1 cm

And so it begins....

It's tough to read, but the pamphlet the baby is reading is entitled "Eviction Notice".

I did a little research on the internet and being 1 cm dilated has no bearing on exactly when you will deliver, but it has officially started. 

But in the interest of being "ready" for the arrival, I have decided that this weekend I will even pack a bag for myself for when we go to the hospital.  (Em's bag was packed in March.) 

Also, I am officially moving Emily's birthday dinner up a week or so because if we wait too long, she'll either be A) not wanting to move, B) in the hospital, or C) surviving on 2 hours of sleep.

It's getting close........and real.

His Name is......

And his name ISN'T Wilson Hopkins.

37 Weeks

I haven't posted about this website in a while, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't annoyed by the comparisons.  In the last several weeks, our baby boy has been compared in size & weight to the following items:

-Crenshaw Melon - (I have no idea what that is.)
-Pineapple - (Does any woman want to think of having to deliver a pineapple?  That even hurts me when I think about it.)
-Jicama
-4 oranges - (That's right.  They couldn't come up with anything that weighs the same as our baby at that week, so some genius decided to just add as many oranges as possible to come up with the desired weight.  How weak is that?)

This week our baby is compared to the length of......wait for it.........a stalk of Swiss Chard.  Seriously, these people need to be fired.  Has anyone purchased swiss chard before?  Are there other countries that export this delicacy besides Switzerland?  Is there a Mongolian Chard?  Or a Bolivian Chard?  I think those would be more interesting that Swiss Chard, but who am I to have an opinion.  I thought that Switzerland was only known for clocks, chocolate, watches, and the Alps.   We'll have to add Chard to that list.

"A Little Over 19 Inches"

Thank You Doesn't Quite Seem To Cover It

Emily had her 3rd baby shower this weekend.  This time the shower was thrown by her friend Sara here in Wisconsin.  Emily was so impressed by the food/desserts served by Sara that she took this picture and forwarded it to me to be included in this post. 

I must admit that those cookies look pretty fantastic.

When Emily and I had started talking about having a child, we discussed if there would be any showers for her.  I remember telling her that because we are both from out of state and the majority of our friends of family are scattered all over the country to not get her hopes up about having a shower.  Boy, was I wrong (and I don't say that often).

The fact that Emily had 3 showers (in 3 different states) speaks to her friends and family and their love for Emily.  I'm truly impressed by all of the gifts, time, travel, and the overall effort put forth for Emily.  It's been amazing.

If nothing else, this baby is being born into a world where he will be surrounded by love in just about every state he travels to. 

From the bottom of our hearts.....Thank You.

The Wait is Over

I will be announcing the name of our boy on this site.  (I'm sure you all were waiting on the edge of your seats for this announcement.)

(One of you even found the hint that was posted earlier.  Congratulations, Tami.)

36 1/2 Weeks

(I was forced to put the 1/2 week into the title.)

What Did I Do On Saturday?

I'm glad you asked.

Most people probably went out to dinner with their wife or stayed home and spent time with their kids.  Not me.  I did something I never dreamed I'd be doing.  I had heard of people doing this.....I think. 

I was making a plaster cast of my wife's belly. 

Now don't get me wrong, I have done paper mache before......when I was like in 3rd grade.  We paper mached a balloon......so I had that practice under my belt......which is nice.

(I did get permission from Em to post these pics.)

Don't ask me what we are going to do with the finished product.  I just made Em promise me that we wouldn't be hanging it on the wall somewhere.  She agreed. 

The Room

If any of you care to know, I decided to post a few pictures of the baby's room.  The pictures came out a bit more yellow than it actually appears in person, but I think you'll get the idea. 

Tell me what you think (unless you hate it....then keep your opinion to yourself  ;o)

Grandpa Thore's Crib

If you a recent reader of this blog, you may not have read the story behind this entry.  If that describes you, I encourage you to go back and read the blog entry entitled "Grandpa Thore" dated February 15th.  That should give you the necessary information to understand (and possibly appreciate) the following photos.

The crib is completed and I just picked it up this weekend.  In my opinion it looks fantastic.  The lady that did the work really did a great job and truly appreciated the story behind the crib (which is why she agreed to take the task on). 

So, without further delay....I give you all the finished product. 

Sandberg Quote

Recently I came across this quote by Carl Sandberg about babies.  I really liked it and thought I would share it. 

“A baby is God's opinion that life should go on."

I really like that 1st sentence, but it continues....

 

"Never will a time come when the most marvelous recent invention is as marvelous as a newborn baby. The finest of our precision watches, the most super-colossal of our supercargo planes don't compare with a newborn baby in the number and ingenuity of coils and springs, in the flow and change of chemical solutions, in timing devises and interrelated parts that are irreplaceable.”

-Carl Sandberg

Only a few more weeks to go....

Pregnancy Test

I had a realization a while ago, but I never had the guts to bring it out into the open.  I now have the courage to come out in the open with this observation in hopes that I might change the world.....at least in a little way.

After discovering the + sign (or whatever other positive symbol) on a pregnancy test, why do women (and possibly some men) wave that stick around like it wasn't just peed on?

Now I won't go into my personal specific experience (for fear of being beaten to death by my lovely, 34 week pregnant wife), but I have seen (in tv shows or movies) girls wave that stick around like they are flagging in a 747.  All I can think about is who is going to be cleaning up the splatter spots of urine after that joyous moment.  I've seen people leave the stick on a dresser or even the bed.  What other item that was just urinated on is ok to be set down on those items, I ask you? 

Let us all band together and start a movement of cleanliness with pregnancy tests.  Does the pregnancy test change the results if viewed through a plastic baggie?  I think not.  Let's start handing husbands the pregnancy test that way (and maybe after you washed your hands too).  After it is placed in the baggie....feel free to jump around and wave your arms like your team just won the Super Bowl....it's all ok then.