10/11/01	Nicholas Bruce Born Thursday 10-11-01 at 9:30pm 9 lbs 10.3 oz Labor started at 1am Thursday morning and things appeared to progress throughout the day pretty well. But then the little guy was just too big so we had to go for a C-Section at 9pm Thursday evening (20 hours of labor later)... Mom, Dad, and Baby are doing well and are very happy and proud...
10/01/01	We are hoping for a little girl. But at this point we don't care,we just want a healthy baby. Gina's body is not acting like it is ready to give birth anytime soon and the baby is big. The doctor said about nine pounds right now - YIKES! Her due date is not until Oct. 7th, her Mom's birthday. If she does not deliver on her own by Oct. 10th, the doctor will induce labor. So at the very latest we will have this baby by Oct. 11th!
09/23/01	We finally finished tiling the bathroom shower with a glass tile mosaic mural. This project has been in the works for several months and we are glad it was done before the baby arrives. Slowly all projects both home and work are coming to completion. Our calendar for October is wide open. Oh how will we spend all of our free time ; )
09/08/01	Julie (Gina's sister) and Anneke (family friend) hosted an extravagant baby shower for Rich and Gina, complete with catered food, lovely center pieces, a huge, beautiful cake all under a white tent decorated with white lights. Gina's mother, sister Lisa, friend Dawn and Rich's parents, flew into Chicago for the event making it even more special. We sincerely thank all of our Chicago friends for attending the baby shower. We had so much fun and it was great to just sit and chat with everyone.
08/28/01	The Ladies of the "G.O.T.H. (Get Out of The House) Book Club" surprised Gina with a baby shower at their August meeting. Everyone brought their favorite children's' book. It was wonderful to see the diversity of children's literature the group members love most. Gina left with a basket full of books and a significant dent in her amazon.com wish list.
08/15/01	The baby is getting bigger than we ever thought possible. With six weeks to go she hopes she the bay's growth rate will slow down. Currently she is working hard to finish all work related projects before the baby gets here. The weather has finally cooled to a reasonable temperature. After we returned from California in July, we experienced 21 straight days of excessive heat, temperatures were above 100. The humidity was so bad Gina thought she would die. Unfortunately 21 people in the Chicago area did die.... As for our doctor visit, all went well once again... We've got 7 weeks to go...
07/07/01	Lisa Amenta married Jace Nuzback on July 7th in Westlake Village, California. The wedding took place on the deck of the Westlake Yacht Club overlooking the lake on a beautiful, warm, sunny afternoon. The bride was radiant and the groom, very handsome. Rich and Gina selected two special readings for the ceremony. The entire Amenta clan was together, for the first time in four years.
07/06/01	Christine, John, Nica & Rose hosted a baby shower for us in Los Angeles. We played several silly games and we had so much fun. Rich and Gina giggled and laughed all the way back to Westlake Village that night, talking about funny things that occurred. The next day at Lisa's wedding we could not stop talking about the shower. Julie has volunteered to give us a shower in Chicago and is now worried that she won't be able to keep up with the standards that were set at this baby shower. From the adorable decorations, to the delicious food, a beautiful cake, fun games, baby music and even party favors - they thought of everything! We feel so fortunate to have friends that care so much. You guys (gals) are the best. Thanks for making this event in our lives so special!
06/30/01	June was an incredibly busy month. Gina had three business trips and presented at a national conference that just happened to be in Chicago this year. Traveling while pregnant presents its' own challenges. Gina has to allow extra time because she can no longer run through airports to catch a flight. And she must check her luggage because she can't lift it over her head to place it in the overhead bin on the plane. She has learned the more pregnant she appears the more assistance she receives from totally strangers. Once while in line for the bathroom at an airport a woman in front of her decided Gina should move to the front and let everyone in line know she was pregnant.
06/19/01	At our 24 week check up, Gina asked Dr. Kelly if she should be concerned that she does not have warm maternal feelings for the baby yet. Dr. Kelly said it was natural to feel this way. The pregnancy is more of a condition at this stage and the baby is still a stranger we have not met yet. She said we should not try to create a personality for the baby. It is better to concentrate on getting our lives in order and prepared to be to be new parents.
05/28/01	Our friends Ken and Rose Grock visited for the weekend. We showed them the town. Even though it rained for most of their visit we managed to see a lot. Walking the streets of Chicago had its toll on Gina's body, but nothing that 12 hours of sleep can't fix.
05/21/01	We reached the half way mark last week (May 18th). It feels like we are over some sort of hump. Gina has gained seven pounds so far, not bad, but she feels as if she has gained 20. She watches A Baby Story on TLC regularly to build her confidence about being able to have a normal delivery. She has talked with too many new moms after delivery and heard too many horror stories, especially from her sisters.
05/13/01	At the Chicago Abused Women Coalition Benefit Gala, Rich and Gina won/bought an entire baby room set up from the silent auction. They paid a third of what the set is valued at. The donor said we can select whatever we want at the Baby Room up to $3,200! What a deal! We have started to set up the nursery. Rich put the crib together without instructions. To be sure it was safe for the baby, he got inside and bounced around a bit. It passed the Rich test.
04/29/-05/09/01	We vacationed in Maui for 10 days. The sun and a lot of fresh fruit helped us thaw out from the much too long winter.
04/23/01	The sixteen week check up was short. We heard the baby's heart beat through a devise called a Doppler. It sounded strong and the doctor confirmed we are due October 7 -- Gina's mother's birthday.
04/06/01	Morning sickness has subsided. Gina is felling much better, but still tired. She can sleep 10 to 12 hours per night, but rarely gets to. So 2 hour naps during the middle of the day give her the energy to make it through the evening.
03/30/01	The doctor could not find the baby's heart beat at our thirteen week appointment. We tried not to panic as we moved to another room for an ultrasound. Right away the monitor showed the baby was moving and looking fine. Thank God.
03/23/01	This week we participated in the First Trimester Study at Northwestern University. The baby is 2 inches now and almost fully formed. We could see its profile, ear and hand. We even saw it lift its hand to its mouth. The preliminary results of the test (measuring the thickness of the skin near the neck) showed a decreased risk for chromosomal birth defects including Down Syndrome. A blood test along with Gina's age will yield a number with 95% accuracy as to the percentage of risk for defects.
03/16/01	We received our second box of baby clothes from Rich's mom. The Pooh snowsuit is especially adorable. Elaine is as excited about this baby as Rich and Gina.
03/09/01	Morning sickness continues to dominate Gina's day. She is waiting for the energy boost that people talk about in the second trimester to kick in. She feels like a slug, has no motivation to doing anything but sleep. The gloomy weather is also taking its toll and cabin fever has set in.
03/02/01	At the nine week doctor appointment we got to see the baby via an ultrasound. It looks like a little fish. It is tiny but its heart beats very strong.
02/23/01	Gina experiences morning sickness that lasts all day. It feels like car sickness. She also has indigestion at night making it difficult to sleep. Yuck!
02/17/01	Rich created a web site to announce our big news. It is too soon to tell people, we are only 7 weeks pregnant. But he wants to see how many people visit our web site regularly. Our friends Patrick and Katie Kearney were the first to respond with very supportive messages.
02/14/01	On Valentine's Day, Rich took Gina to dinner at 321 and to see the musical "The Producer". We sat across from Matthew Brodrick, Nathan Lane and Mel Brooks. Although we were running a little late, we knew we were safe because the show would not start without the main actors. The play was wonderful, very funny. We highly recommend it to anyone who is lucky enough to get tickets. We had a great evening, savoring our remaining alone time together.
02/06/01	At our first appointment the doctor confirmed we are 5 weeks pregnant. Dr. Kelly is wonderful. She answered all of our questions.
01/27/01	During our Super Bowl party, sister Julie was asked to inspect all five home tests. She confirmed what we already new, we are pregnant. Then we called our parents and Gina's siblings. Everyone is very excited.
01/18/01	After three positive home pregnancy tests over three consecutive days, Gina told Rich she was pregnant. He sat stunned at his desk at work. Two days later and two more positive tests, they decided they must indeed be pregnant.