[audio http://www.adaptationtech.com/music_files/12%20World%20Watching.mp3]

Good Old War – World Watching

Today was meeting number 3 with the good old folks at the FCI (Fetal Care Institute) to check up on baby “girl” D.  When your wife just gets to walk downstairs from her “office” for an appointment, I have to say I’m a fan.  But when they call and say come in earlier, and it’s already early for you to get up and drive your ass down there before your work day starts…not so much a fan.   But hey, the appointment was quick, the people are awesome…..and they have free soda.

So now that I sound like a 12 year old, I think I’ll update you peeps that everything is looking good.  No growth from that little cyst of stress, and while taking a closer look, we were complimented on the “perfect 4 chamber heart” that our little princess is working.  And I quote : “It could be in a textbook.”  Yep, that’s my kid kicking ass at life before she’s even out yet.  It’s like getting an “A” on your driving test before even getting into the car, or getting your paycheck before you show up for your set at the Funny Bone opening for Jim Gaffigan.  Yeah, so maybe his rants about bacon are funnier than your comparisons of baby development to loosely related experiences in a normal life, but hey, we gotta take what we can.

Not really sure where that one was going, but all in all a healthier baby makes a little healthier baby daddy, at least in the sleep department. OH SHIT, I almost forgot to tell you that I got to feel a kick last night.  Yes, this required an extended period of time in which I had to awkwardly move my hand around my wife’s ever growing (yet adorable) belly, but I finally got a couple after talking a little to her.  Yes, the content of the conversation wasn’t exactly what I’d call memorable, but hey, at least she can hear me and now knows how I feel about boys she’s dating staying the night (I’m against it).  It may have even been her first kicking and screaming temper tantrum about the subject, but I guess we’ll never know.

Just to assure everyone, as my wife said “do you want these ultrasound pics for today’s blog entry,” I promptly said no way Jose, as there will not be anymore of those popping their 3D head around here.  I did want to also comment on the fact that while some are getting sick of Good Old War being a majority of the soundtrack of the blog lately, you’re just going to have to deal with it for a few more songs.  They are just too good and their songs just fit in too well.  Be sure to listen when you can, this one fits the fact that we’re seeing this kid more in the last few weeks than we did in the first 4 months.

Alrighty folks, for now I’m off to finish up the last few hours of work before the holiday with a training session for Hawaiians.  Aloha, Melikileke Maca and all that jazz, and we’ll talk to you all on or after the Christmas Break.  Go get your Santa on and be sure not to forget the cookies.  Happy Holidays.

(music at the bottom of the post, read parts 1 -3 first….cheaters)

So after our first few ultrasounds with the new doctors, and a very comforting (yes, guys can be comforted) first meeting with some of the best specialists in the business, we’re doing a lot better.  By “we’re doing a lot better”, I’m mainly referring to my ability to talk about these things without putting on my serious deep voice.  My wife and I are getting more excited as each day brings more “partying” in her belly, and a better realization that hey, we’re over 23 weeks in.  Yes, we’re on the downhill friends.  We’re going to get so many pictures along the way, and now that we know it’s a …. almost told you again, shoot.  What I was trying to say is that now with a lot more information and a better watch on our little one, we’re getting more excited day to day and put a face to our expectations.  We’ve got a month full of holidays, a new year full of possibilities, and a great group of pregnant friends to keep us motivated.

Ah screw it……it’s a little girl.  It’s my little girl in there and I couldn’t be happier.  Sure, she may have a life full of OCD Dad antics, along with dealing with my new interest in intimidating potential boyfriends, but she’ll have the best support that parents can give her.  Also, I was reminded again by my wife that girl babies develop faster than boys, especially in the lung areas, so that should help whatever things we run into.    Also, I was right for once.  My wife might as well had bought a little SLUH (St. Louis thing) t-shirt for what she was expecting, but I win this round.  Our little princess will be the first girl grandchild on my wife’s side, and will be helping even the score on my family’s side with 7 girls and 10 boys (hey, we’re Irish).   She’s going to walk into a world of pink bows, tutu’s and what I imagine will be a second savings account for a wedding.  With all the stress of the CCAM in our minds, it’s great to finally be able to call “it” a “she”, and when talking to the doctors, avoid references such as “peanut” and “your babe”.  Now, if she will just be a little more cooperative on Ultrasounds and stop laying sideways all the time, we might be able to get a few additional pictures.  I’ve put in a few of the creepy 3D ones below just to prove to you folks that she DOESN’T have a huge head like my sister in law keeps saying, and that we’re going to keep a watchful eye as much as we can.

Sorry for those of you that thought this wasn’t going to have any of the crazy ultrasound pictures, I feel like I’ve let you down.  But with so many to chose from, I had to put a few up. I promise two things from here on out to you my 7 fan blog community : 1.) No more ultrasound pics, 2.) Weekly updates if not more than that.

So now that you’ve gotten through 4 parts, I’ll let you go until later this week.  I promise to bring more laughs and strange observations, just remember, we still have baby showers to get through.  Thanks for you patience fans, we’ll keep you updated.

[audio http://www.adaptationtech.com/music_files/03%20These%20Girls.mp3]

Ryan Adams – These Girls

[audio http://www.adaptationtech.com/music_files/Calling%20Me%20Names%20%28Single%29.mp3]

Good Old War – Calling Me Names

So as you read in the last entry, we had a ton of bricks, then a piano, then maybe a balloon full of paint  fall on top of us at what was supposed to be one of the more exciting parts of our pregnancy.   So what does it all mean?  Well, it means our baby is going to have to get used to photo sessions every other week, as well as a few additional trips for Mom and Dad topped with a little more stress then we were already feeling.

The one scary thing that my wife didn’t put in the email that even I as a man (a manly man that gave my woman a child) was really afraid of, was the fact that if this thing in my baby’s chest did continue to grow, that there was a chance that the baby’s symptoms could start to transfer to mom.  Yes, this whole thing could just disappear and not be a big deal, but if it continues to grow, I need to watch my wife to see if she’s looking any different.  Now I’m not sure if you’ve hung out with pregnant women before, but it’s pretty damn difficult to know what changes are normal and what ones may not be normal.  That being said, with the next few weeks being extremely critical to the baby’s growth, it is also the riskiest time for this thing to grow and become a problem.  So what do the doctor’s prescribe?  Sit and wait.  Then we check it again. Sit and wait. Then we do some other tests that sound like they are from the movie Ghostbusters (Ecco What?).  Sit and wait.  All this time we have to still be excited about my wife’s GROWING BELLY, and hope that not everything is growing quite as much.

The good news, especially for my wife and I’ll let you guess why, is that the baby is healthy everywhere else and is only in the 50th percentile on size for babies at this age.  50% is healthy, but not TOO healthy if you know what I mean.  I on the other hand may or may not be in the 110th percentile and counting, wondering if the upcoming holidays will reek more havoc on me or my wife when it comes to the need for maternity pants.  I know that I’m joking a lot about this, but to be completely honest, that is the only way to curb my impatience.  Also, after Part Two and trying not to freak out again reading my wife’s email, this is the way that I feel I can best help this little bundle of joy….by being positive.  So the song is a new release, not even available for purchase.  I think that it’s helping me focus on a more important topic, what name am I going to give to this little one to avoid too much ridicule and torture from annoying rhyming and nicknames.  I’m not expecting he or she to be someone that has to worry about this, personally because I was awesome as a kid, but because this is my one fear in life…..that my kid has a name that rhymes worse than my wife and I.  The path of Andy and Mandi and Candy and Sandy or Randy or any other delineation should probably stop sooner rather than later.  I love my wife and I and our ability of people we meet to remember our names before their own relatives, but I don’t want my kid to have to worry about it at PTA meetings.

“Oh, your parents are Mandi and Andy and you’re name is Dandy? How cute…”

So that being said, we are on the hunt for awesome names.  Now you’re probably saying, “Hey, I thought you said in the last email that you were going to find out the sex of the baby, so names should at least be a little easier, right?” Well this is true, but even thought you’ll be able to find out the sex of our little dickens, we are still WAY up in the air about names, it’s really hard to come up with baby names for a……….oh, almost gotcha there.  I guess you’ll just have to read on to find out more.

[audio http://www.adaptationtech.com/music_files/05%20Sweet%20and%20Low%20%28Acoustic%20Version%29.mp3]

Augustana – Sweet and Low (Acoustic Version)

While this second part should be more about my own opinion on the situation, I felt like an email my wife had sent out to close family and friends would be a bit more appropriate, and most of the words would be spelled correctly in medical terms.  I’ll wait for Part 3 to put in my two cents, but below should best explain what we found, and what we weren’t expecting:

[audio http://www.adaptationtech.com/music_files/03%20Head%20Full%20Of%20Doubt_Road%20Full%20Of%20Promise.mp3]

The Avett Brothers – Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promises

So you’re probably reading this saying to yourself, “Hey Andy, is this a blog, or a failed attempt at a novel that you’ll never finish?”  It’s been 4 weeks since my last entry, and to be honest, it’s been the most content filled 4 weeks that we’ve had yet in the pregnancy, some good, some bad.  I’ve dedicated the next 4 posts, all that you’ll be getting right now, to what I’m calling our baby’s “Mid Life Crisis”, starting with it’s half way through pregnancy appt. on November 29th.  So at 20 weeks, we went in as eager young parents, and maybe came out a few years older.  So enjoy the next few entries with a big surprise at the end.  I recommend reading these on a computer or device that can play flash, and be sure to listen to the songs while reading through, they mean a lot to us and are helping me through this whole process.

Part One : 20 weeks and counting….

My wife and I went into the lady doctor yet again in eager anticipation to finally see something more than a gummy bear or other small fruit that they had been describing in all of the baby books/apps, thoroughly convinced that there would be another food that would become unappetizing very quickly. The main difference this time is that we had the standard 20 week ultrasound first, and then a visit with the doc in what I now refer to as “the uncomfortable room”.  The best part about the uncomfortable room is that you get to first start in the “low light creepy room” other known as ultrasound central, in which your wife gets to lay down and shoot sound waves into your unborn child.  While I could pontificate as to the strangeness that one feels seeing a picture of a child coming from a jelly covered belly, I will just say this…..it’s weird.  The Ultrasound tech sits there talking to your baby, trying their damnedest not to let on what sex it is, while at the same time talking to you like they actually give a crap what they are looking at.  Now, I’m not saying that Ultrasound techs are insensitive, and believe me when I say that I highly respect their ability to decipher body parts in what looks to me like a small intestine, but I highly doubt that after 8 babies a day that they really care about what you are seeing is your first child.  I would relate it like this.  I like computers.  I like Apple computers, and I like showing people what they can do with their Apple computers with day to day life.  But I can honestly say that when showing someone how to use iPhoto, after practice editing the first five photos and telling me about the date and time that they took them, I’m pretty much done and ready to send you to online tutorials.

So that being said, we also found out that our baby, like it’s mom and dad, LOVES to lay down.  And unfortunately, lay down stubbornly making it very difficult to get all the measurements and make sure all the organs and such are in place.  Ah, it’s as stubborn as it’s mother, and from the first few pictures,  has the forehead of it’s father.  This also lead my wife to now be almost 100% committed that it was a boy, or as her sister put it, a really “butch girl”.  We didn’t get the freaky 3D pictures, but did get a couple of foot and profile shots after working tirelessly to turn this baby around.  Without going through any of the results, we then wiped off the belly goo, and headed into the room that modern radio forgot to await our hopefully short recap and update from the doctor lady, who is also a lady doctor.  The kid was moving, all the normal parts were there, so we were hoping to walk out happy parents ready to start picking wall colors and moving forward with weight gain (mainly from me).  The next part is where I guess you’d say the reality of a pregnancy set in…..that brings us to part two.

Pics from the first Ultrasound, arm is at the top of the picture with a fist in the air ready to party: