Archive for February, 2008

34 Weeks

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

BM is currently in her 34th week and has been an amazing trooper during this process. Her back has started to hurt her a little more which further causes her to have restless sleep. But considering the circumstances, she feels pretty good.

For the past five-six weeks we have been to the doctor ever two weeks and I think we are about to shift to the the once a week schedule. Each time we visit with him, he says the same thing - Perfect Growth. I am sure he says the same thing over and over again to all his patients and that it is something that sounds positive and helps relieve a little of the expecting parents’ stress. He is such an easy going guy that his “Perfect Growth” comments always help lower our anxiety a little.

But then, there are the people who are always telling us that our world is going to be turned upside down and things will never be the same - I mean people in the grocery store just walk up to us and start say this kind of thing. The implication from most of those people is that we are in for a rude awaking and that our easy life will no longer be easy. While we believe things are going to change, we also are focusing on the positives rather than the negatives - and we are sure there will be both.

We feel like this experience will be like most things in life… You can nearly always find something positive and something negative in most things, but it depends on how you look at it as to the impact it has on you. I am sure we will have our happy moments and our sad ones over the rest of our lives, but on balance we simply hope that the positives will outweigh the negatives and from those around us that we talk to that have kids, this isn’t an unreasonable expectation. The truth is, this is one of life’s many experiences that we have to participate in and we decided we wanted to add this experience to our list of life adventures.

On another note, the weather this past weekend was fantastic and felt like the beginning of Spring. So, BM and I decided to grab the camera gear and head down to the park on the river. I shot a few pics and have posted them below. As you can see, BM has had “Perfect Growth.” The last shot below is just a sunset shot to help commemorate the lovely day we had.

34 Weeks

Pregnant Sunset

Firewater

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A Baby Shower?

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Several of BM’s friends have begun planning a baby shower for her. We are very lucky to have the kinds of friends that we do and we are very thankful for all that they/you have done over the past several months.

I know we have lots of blog readers and I am peppered with questions all the time about my lack of updating every day. Bottom line is that as much as I would like it to writing this blog doesn’t pay the bills but it is a nice way to communicate with everyone.

But, back to the baby shower. Anyone that knows BM and I knows that we are much more the gift giving types than the receiving types and we love to give help rather than asking for help. So the baby shower is a little bit unusual for us. We know that everyone is really excited and wants to help us as we begin our journey, but at the same time we have been self sufficient for so long, it simply is a little foreign to us to have this much attention focused on us. Needless to say, we love you all and want you to know how much we appreciate all that everyone has done during this process.

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Security is very important

Monday, February 18th, 2008

I had no idea that baby snatching was such a huge problem in this country. The truth is, it probably isn’t a major problem in terms of the frequency relative to auto accident deaths, but it is a major problem to those that are hit by it. In touring the hospital where BM will give birth, security (which we had never even considered) was a major talking point during the tour.

The hospital has cameras, tracking systems, and employee background checks in place to help ensure not only that our baby isn’t snatched from the hospital, but also that the baby we take home really is our baby (another problem we hadn’t considered).

Part of the presentation also focused on security at home once we take the baby away from the hospital and they could not stress enough to avoid “waving banners around” saying that we have a newborn in the house. Regardless of the frequency with which snatchings take place, it makes sense for us to try and avoid the problem all together by simply not having balloons or storks planted in our yard. Which means, you guessed it, our neighbors will have to read the blog to know when BM has our baby :)

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Mortality Reminder

Sunday, February 17th, 2008

I know many people that are kind of freaked out by cemeteries. But, to me, they are very peaceful places and give my mind something greater to focus on that the things that are giving me stress at that moment. In fact, cemeteries help remind me of my own mortality and give a little perspective to life.

Usually, when I travel to an older city, there is an old cemetery that I will try to stop in. I enjoy looking at the monument architecture and the history that is buried there. In fact, I have been known to stop at some small country church cemeteries because sometimes they are the most interesting.

We buried my grandmother a couple days ago and I took some time to snap a few pictures at the cemetery. I thought I would share them here.

Mortality Reminder

At Attention

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Still having hard time sleeping

Saturday, February 16th, 2008

BM and I have been out of town for a couple of days to attend a few events surrounding the death of my grandmother. Speaking of, all your phone calls and emails of condolence are very much appreciated. Thanks to you all.

Being out of town is always a little tough in that both she and I get out of our standard routines. It isn’t that our routine can’t be kept up because, in most cases, if we work at it, we can keep our routine pretty close - i.e. going to bed at a certain time, coffee and paper at a certain time, vitamins at a certain time, etc.

But, this trip has proven to throw BM a little more off her schedule in that she’s been having a tough time sleeping through the night. Being in a hotel bed with hotel noises certainly doesn’t make it any easier. We will be heading home later this morning, which I hope will bring her some insomnia relief by being in her own house if not by being in her own bed.

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A table for six please!

Saturday, February 16th, 2008

So, I was lucky on valentines night to be able to enjoy dinner with five lovely ladies. I have to say I felt like a rock star walking into the restaurant - well, it was a Texas Roadhouse (someone else’s choice) so maybe I felt like a country music star :) As soon as the hostess started walking us through the maze of tables toward our seats, it was clear that there was something “special” about me.

The glances and stares made me think people thought I was a movie star or something - I assume they thought I was George Clooney or maybe Brad Pitt :) Anyway, it wasn’t till later in the evening that I realized it must have been because I was having dinner with five women on valentines night. Two servers, in fact, made a comment about it and one even asked me my secret. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that a death in the family rather than pimp protection is what kept the ladies nearby. Nothing says virility and testosterone like having a pregnant wife and four other ladies at dinner on that Hallmark Holiday in a Texas Roadhouse.

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Death of a loved one

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

Dealing with the death of a loved one is one of the saddest experiences we all have in life. Yesterday, my grandmother died. She had been in out out of the hospital over the past couple of years fighting the problems which ultimately took her. I think it was this drawn out roller-coaster of a ride that helps make it easier on the family now.

Several years ago, I was fortunate enough have spent some time with her using the NPR Story Corp set of questions to ask her things about her life that she and I had never spoken of. She told me stories of her childhood and her family. She made me laugh with stories about my grandfather and my mother. But, the most compelling thing she told me was in response to the question, “What’s the hardest thing about getting old?” She responded by telling me that she still felt like a 25 year old trapped in an old body that was breaking down and she couldn’t do anything to repair it.

While I am sad she is gone, she, BM, and I spent many hours together talking about all kinds of things. It has proven to be very therapeutic for me to have spent that time with her. In fact, just before Thanksgiving BM and I drove the twelve hours to visit with her before she moved from one assisted living facility to another. She was so excited to see BM and I and she was even more excited to talk about names for the baby. She would throw out a suggestion and one of us would tell her why that wasn’t a name we wanted to use. Finally, out of frustration I think, she decided the child’s name would be simply - Boy. While I have dealt with the fact that my grandmother was dying it is still sad that she won’t have a chance to meet “Boy.”

Below is a photo I took of her on one of the days I picked her brain with questions about her grade school experiences. She was such a sport to sit and let me ask her so many questions for so many hours. Then I asked if she would sit with the photo of her parents. Something about my mental image of her sitting on the couch alone with the picture of her parents made me want to try and take the shot. While the photo didn’t turn out exactly like I had envisioned, it still is a photo that brings back happy memories for us.

The second photo below was taken during out trip to visit her around Thanksgiving. She was stuck in the hospital and I wanted to take a photo that showed the emotion having to deal with the problems that put her there.

I took the last picture below about fifteen years ago while visiting my grandparents.

Anyway, I know it isn’t really baby related and I have tried to keep non baby stuff from finding its way on the blog, but I thought you would like to know. Please don’t feel an obligation to do anything as your friendship is more than we could ever ask for. I know if someone close to you had died, we would want to know as well.

She was a wonderful woman that loved all of her family. She raised three children and had two grandchildren.

You will be missed Grandma!

Grandma with her parents

Grandma in recovery

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Babies are in the air - or is it the flu?

Monday, February 11th, 2008

Generally, I would characterize myself as a healthy person. I eat well, take my vitamins, get moderate exercise, get my sleep, etc. But, since the beginning of this baby process, I have had two colds and some kind of stomach flu (BM has only had one cold and I would gladly take all the bugs going around if it would prevent her from getting sick). The latter happened last week.

But, to spare you the gory details, I am still recovering from the stomach problem nearly five days after the worst of it. Needless to say, I finally have an excuse for not posting so you know I would have to use it.

We spent the morning at a christening for the daughter of some friends. It was quite a beautiful service and we love seeing them and their family and friends. But, I had to beg out early due to the nagging and slow recovery I am going through. I told BM that I must be getting old since I can’t go right back to eating steak and potatoes after I am sick. Go figure.

On another happier note, another couple we are friends with is having their first child. They live nearby and we are very excited for them and the idea that our baby will have another guaranteed playmate (funny how you start to think of that stuff). But, what is even stranger, is the number of other young couples that we know that are having their first baby. I am guessing it is like when you have braces - you notice them everywhere.

That’s all for now. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Surprise!

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30 Week Pics

Monday, February 4th, 2008

We had another photo session today. Thought you all would like to see.

Pregnant Couple

Baby's first pair of shoes

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