Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Look Who's Thinking - Part I

Do you ever wonder if babies think in the womb? Let's go even further. Do you ever wonder if babies think out loud in the womb? Let's face it - there's not a lot for them to do. They have a lot of time to contemplate life. They have a lot of time to just float and think. I mean, what would you if you were holed up in a balloon for 9 months with limited light and not a lot of sound? You'd think, right? Of course you would.

Fortunately for all of you readers out there, I have obtained, after many years of practicing mental telepathy and Vulcan mind-melding and finally putting them into practice, a transcript of our baby's mental journal. Not wanting to reveal too much, Baby has asked me to use only certain dates and entries. I, not wanting to make Baby angry before birth and therefore set the parent/child relationship off on the wrong foot, will respectfully adhere to these limitations. With that said, it's time to go inside the mind of the baby!

November 16, 2009: It is quite dark and wet in this place. But the warmth and coziness make this a nice place. Other than that, I don't much else. Going to rest now.

December 1, 2009: Still dark, still wet. I am tired of floating. I hope soon I will be free. Happy I am still warm however. Heard this faint voice talking about how little I was. I also could make out "July 19" - which to me means nothing. Will revisit this later.

(Editor's note: First ultrasound done this day.)

December 24, 2009: Dark. Wet. Warm. Feeling festive. Heard faint voice called "Daddy" talk about something called a "Kentucky bib." I've heard that word "Kentucky" before. That same Daddy voice talks about it a lot. He also can be loud sometimes when talking about them. I think he's a little weird.

(Editor's note: I cannot deny any of this.)

January 31, 2010: This dark, wet thing isn't going away, so I might as well deal with it. But it's still warm, except for the occasional draft I'm feeling right now. And it's awfully bumpy, too. Not sure I like this.

(Editor's note: Late-January ice/snow storm. Baby is referring to us trying to re-create the X Games at G's parents' house.)

February 10, 2010: Little uncomfortable here. I think it's because Mommy is uncomfortable with all the poking and prodding at this doctor place. Why can't they just leave her alone? I hope Daddy has to go through this, too, since apparently he had a part in me.

February 20, 2010: Daddy talked to me again. He does that a lot. He sounds nice. But again, what's with all the "Kentucky" stuff? Am I going to like "Kentucky"?

(Editor's note: Yes, Baby, you will.)

I would like to thank Baby for the insight in the womb. Hopefully, I will be able to obtain more information - if Baby cooperates.

-D

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

What's In a Name?

D here.

I'll be your captain for this post. I anticipate many of my posts will be less serious and more humorous - on the whole anyway.

So if you look off to the right-hand side of the page, you'll see a poll with several suggestions for baby names. I never really thought about the importance of naming another person until I was actually faced with the act of naming another person. I mean, think about it for a minute. I am faced with the task of naming a person for all eternity (assuming we keep our names in Heaven).

The way I see it, there are essentially four categories of names:
  1. The "Oh That's So Cute For a Kid" name that morphs into "Job Application FAIL" later in life. These are the names that are great for kids. They're cute, sweet, and fit the kid to a "T". If they just lived in Neverland, all would be perfect. Unfortunately, the kid grows up and hopefully finds success in the "real world" to help pay for the retirement home he/she will send you to.
  2. The "You Name Him That?" name but winds up being "The Name of Sophistication" in 25 years. These are the names that, quite frankly, make no sense for a child. But being the progressive-minded parent you are, you recognize the value of a name down the road. Businesses will flock to your child based solely on name and not on merit.
  3. The "Of All the Names in the World, You Picked THAT One??" name. The problem with this name is that it often has sentimental value to the family. It's a name that is passed down the family tree or reminds someone of the days of old. So I get why you would want to keep that tradition going. However, and this will be the only time, to quote Rachel from Friends, "Are we having an 89-year old?" You might think it's cute, but the rest of world points and laughs while never running out of jokes for your child. This one I want to avoid at all costs!
  4. The "Now That's a Great Name" - This is category I want the name to come under. Fair and balanced like Fox News, this name works for young and old. It blends the youthful exuberance of a teenager with the elegance of a middle-aged person with the downright adorable-ness of a baby. "Daniel" is one of these names. It also is my name.
Now that we have the categories of names out of the way, let's go over a few rules for naming kids.
  1. Name them what you're going to call them, and call them what you name them! Yes, shortened names can be fun. Yes, nicknames are cute. But the reality is that you need to name the baby what you're going to call him/her. Not following this rule will only lead to confusion later in life. (Caveat: If we have a girl, I am going to have a cute name. This is 98.65% assured to happen.)
  2. Recognize the initials. There are lots of 3-letter combinations. Some of them you do NOT want to see engraved on your child's backpack. Keep this in mind.
  3. Syllables and combinations are important. You want have some rhythm to the name. "Joe Gabriel Robinson" doesn't flow well. In my opinion, you needs to have an a-b-a or a-a-a scheme syllable-wise, unless your last name is Nowitzski or Wojceihowski - at which point it's best to go with "Joe" or "Dirk".
  4. Tread carefully with "Juniors".
So as we journey toward the world of parenthood, we will be sure to keep in mind of all the rules and categories. The last thing we want to do is start a tradition of naming kids after college basketball team arenas... like Lexington Rupp... oh wait... um... never mind.

Don't forget to enter the Baby Pool-ooza contest, and while we're all about shameless plugs, you can follow me on Twitter, or my wife.

-D

Monday, February 22, 2010

2010 Baby Pool-ooza

Well, I am exactly one week away from finding out if I am having a son or daughter. I suppose that is a little intimidating, but to be honest I don't feel that way. I'm sure once we head closer and closer toward July that will change. And I'm sure come the big day I will be all over the emotional map. Now? Not so much. Just excited and hoping/praying for a healthy Baby and Baby's Momma.

After scouring over family records, computing numerous statistical calculations, and, ok, ok, just going on a feeling, I believe Baby is a girl. But what fun is it if I just say what I think? Let's get some reader participation! So here is the deal, because March Madness is upcoming, and because my family has a knack for making games/contests out of everything, I am hereby declaring today as the opening of the "2010 Official Baby Pool-ooza Challenge" - what is that you asked? Points will be awarded for correctly guessing and/or estimating several key areas of this whole pregnancy thing. The rules are simple: leave a comment with your predictions for the categories listed below. If you miss the first category, never fear! Bonus categories will pop up from time to time with bonus points available.

Let's get to the categories (HT for idea: Jeff)...

1.) Gender - 25 points for the correct answer; 0 for incorrect (deadline for this entry is noon, March 1)

2.) Date of birth - 50 points for being spot on, 40 +/- one day, 35 for two, 30 for three, 25 for four, 20 for five, 15 for six, 10 for 7, 5 for 8, 4 for nine, 3 for ten, and 1 point for days eleven through fourteen.

3.) Time of birth - 100 points for exact time (ignore the seconds aspect), 50 within 15 minutes, 40 within an hour, 30 within two, 25 within three, 20 within four, 15 within five, 10 within six, 7 within seven, 5 within eight, 4 within nine, 3 within ten, 2 within eleven, and 1 within twelve.

4.) Length - 50 points for exact length, 40 within 1/2 inch, 30 within 1 inch, 25 within 1.5 inches, 20 within 2 inches, 15 within 2.5 inches, 10 within 3 inches, and 5 within 4 inches.

5.) Weight - 100 points for exact weight, 50 points within 4 ounces, 40 within 6, 30 within 8, 20 within 10, 10 within 15, 5 within 20, and 2 within 25.

6.) Hair or no hair - 25 points if correct; 0 if not.

Perhaps a prize will be awarded for the winner. So get your entries, and be on the lookout for those bonus opportunities.

Get your entries in! Limit one per player. Void where prohibited.

-D

Thursday, February 18, 2010

17 Weeks Pregnant (Well a week ago)



17 Weeks Pregnant!
The pregnancy is going really well. I feel great, as I always have through the pregnancy. I'm so thankful for not being sick or feeling bad each morning when I wake up. I know a lot of people suffer from morning sickness and I'm so thankful I haven't.

I had a doctor's appointment Wednesday, 2 days later than usual. I go on Monday's but we had a surprise snow Sunday night and got about 4 inches dumped on us. So that was canceled.

I did get to hear the baby's heartbeat Wednesday and it was wonderful! 144 beats per minute. The doctor said my blood pressure was good and my weight gain too (yay!) and the baby's heartbeat sounded good too.

Everything is on track and I go back March 1st for my 20 week checkup. They'll do an ultrasound and make sure the baby looks good up to this point and if the baby cooperates, we'll get to see what we're having! I'm praying that the baby does cooperate because we already have a party planned for March 2nd to let our family and a few friends know what we're having (I'll post pictures and everything that went along with the Gender Reveal Party).

Daniel thinks it's going to be a girl, he's said that from the beginning. And me, well I have no idea what it'll be. I haven't had any feelings or intuitions about what the baby is. And it doesn't matter to either of us. We just want a healthy and happy baby. Everyone keeps asking us what we want and we don't care! We're praying for a healthy baby, a healthy pregnancy and an easy delivery (if that's possible).

Keep praying for good health!