Two Minute Warning

Well its a 27 day warning anyway. Anna Grace's estimated due date is 2/25, but no one thinks we are going to hit that date. Everyone is guessing that we are going to be "plus one" by the second week of February. I will do everything in my power to keep you up to the second. And why won't anyone get in on a "delivery pool" with me?

I would be remiss if I did not thank everyone for the gifts, hand-me-downs, and well wishes. We have been so very blessed to have the people in our lives that we do. I am not going to mention names because I will only forget someone. Thanks Again.

We have the nursery pretty much ready. The only thing lacking is fixing the "thwack/thwack/thwack" the ceiling fan makes. If anyone has any ideas on that one I am listening. I also need to set up a little radio in there for our amusement. Otherwise, the nursery is a GO.

I still have a few questions that I am sure will get answered as each day passes.I know which way is up; the green side right? I know which end gets diapered. I even know how to put the diapers on. But I have questions. Is it ok to leave a sleeping baby in the bassinet or crib when you take a shower? Is it ok to let the dog lick the extra food off her cheeks? When is it ok to leave the house with the baby? When is it ok to finally get a mistress? Just kidding Em!

One more question. As you have probably noticed the blogging has slowed down. Main reason is I am to scared to think straight. When do I go back to normal mental status?

Stay Safe,

Rob

At Least I'm Pretty Sure It's Not Twins

HUGE! That is all I can say. Anna Grace will be here in an estimated 6 weeks, and Emilee is getting ready to pop. She looks to me like she is about 4 weeks overdue and I know that statement is going to get me into trouble. I am amazed that the skin on her belly does not split in half. It feels so tight, and I think she feels like it might be going to rip open at any time, but at least the lotion/body butter she uses smells amazing. I just hope we don't have a replay of the Kwato scene from Total Recall.

I say all that to comment on something my mom said..."Be something if it was twins". It would be something considering the 2,356 ultrasounds we had. It used to be an every other Saturday ritual; the ultrasound. We used to get so excited about how much the baby had grown or what had developed. Now when you look at an ultrasound it just looks cramped. Or if it's a 3D ultrasound just plain scary.

And how scary would twins be? I mean one is going to be terrifying enough, but two? At least you have the numbers in your favor if you only have one. Or if you spread them out you hopefully have one that is a little more self sufficient. But two at the same time? Breast feeding can't be any fun. Neither can bath time, diaper changes, and bed time. Anybody that has had them gets my full respect.

WE ARE NOT HAVING TWINS! I just wanted to clarify that point. I can already see the emails and comments coming my way, so I just want to be clear on this point. Although maybe we could sell one to pay off the expenses of the first one! I would have to do a big time sales job to Emilee on that one. Probably better just to not let her know about the second one all together. That would be a coup.

Back to Emilee. I am so glad that she has to go through all of this and not me. She can't sleep because:
a. Anna Grace is too active
b. Anna Grace is not active enough
c. She's too hot/cold
d. She has to pee

I, and some say that I am anyway, would be a bear. But Emilee has pretty much taken all of it in stride. I am not going to pretend that she is always the perkiest or happiest person on this earth. I am going to say that she has been much more pleasant pregnant than she was before she became so. I just hope the labor process goes as smooth as the pregnancy. And if the first year goes smoothly I will probably let her talk me into going for number two.

But a boy this time! Thor Gunter, Tracey Sue, or Winston Reagan.

Stay Safe,

Rob

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep..And Other Childhood Nightmares

We had our 32 week checkup today and everything was perfect. We did not get an ultrasound however. I was disappointed about that, but when the doc looks at you and says that everything is perfect what can you do. I am still amazed that he can push on Emilee's stomach for about 1.2 seconds and declare that "The baby is head down with her back to the left and everything measures perfect." When I ask him how he can figure it out so fast he simply replies "I've done this once or twice". Then Emilee gives me the why are you even talking look.

For those of you keeping score at home the 32 week scorecard looks like this;

Your baby now weighs about 4 pounds and measures about 17 inches. If you’re feeling kicks in your ribcage it probably means that baby has finally moved into the head down position that 96% of babies are born in. Don’t worry if this hasn’t happened yet, you still have a few weeks left for baby to move.

During baby’s awake times their eyes are open and looking around. When they are sleeping their eyes are closed. Eye color is usually blue right now, but this will change with exposure to light, and then it can change again a few months after birth.

As we get closer to the birth of our first child I have started to pay more attention to the books and music that I think would be appropriate for Anna Grace. It has been simple stuff like the nursery rhyme books and classical/jazz CD's that I always see recommended for our child's development. Most of the music is pretty easy to figure out. Beethoven, Mozart, or Brahms for classical. Early Coltrane or Davis for jazz. Anyone that knows Miles Davis does not have to worry about me playing the hot mess that is Bitches Brew. Some Kind of Blue is more the style I am looking for. Maybe even sneak in some Holiday or Fitzgerald.

The books are more of an issue. I was looking through a book of children's prayers and the first one was the prayer I always recited growing up.....

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
If I should DIE before I wake
I pray the Lord my soul to take

WHAT? DIE? I guess being little and just parroting your parents you don't realize what you are saying at first. But this prayer would make me wonder now. Am I setting my kid up for a complex with this one? Is she going to look at me one day and say "I just want you to know that I never slept as a child and they tell me that is what spawned the five state killing spree"?

Then I started looking at other "child" stories. Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Goldie Locks almost get turned into snack food for their antagonists. Cinderella is abused, Snow White is put to "sleep", and Bambi has his mother blown away. What about Jack and The Beanstalk? I mean this is a list of childhood horrors. But I learned something after reading a blog by Helen Brain.

Traditional fairy tales deal with common childhood fears. Think of Red Riding Hood, sent to walk alone through the dangerous woods, Cinderella, unloved, emotionally and physically abused, Goldilocks, who does something naughty and nearly gets eaten by bears, Hansel and Gretel, victims of attempted infanticide in a time of famine. These and many more examples are still popular today because they address children’s underlying primitive fears. As the characters overcome their adversity, through their wits or supernatural intervention or luck, their desperate situations are reversed, and they live happily ever after.

Kids use the stories to build their self confidence. They can look at their deepest fears and figure out that the worst can be survived! Gotta love psychology. So maybe I am over reacting a bit. Our kids get exposed to a lot of things that are bad for them, who knew a little bit of fear could be good for them?

Stay Safe,

Rob