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    T minus 69 days

    June 24th, 2008

    In 69 days we’re going to have a baby!

    I think I need to start hyperventillating now.

    Panic attack begins in 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 …


    A note to my mom

    June 15th, 2008

    (although you’ll read this late)

    You’re doing the right thing! I know you feel like you’re missing out, but you are absolutely doing the right thing. We love you, and miss you, and we’ll be right here when you get back.


    In-laws and extended families

    June 14th, 2008

    As a kid I’d always heard jokes about “the in-laws” (typically from dads of my friends, or my own, in relation to their mothers’-in-law). Sometimes I wondered if a mother-in-law was the real-life equivalent of the evil step-mothers I learned about from fairy tale books. When my dating life began I came to see that the families of your significant other come in many personalities, shapes and sizes and whether “evilness” applied was determined on a case by case basis.

    I had one relationship where as deeply as I cared for the boy, his parents were determined to hate me. To this day I have no idea why. His mother tried acquiring him a book titled “How to break up with your boyfriend” hoping that there would be applicable sections on how to deal with a girlfriend. I knew that parent relationship wasn’t going to last the very first dinner we had together – she made fish… with said boyfriend knowing explicitly that I don’t eat cooked fish.
    In a different relationship, which ended awfully, I was saddened not as much to loose the guy, but to loose the connection to his family – I think I liked them more than I liked him.

    And then of course there is the BIG one: my in-laws now. All I have to say is that I absolutely love my acquired family!!! I feel fortunate and lucky. They’re patient, caring, non-judgmental of me and they’ve accepted me since the first day we met. I know they’re there when we need them and always offer a helping hand.

    Case in point: our most recent visit to the East Coast. S and I don’t get a chance to visit nearly as often as we’d like (money, work, trying to evenly share holidays). This trip was to see S’s parents’ new home, visit with his grand-ma (who is a spunky 93 year-old) and visit with our niece and nephew. S’ sister threw a shower for us!!! Many of S’ uncles, aunts and cousins came. It was great to see everyone be so happy for us, wish us well, be so generous, and give us some words of wisdom. Kelle (S’ sister) asked each to write some fatherly or motherly advice. My favorites were:

    • “Don’t ever say they won’t do something because they’ll do just that” (yeah, my parents will agree with this one)
    • “Run… RUN” — Thanx Lloyd!
    • “Baby food jars are great for storing nails”. (Follow-up question: Is that before or after they’ve been emptied?)
    • “Urine is sterile”… but apparently not good as a cleaning solution

    I also appreciated having everyone’s address written on the back of each advice card — when the advice doesn’t work out, at least we know where to ship G for some extra support.

    I know G will be loved and cared for by so many people between my family and S’. I feel fortunate to have and be part of this family and wouldn’t trade them in for the world! Oh — and my mother in law (AKA as Grammie R)… she couldn’t come close to an evil step-mother if she tried.


    Worst night’s sleep ever

    June 13th, 2008

    I am normally a great sleeper. I can sleep through just about anything and fall asleep just about anywhere… except tonight. It’s a quarter to 2 a.m. and yet here I am writing. Why you might ask? We’re on a flight to the East Coast on our way to see S’ family. I’m pretty excited about the trip overall, but this is brutal! Between Mr. Snory-pants on my left, Sneezy two rows behind me, Mr. Snuffles behind and to the right, and of course the Non-Stop-Talking Wondertwins I am wide awake. That paired with just me not being able to get comfortable and my feet swelling up like balloons, I’m just miserable.

    Never before have I wished for ear plugs in my life.

    I’m finding some relief in a pair of headsets I religiously carry in my back-pack and some NIN mp3s on my laptop. At least this is drowning out most of the other sounds.

    The worst part to this is knowing how I’m going to feel in the morning — crap! If I can’t get sleep I will be nauseated until I get the pre-requisite amount of sleep my body needs. I’m not looking forward to that bit what-so-ever. I still have work conferences I have to dial into in the morning.

    So you think impending motherhood is what’s making my ears perk up at every sound around me?

    Either way, I’m finally caving in and making ear-plugs another mandatory item on my travel packing list.


    Day care provider? Check!

    June 10th, 2008

    So one of the major items on our list can officially be checked off: We found a day-care provider for G!

    We didn’t get into the big centers in our area because their wait-lists are pretty extensive (see our previous rant on the topic), but we’re certainly not disappointed with our decision and the outcome of the situation. We found two in-home providers that we were interested in, but what solidified our final decision was location and time availability.

    We’ll keep G in this day-care for at least 6 months and then re-evaluate. If we’re happy with the structure and education he’s getting he’ll stay through 1 year… maybe 2. He gets home cooked food (once he moves onto solids), and he’ll probably eat better at day-care than at home (as much as I am shamed to admit). I like the social interaction he’s going to have with kids in his peer-group. There will be a few toddlers as well, which I’m hoping will have the same effect as growing up w/ an older sibling and get him interacting a little bit ahead. I’m certainly not looking for G to grow up super-fast, don’t get me wrong, but I like knowing that he’ll have some developmental “role models”. I also like the smaller group setting. Hopefully less kids = less germs, and less germs = less sick G and less sick parents.

    Our plan is for G to start in January. One of us will be doing the drop-offs (probably S) and the other will be doing the pick-ups (probably me). It will all depend on who’s more flexible which part of the day. I’m normally the morning person in the bunch, so I can see myself getting up early to work so I can leave on the earlier side.
    I do ultimately realize that this is S and I planning our ideal – G is going to have his own ideas which could very well put a huge wrinkle in our planning process.

    So at least for now, this is one BIG “to-do” task we can relax about. We still have to:

    • find a pediatrician
    • have the “circumcision debate” (boy is S looking forward to this one)
    • research chord blood banking usage (it’s a pretty hefty expense… but would I regret NOT doing it if we needed it?)
    • research vaccination schedules and delay alternatives (w/ G going into day-care, we might not have too much choice into this one)
    • start looking into a second car (they don’t make infant seats for motorcycles)

    Of course there are many other “smaller” items, but the above are the big ones I’d like to/have to resolve before G arrives… and all I want to think about and can handle thinking about at the moment.


    Rude Awakening

    June 10th, 2008

    I was woken up at precisely 2:36am this morning by the most agonizingly painful Charlie horse cramp EVER!!! I’d heard that these can be common with pregnancy, but this was so awful I jumped out of bed so immediately you could have sworn someone poured boiling water on me.

    It’s still sore 🙁

    All I gotta say is “Oooooooooooooooooow!”

    Yeah… let’s not have a repeat of that one.


    Still a boy! (A 4D u/s adventure)

    June 8th, 2008

    Yesterday S and I went to a 4D u/s appointment. I love seeing G and ever since the first 3D experience we had during our NT scan, I’ve been impatiently awaiting this one.

    The place we went to (LRD Scanbabies) was great, and I highly recommend it to anyone living in the CA South Bay/Peninsula, or willing to do a little drive. Part of the scan is the confirmation of all the measurements taken at the Big U/S and they send your OB a report of the findings. Oh and we got confirmation that G is, in fact, still a boy. Seeing his… uhmn… “stuff” in 3d there was no mistake. I’ll spare you that photo, mostly because I don’t want G to develop a complex down the line from the fact that the whole world has had access to his privates. I think the gender reveal scan is enough… at least for now.

    All of his measurements suggest that as of right now G weighs in at 2.46lbs. He is right on track. His femur and tummy measurements are just a few days behind, but his noggin is a few days ahead. They averaged out to exactly 28w, which is where I said I was.

    G in true form didn’t really cooperate with us, so we didn’t get a chance to see a good, clean view of his face. He had both arms AND feet up around his head so we chased him around a few times to see if he’d move. Of course when he did get some of his appendages out of the way he stuck his head up against the wall of my uterus. This child is either quite camera shy, or purposefully telling his that pictures are only taken when HE feels like it.

    So without further adieu here are G’s latest mugshots:

    Side profile

    Front view

    That thing by his lips? His foot. In the side profile the majority of the picture is the wall of my uterus.

    We’re still trying to figure out whose nose he has, but I guess we have plenty of time to ponder that one once we see him in person in a few months.

    That’s our baby!


    Nursery – Part I

    June 7th, 2008

    Last week-end, S and I began working on G’s room. As that room used to be our guest room, there was a whole series of things that needed to occur before we can begin baby-fying it. We needed to move the bed out into (what is today) the office, but before we can make that move we needed to get a wall-system in there so that the queen-sized bed doesn’t constantly take up space. Well, our wall system was installed last Saturday (and looks AWESOME by the way).

    The afternoon included a trip to Kelly Moore paints where we went to get our VOC-free paint and then lots of taping. In the rest of the week-end and through the week following S did it all. We then assembled G’s crib and put up the bedding. It’s really coming together. I walk in there several times a day and just stand still trying to take it all in. I imagine the little person who’ll be living there for years to come, the nights I’ll be spending in that space trying to calm him down, and just generally seeing his development in there. It’s weird – that room isn’t just about his arrival – it seems to be about everything after that.

    The walls are still bare and our glider won’t arrive until sometime next month, but so far we’re pretty pleased with the results. Here are some pics:

    The furniture in there is the furniture we bought for our loft bedroom about 5 years ago. It’s amazing how well it matches G’s crib!

    My sister is working on some wall art for us. She’s making a series of different scenes of a baby griffin’s life. I gotta say – they look simply too cool and make me giggle when I see them. I can’t wait for the final artwork, but meanwhile I’ll share with you the draft:

    Cool, huh? My favorite is the eating scene.

    And that’s it for the nursery so far: final pics to come in a few weeks once it’s all done.