NewBaby Goes to the Movies, Both Parents Give Him Two Thumbs Up!

NewMom and I achieved a major milestone of parenthood yesterday. We took Evan out to the movies! Ever since we moved here, Christie and I have enjoyed going to a small movie theater in Jesup. The tickets are reasonable, the popcorn is outstanding, and the theater offers two major benefits:

1. The seats have built-in carseat holders.
2. If someone is talking near you, you can just roll up your window.

That's right, it's a drive-in. And you thought those had all closed! The owners of this place are dedicated to the drive-in experience. It's really only good in the fall-winter months, as summer nights can be a bit hot here. Anyway, NewBaby fell asleep on the ride there and snoozed right through the movie AND the entire 30-minute ride back home. And, as a closing act, he woke up when we got home, ate, and went back to sleep for the rest of the night.

NewMom is happy to report that she is now regularly getting 6+ uninterrupted hours of sleep on a regular basis, and this makes me happy as well. NewMom is becoming an expert at reading NewBaby's signals. She can see the early warning signs of a nuclear meltdown and launch a full-scale nap-attack and avert certain disaster. So far, she's only had one baby-meltdown while shopping. We're sure that more will come.

NewBaby has developed several new skills, some of which are on display at my photo site in the 2006-Oct/Nov folder:

• sticking his tongue out when you stick yours out
• drooling (I'm so proud!)
• lifting his head when he's on his tummy
• grasping toys and moving them around
• showcasing his ChubMaster3000 cheeks

The cheeks are quite a show...at least we have no doubt that he's getting enough to eat! We're not quite as techno-capable as our friends over at Schmoopiebeta.com, nor do we have a video camera...but if we were, we'd post a video to illustrate NewBaby's new vocal abilities. He is starting to make lots of baby sounds now. This is a good thing, because I was worried he was too quiet and would one day just start talking with fully-formed sentences. We're well into the coos, goo-goos, and happy laughs. Who needs sentences, anyway?

NewBaby Celebrates Two-Month Birthday

As of yesterday evening at 11:39PM, Evan is officially two months old. NewMom celebrated this by taking Evan to the doctor to get the most favorite baby treat of all...shots. NewBaby came home plastered in band-aids from the multiple shots he received. Apparently he is quite normal, because he put up quite a fuss during the shots. We dosed him up on some baby Tylenol last night, and he seems to be mostly better today.

I'll get right to the details, because I know that most of you could care less about the random blathering of a NewDad. Evan's new weight is 12 pounds, 2 ounces and his length is 22.5 inches. When you stop to consider that this is almost a doubling of his body weight in two months time, that's pretty impressive. NewMom is working hard feeding Evan around the clock, but she got some welcome news from the pediatrician this week...because Evan is gaining weight well, he can now go up to EIGHT HOURS a night without a feeding. If I could make "eight hours" flash on and off in neon green, I would. We usually only make 5 or 6 hours at the longest, but knowing that Evan isn't going to shrivel up if he's sleeping longer is a nice feeling.

You'll notice that the pregnancy "ticker" has been removed from the blog. In its place is a link to my photo page on Yahoo. There are few new pictures from this week there. NewUncle Jonathan (Christie's brother...it does get confusing) and NewAunt Nikia came down for a quick visit this weekend. Kudos to them for driving 8 hours here and back just to meet Evan for less than 24 hours. Those guys are dedicated. We look forward to longer visits in the future. Jonathan and I (that does sound weird) spent an afternoon installing new exterior lights on the house. We proved the second and third theorems of do-it-yourself projects this time, though.

Do-It-Yourself Project Theorems

1. Always measure twice, cut once.
2. If at first you don't succeed, then read the instructions.
3. A "one-trip-to-the-hardware-store" project is a figment of your imagination. It does not exist in reality.

So far, the lights work and we haven't burned the house down yet. I call that a success.

NewDad Receives AARP Card; Tries to File Retirement at Age 30

Here's one of the cutest photos we have of NewBaby so far. Evan's growth can be measured by how big his new double chin is. NewMom is celebrating that NewBaby is regularly going 5 hours between night feedings. Occasionally, the magical 6 hour sleep has been achieved. NewMom will be very happy when Evan is old enough to fix his own breakfast, but for now, she'll take six hours of sleep instead.

Our household has recently grown by two, as NewMom's father and stepmother recently came down for a visit. NewGrandpa Ken immediately helped NewDad tear down and rebuild a finicky toilet. NewGrandma Marti (she's much more than a stepmother...) has been busy cooking. She cooked so much today that I actually smelled the food before I came in the house this afternoon. The freezer is in the process of being restocked, and for this we are thankful.

Yesterday, we all packed up in the car and drove over to St. Simons to enjoy some crabcakes at Barbara Jean's (if you're in the area, they are about the best crabcakes ever made...they register about 99% crab, 1% veggies and whatever else goes in crabcakes). NewBaby Evan made the trip in fine form, not crying even once while we were in the restaurant. We know that this is beginner's luck and probably will not be repeated for some time to come.

I recently celebrated my arrival into true adulthood/parenthood when I checked the mail. In the mail that day was my very own AARP card. This happened the day we came back from the hospital with NewBaby. The fates are cruel. Just in case you're wondering, this was not a card with generic numbers and "Ima Member" as the name. This was a real card with my name on it, and a letter to accompany stating that I was now fully qualified to join. I know my hair is gray, but come on...

That's it from NewBaby Land, where all the parents are somewhat rested, all the freezers are full, and all the Grandparents are above average. *

*my apologies to Garrison Keillor and all the fine folks in Lake Wobegon.

NewParents Receive Abnormal Results of Medical Test: NewBaby is Abnormally Cute

We kept this one a secret from almost all of you, but NewMom and I have been sitting on pins and needles for a while. (NOTE: Everything is fine now. You can start breathing again.) You see, it all started back in the delivery room. NewBaby had just arrived and both parents were busy erasing everything out of their appointment books for the next 18 years. Enter the doctor, busy with all the post-birth stuff that goes on. Just like the car mechanic taking apart your transmission, the doctor said, "Hmmm. This doesn't look right." He was referring to the umbilical cord, which was shown during a lab examination to have only one artery carrying blood to/from NewBaby (known as Single Umbilical Artery, or SUA). I confess at this point to not having known that most babies have two arteries in their umbilical cords. My thoughts at the time were something like "Zero is bad, so one is good, right?" Enter NewBaby, still slightly gunky but 100% cute, and all thoughts of worry were gone for the next 96 hours.

Enter NewBaby's pediatrician, who upon hearing the diagnosis of SUA ordered an ultrasound of various body parts. In reading the various pages out there on the internet about SUA, it seems we escaped the more dramatic effects. Most babies born with SUA are completely normal, but it is associated with many more dramatic problems. Maybe I was trying to be overly hopeful, but a statistics lesson came back to me then...Correlation is not necessarily causation. If I am wrong about that, that SUA does actually cause defects instead of just occurring alongside them, I really do not want to know.

The ultrasound last week was to rule out any kidney/bladder problems. We got the results today, and apparently Evan is fine except for one thing. His kidneys are abnormally cute. We will be posting pictures of the cutest kidneys ever, but we will limit it to our refrigerator door. We figure that the one umbilical artery he did have must have been honkin' huge.

Now that that's out of the way, we are happy to report that NewBaby Evan is plumping up quickly. He is sporting a double chin and his arms and legs are developing a healthy layer of baby fat. How well he sleeps at night varies, but we're pretty sure that we're on the better end of that continuum. NewDad got lots of sleep during the past two weeks while NewAunt Elizabeth and NewUncle Joshua were here and took the monitor between feedings. They also cooked up a storm while they were in town. Their 1.75 year old son, NewCousin Benjamin, gave us lessons on how to toddler-proof a house.

Minor disasters have been few and far between. There has been some spitting up, but nothing major yet. Gas comes and goes. Thank goodness for whoever invented the baby gas medicine drops. In closing, both parents have gone through a rite of passage no one bothered to tell us about...being urinated on during diaper changes. NewMom hasn't been so fortunate, but I have been lucky enough to escape being pooped on so far. My diaper-changing speed has increased exponentially after the experience with #1. At least NewBaby isn't old enough to be able to gurgle and laugh after the fact.

Sleep is Good; Lots of Sleep is Great

To mark his one-week birthday, Evan gave his parents a most needed gift -- sleep. NewDad chalked up 9 hours in a 12 hour period, and NewMom got quite a bit too, although more interrupted for feedings. NewWatchDog Darwin got lots of sleep too, but he could sleep through a train wreck and not wake up. Some of you have been asking about the pets...Darwin is handling the transition easily, but still looks concerned when Evan is crying. Heidi (our cat) tries to avoid the whole affair, but shows signs of interest when she thinks we're not looking. Ginger (our other dog) spends most of her time outside, and hasn't really had a chance to meet the baby much. She's a bit hyper. Before anyone says it, all the animals are kept away from Evan if we aren't in the room. Evan's door is closed and Heidi is evicted from the nursery if Evan is in his crib. I love that cat, but she would be moving somewhere else if I ever found her in the crib with Evan.

As a humble NewDad, I want to thank each and every one of you for checking out the blog and for your enthusiastic feedback. I am wrestling with some issues that I think every blogger and NewDad goes through. One, how much information do people really want? To that end, the blog is going back to a slower posting style...maybe once a week or so for a while. The birth/hospital stay sped things up for a while, and I apologize if I overloaded your inbox with emails. At least I wasn't sending 50 MB of pictures directly to your inbox for you to download over a dial-up connection. =) The second issue is how much do you really want to keep up with this? Some of you are coming b/c you get my update email when it goes out. Others are getting forwarded emails (what, you don't forward this to everyone you know?). Still others are finding this site through other means. I hate to be that person at work who forwards everything to you, even the silly "deadly spiders in the bananas from Costa Rica" stories...so if in my enthusiasm over the whole pregnancy thing, I added you to the list but you want off...let me know. I promise not to take it too personally. If you're not on the list but want to be on, email me at guarding24-blogs@yahoo.com . That will go to my main account and I'll add you on. I only send a text email when an update is posted, so it won't blow out your inbox. The last issue is the size of the blog. I've changed the format so that only the last few posts are displayed. That makes the page load faster, especially if you're on dialup. All of the old posts are available by clicking the links on the right hand side of the page.

Thanks for your support of this NewDad/Blogger as he tries to figure out this new world of adventures. You should know that I just had a major typo as I brushed across the keyboard, and interestingly enough it spelled "poopf." A sign to get off the blog and check a diaper? You decide.

We Are HOME!!!!

I think the picture says it all. Evan had a lower bilirubin count Sunday morning, and an slightly lower one in the afternoon (we're down to 12.6 from an all-time high of 13.3). In short, he is on the mend. =)

We've had a good night at the house. Both parents clocked in with Mr. Sandman. NewMom claims five or six hours, but she's forgotten how to add numbers...so all bets are off. =)

Superstar awards go to NewGrandmother Julia and NewGrandfather Julius who spent Sunday cleaning our house, cooking us dinner and more food for the week, stocking the pantry and refrigerator, and doing our laundry. We probably would have gone insane by this point without their help. Thank you. If anyone needs a good tag-team duo to handle situations like these, I have their telephone number...

We're eagerly awaiting the arrival of NewAunt Elizabeth, NewUncle Joshua, and NewCousin Benjamin next week. We will be able to use the help. NewGrandpa Ken and NewGrandmother Marti will be coming sometime later in August or September. Your timing will be perfect, I'm sure...as we will have run out of food in the freezer. NewGrandmother Marti will probably find that her culinary skills are increased from an already incredible level to "Grandmother" status in the kitchen. NewDad and NewGrandpa Ken will probably find something to dig up, rewire, build, take apart, or break in the process of trying to fix it. A good time will be had.

NewGrandma Barbara will have to make it down at some point this fall too...or maybe we will be able to visit her. We're sure that she will have some books for NewBaby Evan. If you know Barbara, you know what I mean. She is a literature guru, lover of books, and her collection makes the Library of Congress staff take pause.

It's Time for a MegaNap!!

NewMom, NewBaby, and NewDad are doing pretty well after a very stressful couple of days. As previously reported here on this blog, Evan had a pretty good case of jaundice going on. Now as some of you have already found out, about 50% of babies have some jaundice...so it's nothing to get too alarmed over. But, if it gets too bad it can turn pretty ugly pretty quick. For a little while, our pediatrician was debating calling a bigger hospital about two hours away to see if we might need to take Evan there. At some point, it was revealed that the point of this trip would be to have a complete blood transfusion/replacement done on Evan. See below for the picture of what Evan thought about this idea.

Thankfully, the combination of light therapy, a little formula supplementing on top of the breast feeding, helpful nurses and doctors, and of course, lots of prayers has led to Evan's jaundice bilirubin blood levels leveling off this morning. He had a bilirubin count of 13 this morning, and to give you some perspective, we were told that 15 meant a call to the mega-hospital and increases beyond that meant an ambulance ride to the mega-hospital. His levels have plateaued (maybe it's the fact that I've had about 8 hours of sleep in the past four days, but that word looks funny), so that's good. As he gets older, his tolerance gets better and the high bilirubin levels become less of a critical concern. We are hoping and praying for a lower count in the morning, and all indications so far are that we will be happy when we get the results.

All this means that NewBaby has not been discharged from the hospital, so we're still at the hospital. NewMom is doing very well and has no complications or difficulties in healing after delivery. NewMom was discharged sometime recently (my brain is fried), but since no other NewMoms need her room, she is able to stay in her room for FREE. We have to arrange meals, etc. for her. I find this to be amazing in this day in age, but the hospital is very supportive of breast-feeding moms. It has been very "non-busy" in the maternity ward (I was told not to use a certain word that scores lots of points in Scrabble and means silence, lack of noise, etc... b/c that was bad luck). A very few other NewMoms have come through since we arrived, and so our NewMom has been able to keep her room.

Evan might get discharged tomorrow, but we are not getting our hopes up. NewMom is spending tonight in her room with Evan, and will rest between feedings. NewDad came home to do some laundry, bring some presents to the house, and get a good nights sleep on his own bed. That last one is coming real soon.

One last thing: Thank you to NewGrandfather and NewGrandmother from Lake Park for all of their support, help, and of course...photos (folder 2006-07-26). Thanks to all the people who were saying prayers for Evan and NewMom and myself. They were felt. Please continue on until we get Evan completely back to full health. Thanks to NewMom for being so wonderful and being a real trooper in the pregnancy/delivery/motherhood adventure. Thanks to everyone and anyone who I am forgetting in my brain-deadness. You are appreciated, I assure you.

That's it. Good night. If anyone calls me tonight with a wrong number...so help them.

--NewDad (who wonders how he is still able to type after all of this)

NBA Arrives on Scene; Decides on Name "Evan Jacob"

Hello everyone! Evan Jacob arrived on Wednesday, July 26th at 11:39 PM. He weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces and was 19 inches long. He was a little small, but he came two weeks early. NewMom and I want to thank you for all of your support, prayers, and thoughts over the past few days. We are getting along pretty well. NewMom is doing very, very well...she managed about 6 hours of sleep last night in-between feedings, and is up and about during the day. NewDad also got 6 hours of sleep last night, and those 6 hours rate very high on the "Best Sleep Ever" list.

Evan is doing well for the most part, but he does have a pretty good case of jaundice going on. The doctors think it has something to do with NewMom/NewBaby different blood types...don't ask me, I can't figure it out right now. Anyway, it's nothing to be seriously worried about, but he is on the "Bili-Lights" (a UV light treatment bassinet kind of thing) most of the time and had an IV for most of last night and this morning. Our pediatrician is handling the issue very professionally, and we expect to have this thing figured out in the next 24-48 hours. Unfortunately, even though NewMom will be able to leave the hospital tomorrow, Evan will definitely be staying through Sunday...and possibly later depending on how this goes. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Thankfully, NewMom will be able to stay in her room at the hospital until Evan is ready to go home...unless her room is needed for other NewMoms who just delivered. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers as well...as it would be wonderful to be able to stay at the hospital with Evan until he comes home.

NewGrandfather has posted many pictures online, some of which you may have already seen . He will be updating his photo website (http://photos.yahoo.com/jariail) . Just find the folder labeled "2006-07-26" and the photos will be updated as he takes more and adds them. Kudos to NewGrandfather for being here yesterday and today to "document" the baby thoroughly.

Thanks to whoever had the blue wreath put up on the fence outside the house...I haven't had time to check to see if there is a note or anything. Thank you very much.

That's it from here for now. NewDad is wiped out, but he'll make it.

Pre-Game Show Wrapping Up; Nursery is Complete!

(Notice the Auburn Tigers mobile. It plays the Auburn fight song.
War Eagle, Baby!)

Yesterday, we were visited by the Angels from Lake Park. Julia (NewGrandmother-T0-Be) who made the bumper pad and mattress skirt seen in the picture above, came to deliver a matching set of curtains for the nursery window. We were informed that we had a problem with the nursery when my sister, Elizabeth (NewAunt-To-Be), made a visit a few weeks ago. Benjamin, the NewCousin-To-Be, tested out the nursery by sleeping in the Pack&Play. When it was his bedtime, we realized that the nursery window faces west and the setting sun lit up the nursery like it was, well, daytime. Hence, the need for curtains. Who should come to the rescue but Julia, Sewing Queen Extraordinaire! Not only did she bring curtains, but she also brought a home-cooked lunch, loaves of Julia Bread, and a pound cake. She gets infinity + 1 gold stars for that. =) Dad (NewGrandfather-T0-Be) came along and took pictures of the whole affair. The full set of pictures can be seen at Dad's Yahoo photo site in a folder marked "2006-07-16." The photo below shows Julia surrounded by her handiwork. Thanks!

(notice the changing table in the background. Thanks to Ken
(NewGrandfather-T0-Be) and Marti (New Grandmother-T0-Be)
for that!)

In other developments, the "going to the hospital" bag is now in the car, along with the car seat. We need to fiddle with the straps on it, b/c right now they're set so tight that NBA probably wouldn't be able to breathe (much like his father, NewDad, as he drives home for the first time). NewMom-T0-Be is doing well with the last few weeks of pregnancy, but is about to die of boredom. She's already put together most of the jig-saw puzzles we have, written most of the thank-you cards (they'll be in the mail soon!), and read almost every pregnancy/first-year book we have twice. With the temperature here reaching 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit every day, she tries to stay inside as much as possible. We haven't started re-watching season 1 of Lost just yet*, but it will probably happen soon.

* If you haven't watched season 1 yet, consider it a risk to your time-management skills. Seriously. The best warning I've heard yet went something like this..."Only start watching it when you have several days with nothing planned, lots of snacks in the pantry, and a full refrigerator." We vaporized our spring break last year watching the DVD set. We know nothing about season 2 yet, and don't want to until we can get the DVD set and watch it.

5 Weeks! Or is it 2 weeks? Or 7 weeks?

As of today, we have exactly five weeks to go until NBA's due date. According to all of the reading we've done and classes we've attended, anything from 37 weeks on is considered "full-term." Up to two weeks after the due date is also considered normal. So, that means that NBA could theoretically arrive as soon as two weeks from today or as late as seven weeks from now. We're not exactly on the edge of our seats just yet. However, NewMom-To-Be did wake me up the other night as she was tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable. In my confusion, I thought she was going into labor and that we had to get to the hospital right then. Thankfully, calmer heads prevailed and I immediately went back to sleep. However, the "take to the hospital" bag has been packed and is sitting by the door. I am confident that I will grab everything else in the house on our way to the hospital, only to leave the all-important bag sitting by the door.

NewMom-To-Be is doing fine as she starts the ninth month of this fun-filled adventure. She thinks the baby has turned, as she is reporting frequent kicks to the ribs. Apparently, there is no longer enough room in there for NBA to swim laps. Sleep is going into a declining phase now, interrupted by kicking and frequent trips to the bathroom. She and I had a startling moment today when we both realized (OK, I realized...) that these last few weeks were the last time we'd get 6+ hours of sleep for quite some time. NewMom-To-Be is prepared for this, as we recently bought a chair to go in the nursery for her. While picking it out, I think one of the major criteria for NewMom-To-Be was "can I pass out at a moment's notice in this chair?" We picked a good one, and the saleswoman said that a NewMom would be comfortable snoozing in the chair while nursing the baby.

A few weeks ago, we went to the hospital's childbirth class to learn everything we needed to know for the delivery. We had to watch "the video." I don't think it was the most graphic version of the video, but it did leave us feeling overwhelmed with details. I think that by watching the video, we learned many things that we will not do. Here goes:

1) We will not have our entire families in the delivery room. We love you guys, but hey...you gotta draw the line somewhere. Some of those families in the video were NUTS!
2) An epidural will most likely be in the works. (This seems to be the 3rd-trimester question that NewMom-To-Be gets most often. 1st trimester = "When are you due?" and "It's gonna be a long, hot summer!" 2nd trimester = "Is it a boy or a girl?" followed by "Do you know what you're going to name him?")
3) I will not hip-chuck the OB out of position to grab the baby as he is being born. OK, it wasn't that bad, but there was something almost like it in the video. Honestly, I'm paying the doctor to deliver the baby and not drop him on the floor...I'll watch from the other end.

Other than the class, we've had a quiet summer here so far. I'm sure that things will get more interesting at our house soon. Just check back in two to seven weeks. =)

T-Minus 79 Days and Counting...

Well, all is mostly well in the land of the third trimester. Apparently from all the advice we've been hearing and reading, every woman's experience with pregnancy is different. Let me summarize NewMom-To-Be's pregnancy so far through my eyes:

The First Trimester
I refer to the first trimester as the "time of nausea." NewMom-To-Be's experiences there matched up with many of the things she had read or heard. Thankfully, her experiences in this trimester were of an average variety...she didn't get close to the extreme stories we heard of nausea. These were pretty scary and do not bear repeating here. Why any pregnant person who is currently experiencing the joys of nausea would want to hear these stories is beyond me. Many people were very eager to share their experiences, though. I have two hypotheses for why this might be:

1. Nausea/Pregnancy stories are the female equivalent of a "fish story," ie..."my nausea was so bad..." Really, how bad was it? "Well, since you asked..."
2. Women are competitive. My observations lead me to believe that there are two ways to win the pregnancy "competition." First prize goes to those who sail through pregnancy and sum it up with "Nausea? Oh, yeah...I felt pretty sick when I watched my husband cleaning the catbox." These women earn the jealousy of all pregnant women who are not so fortunate. I think that some of the women in the latter category would like to "share" some of their misery with those in the former category. Second prize goes to those whose nausea was so bad that it required all kinds of medical intervention. To them, goes everyone else's sympathy/empathy. It is well-deserved.

The Second Trimester

I will refer to the second trimester as the "time when clothes still fit." NewMom-To-Be had lots of cute maternity outfits. The most important thing about these was that they fit. NewMom-To-Be had a good time showing off her belly and enjoying the attention she was receiving. This time is now over, and with it goes the whole idea of clothes actually fitting. I will stop writing now before I get myself in trouble.

The Third Trimester

I think the current trimester could be described as the "time of the overprotective NewDad-To-Be." Maybe it is because I'm seeing NewMom-T0-Be's belly growing bigger every week, but I swear my whole attitude is changing towards protectiveness. For example, early in the pregnancy, I'd try to walk on the "outside" when walking with NewMom-T0-Be in a parking lot or on the sidewalk. Thoughtful? Sure. Probably not so effective when you're run over by a "crazy driver*" who is having a cell phone conversation that is more important than your life, but it's a nice thought anyway.

Now that we're in the 3rd trimester, things have changed. When walking into a restaurant today, we were crossing in front of some cars pulling into the parking lot. I felt like breaking out the blaze-orange vest, crossing-guard stop sign, and bullhorn. After getting cut off a few times on the highway and facing some more crazy drivers* trying to beat the left-turn light, I felt like putting strobe lights all over the outside of the car and one of those "student-driver" signs on the roof, only changing it to say "pregnant woman on board." It would probably be cheaper to stick with the "student-driver" text, though...everyone stays the heck out of the way of those people. =)

Perhaps I'll just start driving like those crazy drivers too. Maybe that will make everyone else stay far, far away from our car.

Oh, and I can already hear the fathers out there thinking..."He has no idea. Wait until he gets the job of driving NewMom and NewBaby home from the hospital." Hmm...two questions come to mind. First, can you rent a tank from the Army? Second, can you strap a car seat into one?

That's it from pregnancy-land. =)

*"Crazy Drivers" is a term coined by my father. I think he wrote the book on defensive driving. My take on learning to drive from him? Assume everyone else on the road is crazy. Thanks for the driving lessons, Dad. They're still paying off. =)

Geographic Expedition Team Visits Rural Georgia Town

A geographic expedition recently visited our little town. They discovered that when NewMom-To-Be is lying down, she is the second highest point in our little flat coastal plain county. The name they applied to their maps was "Mount Mommy." (*) Unfortunately, camera malfunctions prevented the team from taking pictures of Heidi, the Abominable Snow Kitty, while she was climbing Mt. Mommy.

NewMom-To-Be says that she has nothing new to report. Baby movements have increased in frequency and strength. I've felt NBA moving around many, many times now. A week or two ago, we both could feel him having spasms for several minutes. We felt silly when it took us a while to realize it was hiccups. The little guy must have been nervous about the upcoming NBA playoffs. You can groan now.

In the cool department, NBA's movements can now be detected without touching NewMom-To-Be's tummy. A well-placed kick caused a mini-earthquake on Mt. Mommy. Watching it was definitely an out-of-this-world experience. In other news, NewMom-To-Be's alarm clock went off a few mornings ago and woke the baby up. He started kicking right when the buzzer went off. I couldn't be prouder. If he is anything like his father, he'll quickly learn not to kick the covers off. Instead, he will learn that the first alarm is really just a suggestion and that the inventor of the snooze alarm really does deserve a prize.

We are starting to move in on serious baby preparations. We've picked out paint colors (who am I kidding? I just looked at the "chosen" sample and nodded my agreement). The Easter Bunnies from Lake Park brought us a great crib, and one of the Easter Bunnies took a fabric sample back to make some great stuff for the nursery. Long Live the Easter Bunnies.

After, or during, setting up the nursery, NewMom-To-Be keeps mentioning the necessity of going to "classes." Apparently all actual fathers know what I am referring to here, but will probably snicker in silence and let me suffer alone. The best idea I have of what is in store comes from my friend, Mike. In addition to inspiring this blog, his blog is pretty funny, too. See the post titled "Birthing Class."

That's it from Mt. Mommy-Land.

* = This term was coined by NewMom-to-Be and is used with her permission. NewDad-to-Be is not foolish enough to think that he would survive to be an actual father if he made up this name and posted it on his blog. He may try to make a flag and plant it in Mt. Mommy's belly-button before it pops out, though.

Brief or Verbose?

When I was growing up, I would often ask my mother a question. She had a gift for explaining things from many different angles, something that usually led to an endless conversation about the current subject. It was a good thing, really, but after a while I learned to throw up my hands and say "Enough! Mom, turn off the 'verbose mode' and go to 'brief mode'." I laugh about it to this day, because I think I answer questions in a way similar to hers. You see, it all started when... (just kidding) =)

In that spirit, I'll offer this blog to you in two forms. One is "brief mode" if you're pressed for time and the other is "verbose mode" in case you have time to read all of it. Here goes.

Brief Mode
NewMom-To-Be is doing fine. NBA is kicking and can be felt doing so quite regularly. Nobody cares about NewDad-To-Be anyway, so I won't waste your time on that. The End.

Verbose Mode
Things continue to go along well in NewBaby-To-Be-Land. We had another appointment with Christie's doctor two weeks ago, but there was no real news to report from there. Sadly, my time in the waiting room didn't result in any major inspirations. Perhaps that was because I remembered to bring a book!

Last week was our school system's spring break, so we had a great week of vacation. We're both counting down the school days (29 left!) until the end of the year. We're both enjoying our third year of teaching much more, but NewMom-To-Be is super-psyched about taking next year off. I'm looking forward to it too, not just because I'll be eligible for retirement years before her, but also for all the good father-type reasons. =)

NBA continues to grow and develop like a champ. NewMom-To-Be can feel him moving around all the time. I can feel him moving about 50% of the times I try. Something stranged happened the other day, though. NewMom-To-Be was reading in bed, and the baby wasn't moving at all. Our dog, Darwin, got up and stepped on Ginger (our other dog) and Ginger didn't like that one bit. She let out a high-pitched yelp. Apparently, our baby is not deaf, because at that very instant he kicked. Hard. We were in awe. Looks like we'll have to start watching what we say now...you never know what they can hear.

In other news, we finally managed to agree on a name for NBA. We had one or two versions at first, but we had to change it in the end. Several friends suggested thinking of a name, then saying that name over and over again in a stern voice to see how it "really sounds." #1 and #2 names were thankfully edited out by this process. #3 ended up being great, so we're going with that. What's that, you want to know the name? I'll post it here in four more months. =)

One last thing...due to the hard work of NewMom-To-Be, we are now officially registered for lots of baby gadgets. You can find us at JCPenny, Babies 'R Us, and Walmart. I tried to link directly to the page for the registry, but apparently that is beyond the skills of this humble NewDad-To-Be. If you go to the main page, each page has a link for registries. If you enter my name or NewMom-To-Be's name, you should find it pretty easily. And you thought I wrote this blog just for the fun of it... =)

BabyScan II Complete!

WE ARE HAVING A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NewMom-To-Be and I went to the big ultrasound appointment today. We took the day off from work so we could properly enjoy it. Nothing beats taking a Monday off to go see your Baby-To-Be. It was a good decision to take the day off, as we both had trouble sleeping last night. It felt like Christmas Eve, because we had both been looking forward to this day since the last ultrasound. We went out to breakfast before the appointment, and having pancakes with syrup apparently sent the little guy running around in circles. The ultrasound technician suggested the name "Wiggle-Worm," but thankfully for the baby, we're going with another name altogether. What's the name, you ask? Check back in about four and a half months. =)

We got a few pictures from the ultrasound, and one of them should appear above this message. The ultrasound technician was pretty good...we think the "HI" in the picture is her idea of a joke. It could be some type of measurement jargon, but you can see the head looking right at you. On the left, you can make out the legs crossed over each other. I decided that posting the gender-confirmation picture might come back to haunt the little guy years later, so we're keeping that one off the internet. For now. Long may it live in the baby album.

We also scored a videotape of the last few minutes of the ultrasound. I'm sure we'll wear that sucker out in a few weeks. I tried for a recordable DVD, but this is rural south Georgia, and I think that I even show up at all of the appointments is enough of a novelty for these folks. I didn't want to rock the boat too much. I promise not to show you the videotape unless you ask. The fact that you folks are reading this blog is enough for me. =)

In other pregnancy developments, NewMom-To-Be reports feeling the baby moving. All previous reports of feeling movement were entirely premature and can be chalked up to wishful thinking. The fetus has successfully woken his mother up, thumped on her abdomen numerous times, and taken up oodles of time while both parents try to feel it moving. I think I've felt it, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm waiting until I can feel it give me a high-five before I say for sure.

NewMom-To-Be is generally doing well and has few complaints about her condition now. She is showing much more now and passed over a milestone of being comfortable with her bigger tummy now. She has lots of cute maternity clothes that she has either purchased, received as gifts, or borrowed from family and friends. In fact, she said something today that almost made my heart stop. While walking past the clothing section in Target today, NewMom-To-Be said "You know, I think I have enough clothes now." Oh, to have had a tape recorder at that moment.

Parenthood = Space Mountain?

NewMom-To-Be and I went for her monthly checkup with the doctor today. To distract myself from the soap operas in the waiting room, I read all the usual OB/GYN magazines.** We had lots of time to amuse ourselves in the waiting room, so I made it through several magazines. I learned a few useful things in the WebMD magazine, ditto for the ePregnancy current issue. Then, just as I was starting to worry that my reading possibilities were starting to thin out...I saw it. Under a few other less interesting magazines (Spanish-language People, anyone?), I spotted the Holy Grail of pregnancy/parenting information. I trembled as I pulled it out of the stack. Could it be? A pregnancy/parenting advice magazine from that most trusted source? Yes! Walmart had sensed my need and written a magazine just for me!

Suprisingly, it wasn't limited to good Walmart advice such as "Buy lots of formula from Walmart," "Walmart has lots of cute baby clothes for your newborn," and "How to deliver a baby in Walmart (Cleanup on aisle 3!)" The most interesting article was one of those ones telling NewParents not to feel bad when their experiences don't match up with all the "expert" advice-givers who seem to pop out of the woodwork from this point on. Somewhere in the article, Walmart actually taught me something. According to the author, pregnancy is like the Space Mountain ride at Disney World. It was a good analogy. Just like Space Mountain, the first year of NewParent-hood is often very dark, scary, noisy, and chock-full of vomit. I will forever thank Walmart for this pearl of wisdom.

NewMom continues doing very well. She reports that she is now showing enough to be receiving frequent tummy pats from friends. She has yet to experience the tummy pat from a complete stranger, but we're sure it will happen. Thankfully, the nausea has continued to stay away from our home. Hopefully, it will never return. Last week featured a fever of 101 degrees, enough coughing to disturb sleep, and two sick-days taken to recover at home. She is much better now and I am happy to be sleeping through the night. Maybe the baby is sleeping better now too. All previous reports of feeling the "quickening" were premature...no movement has been felt yet. Heartbeat measurement today at the doctor's office was somewhere around 150. (What exactly do these guys do in there? It's not like there's room to run laps...) The next ultrasound is in a few weeks, and we're looking forward to knowing the gender. We'll share as soon as we know. Names will be kept secret, but if anyone has a good boy name we are taking suggestions. The girl name is locked up in the vault. =)

It's just past 9 PM here...we're going to bed now. From what I understand, the days of getting a full night's sleep that starts before 10pm are numbered...

*(Why didn't I have a book? I don't know. After all, I am the child of a librarian and a media specialist...it took years of therapy just to break the binding of a book to make it lie flat.)

No News is Good News

We haven't had much news to report in the past few weeks, but that's a good thing. NewMom-To-Be went for her monthly checkup with the doctor a week or so ago, and he confirmed that everything was going smoothly. We got to hear the heartbeat again, a moment that is powerful enough to stop two science-geeks in their tracks and make them go "Awwww, that is so cool!" I may have to consult with my father-in-law and two brothers-in-law (electrical/electronic* engineer, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer-to-be) on a project to build a home Doppler Ultrasound device. Waiting until next month for the big ultrasound is just too long to wait. Surely we could work something up with a 9-volt battery, an old Atari, and a big roll of duct tape.

(*What exactly are you, Ken? Your designated career is about to spark a domestic disturbance** of nuclear proportions.)

The "big" ultrasound is mid-March, and yes, we're going to tell everyone what it is when we find out. Name ideas will be kept secret, but suggestions will be taken. We've already read about the struggles of the boy who was pre-named Garrett, only to be born with a flaming head of red hair. Hmmm...I might eat a carrot after posting this... For now, we'll stick with NBA (New Baby Ariail).

NewMom-To-Be is progressing through week 15 like a trooper. The nausea seems to be over, but I'm crosinng my fyingres as I tipye thss (sure does make it hard to type) and hoping it doesn't come back. In other pregnancy developments, NewMom-To-Be claims to have possibly felt "the quickening," but wasn't absolutely sure. She said it might have been gas. Ah, the romance. At any rate, feeling it now would be pretty early, so I don't have my hand glued to her belly just yet.

In other news, NewMom-To-Be has officially resigned from her teaching position for next year. Apparently this is necessary so that the school can advertise the opening. "Resigning" is usually the term for "I'm leaving because I was asked to" or "I'm leaving because my spouse got a new job 2000 miles away." The details of why she is "resigning" are not made clear in the newspaper-published board minutes, so lately we've had to answer lots of questions about that. Everyone says that staying home is a good plan. Those who didn't are saying they wish they had. Those that did said they wouldn't trade it for anything. However, I'm secretly suspicious that those who actually did do it can't remember what is was like because of Ramen Noodle Amnesia.

That's about it from Pregnancy Land, where all the women are glowing, all the men are not quite sure what to make of this, and all the babies-to-be are not yet named.

(**Just kidding. NewMom-To-Be has completed her counseling and the parole officer says it is OK for her to be back in the house.)

New Mom-To-Be Looks to the Future, Sees Many Changes on Horizon

In pregnancy-land, things have been continuing pretty much unchanged for the past few weeks. I turned 30 about a week ago, a birthday of major significance. You see, from now on, I'll be able to remember my first child's age by subtracting 30. Might seem silly now, but with the head of gray hair I'm sporting these days, I'm ever mindful of the challenges that lie ahead.

The only change as we enter week 12 is the return of an old unwelcome friend: Nausea. We hear and read that throwing up is actually a good thing, and Christie accepts it grudgingly. As further evidence that I will never understand the trials of pregnancy, Christie and I went out to eat breakfast this morning. Christie had bacon and pancakes with lots of syrup, washing it all down with some decaffeinated coffee. Shortly after eating, she pronounced her nausea to be gone. And to think, I was going to suggest dry toast and ginger ale. Hmph.

After breakfast, Christie and I went to Jekyll Island today to see the birds. Going over the Glory Boardwalk (where the beach scene from the movie was filmed), I was able to spot a bunch of butterbutts (Myrtle Warblers, for you non-birder folks), ruby-crowned kinglets, and the ever exotic beach cardinal. I wasn't able to impress Christie by trying to scare up a painted bunting or two, as my screech-owl call failed to produce even the slightest hint of the rainbow-colored bird. My "expertise" was further diminished once we reached the beach, when I was reduced to saying "oooh! large tern! oooh! smaller tern! oooh! medium-sized gull!" Christie (I swear her eyesight must be improving as result of the hormones!) was able to expertly ID all of the shorebirds, including picking out the one ruddy turnstone (yes, it's name is really "ruddy turnstone") in a flock of about 200 terns, black skimmers, and sanderlings. We both had a good time, but I suspect that Christie's unspoken comment the whole time was "Why can't there be a bathroom every 1/4 mile?"

After birding, we stopped for a quick lunch at the Georgia Pig. For those of you who are uninitiated, the Georgia Pig is about the best barbecue you can get within a 3000-mile radius of Brunswick, Ga. At $4.25 a sandwich, it better be. I am happy to report that the place was busy and even looked a bit spruced up (those of you who know can smirk now). All in all, a good day. =)

BabyScan 1 Complete!

NewMom-T0-Be and I went for her first ultrasound today. Here's one of the pictures we got. Being there was amazing. NewMom-T0-Be thought the ultrasound goo was cold, but that apparently didn't affect the baby, as it was waving/moving his arm buds around like a happy camper. Another scan let us hear the heartbeat, and we have a printout of that too...but looking at it just isn't the same as hearing it, no matter how I hold the picture up to my ear. Yet another scan revealed that the object of all of this attention is about 3 cm long, confirming that this is week 10 (wow, is it 25% over already?) and that the due date is August 9th. From my reading of every pregnancy book I can pry out of NewMom-T0-Be's hands, I find that the "due date" idea is more of a general concept than say, an airline arrival schedule. =) We'll just hope for sometime between late July and mid-August. At any rate, it will be hot then and yes, we're already saving for the air-conditioning bill.

We celebrated the viewing by going to Jacksonville and eating at Olive Garden, followed by an initial trip to Babies R Us, where I was pleasantly surprised by the prices. You see, when you have no concept of how much things cost and generally figure that one sleep-sack costs $50, it's reassuring to find that it only costs $45.90. No, really, we were overwhelmed with all of the stuff but spent a pleasant hour or so looking at car seats, strollers, car seat/stroller combos, etc.

In other news, we are getting new siding on the house...we're putting up sand-colored vinyl siding. The guys came out today to start, and already the front side of the house looks great. We'd like to put up something more substantial than vinyl, but when you look at the two big holes to throw money in, the "baby" hole looks a lot better than the "house" hole. =)