It Makes You Sound Ignorant... (Week 10)

Well, hello everyone.

I'm sorry that I didn't get the blog posted sooner, but let's face it, I'm a bum. This week has brought some new things to our lives. I've always told Jenn that she needed to be more aggressive with her speech. When she talks to people at work or a customer service person on the phone, she's so passive. Or, I guess I should say was so passive. This week, she actually said to a person from the insurance company (about her contacts) "...that is bullcrap. You really shouldn't say things like that, because it makes you sound ignorant!" Ladies and gentlemen, that is my wife...

We went to the doctor this week for a standard checkup and they tried to use the little hand-held ultrasound to hear the baby's heartbeat. They couldn't find a heartbeat with that little thing (which kind of looked like a kiddie-karaoke machine) so they wheeled in an actual Ultrasound machine. We were excited to see all the progress our baby was making, but we were not prepared for what we saw.

I was the first to see the baby. It was way over on the left side of the screen and I only saw it for a second. Then, Dr. Anderson got it centered up and all of a sudden the baby was gone. She moved the magic wand around a little more and found the baby again. This kid was all over the place! He was twisting and turning, diving back to into Jenn deeper so we couldn't see him and then coming back up close. Then, he laid on his back (this was cool because he actually looked like a baby!) and waved at us. OUR BABY WAVED AT US!!!


I couldn't believe it. This is our child. I'll admit, the first Ultrasound was cool and I'm glad that we saw the heartbeat and everything, but it really hit me at this session. I could see this little person moving around in there. It was an absolutely amazing experience.

Part of the changes we've been going have been mental, not necessarily physical. Part of what we've been talking about is that it's never going to be just the two of us again. From the time we have the baby (by the way - OFFICIAL DUE DATE IS DECEMBER 10) until we die, we will be parents. Our roles in our children's lives will change, but we will still be someone's mom and dad. I think the only way to deal with something like this is to forget about looking at it in this scope and simply focus on more recent and short-term timelines. If I try to see myself as a lifelong parent and mentor to someone, it's kind of overwhelming. But, shorter goals may help the goals from running me over.

I read in one of my books that the baby becomes real to the woman much earlier than the man. For many men, the idea of being a parent doesn't become tangible until they are holding their child for the first time. As it sits right now, I'm so excited from seeing the little kid swimming around in there (which we all attributed to my energy levels) that I don't know how much more the experience will be enhanced by being able to hold my child.

According to BabyCenter.com, our baby is "a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce. Your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout the pregnancy."

That, coupled with the laps he's making around Jennifer's belly make for one busy week.

See you next Wednesday!