Pink is in!

Here’s the story (Which you all already know):

Katie and I have been going back and forth in trying to decide if we should find out the gender of our baby. We decided not to. Then we decided to find out. Back and forth. Then, I had an idea (which I later regretted). Why not have the ultrasound technician write down the sex on a piece of paper and then wrap it up in a box and put it under our Christmas tree to build up the excitement until Christmas morning when we open it. What a great Christmas present! What a stupid idea!

We had some complications last Sunday, November 15 (which still haven’t been resolved), and were sent to get an ultrasound. The 4-foot-nothing Man-hating ultrasound technician asked Katie if we wanted to know the gender. Katie said no. I said yes. During the rather long visit with the man-hater, I finally convinced Katie to have her write the gender down on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope. The lady folded it over ten times and stapled it shut 7 times. As she gave it to Katie she said, “Be strong, don’t let him influence you.”

That paper sat in Katie’s sock drawer for 5 days and I was strong. Saturday night, (through my pleadings) Katie decided that we could open it on the next day. I wanted to open it before church, but we were rushed so then I wanted to open it after church, but we had tithing settlement, so we were going to open it on our way to Katie’s parent’s house. Katie couldn’t do it. So I came up with another one of my brilliantly stupid ideas. Let’s open it at your parent’s house so they can be a part of it. So it was decided.

We arrived and sat down to pray. After the prayer, I shoved the note into Katie’s hand and she told her family that we (really I) wanted to open the paper and find the gender. After some jaunting and teasing from the Newren’s about being strong and then after getting the piece of paper back from Hannah’s bra, it was opened. Hannah and Staci opened the paper first and their reaction was enough to tell us what it was. It was then passed to Eric (who also screamed), and on through Matthew and Papa (who had to find his glasses to read the tiny print). When the paper came to me I read what it said: “It’s a girl!”

Crazy!

I’m excited. More excited than ever. She’s gonna be Daddy’s little girl. I’m going to spoil her. She’s going to have me wrapped around her little finger.

It’s a girl.

A girl!

Epidural Dilemma

Kudos to Katie for doing her research and deciding to pass on the Epidural when Junior comes out.  Honey, I support you wholeheartedly.

I've heard stories, however, of mothers who have made the same decision and then caved because of the immense pains of labor.  Regretfully?  perhaps.

I can see myself in the delivery room watching you wince in pain and wanting to make you comfortable, wanting to make the pain go away.  I can hear you pleading (or screaming) for something to make you feel better.  An Epidural?  Nope. You've already made that decision. 


Kudos to Katie.

I support you wholeheartedly and pledge to do my best.

(Am I being to dramatic?)

*No Picture Included

I've spent this week doing practically nothing but studying for my Calculus test (let's hope it paid off) which I took yesterday (Thursday) from 1:00 - 2:00.  Afterwords, I took the rest of the day off to spend some time with my patient and beautiful wife.  Katie thought it would be a good idea if I watched some birthing movies...so we did.  "Just let me grab something to eat," I said.  Big Mistake!  I couldn't finish my bowl of Hawaiin Haystacks.  They were good.  It wasn't even the births that made me sick.  It was the third clip we watched. It wasn't a birth.  It was a circumcision.  Poor baby.  Poor poor baby.  We will not be circumcising our child.

Speaking of the birthing movies, what an eye opener that was!  I'm glad that I am not a woman.  I mean that out of total and complete respect and admiration.  I don't think that I could go through the pain and labor that a mother goes through.  That, my friends, is an example of pure love.  We've also been reading a book called, "Dr. Mom" from a self-proclaimed Herbology Mastermind.  Some of the stories she tells are horrifying, although she tells them straight-up to inform young parents of the actual risk they are taking by having kids.  Childbirth is dangereous.  So much could go wrong.   One story she tells is of a couple that decided to give birth at home by themselves.  STUPID.  The child had complications and the father rushed him to the ER where the child died.  When he returned to his home, his wife had died while he was gone.  What a horrible story! I think our prayers have increased in sincerity and pleading. We need Heavenly Father to be with us during the next few months.  The power of prayer is real. I know this.  


Katie, I respect you.  You are a strong women.  You can do this.  Rock on!

The Nine Month Roller Coaster

Hasn't the stereotype been that Spring was the time for all the new babies? Apparently not in my world. It seems like babies are in style all around us. We call our ward "BabyLand" because everyone seems to be either prego or nursing. Many of our friends are expecting or planning a pregnancy right now. I am, however, aware that there are couples that may not have the baby card in their deck right now and I ask for your forgiveness if anything I have written has seemed offensive or saddening.

With so many pregnancy predecessors its been hard for me to understand completely what Katie is going through. We have one friend who went through hell during her first trimester of pregnancy. Another friend had an easy 12 months and experienced very mild symptoms. I believe that Katie has been everywhere on the continuum of pregnancy side-effects and at times I've been a little confused as to what's going on (hormones, morning sickness, exhaustion, deprivation, etc). In the process of trying to get her husband informed and up to speed with her body, Katie has suggested that I read a few well-written articles. If any expectant dad's out there are interested, I've posted a few links to articles that I liked. These are article that are written specifically to Dads. Enjoy.

WebMD
WhattoExpect.com
HubPages

Where Do Babies Sleep?

A couple of nights ago Katie's sister slept on our couch and it got me thinking....where do babies sleep?

I always thought that babies sleep in a crib in the other room, but I've been made painfully aware that a lot of babies sleep in the bed with mom and dad.

I taught an investigator on my mission who had a pet monkey that would sleep in her bed and one night she rolled over and killed it! Does that happen with babies? Could I roll over on my baby in my sleep? Isn't that pretty dangerous?

Where do babies sleep?

Vaccination...Good or Bad?

Is anybody not sick of the swine flu? (pun fully intended) We've heard a lot of hubba balloo about getting vaccinated. Not so much for me but "every pregnant woman should be vaccinated against the swine flue!" We've heard theories that go as far death for both the unborn child and the mother. We've even heard that our Bishop wants to council with any soon-to-be mother's regarding the swine flu vaccination. Getting vaccinated is crucial to your health! We've also heard the opposite: The vaccination hasn't been thoroughly tested yet because the drug companies and the government have been in such a hurry to get it out to the public, as long as you eat healthy and wash your hand frequently you'll be okay, the swine flu is no more dangerous than the normal flu and there has never been this much hype about either (It's just the craze!), etc. Any medically sound advice out there?

Trouble Maker...Guaranteed

Probably red head too.

Boy or Girl?

Katie and I have been discussing the possibility of not finding out the sex of the child before the birth.

Pros: More excitement and anticipation, less ultrasounds (can't be good for the baby, right?), endless speculation for us and our family and friends, gender guessing games.

Cons: Not knowing, unisex preparations (unisex clothes, blankets, etc.), unable to plan future football team.... that's all I got.

Tell me your experiences with this.

{...Blog Benediction...}

It's been 13 weeks, 4 days, 11 hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds. But who's counting? Each day has seemed to drag on while the weeks have hissed by. I wonder if I'll look back in 20 years and ponder on the years past and wish for just a few more.

About 8 weeks ago Katie texted me on my way home from work and told me that she had taken a pregnancy test "just to see, but it was negative." When I arrived at home, she looked up with a smile and said, "It's positive, I was too nervous to tell you, and I actually send that text before I even took the test to try and not get my hopes up!" I was shocked. I didn't know how to react! Slowly, the news sank in and I was overjoyed. I asked to see the test and sure enough there was a huge "+" sign on the pee soaked plastic utensil. I even made her take another one just to be sure. You can never trust those Dollar Tree purchases.

Since then, we've battled morning sickness (which was more often then not during the evening), financial concerns and emotional turmoil. It's been quite an experience. We've had so much fun telling our families and our friends. Some people showed no emotion or surprise while others fell out of their seats or jumped for joy at the news.

Mom fought through Stef and Mel to give her daughter-in-law a hug.

Dad just smiled and went out to check on the chicken.

Katie's natural roots guided us to go see a midwife at 7 weeks where we learned that....something was wrong. If this were Katie's blog and not mine, you'd have the details and descriptions galore. You'd probably have cute graphics and medical terms as well. I'm a guy. Blogging is already pushing it. The midwife informed us that we had a problem with the baby and put Katie on modified bedrest. Katie dropped out of the community soccer league and took a leave of absence from her job. As a physical ed major, she had to take a doctor's note to her professors and sit and watch as her classmates performed skills analysis. It has been hard on Katie, but we've made it through.

As of last Tuesday, everything is good. Still no soccer, but work is permissable. We've decided to seal our lips no more. Katie is pregnant. I'm going to be a Dad. And I'm horrible at keeping a journal, so I've decided to blog about my feelings and experiences as I become a father. I'll write about my fears, concerns, thrills and poopy happenings. Basically the factors of becoming a father. This is the Father Factor!