Day 584: Olympic Coverage, Part 1

Olympic seriesSliding sports - tubing & frozen turkeyCoverageSki jumping fantasy leagueWhy Americans are not good at cross county skingBetter cross country skingAre skirts really the best curling uniform?Cross country sking - people dropping outPregnant curlingNow, I’ve been giving NBC a lot of grief over the years. Like an Aztec priest, I’ve been predicting their slow and steady decline… due mainly to three practices the network can’t seem to get away from:

· Cancelling excellent shows prematurely, like ‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’ and the ‘Black Donnleys’
· Championing horrible shows for unknown reasons, like ‘Joey’
· Renewing tired shows that have already run its course… multiple times… like ‘ER’ and ‘Law and Order’

And of course, NBC has shown their complete and total ineptitude with the Jay Leno & Conan O’Brien debacle… a subject I plan to cover in this blog soon.

But for now, I must put my distrust and misgivings for NBC aside and thank them from the bottom of my heart. And for my fellow American’s, you should thank them as well.

Thank you NBC for sheltering us from the horrific boredom that is the Winter Olympics.

Day 583: The Birth Experience, Part 8: St. John & Lizzies Doctor Visit

A very notable difference about our birth experience in Atlanta and London is the selection process of doctors. At least in regards to the order in which things are done. In Atlanta, we chose a practice of midwives that matched birthing philosophy, YET, the midwives were practicing at a hospital that didn’t match our philosophy… although we were ultimately successful in our mission, these philosophical difference turned out to be rather counterproductive, which will become more apparent as The Birth Experience continues.

However, in London, we simply picked a hospital that shared our birthing philosophy, and in turn, the hospital staff who shared our philosophy just happened to be part of the deal. A concept, at least for me, seems to be extremely productive.

The relationship between practice and hospital as two separate entities either in tolerance or contention of each other’s methods, as in the States, does not exists since in London these two entities are one in the same.

This relationship became very apparent when, due to our late booking status, the midwives requested we meet with one of the hospitals “Consultant Obstetricians”. First, I should point out the term “Consultant” is given to the highest level of doctors in the UK. Second, doctors of his level abandoned the formalities of white jackets and titles like “Dr. Gupta”. Third, they live up to their position as “consultants” rather than dictators... I mean doctors.

Our consultant actually greeted us in the waiting room and personally took us to his office. Please note my choice of words: “Office”. Not, examination room, but “office”. Although there were some examination equipment present in his office. We all sat, talked and got to know each other. The consultant took a very quick history of Serena’s first successful birth, listened to Gilliam’s heart beat, and assured Serena she would be very happy and have a very successful second birth no matter how she chose to deliver.

Most importantly, the consultant answered Serena’s 100 million dollar question beautifully. At the time, Gilliam was not in the correct position… so Serena threw out a question regarding hospital policy and breach births. Since most medical schools, in the States, no longer teach more complicated natural childbirth techniques, breach births and delivery of twins almost always end in c-sections, and hospitals are pretty up front about their opinions in the matter.

But, rather than visiting that topic directly, our consultant first listed all the various options and techniques that can be used in aiding a more complicated health delivery, both naturally and surgically. He admitted that the hospitals stance on the issue was that of a c-section, but he also noted his personal feelings on the matter was not in line with the hospital boards… and basically told us that it was our birth and that we had complete and total control over it. If Gilliam progressed as a breach baby (which he wasn’t) the hospital would in no way force her to have a c-section since all of their staff is also trained on alternative natural delivery methods.

In the end, Serena walked away very happy and confident… and the experience of meeting the consultant was one of the most refreshing medical experiences of my life.

Second, or course, to my wisdom teeth extraction fiasco… which is another story for another time.

Day 582: The Birth Experience, Part 7: St. John & Lizzies Hospital Tour

Now, as this story continues to drag on worse than a James Cameron film, you’ll find our experiences with St. John and Lizzies, in London, was the polar opposite than that in Atlanta. The first, remarkable difference was the hospital tour. It was actually conducted by one of the hospital’s midwives, rather than “The Love Boats” own Julie McCoy.

And of course, the tone of the tour was completely different since the woman giving the tour was also one of the women who actually deliver the babies. Completely intuitive to our desires, she guided us through the various services at our disposal in the delivery room. She showed us not only the bed, but also the birthing tub, the floor mats, and the enormous beanbag pillows. Our “tour guide” never once made an assumption as to how Serena would give birth, but simply focused on her options, always adding the phrase, “which ever you prefer,” to her sentences. Furthermore, the midwives reminded us to call ahead when we were on our way so they could fill the birth tub just in case and also introduced us to their aroma theory and music options. The tour was a very welcome change.

Also worth noting was the absence of IV trees or fetal heart rate monitors in the delivery rooms… at least from what I noticed.

Day 581: Making Children Cry

I passed a kid on the street today who was wearing an Indianapolis Colts hat. Who knew making a little British kid cry would be so emotionally gratifying?

Day 580: The Birth Experience, Part 6: Atlanta and the Northside Tour

Continuing our saga, by the time Serena moved back to Atlanta, she knew she wanted a 100% unmediated natural childbirth. So, from the moment of her arrival, it became very important for us to start putting our team together. For our first round draft pick we needed a doctor… or rather a midwife. And Serena quickly identified a practice of midwives that fit our team perfectly. Plus, the practice was co-founded by one of the best natural childbirth OB’s in the Atlanta area. In short, we were in very good hands.

One very humorous fact about this practice is their main client base. As a result of their dedication to natural childbirth, they mainly serve the Latin community in Atlanta and when attending appointments it was not abnormal for us to be the only folks who spoke English in the waiting room. This Latin Natural Birth connection would be an interesting sociological study.

Anyway, the practice was perfect except for one issue. They only had hospital rights at Northside. And although we had heard rumors about Northside, it wasn’t until our hospital tour that we realized what we were walking into. The tour was very, how shall I put it?… rehearsed. “Rehearsed” is a good way to describe it. If you can imagine a cruise ship activates coordinator giving a tour of a hospital then you will have a clear picture of what it was like.

Furthermore, the tour was not really about what the hospital had to offer us, the patient, or rather, the paying customer… it was more like a class in the Northside way of childbirth. Masked under an overly perky delivery, the tour was very direct in its specifics, “You will go here… we will do this… you will lay here… so we can do this…” No, they were setting the tone of authority and how they wanted to handle it. There was no other option than laying on your back, with an IV in your arm, hooked up to a fetal monitor, with theatre lights shining in your face. The post birth portion of the tour relied heavily on, “this is where we’ll take your baby while you rest” and “these are the things we’ll do to the baby after the birth.” There was never a tone of, “If you wish, we can do this or that because it’s your birth.”

There was also quite a lengthy presentation on pain management options. At one point the guide asked if anyone was planning a scheduled c-section… we were the only couple without a raised hand. The experience was very odd and personally, it led me to start asking the same questions Serena had been researching for months and ultimately I jump on her band wagon… if we were going to have the kind of birth Serena wanted… we were going to work for it.

Day 579: Gilliam’s Citizenship

Oh, another thing people keep asking us is if Gilliam will be a dual citizen, both American and British, since he was born in the UK. The answer is, “not really”.

On paper, the answer is “no.”

Unlike the United States, the UK does not recognize location of the birth as a factor in citizenship. So, the mere fact that he was born in London does not mean anything to the Brits. Citizenship, at birth, is solely related to the parents. Since neither Serena nor I are British subjects, neither is Gilliam.

But, that being said, we have heard that down the road, when Gilliam is an adult, if he wishes to apply for British citizenship, it wouldn’t be too hard for him to get it due to the fact he was born here.

Who knows really… I’ll let you know what Gilliam decides to do in eighteen years.

Day 578: The Birth Experience, Part 5: Naming the Next Leaders of Our Fine Land

People often ask me, “how did you come up with the names Grayson and Gilliam? Are they family names? What is the significance?” Well, as all Schutz Happenings, it’s a bit of a long story.

With Grayson, it all started with his middle name: Oliver. Oliver Bounds was my mother’s father. He was one heck of a guy, great sense of humor, and loved his grandchildren (all 25+ of them). For some reason, a long time ago, I became fixated with naming my future son, Oliver. When Serena got pregnant, I expressed this wish and, although it wasn’t her first choice, Oliver quickly became slated as our boy’s middle name. From there, the quest for a first name began, which wasn’t easy. We actually picked our girls name very quickly: Gracie Rene… but we just couldn’t seem to figure out a first name that flowed with Oliver… and that flow was very important to us… his name had to roll off our tongues. And… we just couldn’t seem to find anything we liked. So we turned to the name we loved, “Gracie”… and started dreaming up male variations. Every variation imaginable except for Grayson… then FINALLY, a few days before Gray’s gender ultrasound Serena woke up with an idea. She woke me from my slumber, “Huh, what?” She looked at my dead in the eye, “Grayson”. I thought for a second and said it out loud, “Grayson Oliver.” I smiled, “it’s perfect.” A few days later, I wasn’t able to attend the ultrasound, but when Serena called to reveal the results she said, “We’re having a Grayson.” I was ecstatic.

In the end, I loved having Grayson’s name picked out so early. I know some people like to wait… or feel the need to see the baby in order to pick out a name… but I think a name is a much deeper and personal thing… as a father, not having the emotional connection of actually carrying the baby, having the name gave me something to bond with as I prepared to become a father. When Grayson was finally born, it wasn’t like, “Oh my God, I’m a father now, and I must name you. We will call you Grayson.” No, it was more like, “Grayson, it is so wonderful to finally get to hold you.” Watching Serena call him by name seconds after he was born was a beautiful moment that I will never forget.

So, with Gilliam… I really felt it was important, Grayson and I, to have a name pick out prior to the gender ultrasound again, so we could start bonding with a name. And we almost didn’t make it. In fact, we didn’t have any names picked out in time for Serena’s first gender ultrasound… luckily it was inconclusive, and as a result we became convinced we were having a girl. But, to this day, we still haven’t agreed on a girl’s name… so thank God we had a boy… but we still cut it close with Gilly, picking out his name just a couple days before his second ultrasound.

Now, to begin with a boy we decided to go the same route as Grayson Oliver, by picking a family name as his middle name and then something a bit more unique as a first name. So, in the spirit of “Oliver” we started by looking at the other three great-grandfathers: Finas, Vernon, and Wilbert… umm… er… huh… When that didn’t work out, we decided to see if these three fine gentlemen had kickin’ middle names: Finas Garland, Vernon Ferdinand, and Wilbert James.

Yes, you didn’t read that incorrectly, my father’s father was named Vernon Ferdinand. Ferdinand is a Schutz family name… apparently… which I might wish to revisit if we have a third boy at some point… but for now… we were not prepared to name our child “Ferdinand”.

Plus, to my grandfather’s credit, when he was confirmed he took the name St. James, and quickly adopted James as his new middle name dropping Ferdinand forever. Incidentally, my brother and I discovered this only a few years ago while researching our family tree. The farther we went back, we lost track of our grandfather in the census records, but we had found an entry for Vernon F. Schutz a couple times… this mystery last about a year and finally, around the tenth time we had this confusing conversation about “Vernon F.” in the presence of our father, he finally chimed in, “Vernon F.? That’s my dad. You didn’t know his real middle name was Ferdinand?” .

Anyway, back to Gilliam. Since, essentially, two of Gilliam’s great-grandfather’s had James has their middle names… plus his grandfathers are named Wilbert James, V and Vernon James, Jr… AND the fact that my brother’s name is James Edward and Serena’s brother is Wilbert James, VI… “James” quickly became the front runner as our useable family name… so, now it was a question of a proper first name.

But what? We tried every name known to man… and honestly, I was pushing for “Drake”. Why “Drake”? Well simple: when Dick Grayson stopped working with Batman to become Nightwing, Timothy Drake took over the vacant role as Robin. We could have two Robbins! Brilliant! But, I am sure you’ve already figured out how that conversation went.

Anyway, we finally found the name Gilliam, oddly enough, while watching Adam Sandler’s “Bedtime Stories”… and we both like the name: “Gilliam James”… it certainly flowed… and then a couple days later… the gender ultrasound. It’s a boy!

Guess what Grayson? We’re having a Gilliam. And he was ecstatic.