Well, this week has been another round of adventures. When I was asking Jenn what I should write about today, she said, "well, the dragon has been in full force this week." In her defense, I haven't noticed the dragon all that much, but maybe the people at work would suggest differently.
Jenn has been working so much. The big R&R fund raising event is this weekend and Jenn has been busy tying up loose ends and getting everything ready. By the time she gets home, she's so tired that she usually goes straight to bed.
Jennifer working so much has given me the opportunity to get a lot of stuff done that I haven't really had the time to do. I've been doing a lot of media stuff for the church and working on a new website for them, so I have been able to put in a little extra time there. Also, I have a pregnancy project that I took on when we found out about the baby. This project is building up a bike. For those of you who don't know, I love cycling. It's the only workout-related activity that I will rearrange schedules for and the only one that I've been committed to for any respectable length of time. So, when we found out about the baby, I decided that I was going to take an old, beat up bike and clean it up and rebuild it to be a new bike. Since that decision, I've also got a second bike to build up, but this one is a bike for Jenn to use later. These projects will give me a great opportunity to achieve a goal by the time the baby gets here, and a place to go to either blow off some steam or hide from the dragon. Also, Church League Softball has started, which keeps us busy on Thursday nights. So much going on...
The baby has had a busy week seven. According to BabyCenter.com: "Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point... Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry."
A couple of new things this week. Jenn went with her friend Paula to the maternity clothes store and found a couple of things that she liked. We also went to Target and bought a couple of things from the maternity section. Although Jenn isn't quite showing, she said that her clothes weren't exactly fitting anymore, so she got a couple of things to grow into.
We also got our first baby gift. A volunteer at the Red Cross who works in Jenn's office gave us a onesie and a little hoodie from BabyGap. They are white and green and have a little crocodile on the front. These clothes are so small. It's crazy that our little blueberry will fit into them eventually.
The baby is growing very fast and I am still just amazed about how the growth process works. If you watch an old computer printer print out a page, the printer would jump around and make marks on the page in seemingly random spots. It never really made that much sense to me, but eventually the printing would be done and you'd have a complete picture. The same could be said about how the baby is being made. I don't really understand why God would choose to grow the arms and legs before the internal organs are done, but He's had a lot more experience building people than I do, so I know that eventually it will all come together to form a little person.
Well, that's all for this week, I'll see you next Wednesday!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Dragons and To-Go Boxes (Week 6)
Hello Everyone!
Well, another week has gone by and Baby is workin' her little heart out. According to my BabyCenter email update, week six brought the growth of eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Her little heart is beating 100 to 160 times a minute and blood is beginning to flow. Right now, Baby is a 1/4" long.
Despite being so small, Baby is causing many changes in her mother. A creature that we've lovingly began to call "the Dragon" has emerged from my wife and will attack without notice. Because I am not handy with a sword (and not a Medieval Fair person) the Dragon has almost devoured me a few times. I'm getting better about fighting (a.k.a. dealing) with it, though.
Aside from my wife's alter ego, she has also worked her way into a paradox: she is constantly hungry, yet after taking no more than three bites of whatever food she's fixed/ordered/stolen, the thought of eating another bite gives her a shutter and a couple of dry-heaves. Jennifer is really upset by this because she loves eating and now the though of food drives her out of the room. Today, when I got home, she informed me that in order to get ANYTHING out of the refrigerator, she had to hold her breath while the door was open.
Not long ago, another soon-to-be dad told me that his wife's sense of smell qualified her to work as a drug dog. I guess if the Red Cross doesn't work out...
This week has been very busy for us. I can't think of a reason why - we didn't really do anything extra, but it just feels rushed. We're trying to enjoy our last time being just married (not parents) but everything else seems to get in the way.
In addition to Jenn's food problems, she has also began having dreams. Her latest one was that she delivered the baby and it was so small that the doctor gave it to her in a "to-go" box. I told Jenn that her dream meant that she would eat the baby, probably the next day for lunch.
She has also decided that she's beginning to show. Honestly, there's no way she's showing, but she thinks it's happening. I think she's just excited about being able to show. That way, when she orders enough food for the entire softball team at lunch, people won't think she's a heifer.*
*This is not to suggest in ANY way that I think she's a heifer or that she's eating too much. Jenn, if you're reading this, I didn't mean it. Honest. Please don't release the Dragon...
Please...
See you next Wednesday!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Hello, my name is Baby
This has been a very eventful week for Baby. We've decided on an ambiguous name so we won't get too excited about a boy or a girl, so until we know the sex, the baby's name is Baby. This week, the pieces that will eventually become Baby's brain and spinal cord are coming together, and the heart and circulatory system is beginning to form. If Baby is an over-achiever (how could he not be, look at his parents...) the tiny little heart could even begin to beat.
This week was a little scary, though. Jenn was having some pain in her lower abdomen and lower back, and her OBGYN told her to go to the E.D. I know what you're thinking, "E.D.? Shouldn't she go to the E.R.?" The answer is yes, she should've gone to the Emergency Room, except Norman Regional has decided that they would stop using a national term (also the name of a TV show) and begin to use E.D. - The Emergency Department. This allows the hospital to inject even more confusion into very confusing times. Luckily, Marylin Blake had told me about the E.D. vs E.R. controversy the day before, so we were safe.
The pain Jenn was having turned out to be pretty normal pregnancy stuff, be we did get the first pregnant hospital visit out of the way.
Jenn's appetite has not slowed down very much this week, and she's taken a few naps. The baby should be about the size of a sesame seed, but it seems to have a much larger impact than the hamburger bun garnish.
We've got a big week ahead of us. If Baby's heart hasn't already started beating, it will this week. Also the brain, lungs, arms, legs, and ears will be beginning. I'll remember this day when the child is a teenager and we swear those ears don't work...
Tonight, we watched the movie Juno. It's about a high-school girl who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption. I know it sounds fantastic, but trust me it's pretty good. When we went to see this movie in the theater, we were not pregnant. Seeing it now, things are different. I noticed things like when Juno began to show, how far along she was when she got her ultrasound, and the stroller that this one lady had in the mall (it's called a Bug-A-Boo, the most amazing stroller on the face of the planet. If you'd like to purchase one for us, the web address is www.bugaboo.com where you can find local stores or purchase online. We like the Bug-A-Boo Frog the best). This makes me think that being a parent will make me look at everything differently. Hopefully, I'll retain my awesome-ness while also being a responsible, attentive, and wise parent. Hopefully...
We'll see you next Wednesday!
This week was a little scary, though. Jenn was having some pain in her lower abdomen and lower back, and her OBGYN told her to go to the E.D. I know what you're thinking, "E.D.? Shouldn't she go to the E.R.?" The answer is yes, she should've gone to the Emergency Room, except Norman Regional has decided that they would stop using a national term (also the name of a TV show) and begin to use E.D. - The Emergency Department. This allows the hospital to inject even more confusion into very confusing times. Luckily, Marylin Blake had told me about the E.D. vs E.R. controversy the day before, so we were safe.
The pain Jenn was having turned out to be pretty normal pregnancy stuff, be we did get the first pregnant hospital visit out of the way.
Jenn's appetite has not slowed down very much this week, and she's taken a few naps. The baby should be about the size of a sesame seed, but it seems to have a much larger impact than the hamburger bun garnish.
We've got a big week ahead of us. If Baby's heart hasn't already started beating, it will this week. Also the brain, lungs, arms, legs, and ears will be beginning. I'll remember this day when the child is a teenager and we swear those ears don't work...
Tonight, we watched the movie Juno. It's about a high-school girl who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption. I know it sounds fantastic, but trust me it's pretty good. When we went to see this movie in the theater, we were not pregnant. Seeing it now, things are different. I noticed things like when Juno began to show, how far along she was when she got her ultrasound, and the stroller that this one lady had in the mall (it's called a Bug-A-Boo, the most amazing stroller on the face of the planet. If you'd like to purchase one for us, the web address is www.bugaboo.com where you can find local stores or purchase online. We like the Bug-A-Boo Frog the best). This makes me think that being a parent will make me look at everything differently. Hopefully, I'll retain my awesome-ness while also being a responsible, attentive, and wise parent. Hopefully...
We'll see you next Wednesday!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Quantam Leap and Growing Organs - Week 4
So, I thought it would be cool to document this journey all the way through.
For those of you who don’t know, Jennifer and I found out last Wednesday that we were having a baby. It’s about time, we’ve been trying for 7 months. We’re really excited, but it’s still so surreal that it’s hard to grasp what’s really going on. Jenn has made a doctor’s appointment to get some blood drawn and to go through some of her questions with the doctor and I’ve been looking at baby stuff online all week.
She hasn’t been in a bad mood or very nauseous, but she has been very tired. Her body is busy building another life and she’s had to cut back her caffeine intake, so it’s a double-whammy. The other day we went to Starbucks. She got a tall and I got a venti, which was the last time I’m going to get to do that. She said that I couldn’t get a big drink if she had to get a little baby one.
Jennifer has also has started to drink her recommended 64oz. of water per day. The result is an almost constant need to go to the bathroom. As she is laying on the couch watching "Quantam Leap" (lame) she has gotten up to pee on both of the last two commercial breaks.
Aside from that, everything here has been great. We’ve had a lot of fun together this week, and we’ve been giving Dakota a lot of attention so she won’t feel so neglected later on.
This is technically week 4 of the pregnancy, and according to our new friend BabyCenter.com, little baby Garner is in the beginning of the embryonic period. From now until ten weeks, all of the baby’s organs will begin to develop and some will even begin to function. As a result, this is the time when she’ll be most vulnerable to anything that might interfere with her development.
By the way, the baby is a "her" right now because the sex isn’t determined yet. We all start out as girls, that’s why boys have nipples.
Being involved in this whole process, I wonder how people could possible think of an unborn child as just a mass of cells. If you have bought into this lie, you should look at some of these development charts available online. Organs, fingers, toes, eyes, everything is being developed. In just a couple of weeks, this baby will look like a little person. It’s absolutely amazing. It’s comforting to know that God said in Jeremiah 1:5, "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb."
Well, that’s all for this week, I’ll let you know how next week goes.
See you later...
For those of you who don’t know, Jennifer and I found out last Wednesday that we were having a baby. It’s about time, we’ve been trying for 7 months. We’re really excited, but it’s still so surreal that it’s hard to grasp what’s really going on. Jenn has made a doctor’s appointment to get some blood drawn and to go through some of her questions with the doctor and I’ve been looking at baby stuff online all week.
She hasn’t been in a bad mood or very nauseous, but she has been very tired. Her body is busy building another life and she’s had to cut back her caffeine intake, so it’s a double-whammy. The other day we went to Starbucks. She got a tall and I got a venti, which was the last time I’m going to get to do that. She said that I couldn’t get a big drink if she had to get a little baby one.
Jennifer has also has started to drink her recommended 64oz. of water per day. The result is an almost constant need to go to the bathroom. As she is laying on the couch watching "Quantam Leap" (lame) she has gotten up to pee on both of the last two commercial breaks.
Aside from that, everything here has been great. We’ve had a lot of fun together this week, and we’ve been giving Dakota a lot of attention so she won’t feel so neglected later on.
This is technically week 4 of the pregnancy, and according to our new friend BabyCenter.com, little baby Garner is in the beginning of the embryonic period. From now until ten weeks, all of the baby’s organs will begin to develop and some will even begin to function. As a result, this is the time when she’ll be most vulnerable to anything that might interfere with her development.
By the way, the baby is a "her" right now because the sex isn’t determined yet. We all start out as girls, that’s why boys have nipples.
Being involved in this whole process, I wonder how people could possible think of an unborn child as just a mass of cells. If you have bought into this lie, you should look at some of these development charts available online. Organs, fingers, toes, eyes, everything is being developed. In just a couple of weeks, this baby will look like a little person. It’s absolutely amazing. It’s comforting to know that God said in Jeremiah 1:5, "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb."
Well, that’s all for this week, I’ll let you know how next week goes.
See you later...
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