39 Weeks, 5 Days... Rollercoasters

We went for your appointment today. They did a non-stress test on you. You started out like a galloping horse. Then you got bored and took a nap. Baseline heart rate was perfect, 150 beats per minute. Next we had an ultrasound and were checked to see if your mom's body had started changing enougth for you to be born. The doctor kind of had us thinking that today just might be the day. Your mom got excited and asked me if I thought we would be able to go home first before being whisked away to labor and delivery. I told her I thought so. Well, the doctor broke it to us as gently and tactfully as possible. She said that if there were any sign at all that you were in distress or not getting what you needed that they could help you be born today. There was no such sign. The good news is that you are just perfect. It was still a letdown. Today just wasn't going to be your birthday. What a rollercoaster ride of emotions we were riding. We did see a cool ultrasound picture of you with chubby cheeks though.

39 Weeks, 4 Days...The Evidence

I was talking to a friend after church about you moving around and stuff and how cool it was. She declared that anyone who wanted to see evidence of God just needs to witness the miracle of a baby being alive and moving around in the womb, kicking and growing like crazy. This truly has been a life changing and life-affirming experience. And that is just from my point of view. Just ask your mother about it one day. I'll bet she could just go on and on and on about it.

39 Weeks, 3 Days...Breakfast and the Social Graces

I promised your mom I would take her out to breakfast this morning. We had a delicious breakfast at Panera Bread. It is not the first place to think of for breakfast or for kids, but we were surprised by the number of people with kids there. I definitely want you to know the taste of good food and not just horrible happy meals. There is much better food and we want you to eat a variety of stuff. I also want you to know how to handle being out and about in public without misbehaving. Not too badly anyway. Social graces never go out of style. You will thank us for it one day. And we will thank you in advance for not acting up!

39 Weeks, 2 Days...The Rub

Your mom got a massage today to ease the pain in her hips. She didn't get a tattoo. It wasn't that kind of massage parlor. It was a very nice massage therapist in a respectable office downtown. And it provided some needed relief, which was the main thing. Your mom was walking faster than she had in several days. Mall walkers, watch out; She could give you a run for your money! Speaking of massage, I have heard that touch therapy is very effective on infants. I'll have to read up on baby massage. Sounds like a good way to spend some quality time with you. A few years ago your mom actually went to a dog massage therapy class and she sometimes does those techniques on our dogs. Maybe she will do some massage on you!

39 Weeks, 1 Day...Finishing touches

I hung the blinds in your room tonight. They are very cool, made of bamboo, and give the perfect jungle effect that we were looking for. And then your mom and I put some decorative animals on your closet door. That was right after I hung some cool monkeys that have hooks for things like diaper bags, your outfits, and anything else with a handle. All these finishing touches are in place. You have got to come soon. I'm running out of things to do.

39 Weeks...Checking the Mileage

Your mom is pretty darn uncomfortable. 39 Weeks into pregnancy and this hip pain has put a damper on her activities, both walking and diving. Her "big nights out" this week have been 1.To the library. 2.To Dairy Queen and the drugstore. Tomorrow-I will take her to the hairdresser. We're quite the jet-setters, eh? It is so unlike her to be immobile and inactive. I kidded her and said I would check the mileage on her car to see if she went anywhere while I was at work. She replied that she was saving gas money for daycare. If she didn't laugh, she'd cry!

38 Weeks, 6 Days...Shave Before Sleep

I'm taking the advice a friend gave me: shave before going to bed. Just in case you decide to come in the middle of the night I will look like myself in the pictures. So I am giving myself the "babyface" before going to bed. I got to admit it is a time saver in the mornings. Maybe you are just waiting for the chance to come in the middle of the night when I didn't shave so I will look like a wild man in the hospital pictures. My friend said that his brother looks crazy in his pictures when his baby was born in the middle of the night. I sure wouldn't want that to happen to me.

38 Weeks, 5 Days...Dr. Says...

The Doctor says that your mom hasn't dilated any yet. That's right, not at all dilated. Zip, zero. None whatsoever. So... they told us that they wouldn't let her go over 41 weeks before inducing her, if needed, to get you to come on out. As if that is supposed to be any consolation! What makes it worse is that persistant hip pain that she is experiencing makes it hard for her to move around. We had to go get a few things after the appointment and her movement had slowed down tremendouly. She even pushed the cart to help take some of the pressure off her hip. The mall-walkers could probably pass us at this point if she had the stamina to walk the mall. She is used to being active and not in pain whenever she moves. Baby, please hurry up and get here and stop with the lessons on patience already!

38 Weeks, 4 Days...No Egg Rolled

Well, despite several contractions during dinner in the Chinese restaurant and some coincidental lucky numbers you did not choose to come. It is OK, I guess you are teaching your mom and myself patience. I made sure most of the laundry was done and thought about any necessary things to take to the hospital that weren't packed before we went to bed. I even got some sleep. When I woke up I knew that it was business as usual. The business of the past 9 months, that is.

38 Weeks, 3 Days...Good Fortune

Tonight we ate Chinese food for dinner. Between random contractions we enjoyed egg rolls and cashew chicken. Did I mention contractions? Well, there were a few but they were random. The lady at the restaurant was also expecting around the same time we are. It was nice talking to her and comparing the experience. I ate my fortune cookie for dessert, which I hardly ever do. My fortune read "You will inherit a large amount of money." My "lucky numbers" were 0-8-8. Could this mean that tonight is the night? Afterall, this is the Eighth day of the Eighth month. By the way, did I mention contractions?

38 Weeks, 2 Days...Your Biggest Fan

Today your uncle helped me put a ceiling fan in your room. It is a very cool fan, picked out just for you. It has small blades but they can create quite the cool, chilled out effect that we want. The light is bright enough without being blinding. Cozy, yet practical. It is the perfect overhead lighting system for your room. If we need stronger light we also have the lamp that I designed for you with the animals on the shade. We thought you might like a little "atmosphere" and "mood" enhancement in your room. As if we haven't created enough atmosphere in there already. You can supply the mood. Preferably a good one.

38 Weeks, 1 Day...Full Moon

Are you going to howl at the moon tonight? Someone told us that the full moon just might ease you into being born. Well, tonight starts the full moon. The moon causes the ocean tides to rise and fall. Will it be the same for you? They also say that when the moon is full strange things happen. Hospitals are busier than usual. I don't think I want a bunch of superstitious people hanging out at the hospital when you are to be born so hold on for a few more days, please!

38 Weeks...One More Wednesday

We made it to another Wednesday, and you know what that means! Only possibly 2 more Wednesdays to go before you are born, if you can hold out that long. Mom's been feeling a little more bulky this week so she has worked from home some. It is a nice option for her. Especially at a time like this.

37 Weeks, 6 Days...Statistically Speaking

I heard an interesting stastic today. It was that in this country births are actually on the decline, down 2%. It seems that you will be a maverick, a real rebel. A trendsetter instead of a trend follower. In a time when births are on the way down you will be on your way to making your mark in this world. This stastic will ultimately means less competition for you. You are going to be another statistic in our family too. You are going to be the tie breaking kid. You have 4 cousins. 2 boys and 2 girls. Statistically speaking it is also strange, me being the oldest having the youngest child. I was the oldest child, oldest grandchild, and oldest great-grandchild. Now you will be the youngest grandchild and youngest great-grandchild.

37 Weeks, 5 Days...No Monster

We went to the doctor today to see "just how big that baby is." Well they said what I knew all along, that you weren't the monster baby they thought you were going to be. The ultrasound said you were 7 lbs, 1 oz. The doctor said that you would be around 8 lbs at the time of delivery. So there you have it, a good size baby. Enough weight to be able to hold body temperature well but not huge either. Big enough to hold and play with and not be afraid of. We are using one of the dogs as a reference point. He is 8 lbs too.

37 Weeks, 4 Days...A Matter Of Taste

Today after church we got the much craved hamburgers. They were so good. I'll bet you grow up liking them as much as we do. Once I got mine topped with BBQ sauce, mushrooms, and jalapeno peppers. If you have extravagant taste you will take after both of us. Don't get me wrong, simple things are wonderful, but special things are just our style. I like many special things. Fish tacos, tomatoe and cheese sandwiches, grits with hot sauce, peanut butter and cheese sandwiches, potatoe chips and catsup, pizza with hot sauce. These are just a few special things I like. Your mom likes special stuff too but her taste is not as unusual as mine. She calls my taste "acquired" but I call it "refined." A general rule of thumb to remember is that if catsup doesn't make it better then try hot sauce. If hot sauce doesn't help, then it must need cheese. Maybe if you get fussy about your food I'll dip your pacifier in peanut butter or hot sauce and see if that pleases you (just kidding)!

37 Weeks, 3 Days...Blowout

Baby, I don't know much about changing a "blow-out" diaper but I know how to change a blow out tire. In fact, I had to change a blow out on my way home from work this very afternoon. Either way, it is something that requires immediate attention. When you get a blow out tire, there is nothing to do but change it unless you just want to sit on the side of the road immobile. You can either do it yourself or call a roadside assistance service to come and change it. With the blow-out diaper, if you don't change it you may regret it. Either with a bad case of diaper rash, leaks running down the babies leg, or a screaming baby and a mad mommy, there is bad news if you don't do something quick. From the horror stories about blow-out diapers it is too bad there is not a service like AAA to come take care of it! Either way it helps to have a spare. Whether it is a spare tire or more diapers in a diaper bag, you need supplies to change it. Blow out tires are not an everyday thing. Hopefully blow-out diapers aren't either.

37 Weeks, 2 Days...Mellow

Mom said you were a little mellow today. She said that at work you moved around a bit but not as much kicking and boxing (or tap dancing and jumping rope)as normal. We hope you are a mellow baby and not a fussy baby. I have seen my share of fussy babies. Babies who scream bloody murder and throw a tantrum whenever they are in public. The parents of these babies either look stressed or indifferent, no matter the fuss that the baby is creating or the dirty looks that they are getting. I have also seen babies who are just happy as a clam looking around at the big world and being a part of the scene. Those parents look peaceful and attentive to the baby. All parties look like they are enjoying themselves with this kind of baby. We are shooting for the latter of these two extremes. I can be peaceful, can you?

37 Weeks, 1 Day...More, please!

Got some more stuff for you. This stuff was stuff from me. A lion clock that looks great in your room and a monkey hamper for your dirty clothes. Also the green Baby Bjorn carrier for me to carry you around in. Also a pillow designed to prevent "flat-head synrdome." We want you to be in all dimensions, not flat! I also picked up the perfect "bring me home from the hospital" outfit. Hope you like it!