 7-8 seats. Having that third row should we ever need it seemed like a good idea. And if we end up putting the seats down and just letting Blaze lay back there most of the time, well, that's good too. I like to have options. :)

I was originally wanting to get a Dodge Durango. I've been in love with the Durango since it came out when I was in high school. I remember the first time I rode in one, I just about died. (Can you tell I have a thing for cars? I get it from my dad.)

When we were first married, I got to drive the company car at my job which happened to be a Dodge Durango... with a Hemi. Oh, how I loved that thing! It was meaty, but never felt too big. I loved the way it drove. I loved how heavy and solid it was. I loved the way it looked. And that motor... I swear, just driving to the grocery store was fun. I got my one and only speeding ticket in that thing.

This time, I also considered the new Ford Explorer with the third row, the GMC Acadia, the Nissan Pathfinder, the Chevy Traverse, and the Dodge Journey. I did my research on them, and then I tried to talk myself down to something with only 5 seats (I'm also in love with the Dodge Nitro), but I just kept coming back to the Durango. We decided to go for the base model (no Hemi, but hey, that's probably a good thing) and it would be in our price range.

We went down to the dealership to test drive and be sure that was what we wanted. While we were there, I mentioned to Nate that I also thought the Dodge Journey was really cool and that it was one of the vehicles I had considered. He'd never seen one before, so we drove it and well, we both fell in love.

It's a bit smaller than the Durango (it has that "crossover" SUV look--- that's as close to a van as I'll ever get), but it has the same size engine and it still has the third row and seating for 7. And because they cost a little less, we could get one with more bells and whistles for the same price as an entry-level Durango. Seemed like a no-brainer.

I ended up with a white one, with black interior. It came with cloth seats, but I wanted leather (I've learned that cloth and Sonnet just don't mix and I had leather in my Jeep and I loved it) but they didn't have one, so I made them throw it in to the deal. I go back next week to have my leather seats installed. It's already got the leather steering wheel, console, and door panels. The second row reclines and Sonnet loves it! She took a good nap in there this afternoon. :) It's got a freaking awesome sound system... Sirius radio (I get to listen to Dr. Laura again!), touch screen, the audio controls on the steering wheel, it downloads my ipod, has the bluetooth phone connect thingie... power everything, and cruise, and chrome accents, remote start and push button start... It's just really gorgeous. For the price we wanted, we got everything we hoped for and more. We're so excited about the car! It's the perfect family vehicle for us and it'll even fit another kid or two. But don't hold your breath for that.

Behold...




And now I will shut up.

Beauty.

I love these photos of Sonnet playing with my makeup. She's just so innocent... and cute! :)

The Guessing Game.

We're now 15 weeks along. I'm told the baby is the size of an apple. Way to grow, Little One.

So, like I said, my regular doctor doesn't do the "gender check" ultrasound until 20 weeks. But those 3D places will guarantee their results at 15 weeks.

Hello, I don't like surprises, so of course I want to know what I'm having. I mean honestly, half the fun is buying little clothes and decorating the nursery. And I don't like green.

And if I can find out a whole month in advance, well, that's worth the nominal fee in my eyes.

I decided to wait a week before I go to the 3D place, just because my last regular ultrasound said I was a week behind, and I would hate to get my hopes up and then have them say it's too early to tell. I don't know if it will actually make a difference, but it made me feel better.

So, next Monday, assuming my little one cooperates, we should know if this baby is a girl or a boy.

When I was pregnant with Sonnet, I just knew by about 12 weeks that it was a girl. Nate totally felt it too.

This time, I'm not having any strong inclinations. I sorta think it's a girl, but I'm not for sure like I was last time. I'm still kind of hoping for a boy, but obviously, we'll take anything.

For months, before we even got pregnant, Sonnet would talk about her sister. Then, when we told her we were pregnant, she started talking about having a sister AND a brother. Since we're pretty sure there's only one in there, she's amended her opinion and she now thinks we're having a boy.

Nate says he has no idea and really doesn't care one way or the other.

I did one of those dumb little quizzes that tells you what you're having based on all the old wives' tales.

The first one was that Chinese Lunar Calendar. I can't quite figure that thing out. You input your age at conception and the month you conceived and it predicts the gender. The thing is that you have to use your "chinese" age which is usually different than your actual age and the month of conception is based on the lunar month not the calendar month, so I kept getting confused, but no matter how I did it, I got a pink box.

There's the "ring test." You put your wedding ring on a 12 inch string and dangle it over your pregnant belly. If it moves in circles it's a boy and if it moves side to side it's a girl. I think I must have a very steady hand, because my ring never moves.

There's one about the baby's heartbeat. If it's over 140 bpm, then you're carrying a girl, and less than that it's a boy. Last time we heard the heartbeat, it was exactly 140 bpm, so I don't know what that means.

Supposedly if you crave sweet things, you're having a girl, and if you crave salty stuff, you're having a boy. I usually crave sweet things ALL the time... chocolate, cookies, ice cream, etc... but during this pregnancy, I've been addicted to chips and salsa, cheese enchiladas, watermelon covered in salt, and pretzels. So, according to that, I've got a boy.

According to the quiz, if you have a lot of morning sickness, then you're carrying a girl. Mine wasn't horrible, so I'd say boy.

This pregnancy has felt a bit different than my last one. I wasn't that sick either time, but last time, I actually felt pretty good. I felt like my hormones were "right" for the first time in my life. My hair grew, my skin cooperated, and I felt pretty happy. This time, I've felt junky and my skin looks worse than it did in 7th grade. So if that means anything, maybe there's a boy in there.

My mom thinks it's a girl.

This baby will be grandchild #30 for Nate's parents. Nate's sister is due with #29 and it's a boy. That will make 15 boys and 14 girls. If we have a girl, then we'll even up the score, 15-15... until the next sister in law gives birth a month later. :)

Obviously, this is all just for fun. Hopefully, next week, we'll have the official results. In the meantime, vote for what you think it is. There's a poll on the sidebar...

[Yet Another] Pregnancy Update.

I'm now 13 weeks and a few days along. I had another ultrasound this week and the tech said I was measuring about a week behind. She decided not to change the due date though. I'm pretty darn sure of my date of conception, so I feel like I am where I say I am. But... I was planning to do a 3D ultrasound at 15 weeks to find out the gender (because my regular doctor won't do another ultrasound until 20 weeks and of course I don't want to wait that long!) Has anyone done that? Is it pretty reliable determining the gender this early? They say to come in at 15 weeks, but should I wait until I'm 16 since the regular ultrasound says I'm a week behind? Oh such issues, I know. I'm just exciiiiiited! :)

I can tell that I'm moving out of the first trimester. I haven't been so tired lately. The last couple nights, I've laid in bed awake for an hour or so which hasn't happened to me in months. It used to be a regular occurrence, but since getting pregnant, I've been crashing at very early hours (well, early for me). I've fallen asleep on the couch with all the lights on more times than I can count. Nate's been in charge of putting Sonnet to bed on the nights he's home because I'm usually already asleep. But that seems to be passing. In fact, I went to bed two hours ago, but here I am, still awake at midnight. I suppose I should be glad I'm not so exhausted. But I'm going to be bitter waking up for church tomorrow.

I've also been hungrier lately. Before, I didn't want to eat because eating made me feel like barfing, but the last few days I've been a bottomless pit. My friend made me lunch the other day and I ate 4 tacos and a piece of cheesecake. Yum! I probably need to reign myself in at some point, but for now it's just nice to enjoy food again.

Sonnet loves the ultrasound machine at the doctor's office. She told me she [quote] "wishes that she had one at her house and then ladies could come to her house and she could put gel on their bellies and then show them their babies on the TV all day long." Haha. I laughed. Maybe she found her calling.

Let me be honest, for the past few weeks, Sonnet has been driving me nuts. Usually we get along great. She's a good listener and she's funny and I just really like her. But since I wasn't feeling all that hot and I was tired all the time, I just felt like I had no patience with her. Suddenly her asking me "why" a million times a day wasn't a cute, curious opportunity for me to teach her something new... it was like nails on a chalkboard. I felt awful because I felt so... not maternal. I mean, here I am pregnant--- planning to have another child--- and all I wanted to do was get away from the one I already have. Sad.

But over the last week, that grouchiness seems to have abated some. Tonight, I just couldn't get enough of her. She was walking around in this dress that my grandma just sent her (which is way too big for her, but she loves it) with her hair in a bun (she calls it a knot) and she just looked... so young and innocent and gorgeous. I let her sleep in my bed just so I could snuggle with her. I had this overwhelming desire to hold her and rock her in the glider like I did when she was a baby. I refrained--- because hello, waking a sleeping child is always bad news--- but it was nice to just feel that connection again. And I think it means it's a good thing I have a baby on the way to rock and snuggle. I mean, I'm awake all night anyway.

After Young Women's on Wednesday we were driving home and Sonnet goes "Mom, lets go to Cafe Rio right now!" Well, I'm not one to turn down a late night pork taco so we went. We sat at a table in the corner with our drinks and she talked my ear off in between bites of her cheese quesadilla. She was hilarious (something about all the birds in the world that don't fly and how she wants to be Tinkerbell for Halloween, but she doesn't want to be cold and why she used to like pasta sauce when she was a baby, but now she doesn't) and I sat there thinking it was one of the most interesting dates I've ever been on and if only I could freeze time, I would. Then she talked me into taking her to Golden Spoon too (proof my appetite has returned!) and we sat outside with our cones and I tried to get her to stop talking long enough to eat before her ice cream melted. I wasn't successful. But it was so nice to hang out with her knowing that in a few months, it won't just be the two of us anymore. Oh baby!

For Sale (updated).

I really like to "spring clean" ... even when it's not spring, :) Plus I'm in "make room for the new baby" mode. Which means I've got some good stuff to pass on. I listed the stuff on Craigslist, but I decided to post it on here as well because Nate is dying for me to clean out the garage. :) If there is something you are interested in, let me know!

NIKON N75 SLR CAMERA (NOT DIGITAL)- GREAT FOR STUDENT!
This is a Nikon N75 FILM camera. Used, but in great condition. You get the camera body, a Nikkor lens (28-90mm), a polarizer, a diffuser, a hood, a comfort strap, the battery case, and the instruction manual. This is a great deal for a student or someone who wants to shoot in film. $75.


JVC DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA
A digital video camera made by JVC. It uses mini DV tapes (I have a couple new ones I'll include) and you can easily plug it into your computer to download and store the videos there. It has a 32x optical zoom and will also take still photos. The video is good quality. You get the camera, two tapes, an SD card, all the cords, and the instruction manual. Perfect if you want to catch those special moments with your kids! $50.

The Name Game. [Boys]

A few weeks ago, I listed all the girls names that I have considered at some point in my life, but which have since been voted off the island. I still have a few names (that I did not list) that I am kicking around if this baby happens to be a girl, but I haven't settled on anything. (And of course, when I say I, I mean we.) Haha.

On the other hand, we have settled on a boys name. It starts with an S, it's different, and it fits us. We've loved it for a long time, so if we happen to get a boy this go around, we're set.

In the meantime, here's a list of all the boys names I've considered at some point, but which are no longer in the running.

When I was younger, I liked simple, classic names like:

-Will (my grandpa's middle name is William)
-Luke
-Sam
-Noah
-Henry (there's a Henry in three of my favorite books: "A Farewell to Arms," "Atlas Shrugged," and "The Time Traveler's Wife"--- I thought it was meant to be)

But those have all become quite popular and I try really hard to pick uncommon names.

Before I met Nate, I really wanted to name my kid:

-Tate

But Tate and Nate is a little funny. I guess we could've named our daughter Molly and called it good.

Then I was obsessed with:

-West

Because I'm totally a country-western/west-coaster at heart. "Go West young man!" But West Spears is too many S's for me. I lisp.

These were always on my list of favorites:

-Drew
-Sawyer
-Cole
-Ben
-Blake

But then I married into the Spears family (where there are 30 grand kids and counting) and all of those were already taken.

I love western/patriotic sounding names:

-Gray
-Wyatt
-Knox
-Brody
-Brig
-Crew
-Beau
-Talmage
-Tanner
-Lane
-Pacey
-Reagan
-Lincoln

But I've got friends who have already used all of these and I don't like to copy. I'm still pretty attached to Wyatt, Knox, and Beau though so who knows... they may make it back onto the list someday.

I got more inspiration from books:

-Taggart (as in Taggart Transcontinental Railroad from "Atlas Shrugged")
-Holden (as in Holden Caufield from "The Catcher in the Rye")
-Walden (as in the book by Thoreau)
-Atticus (from "To Kill a Mockingbird")

But Nate doesn't like nicknames and he was afraid people would call Taggart "Tag." I adore "The Catcher in the Rye," but Holden is a pretty messed up kid and probably not the best namesake. Walden started to make me think of "Where's Waldo." And Nate said Atticus sounds like a bad word.

I also really liked these:
-Stone
-Steel
-Noble
-Union
-Ember

But they just sound weird with Spears. A big long pointed stick made out of steel... just doesn't work. Noble Spears? Sounds like we're fighting for a good cause.

So, that's how we narrowed it down. There's one name left standing and in a couple weeks, we get to find out if we're using it or not. Can you tell I'm a bit excited?!

I had a craving.

Twelve Weeks.

I finally got around to going to the doctor today. I picked a new doctor out of our insurance booklet by process of elimination. I want to deliver at Southern Hills, I wanted a woman, and I wanted someone in a single-physician practice. Beyond that, I'm not all that picky. As long as their office staff is nice, they show up at the hospital on time, and give me as much pain medication as possible, I don't have a lot of requirements. But I love the doctor I ended up with...

I went in for my first appointment today. Nate and Sonnet came too. Everyone at the office was super friendly and the doctor took a lot of time to talk to us and get to know us. She tried to find the heartbeat, but we couldn't hear anything. She told us not to worry... sometimes you just can't hear it this early... and then she said, "Yeah right, I know you're going to worry and we can't have that, so let's just go do an ultrasound." So she walked us into the next room and we got to see the baby!

Everything is fine. The baby is in there and the heart is beating. There's only ONE baby, which I was relieved to hear because I keep having dreams about 1 boy and 1 girl and then Sonnet started talking about "one of each" which totally freaked me out. I'm measuring on time and everything looks good. The baby was kicking its little legs like crazy and moving its arms around. The doctor said she had never seen a baby that young move around that much. Sonnet said, "He's waving at me!" She was SO excited to see the baby on the TV. She kept saying, "He's so cute! I love him!" It was really adorable. The doctor printed off some pictures and gave them to Sonnet. She has been carrying them around all day. I had to pry them away from her just to scan them into the computer. I love that she's so excited to be a sister.

(Side of body)

(Side of face)

(Top of head, arm bent up by head)

So, I'm 12 weeks along. I still feel pretty tired, but not as bad as I was. I'm nauseous and picky about what I eat, but I am starting to have a bit more of an appetite. I've lost 6 pounds so far, but I've still managed to get a bit of a belly. Just can't suck that gut in anymore. I'm at that stage where I don't look pregnant, I just look a bit thick in the middle, but I happen to love pregnant bellies so I'm embracing it. Anyways, today was a good day. Seeing the doctor (and the baby!) makes this all feel more real. I mean, just look at that cute little face! :)