Ugly, ugly

Well, I've looked everywhere and there are no good-looking maternity clothes. My oldest (of three) daughters is having her second baby in July and we went shopping yesterday. Destination Maternity is a store here which carries Mimi Maternity, A Pea in the Pod and other brands under the same roof - and it's all ugly! I checked out Sears, Motherhood and Penney's today - ugly, ugly. And cheap-looking.

Who decided that the "look" for pregnant women is an empire line (which hits most pregnant breasts about the nipple) and thin, jersey-like fabric which clings so closely that nipples and bellybuttons are in high relief? Ugh.

Looking back on pictures of me in maternity clothes back in the 60s and 70s, I'm surprised I wasn't arrested they were so short. But they did cover the vitals. They were dresses (for the most part) which hung from the shoulders and were made of thicker fabric. They didn't disguise the pregnancy but they didn't thrust it in the face of passersby, either.

I'll bet they were also more comfortable and cooler (a big advantage for a big, hot body) as well as being easier to navigate the frequent bathroom stops.

I had the bright idea of finding a maternity jumper dress made from a wool crepe or light gaberdine which Elizabeth could wear with or without a blouse or T-shirt underneath. She could wear that to the office, to lunch or even out for dinner with appropriate accoutrements. I couldn't find anything like that. They do have denim ones with cutsie embroidry, but anywhere you would wear that, you could wear jeans.

Maybe I'll have one made (I gave up my sewing machine after the disaster of the purple velvet pants suit, which I made with the nap going up on one leg and down on the other.)

Ears and Years

We attended the University of Texas Chancellor's Council meeting here in Dallas last weekend.

They presented a fascinating program at UT Dallas (the UT system has nine academic campuses and six medical ones) - showing off the latest in nanotechnology, brain studies and art. Their interdiscipilnary coordination between the science and art departments boggle the less-than-young mind.

Then we reconvened at UT Southwestern Medical School and heard about the coordinaton between Callier Center for Communication (used to be just speech and hearing challenges), UT Dallas Engineering school and UT Southwestern Medical. They are doing ground-breaking work on deafness and cochlear implantation.

Did you know:
Hearing aids supply amplification; cochlear implants electically replace the tiny hairs in the inner ear which transmit impulses to the brain which allow you to hear.

They can do a cochlear implant in childen as young as 6 months.

A cochlear implant never (so far - they've been being implanted for the last 20 or so years) needs to be replaced as the inner ear is adult size at birth.

Children can't learn to speak if they can't hear.

Getting a cochlear implant can result in loss of any residual hearing.

Studies show that background noise can sometimes be eliminated with two implants.

Technology is coming up with new systems to deliver sounds to the deaf - future systems may include hardware that looks and acts a like PDA.

In more news, we are having our 45th high school reunion and about a fourth of our class of 97 will attend. I expect lots of laughing over old pictures and oohs and ahhs over the photos of the grandchildren - some of whom are in their 40s. In our old days, people didn't wait until their late 30s to marry and have children. Some of our classmates married at 18 or 19 and had children right away - AND some are even still married to their original spouse! What a concept!