Alive & Kicking

It's been a busy time here in Expectant Fatherland! On Friday I spent much of the day cleaning out what used to be the office and is slowly becoming the nursery. You never really know how much stuff you accumulate until you have to clear out a room. I could just grab much of it and pile it elsewhere, but I'm trying to find a home for everything before it comes out. So, it's not going as fast as I would like, but at least I have most things organized and against the walls!

Then on Saturday we went to Babies R Us to start our Baby Registry. Boy they have a lot of stuff! We've taken a good number of trips there to get an idea what to expect, but it's not the same when you are let loose on the place with a scanner. Fortunately, Julie had made up an Excel spreadsheet with everything we needed, so we managed to get it done fairly quickly. Trips there often remind me of the things I had as a kid, although I can't really remember much until I was 3. I find a lot of the same things, however, and keep them in mind for our little one. There's one book I know I'll want for the kid called My Book About Me by Dr. Seuss. It's really designed for when kids are a bit older, but I always took that book off the bookshelf in my room when I wanted to read about what I used to be like.

Of all the events of note during the pregnancy, my new favorite has to be what I experienced on Saturday night: I felt the baby kick! It was nothing like I thought it would be and I am still in awe today. I had heard others, including Julie, refer to the sensation as a "flutter," but that doesn't do it justice. The kid moves around so fast that it's hard to get a fix on the location. However, once you find it you can't believe what you are feeling. That's my kid! I'm the dad! Holy crap! Hey, don't kick your mother! :) Well, I guess he or she has very little else to do (sorry hon!). I'm going to try playing some music for the baby in the next few days, so the bonding will definitely continue. And, at least for now, I won't tell the kid to turn down the music.

A Proper Perspective

Well, we didn't find out the gender of the baby and I must say I was pretty peeved! The sonographer looked for quite awhile and the baby was just not going to cooperate. At first the baby was quite active, even placing a hand between the legs to avoid revealing the secret. After my wife took a bathroom break, the baby had settled on its feet and wouldn't move for anything. In all honesty the sonographer did a great job trying to figure it out, but it was just a no go.

To be brutally honest, I was perfectly crushed. I had been so looking forward to finding out! I wanted to buy him a little baseball outfit or her a little...well, baseball outfit. ;) But that wasn't the point! I know the little rascal is in there as we've seen and heard the baby several times. But when my wife told me the baby had kicked; that they had actually made contact? I was so jealous I could barely stand it! I wanted to find a way to bond with the little one and finding out the gender seemed to be the way. I so sad at first I could cry and then so angry I could have shouted! I mean, what could be worse?

Then I thought about it for a moment and looked past my ego. The baby has no readily apparent abnormalities. The baby is moving and kicking. The baby extended a hand so we could see it. The baby is not too large. The baby is not too small. Julie's blood sugar levels are stable. We have an apparently healthy fetus that will be here soon and it doesn't matter one damn bit that we don't know if it's a girl or a boy. That's a proper perspective if I ever heard one.

Halfway Home

Without much fanfare, Julie and I reached the halfway point in the pregnancy on Thursday. We've both been busy with school this week and I've had a nasty cold, so blogging hasn't been high on the priority list! Apparently all of us (except my wife thank goodness) left the outlet mall with more than our purchases. Perhaps the pregnancy has boosted her immune system and, if so, I gotta get me one of those!

I have been doing some reading this past week, mostly in a book Julie picked up soon after we found out she was pregnant: Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth by Jenny McCarthy. It's a short, blunt, and very honest book about her experience as an expectant mother. You wouldn't think much wisdom could be imparted by a woman best known for posing naked in Playboy and as a co-host on the MTV show Singled Out, but her brutal honesty make the book rather enjoyable. I'll warn you dads out there that she is pretty rough in spots on those with a gender other than female (and I haven't even gotten to the point where she actually gives birth!), but it's all in good fun and she's clearly a very loving and concerned mom. I'd recommend it to any expectant parent who wants a quick and fun read.

I've been counting off the days until our ultrasound on Monday. For those of you who aren't in the know, we had an ultrasound about a month ago and had high hopes for finding out the gender. Julie and I are NOT the type who like to be surprised about such things, so we wanted to know as soon as possible! It was a bit of a letdown, but seeing the baby in action last time more than made up for it. It's simply amazing how much you can see on an ultrasound compared to even a decade ago. But if all goes well, we'll know on Monday and you'll hear the news here first. I think we're agreed that we'll announce the name at the same time as the gender, but you never know how you'll feel in that moment. Perhaps it's something we'll want to keep to ourselves....for an hour or so anyway. :)