Big and strong

When we're asleep, and Stephs belly is against me, the kid will kick me awake. And Steph will remain sound asleep. So far the little guy is not on our sleep schedule. When he gets here, I plan to just explain to him nicely how important mom and dads sleep is and I'll get his full cooperation. I'll let you all know how that works out.

And the halloween party this weekend. Steph loves anything sacrilegious. (I hope everyone understands that he's just kidding here)

I hope everyone's doing well.

Guess the Stats

Hey Everyone,
OK, so I have a little game for you. My friend Kelly did this before her daughter was born and I thought it was great. So, I am going to be a copy cat. What you do is click on this URL http://www.expectnet.com/index.php and type guessthestats in the box under invited guests. You can then type in what you think our babies final measurements are going to be. OK, have fun, we'll let you know who gets the closest after the baby is born.

Hiccups?!?!?!

Hmm, I may have spoken to soon. So I was sitting at my desk at school and all of a sudden I thought I could feel my pulse in one part of my abdomen and I could see that spot rhythmically pulsing. I watched that spot and thought about it for a second and realized that the pulsing was a little too slow to be my pulse. So I'm guessing it must have been his first bout of hiccups. It was actually really neat, a little hypnotizing. I still love feeling him move, it's just such a connected feeling. Alright, so I guess the countdown has begun. About 4 weeks left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent

Well, I got the best news this weekend. Apparently Dans trip has been canceled for now, at least until December. That means no worries about him not being here for the birth. Yeah!!!!!! That's basically it for the new updates. My overstuffed glider (Per Kellie's suggestion, thank you) came in this weekend. I was so excited, we picked it up, put it together, and it doesn't work. The glider frame was bent. It doesn't rock forward. Errrr. I was so excited about this chair. We had to reorder the whole chair (they couldn't just order the frame) and wait another week for it to come in. I just can't wait to get it in our room, it's the last baby thing I need to be ready for the baby (well, materialistically ready). Alright, when the chair finally comes in I'll take a picture of the babies area in our room. Nothing very exciting, but it's comfy and it will work very well while he's small.

Belly pics for everyone!

Hello friends and family. Thought I'd get on here and just give everyone what they really want to see.














This is a before dinner pic.











And a during dinner pic when she will not be interrupted. My beautiful 200 lb wife.

It just keeps growing

Of course I am referring to my belly. There are some of you who will be very excited to know that I am going to break 200lbs with this baby. I think it's pretty funny. Especially since I don't feel it, if I did it would probably be a very different story. I do have new pictures, but they are not on this computer so I will put them up later. So, someone recently asked me how I'm doing with everyday tasks, which amusingly enough is exactly what I had been getting ready to post. Of course with my ever expanding abdomen I had noticed that bending was getting increasingly more difficult. Bending over while sitting in a chair is next to impossible. The stomach is just so solid, there is just no give, and it's so protruding there is pretty much no space left between my stomach and my lap. So I can bend forward about 20 degrees, and that's not even that comfortable. Standing up and bending over still happens to some extent, however I have to lift one of my legs out behind me to make this happen. Putting on socks is impossible (although I recently discovered that if I sit on the floor it actually is still possible to put socks on). The days of being able to put my pants on standing up are rapidly approaching an end and I keep hitting people with my stomach because I just don't really have a concept of how big it really is. It's funny though, because I still get very conflicting reports. There are women (mostly women who have been pregnant before) who tell me I'm still pretty small. And then there are women who tell me how HUGE I am. Hmm, who knows. Luckily I'm still really enjoying being pregnant. Other then bending over, I'm still comfortable and able to do pretty much anything I want (that is when no one is looking). People are very quick to help you out when you're pregnant, which is very nice, but they are also very quick to tell you what you shouldn't be doing as a pregnant lady. I know they mean well, but sometimes it can be a little bit of a hindrance. OK, and then the last comment of the day, this little guy never had hiccups. Just in case he ever wants to know. So, have a good day everyone, I'll try to write more soon.

Classes and anniversaries

Did the anniversary thing and now the birthing classes. Man, I can't get outa nothin. At least it's all been fun and I learned a lot. I learned how to be a labor coach. That wasn't so bad. Just do what the pregnant mamma says and help her focus and do the breathing technique. Now, I don't know what most men think about child births before they've ever seen one. I think you take what they show in the movies, and whatever your friends will describe for you, and sort of develope what you think you would expect. But you relaize that there is still a mystique about it until you experience it. We watched a film in the class that showed a bunch of different child births. The first one I wasn't sure exactly what they'd show or how graffic the film would be. I was sipping a coffee and watching intently as one of the women was about to have a baby. Suddenly the sheets lifted up and the camera got right down into the mix. Into the business. All the fluids and more fluids, and then the tiny deformed and discolored baby. I swallowed my coffee a little hard but I knew Steph was watching me to see how I handled it. So I leaned over without even taking my eyes off the screen and whispered to her, "I'm fine honey, no sweat." Which, by the way, is my story and I'm stickin to it. That child birth was followed by four more, complete with labor coaching and helping the mamma through all the contractions. Back births, C sections. I'm glad I got to go to the classes with Steph because we had fun and even met a few couples there that we knew. I'm looking at all these guys who are going to be new dads, and it kind of helped my confidence. I just hope I do as good as I plan to.

Happy Anniversary

Thank you everyone for the anniversary well wishes. We had a very nice day yesterday. My wonderful husband made it home from work before me which is quite rare nowadays and had a dozen beautiful roses for me. I on the other hand had two anniversary cards for him (very heart felt though). I guess I was the slacker this year. Now just to show how long we've been married, we hadn't even decided what we wanted to do to celebrate yet. We ended up going downstairs to our favorite restaurant and had a wonderful time. The cook even gave us a scallop appetizer (the funny thing is, he didn't even know it was our anniversary until after the scallops arrived at our table and we told him). We had a great meal, great conversation, and even indulged in some chocolate cake. We finished eating around 9p and went to bed at 9:30 stuffed and happy :).

Very good news

OK, as a lot of you know, Dan was supposed to leave today on a work trip. Well, he's not. Which means, he will be around for our 6th anniversary tomorrow (very excited about that), but best of all, he will be around for our birthing classes (very very happy about that). That has actually be one of my biggest stresses lately. Dan's travel plans for work are often very unstable, but I was still trying to plan the classes around them. First he was supposed to be gone in Sept. so I signed us up for mid-Oct just in case. Then he was supposed to be gone mid-Sept. to mid-Oct. (stress set in), then it was supposed to be January (stress relief), then is was all of Oct (OK, at least he'll be there for the birth), then it was Nov. (umm excuse me, this kid is not going to wait for him to come back), and now his amazingly wonderful boss has made it so that he is leaving on Tues. and will get back 2 weeks before the baby is due. Everyone pray that this little guy holds on, oh, and that Dan's plans don't change again. This may work out after all.

Not a showboater

I guess I should feel lucky that Dan has been able to feel the baby move. I think he will be the only one to feel him move before he's born. Somehow this little guy knows when I am trying to get someone else to feel him and he just stops moving. He's certainly not a showoff, yet.

Hello Everyone

Hello Everyone,

I'm so sorry to have been so absent. I've been trying to get so many things done before our little man (still no name) gets here, that posting has fallen to the wayside. I have a lot of unanswered e-mails I need to respond to. I have been keeping mental notes in my head though dating all the way back to the weekend of Aug. 25th, ouch.

OK, so I went over to Long Island for a friends bridal shower and while trying to get another friend to feel the baby move I realized his movements were getting much less vigorous then usual. I just figured that he was having one of his quiet days. He had this pattern of being incredibly active for a day or two and then being very still for a day. But it continued, so on Sept. 4th I went in for a nonstress test (they monitor the baby while you just lay there). Apparently I don't have a clue. The nurses said that he was very healthy for his age, which was nice to hear, and that he just had less room to move because he was just getting bigger. It was actually a really nice experience, I got to hear all the movements he was making that I couldn't really feel, which were a lot, and I got to hear his heart beat for about 40min. It was a very intimate experience. I got a little glimpse of his world.

Sept. 10th was the first time I got to feel an actual body part. I'm not sure which one, but it was something like a foot or a forearm. I started to feel a lot of pressure in my right side, when I put my hand over the spot I realized I could feel him through my skin. There was a long ridge like bump sticking out of my side, it was kind of weird. The way I feel him now (movement, body parts, etc.) is even more fun then it used to be. When he moves my stomach ripples and moves and jumps. It happens a lot during class and while I'm tutoring, I can only imaging how one of the student's would react if they saw it (I think if anyone was looking at my stomach it might creep them out). I can feel where he is a lot too now, I feel stretching when he leans or presses parts of his body into my stomach. My belly gets all deformed and I can see bumps and bulges where he is. I am very happy to report that I am still feeling really good, however I'm getting more and more comments on how big I am. Luckily I have Dan to tell me how great I look. There are several people who think that I'm not going to make it full term because I'm so big. Whatever, I'll make it. Like I have a say. I just want him to hang in there and get strong and healthy. OK, so here are the long awaited belly pictures.

So Moody!

I realized shortly after greeting my wife last night that I needed to clarify something. She is not getting moody or short on patience with me. She's very kind and cheerful to me all the time every minute of the day. She gets angry at things like not knowing how to spell words, or not being able to get comfortable while laying on the couch. She's not going crazy or throwing dishes at me anything. Except when she found out I told you all she was moody. Then she went a little crazy. But you guys know Steph, I'm really spoiled at how even tempered she is. And also, I don't mind talking to her belly in the mornings. Yes it's very nice, and important. OK, so I hope that covers any missinterpretation anyone might have possibly had. I'll post her belly for you all as soon as she lets me.

Awaited update

Life is still busy for us but thats no excuse for not updating this enough for all of my wifes caring friends and family. I will accept all the blame for not doing it because Steph is still going to school and is probably more tired than I am when she's home. I know that this blog is how some of you feel kept up to speed with Stephs pregnancy, and I assure you that things are still in full swing. In fact, she is getting moody finaly and shorter on patience. Her belly is even bigger and I will put pictures of it up shortly. But overall she is still happy and smiles a lot. I am very anxious for this boy to come. I literally speak to him every morning. Steph is still in bed half asleep when I leave for work. Steph gives me the one eye open kiss goodbye and then she lifts the covers and asks me to talk to the baby. I tell her belly goodbye, and be good for mamma, and have a fun day. But it seems a little comical talking to a pregnant belly everyday. I'm excited for him to get here. We were at a wedding last weekend and here's a couple pics.














I had my wife dancing all over the dance floor with her pregnant belly. She looked fantastic and had a blast. Thank you all for checking this and caring about Steph. We are in a situation where work will be requiring me to leave the country at a very inopportune time. Steph is doing her best not to be too upset but it sucks. I am in the midst of trying to find a solution that doesn't entail quitting my job when a baby is coming. I was going to Thailand but those plans are off the list for now. It will be Columbia and San Diego. From October to late December. I will keep you guys posted. I will be pretty much beside myself if this doesn't work out.

Baby Shower Continued

I finally got pictures of the onesies that I wanted to share with you guys. I also have a picture of the cake that my Aunt made for the shower. I love it.

Baby Shower

Hey everyone, ok, so here is a much awaited post from the mom-to-be. Sorry it's been so long. My little son seems to be doing very well, which I'm grateful for. His movements are less vigorous now, as he gets bigger there is less room for him to wined up and really whack me. For a while I thought he was going to try to wiggle and kick his way right out of my body alien style. My favorite moments are the times when Dan and I get to sit together just feeling the baby move. It's like we're already a family (I guess we are really). OK, so the baby shower was wonderful. I am so grateful to everyone who came to celebrate with us or was there in spirit. There were so many people who showed their support and love I'm amazed. I think we may have had as many people at the shower as we did at our wedding. I just can't tell you how amazing it felt to have everyone there.



OK, so here are some pictures.
The shower took place at my moms house. I owe her a big thank you. I was worried about space but it turned out really well, thing always seem to work out somehow. There was so much food, thank you to everyone who brought something. I tried not to put pictures of individual gifts we received so that no one would feel left out, but we received so many wonderful things. Dan was amazed at all the onesies and receiving blankets. It hasn't quite registered with him how many of them we are going to need. I think he thinks there were too many, he'll find out soon enough.

Dan did so well, he stuck around through the whole party. I thought he might sneak away with the other guys half way through, but he didn't. I wouldn't have blamed him if he had, but he was wonderful. He gave a thank you speech, he help with everything, talked to people, and stayed with me the whole time. He even ooh'd and ahh'd over everything while showing his masculine side of trying to figure out what the heck everything was for. I was very proud of him. My cousin Amy put together some funny stories from when each of us were little and some Q&A sheets on each of us as babies. She also brought bibs and onsies that people could paint for the baby. Once I get pictures of them I will post those as well.

OK, as far as names go, nothing yet, but I think we'll probably figure it out when he's born. I told Dan to hold on to names he likes and if he still has one he loves in 2 1/2 months then we'll make decisions. Take care everyone, talk to you soon.

Belly is still growing

Usually we seem to take turns updating this, but since I like to feel helpful I'll just take the innitiative. Besides, it's the least I can do. I still love the support everyone is giving for Steph. I think she looks great. I'm trying to convince her to stop calling herself a duck. She thinks she looks like one. Even if she had webbed feet and feathers, she'd look more like a swan I think.













Thanks for the Pete suggestion, but you bring up an excellent point about peeing on the carpet. And I don't have any cowboy jerseys for the little man but I'm sure he could make one look good and probably play for their team. Still no name for the kid. Maybe thats because we're having too much fun contemplating one. Steph and I miss all of you and hope everythings good. Also, I will add that I have come to learn much about pregnancies that I never realized. Since babies are born every second of the day I use to think there just couldn't be that much to it. It's nature. Well, the more I learn about pregnancies, the dumber the look on my face becomes. I'll be fine. I'm pretty sure. But it's a little eye opening to realize how clueless I was and not even aware that I needed to get a clue. Those are the worst kind of idiots. But so far, I think things seem to be going pretty well.

Update

Since Steph got pregnant I've had to ask her to tone down her out of control rock star life style. But she says that music is good for the baby, and she insists on live performing along with all her crazy stage antics. So I do my best to let her have her way. I figure if she's happy, then so is the baby. I just hope the kid doesn't someday punch me for this.



On another note, I'm finding out that picking a boy's name can be pretty hard if you don't want to go with a common name. I don't want something like bill or billy or mac or buddy. But the names Steph likes aren't working either. She's keeps mentioning these crazy names like Fire, U.S., Federal, cause she thinks it goes well with the last name. She even wanted to call him Tex, or Padre like thats where his roots are. I don't even ask what names she likes anymore because it almost seems counter productive. If anyone knows any good boy names, I just thought I'd let you know I'm both listening and contemplating.

More good news

The Doc says the kid is already potty trained and well behaved! Definately his fathers son.

Dad gets his kicks

Yes, it was the first I've felt the kid move. I have been waiting patiently to catch him when he was feeling active. I've felt children move in pregnant bellies before, but this was different. When he started kung-fuing my hand I was caught in one of those moments where you think you know what to expect but it's still stuns you a bit. I've spent so much time thinking about this kid, and now he's really letting me know he's coming. I think of him alot because he makes life seem so easy and trivial. I'm talking about days when I feel like some things aren't perfect and maybe the ball is not always in my court on every single issue. It's all becomes easy and trivial. This kid has been giving me strength since the day I knew it existed. How lucky am I to have nothing but good news everytime I hear about the baby. It's healthy, 10 fingers, 10 toes, and...IT'S A SON!!! Of course a daughter would be great, but right or wrong, the instant I found out he was a boy, I felt like a father with wisdom and advice rather than a lot of wonder. That probably is a meaningless statement, but I'm taking whatever facts I can to build my confidence in fatherhood. And for me, a boy means I have wisdom, and tons of great advice. I also want to let everyone know I appreciate the support you've been showing for Steph and sharing her excitement. I love you all for it. My idea of showing excitement might not always be in tune with what she's feeling and I think you guys really help. I will let you all know that before the baby is born I am due to travel to Columbia for work. And I am grateful she will have such great friends and family supporting her. And one more thing, belly pics to follow.

Wiggly Worm

Dan finally got to feel the baby move for the first time tonight. Our little son seems to be really active when he moves (I obviously have nothing to compare it to but) it seems like there are days that he doesn't stop moving, which has been really wonderful for me. Only recently though have I felt like the movements were strong enough for Dan to feel. I tried to let him feel the baby yesterday morning, but of course he stopped moving the second I got Dan's hand on my stomach. Granted that was probably because I woke Dan up to feel it and since he wasn't quite awake yet he put his hand down pretty firmly so the baby was probable a little startled. This time however, he put on a really good show for his daddy and kicked him square in the palm a couple of times. Dan seemed really excited about it, actually I know he loved it, he was grinning from ear to ear. Any way, hopefully he'll get a chance to write about it, it would be nice to hear what he thought. I loved it, it's so nice to be able to give him a little window into what I get the chance to experience everyday. I think it's a little sad that I get the privilege of experiencing our son all the time and Dan can only get a glimpse of it. Although I have to admit, I wouldn't want the roles to be reversed, I'm really enjoying this experience.

Oh No

I finally experienced my first shopping spree for the baby, eeeeee. I went to TJ Max to kill some time while the car was being inspected and figured I would pick Dan up a couple of shirts. He's been working hard long hours at work, so I thought I'd get him a little something so so that he's appreciated. They have a pretty decent baby section, so I figured I'd check it out QUICKLY ...... Yeah right. All the cloths are so cute, I was just going to get one outfit ..... $35 later, I had 3 PJ's, three shirt and pant outfits, a onesie that says take me home, and a book. So much for my one item. At least I know from now on when I go shopping for the baby I will need to bring backup. It's all so cute though, I can't stand it, and it's so much fun.

New Pic

I just wanted to put a new belly shot up.

Due Date Change

Oh, I forgot to mention that the baby's due date has been changed again. It is now predicted to be November 23rd, right on Thanksgiving day, which I guess is actually a good thing. Very few babies are actually born on their due date and everyone who has talked to me knows how much I want to be with my families on Thanksgiving. Of course we all know, when you want something to happen, it doesn't, and when you want something not to happen, it does, so I guess we'll see. Besides maybe that would be the perfect day to start a family of my own since it's always been a day representative of family for me. I hope you are all doing well, talk to you soon.

IT'S A BOY

Well our Chinese lunar calendar was correct, we have ourselves a little boy. I guess my mothers intuition was wrong. I had two dreams that he was a she, but I couldn't be any happier. Most people who talked to me knew I wanted a boy first, so I'm really on cloud nine. At this point he is 1lb 2oz and in the 70th percentile and the doctor said everything looks great so far. So, I guess we are moving right along. OK, the sonogram pictures weren't great this time but there is one of him waving that's ok, so I'll put it here and we took video, so I'll see if I can get that up and working. Yeah, what an exciting day......

Lots of Butterflies

Well, I can finally say with confidence that I'm feeling movement and at the moment this little one is going nuts. Or at least it feels like a lot of movement for such a small creature. I actually have been feeling the baby moving for a while, I just really didn't trust that that was really what I was feeling. I'm so excitied, it seems like I've been waiting for this for so long. Dan was so cute, he said not to put so much pressure on his baby because it's just a little guy right now, give it time. I actually thought that was very insightful and really sweet. OK, just 5 more days until I can start saying he or she, maybe. Everything is still moving along well as far as I know and we're just relaxing for now.

High Praise

You know, I've taken the time to write about the progress of the baby and life in general, but I think it's time to write about my husband. I read his posts and he doesn't give himself enough credit. While this pregnancy has been remarkably pleasant for me, he should know it's still essential to me to have him around. As he mentioned, he has been great about being at my beck n' call so to speak (I think that's how you write that), which of course I love. He'll even pause a video game to get me things!!!! But it's much more than that, emotionally he's been great for me. He's such a laid back person, he keeps me enjoying a very stress free life. He teaches me the value and the benefit of not sweating the small stuff and not to worry so much about what other people think and do. He's been so good about giving me all of the affection that I want, even when he's trying to relax himself. He's just been so selfless, I love him so much and I can't wait to see him as a dad. That's another part of what he does for me. I know he's going to be such a great father and we have such similar views on raising children that I don't stress about the future as much as I might. If the baby cooperates, we'll find out in 11 days the gender of our little one, Dan is so excited. Another plus, he's been so excited about this pregnancy, even when it doesn't seem real to me, he's enjoying it. I think he thinks about this baby as much as I do. For a final update, I had a doctors apt. this past Friday. Things are looking good, heart beat, growth, etc. While the doctor was listening for the heart beat he could also hear the baby moving around, which of course I couldn't feel. I'm pretty sure that I am feeling the baby move now, but obviously not every time. OK, I'll try to get new pictures up soon and of course hopefully we'll let you know what we might be having in 11 days (everyone knows the doctor can be wrong). Have a great day everyone.

Hello ladies

This is not a most recent picture, but I'm showing my current family. We're in order of intelligence from left to right. If I could've fit all Steph's house plants in the pic the cat would still be last. I kind of want this pic to look back on when a new member arrives. My wife has been encouraging me to put the "man's perspective" on this blog spot. So I'll offer a quick analysis of what I know so far. As I've closely observed and monitored Steph's behavior, I find that she is still surprisingly calm and relaxed. I was preparing for some manner of mild mood swings at least. She's more humerous and seems to laugh about everything. She laughs most about how unfunny she is when she tries to be funny. I'd never know she was pregnant if she didn't say so and wasn't showing. I find that I'm the one with all the food cravings. I'm glad she is resting well and paying attention to everything she eats. When I think of what to brag about as far as my own efforts toward the pregnancy, my mind keeps eluding to how good Steph has been. The only thing I've had to noticably change is that I do the cooking more than I normaly would. Well, I fetch things for her so she doesn't have to get up. And give more foot massages. I change her cats litterbox. But those aren't things to brag about. Considering I didn't know much about what to expect from my wife during pregnancy, I must say I'm rather pleased.

A Very Good Day

I finally told my mentor at school that I was pregnant. Actually what I told her was that there must be something in the water at this school (that only works because one of the girls that works with her at Wesleyan just had a baby). She looked at me for a second, said, "Your pregnant" with a smile and gave me a hug. I'm so grateful. I knew she'd be great about it, but for some reason I was still a little nervous to tell her. She is such a great person/mentor, I'm so lucky. OK, also, for those of you who are planning to have children/more children someday, I just found a great website. I'm not sure how many people know about this site, but it's called babyfit.com. If you're worried that you aren't getting enough protein, calcium, foliate, calories, or iron, you type in what you ate for the day and it calculates it all for you. It's great, you never have to wonder. It even has daily meal plans if you want, they assure that you get all the nutrients you need from your food and that you eat well. It will also make a weekly exercises routine for you if you'd like with a variety of exercises so you don't get bored. It, of course, has your personalized calendar that tells you what's going on with you and the baby, articles and tutorials, and if that's not enough the more you use it the more money they donate to March of Dimes. OK, I'll get off my soapbox now and explain the photos below. Over fathers day my fathers family had there every other year reunion, which was a blast, but very hot as it was 95 degrees. The first picture is of my immediate family, there were 2nd cousins and 1st cousins once removed there as well, but not in that picture, in fafct only about 3/4 of my family made it this year. The reunions are a really big deal for us, so it was really nice. Babies first family reunion. Also, for those of you who have heard me talk about my nieces, you know I'm absolutely obsessed with them. The 2 pictures after the family reunion picture are my nieces with my sister-in-law, who just graduated from high school on June 21st. For those of you who graduated with me, that was 10 years to the day that we all graduated. Scary isn't, how time does fly. We're so proud of her. She's off to Avery point and then Uconn after that. Maybe she'll be the first of her family to get a college degree. We wish her the best, and some fun while she's at it.

It worked

For some reason I was having trouble getting these photos up yesterday.

New Pictures

18 Weeks - Look at that belly

Waiting

Hi everyone,
Sorry it's been so long since my last post. There hasn't been much going on lately and I find that I am just waiting. I've been told that I can expect to start feeling the baby move in the next two or three weeks, which I am of course now constantly searching for. Poor Kristin, I keep saying to her, "Well, I felt something that felt like this.......Could it be the baby." She's been so good about it. She keeps assuring me that I'll know when I feel it. Actually I should mention, everyone has been soo wonderful. Thank you all for your support. Shawn and Kelly were the first to offer cloths and books, which have already come in handy. They're also so encouraging and have been great about keeping up with my progress. Thanks guys, it's so nice to know you're there. Tiffani has also been following along and being very encouraging. You've sent so many comments that I really want to respond to and will once I get your e-mail from my wonderful husband!!!! I'm really glad you like the pictures, I know I'll be really grateful to have them to look back on. The funniest thing is that Dan and I had been talking about the fact that you had New England babies and my first is a Texas baby before I got your comment. I just wanted to be able to tell you that. Kristin has been so wonderful, she gave me all of her maternity close, which is such a help, and is constantly answering my questions, which is even better. My friends and family have been great and VERY interested (Karra), which is fun. OK, so I could obviously go on forever. Thank you all for keeping up with my cite and sending all of your comments. You guys are great. OK, so we have our next routine apt. on the 7th. And then as long as the baby cooperates we'll hopefully accurately find out the sex of the baby on the 20th. Good luck to us. I promise not to wait so long to write again.

Look at that happy dad. He's so charming and funny. I've recently come to know that some people like to hear what dad's take is on the experience. OK well, hi everyone. It's me, the belly shot photographer. It's kind of cool watching my wife's body go through these changes. Even though they're expected changes, it's still neet to see. Steph wants me to conversate with her belly a lot and I do my best to oblidge. But everytime I try to talk, Steph ends up having fits of laughter. Dad's voice will only be associated with laughter at this rate. That might put me at a disadvantage down the line somewhere. I'm just glad that the baby gets to hear me, that way we won't be total strangers when we eventually see eachother. I try to do as much as I can for my pregnant wife. Seeing her get bigger makes me attentive and obedient, but proud at the same time. I wasn't sure how Steph would be through the pregnancy, but she's been a lot calmer and normal than I expected. So everythings going even better than I expected.

Good News

Today I went for the first part of the newest form of genetic testing they do on babies now (by new, I mean insurance didn't pay for it last year and they do this year!!). They gather an odds ratio on the babies chances of having neural tube defects or down syndrome through visual markers on the baby (thus the new pictures) and through testing certain proteins in the blood. Using just the visual part of the test, the doctor felt that things look really good. All of the things they wanted to see were there (including 2 arms and 2 legs - which was a beautiful thing for me to see) and the markers that would indicate a problem were as minimal as possible. While this is not 100%, things at this point look good, so this has been a wonderful day. I got to hear the heart beat again, a good strong 160 BPM, and I also got to see the baby moving around. Apparently we woke the baby up with the prodding and poking of the ultrasound. He/She started kicking and stretching and then flipped over, it was so cool, I wish Dan had been there, he's currently in Colorado. Also, I was wrong about the end of the first trimester date, we are into the second trimester now, I can breath a little easier. I am also losing confidence that it's a girl. Looking at it today on the ultrasound I don't get the same feeling. I have no idea, so, we'll just leave it at, I don't know what this baby is and I will be ecstatic which ever we get. Once Dan gets back I'll put up another belly picture, I know we're overdue. Thank you so much for all of your love and support.

Latest Pictures

I didn't think we were going to get to see the

baby again until the 20th week, but ....

A bet

OK, I think it's a bit delayed but, apparently moody and emotional have arrived. I got a little cranky this past weekend. I'm not sure if it was just a bit of a hot topic for me or if I'm really getting moody. We'll see, but I definitely get cranky when I'm hungry... sorry everyone and I am now crying over the end of homeward bound. Yeah, umm, ok this should be interesting. I guess Dan has had it pretty easy up until now. So, now for the title of this post. I think this baby is going to be a girl. I've been occasionally calling it she and I had a very vivid dream about "her" the other night. I dreamed that she was born at 20 weeks at a full term weight, hight, and development with big blue eyes. However, since she was born early I didn't have anything. Anyway, it was a funny/odd dream. All I know is I need to be careful because I've really started thinking of the baby as a girl and if it's not, we might have some problems, I guess we'll find out in 9 weeks.

P.S. The Chinese lunar calender says it's a boy!!!!!