Week 24 Day 2

   One of the things we decided that we HAD to have before baby’s arrival is a video camera.  Thank goodness for Woot!  There was a pretty sweet deal on this JVC Enverio for a little over 100 bucks.  A great deal for the financially challenged or those about to have babies.  Doesn’t have many frills, but it takes good video.

   Here’s a sample of the baby moving!  

    The baby is actually pretty active during the whole video here.  But look just above the belly button at around 13 seconds for a really good one.

   Pardon the sounds of a dog licking in the background.  Dog's can be total asses sometimes.

Week 23 Day 5

   I think that I am beginning to realize the ways in which having a child will impact my life.  I probably won’t agree with that statement several years from now.

   But after being without my wife and unborn child for several days (business trip in Little Rock, Arkansas one week and San Fran the next) the impact has been palpable.  (I am NOT going to do well with college)

   I have been pretty mopey. (That’s the lesser known 8^th dwarf that Snow White didn’t like)

   This has come at a particularly busy time at work compounding the difficulty.  Yay me.  

Week 22 Day 5

   Pregnancy game #4:  Wake the baby!

And I will fully admit that this totally makes me an ass.  But this is really fun for the non-pregnant partner. (me)

   This game is played pretty much the way it sounds.  Jostle, poke, prod, talk to, tickle or do whatever it takes to wake up the baby and make it move!  Then you get to giggle whenever you feel the baby elbow, punch, kick or stretch against your hand.  It’s pretty awesome.

   This is assuming, of course, your pregnant partner will allow you to do this and hasn’t smacked you upside the head before the baby gets woken up.

    While waking the baby can be highly irritating to your wife, studies have shown (if it wasn’t already obvious) that interaction with the baby pre-birth can be beneficial.  So I may be an ass, but I’m thinking of the baby, right?

Week 22 Day 4

  Yet another physical change that happens to the female body during a pregnancy is swollen ankles.  Or “pankles”.  (get it?  Pregnant ankles!)  The word “pankles” can almost make me think of pancakes.  Which are yummy.  But I imagine having pankles still sucks.

   My wife was recently on a business trip in Little Rock, Arkansas.  And really, what kind of state is Arkansas?  It’s like Kansas with pirates…   Arrrr.. Kansas.

   Anyway, here are two photos she took of her ankles.  One in the morning and one in the evening.  Guess which is which.

  

   So I heard about swollen ankles during pregnancy but I really didn’t have any idea.  Ouch.  This is yet one more reason for the need to thank our wives/partners during pregnancy.

   Thanks, hon!

Can I not be an ass this week?

Week 22 Day 1

   Here is a photo of what almost 22 weeks look like for us. 

It was taken over the Labor Day weekend and it was our last camping trip before junior/juniorette is welcomed to the world extrawombial.  Yes, I know that is not a real word. I was being crafty.  Or I like to think I was being crafty and wordsmithy like.  I’m obviously not very good at it.

   It was a good trip.  Fortunately, we had family taking very good care of us so we had to do very little other than take walks and watch our cousin throw rocks across the river.

Despite this, it was a very tiring weekend and the dogs think so, too.  See?

Week 21 Day 7

   “Oh god!  The baby’s rotting my brain!”

  I heard this from my wife in reference to the short-term memory loss and general absent-mindedness experienced from the pregnancy.  There is some dispute as to whether this is an old wives tale or if there are studies that actually prove lower brain function due to pregnancy.  See articles here and here.  It makes sense that if the body goes into overdrive making a new human being, certain priorities get shifted around.  Maybe brain functions are not as important because everyone in the family/tribe takes extra care of a pregnant woman so she doesn’t HAVE to be smart enough to outrun the big scary predator.

   I propose that there is an added evolutionary reason.  The baby is “rotting my wife’s brain” in order to give me (the husband/partner) a taste of what it is like to raise a helpless infant.  I’m NOT saying that my wife is a helpless infant!  Pregnancy by no means makes a person stupid.  But there is extra care required on occasion and I really hope that the higher brain functions return soon after the delivery.

   Of course, this is assuming there is any truth to “pregnancy brain” as it has come to be known.

   Wow.  After rereading this, I totally sound like an ass.  

Week 21 Day 2

   Pregnant women glow.  No really.  They glow!  So why is it when they are told they are glowing they get real sarcastic and refuse to believe it?  How can they not see how beautiful they are?

  So I looked it up and here is the proof.  Dr. Sears says so and it must be true!  Read it and weep, ladies.  Increased blood flow and secretions from oil glands make the glow happen.

  Ok, and maybe there are some funky male hormones coursing through my body making me want to shower adoration on my wife.  I’d like to think this just happens because we are truly perfect and stupid for each other.  But it makes sense biologically to want to protect her and any future offspring to increase the chances of my genetic survival.

   Yeah, THAT doesn’t make me sound like an ass at all!