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. :)

Parenthood Q & A

We had a great time with our friends over the weekend! We all went shopping on Saturday afternoon at Babies "R" Us which was a very different experience having a baby along. My wife & I have been there a handful of times before, but it doesn't prepare you for all the people that notice you because of the baby. Her smile lights up any space she's in and complete strangers melt at the sight of her. Her parents picked up a lot of stuff they needed and, while we looked for us, mostly we wanted to see how she'd respond to the outing.

By the time we hit Olive Garden for dinner she was plenty hungry and downed a bottle of formula faster than I could! We had to wait awhile for a table and everyone in the place was checking out her smile. When we got to the table she tried out a restaurant high chair for the first time and sat up all by herself! She was also quite taken with the waiter as he took our orders, looking at the one of us that was ordering and then looking back to the waiter as he asked questions. It was too funny!

After a rough night for the baby and her parents we all headed to a nearby outlet mall for a day of shopping. I only heard her crying once during the night, but her parents were up a lot as they tried to find out what was wrong. As an expectant father, I think the hardest part would be not knowing what to do in those situations. But by the time we headed out she was her usual self: content and all smiles!

Although I had been to many of the stores we hit I was still overwhelmed with the amount of clothing and supplies available for babies. While some of it is gender neutral, the gender specific items range from your traditional pink and blue to every color in the spectrum. My wife has had a strong feeling for some time that we are having a boy, so I didn't object in the slightest when she picked out a boy's outfit in Osh Kosh Bgosh. How can anyone resist a t-shirt and overalls? We're both very anxious to find out the gender and hopefully they'll be able to tell next Monday. Just think: we could know in another week!

So, after hitting the food court and a few more stores we said our goodbyes and our friends headed home, but I like to think they left behind two prospective parents with some answers...and plenty more questions about what it means to be a parent.

Baby Time...But Not Ours Just Yet!

We've been enjoying our visit with our friends and their baby daughter. While our cat is reserving judgment on her for now, we're already in love with this little girl! At first the cat hid under the bed for awhile, but after we got settled in bed he took his usual perch by my wife's legs. It's good for him as we wonder how he'll manage in 5 months when our baby comes home. However, it's not quite the same thing!

I was expecting to hear the baby during the night, but we must have thick walls because neither of us heard her until she came out this morning. I'm trying to get on a better schedule of sleep since I often need around 9 hours and I'm not likely to get that when the baby comes! I'll have to learn how to take naps as well. It's all part of the adjustment, but I don't really think you can do much to prepare beforehand. You just have to learn how to go with the flow.

The really interesting event should be this evening when we all go shopping and out to eat. When my wife & I were first together the sound of a baby at the next table or the next aisle would drive us nuts, but perhaps that was nature's way of telling us that we weren't ready for a baby. Over time we have begun to adjust to it and are told by parents that you learn to block most of it. We're going to hit Babies "R" Us for some shopping and either Outback Steakhouse or Olive Garden for dinner since our friends don't have any of those places right where they live. Regardless, it'll be an adventure and I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to tell.