Posted by: Stacia
As of today baby is at 22 weeks of development. That is officially two weeks more than half way through an "ideal" pregnancy. It's both exciting and scary to know that we're on the short side of the waiting game now.
Last night Cal told me that he's glad he doesn't feel fully prepared to have Tammy Damascus join us yet, because if he had all the ducks in a row, he wouldn't be able to stand the last few months ahead. Cal's least favorite things in the world, (excepting aliens and dead/living rodents or birds) are waiting and surprises. Since our little one is requiring both of us, this should be an antsy time.
Note to future Tammy Damascus: You think you've got us where you want us now. Crazed with curiosity and anticipation. Not knowing your next move. But don't think you can pull these kinds of secrecy tricks once you come out! We're your parents. We're older and smarter (at least for now), and we'll know all about your wily ways.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Photos
I have a new camera. I got it with the intention of taking lots of baby photos. Here are a couple of Stacia...
Stacia's baby-craving food is popsicles and cherries. And cherry popsicles.
She's showing! And the baby's kicking.
Registries and quandries
Posted by: Cal
Yesterday Stacia begged me to drive out to Bellevue to register for baby gifts for our two baby parties. More about these in the near future. Instead, Stacia and I spent the day cleaning the house, but, this morning Stacia wakes me up with a smile plastered on her face which I know means she wants to roll out to Bellevue to click that laser gun at products for our baby. This to me sounds a) boring--breast pumps and bath tubs = not fun. b) necessary--we need a stroller, crib, etc. And c) fun (to an extent)--I like to imagine what my baby will wear, even if it is only shitting in it.
So we venture out to Babies R Us in Bellevue. Stacia does the deciding, I do the shooting. It all works. I follow her leads. I shoot the Baby Bjorn (apparently we need it). I shoot the elaborate breast pump system (apparently women breast feed up to one year. Who knew?), and I shoot the towels, rags, diapers, etc. that come with having a child.
But then comes the hard part, and the fun part. The hard part is hard because 1) we don't know what we're having, 2) we have particular ideas of gifts, and 3) we have particular tastes, especially when it comes to branding.
First, we had to stay neutral. This is because we don't know if we're having a girl or a boy, and, well, we don't like the idea of "boy is blue" and "girl is pink." Not that we think boys should have pink things to make a point. Quite the opposite. We don't think either should be swallowed by pink, or blue for that matter. So we scan some green/blue/yellow towels.
Second, neither Stacia nor I like adornments. We're shopping for a bassinet. There's one with palm trees. Stacia says no. There's one with animals. I say no. There's one with pink hearts. We both say No way! Stacia and I decide on the plain brown one. Then we head down to the strollers. Why is there Winnie the Pooh all over a stroller? Why Dora the Explorer on a stroller? the kid can't see these designs, and strangers don't need the cartoons to be able to guess what's inside the stroller? So why do it? The answer is so companies can make money from you purchasing the Dora the Explorer stroller. Stacia and I go with the plain one.
Stacia and I go through the furniture. This was fun. There's this awesome bed. We learned about it from our friends who had a kid a few months back. This bed is a crib. But when the kid gets older, it folds out to a toddler bed, but, then, when the kid's older, it becomes the frame for a full-size mattress that can be used through the teen years. How cool is that?
Then we get to the clothes. I like this 'cause I like to imagine my little tike in the little socks, the little hats and shirts. But here's a real pet peeve of mine: cutesy sayings on clothes. As we look through the onesies, it's so strange to me how everything has to say something, especially since the baby can't even read what it's apparently trying to convey. I see a onesie, I hold it up for Stacia. It says on the front, "I like hugs." I say to Stacia, "But what if our kid doesn't like hugs?"
"Worlds Best Dad"? I don't need my kid's shirt to believe this may be true. "Too Cute 4 My Own Good"? Maybe, but my kid's clothes don't need to make him/her arrogant before he/she can even speak. "I Want Candy?" So what? You're getting milk again, kid.
I can't put my finger on why I don't like "message" clothes, I just don't like it. I don't like it when adults do it either. You know those girls who wear sweat pants that say "Sassy" across their ass? Is that not weird to anyone else?
Anyway, I digress.
Although we were trying to be neutral, I couldn't resist this little dress for my (maybe) daughter. So I had to also scan some overalls for my (maybe) son. We'll see.
All in all it was a fun and interesting day.
We're planning a couple parties. One will be here in Seattle. The other will be in the Tri-Cities. Both parties will NOT be typical showers, but rather get-togethers for both guys and gals. These are Stacia's wishes. So don't think shower, guys, think Party. It's gonna be fun.
Yesterday Stacia begged me to drive out to Bellevue to register for baby gifts for our two baby parties. More about these in the near future. Instead, Stacia and I spent the day cleaning the house, but, this morning Stacia wakes me up with a smile plastered on her face which I know means she wants to roll out to Bellevue to click that laser gun at products for our baby. This to me sounds a) boring--breast pumps and bath tubs = not fun. b) necessary--we need a stroller, crib, etc. And c) fun (to an extent)--I like to imagine what my baby will wear, even if it is only shitting in it.
So we venture out to Babies R Us in Bellevue. Stacia does the deciding, I do the shooting. It all works. I follow her leads. I shoot the Baby Bjorn (apparently we need it). I shoot the elaborate breast pump system (apparently women breast feed up to one year. Who knew?), and I shoot the towels, rags, diapers, etc. that come with having a child.
But then comes the hard part, and the fun part. The hard part is hard because 1) we don't know what we're having, 2) we have particular ideas of gifts, and 3) we have particular tastes, especially when it comes to branding.
First, we had to stay neutral. This is because we don't know if we're having a girl or a boy, and, well, we don't like the idea of "boy is blue" and "girl is pink." Not that we think boys should have pink things to make a point. Quite the opposite. We don't think either should be swallowed by pink, or blue for that matter. So we scan some green/blue/yellow towels.
Second, neither Stacia nor I like adornments. We're shopping for a bassinet. There's one with palm trees. Stacia says no. There's one with animals. I say no. There's one with pink hearts. We both say No way! Stacia and I decide on the plain brown one. Then we head down to the strollers. Why is there Winnie the Pooh all over a stroller? Why Dora the Explorer on a stroller? the kid can't see these designs, and strangers don't need the cartoons to be able to guess what's inside the stroller? So why do it? The answer is so companies can make money from you purchasing the Dora the Explorer stroller. Stacia and I go with the plain one.
Stacia and I go through the furniture. This was fun. There's this awesome bed. We learned about it from our friends who had a kid a few months back. This bed is a crib. But when the kid gets older, it folds out to a toddler bed, but, then, when the kid's older, it becomes the frame for a full-size mattress that can be used through the teen years. How cool is that?
Then we get to the clothes. I like this 'cause I like to imagine my little tike in the little socks, the little hats and shirts. But here's a real pet peeve of mine: cutesy sayings on clothes. As we look through the onesies, it's so strange to me how everything has to say something, especially since the baby can't even read what it's apparently trying to convey. I see a onesie, I hold it up for Stacia. It says on the front, "I like hugs." I say to Stacia, "But what if our kid doesn't like hugs?"
"Worlds Best Dad"? I don't need my kid's shirt to believe this may be true. "Too Cute 4 My Own Good"? Maybe, but my kid's clothes don't need to make him/her arrogant before he/she can even speak. "I Want Candy?" So what? You're getting milk again, kid.
I can't put my finger on why I don't like "message" clothes, I just don't like it. I don't like it when adults do it either. You know those girls who wear sweat pants that say "Sassy" across their ass? Is that not weird to anyone else?
Anyway, I digress.
Although we were trying to be neutral, I couldn't resist this little dress for my (maybe) daughter. So I had to also scan some overalls for my (maybe) son. We'll see.
All in all it was a fun and interesting day.
We're planning a couple parties. One will be here in Seattle. The other will be in the Tri-Cities. Both parties will NOT be typical showers, but rather get-togethers for both guys and gals. These are Stacia's wishes. So don't think shower, guys, think Party. It's gonna be fun.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
A Paragon of Virtue
posted by: Stacia
Yesterday we participated in the long-awaited ultrasound event. We'd been holding out on many things for this day - namely confirming our fetus name (see prior post) and registering for the sweet baby items to fill our baby nest.
After a long wait in the aptly named waiting room, we were ushered into the darkened room of baby viewing magic-machinery.
We were then treated to an hour and a half of baby viewing enjoyment. Highlights included the confirmation of the appropriate number of appendages (2 arms, 2 legs) and head (thankfully, just 1), along with the appropriate number of hands and fingers. The toes were being kicked about and I wasn't able to eye them as closely, however, I didn't observe any "tense-face" on the nice woman administering the ultrasound, so I'm guessing they are ok as well. Our baby has sweet long legs (something lurking in the genetic pool that clearly skipped Cal and myself) and is growing right on schedule.
The only frustration on our part is that we discovered our baby is apparently as prude as Aunt Shaylee when it comes to public body exposure. Our sweet one kept the legs crossed the entire time. Further adding to the complication was the umbilical cord, which unhelpfully ran from baby's belly, down between those lovely long legs, creating even more difficulty in determining if we are having a lady baby or a boy baby. At one point, we did catch a brief image of the critical bits, but were unable to get a second, confirming glance. The bits we did see appeared to be lady-like, however the ultrasound administrator told us that the cord could have been there, and caused the image. She said she'd give us odds of up to 75% that we are having a lady baby, but she wasn't sure she should even do that.
Unless I develop a pregnancy complication, there will be no medical reason to require a second ultrasound - so along with you, Cal and I will anxiously await learning more about our baby until the birthday comes.
My awesome boss pointed out the bright side - surely baby's modesty is an indication of future virtue. So I'll consider this a good sign, and we'll now begin our baby registry that will be filled with lots of green.
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