Friday, August 27, 2010

A stitch in time...

Those of you who know my wife, know that sewing is something she enjoys. Based on some of her projects from the past, I think our baby will be the cutest one on the block.

Below is a picture of some of the quilt blocks she's putting together for a baby quilt.  It should be ready for some work come Thanksgiving, so get your quilting supplies ready great grandma Ware :)

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Operation feline release is complete...

Well, if you're reading this, you're definitely in the know!  Our little secret ain't so secret any more :)

The congratulations and positive feedback has been overwhelming!

I'll do my best to keep this blog up-to-date, so feel free to check back now and again to see the latest on our lil' shrimp.

Did I let the cat out of the bag?

First, who keeps their cats in a bag?

Today is the day!  In a mere 2 hours, this little secret won't be a secret any more.

We actually told my parents yesterday.  Sara's parent will find out at around noon today, and the rest of you will find out soon after.

Guess I'll have to change the subtitle of the blog, eh?

Friday, August 20, 2010

Just like Christmas morning...

It's quite possible that you'll all find out about this in just a couple of days. :)

September 12 really is just too far away.  When Sara got home from work the other night, she commented that it's been getting harder and harder to "suck it in" so the folks she works with don't notice that she's starting to show (not a whole lot mind you, but just enough that it's unrealistic to think we'll make it another 4 weeks without having to come clean.)

With that in mind, this may just be the weekend.  I talked to her today and I think she's in agreement that now that we're more than 13 weeks in, we might as well just get this one little detail out of the way.  And it will actually be a relief.  I've never been great at keeping secrets, especially good ones.  I'm lucky that we typically don't buy each other extravagant Christmas and birthday gifts (if we buy any at all.)  If I buy a gift for her more than a few days in advance, I have a horrible time not just giving it too her.  The fact that I've made it to mid-August is actually quite a feat.

Waiting until September 12th and announcing it to our parents on Grandparent's day would have been neat, but it also would have been almost half way through the pregnancy.  I think any of you who have had a baby can probably attest to the fact that hiding something like this at 17 weeks would be more than just a little difficult.

Maybe she'll talk me out of it, maybe not.  If she doesn't you'll all have the scoop by Monday morning!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Time is slipping away...

I was just reading through all my posts, it seems like I just posted a couple of days ago but it's been almost 2 weeks!  Like I said earlier, as we approach the start of the school year, time just gets a away from me at work.  I haven't had a day off since we got home from Boston, but I'm planning on taking this next weekend off, no matter how big the fires at work have gotten.  A man's gotta rest at some point.

The shrimp is getting to the point of needing to add a "jumbo" in front (have people always compared the size of their developing baby to food, i.e. peanut, pea-pod, peach pit. apple, etc.?)  With almost 4 weeks to go until we plan on telling everyone, Sara is at the point of hoping people just think she's getting fat.  In my heart of hearts, I'm pretty sure I've never met a woman who actually hoped people thought she was gaining weight. :)

We're 13 weeks in now.  Clothes are starting to become a problem.  Old clothes don't fit, actual maternity clothes are too big.  Shopping for maternity clothes can be surprisingly difficult, when you're trying to keep something like this a secret.  It might be awkward to explain why you're in the maternity section holding clothes up to see how they might look/fit if someone you know walks by, and Murphy's law pretty much assures that they will.  However, Sara has been able avoid it somewhat by shopping during the day, when most people we know are working.  She doesn't work on Tuesday and Wednesday and most of the people shopping in the early afternoon don't know her from Eve (that's probably the nicest way of saying the average shopper on a Tuesday afternoon is a little older than our friends and my parents friends...in fact, they're pretty darn old.)

Of course, as the time seems to go by quickly for me, it's kind of dragging for her.  She's looking forward to that 2nd trimester when most women get a little of their energy back.  Maybe then I can talk her into mowing the lawn on those days of work... :)

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Thumpity, thump, thump.....

We got to hear our babies heartbeat this morning.  Everything sounded good to us and good to the mid-wife doing the exam.  She confirmed that we're at 11 weeks which means the shrimp is a little over 1.5 inches long now.  Just a couple more weeks and everything that makes up a baby will be there.  The mid-wfie said that after about the 13th week it's mostly just growth, with little development of new parts and pieces.

Hearing the heartbeat got me thinking, I'm starting to wonder if the "information age"is having a negative impact on people's reactions to these things that used to cause great joy.  We've been doing our homework, so we kind of know what to expect at the appointments.  We heard the heartbeat, smiled, and that was about it.  I think the mid-wife was expecting a little more of a reaction, but we've both heard babies heartbeats on the internet and in videos prior to this...a lot, so hearing it was mostly just comforting, not a surprise.  The same thing happened when we had the ultrasound at the clinic in Ann Arbor; we were happy, but neither of us started crying, shouting, jumping around, or were overcome with emotion.  You could tell that the doctor was probing for more of a response than he seemed to be getting during the ultrasound.  

Has information numbed us to joy?  Are the surprises of yesterday just expectations today?  Of course, I'm not just talking about our pregnancy, I mean as a society as a whole.  Does having practically unlimited access to more information than we can possibly comprehend make us a little less human?

Either way, we're excited, even if it doesn't show in the exam room!

Another visit to the doctor coming up on September 1, followed by the big announcement on September 12 (sorry if you feel left out, we're only planning on inviting our parents for that,) then we'll finally get an ultrasound in late September or early October.  By the time we go back to the doctor again, shrimp should have outgrown the nickname and be about 4 inches from head to rump.  By the time we get to the ultrasound, over 6 inches.

PS - As I was listening to the current Brett Favre drama on the way home from work today, it occurred to me that Brett, who is 2 years and 3 months older than me, has a 4 month old grandson right now.  How weird is that?

Monday, August 2, 2010

Time flies...unless you're pregnant...

It's been a little over 6 weeks since we first found out.  For me that time has flown by...not so much for Sara.  Apparently being pregnant makes every day drag on in an endless eternity of discomfort and pain. OK, that may be a bit hyperbolic, but I'm pretty sure it seems to be going a lot faster for me than it is for her.

We've made it through the big July 4 camping weekend, a couple of big family get togethers, and a week in Boston with her sisters.  So far, no slips, which is pretty amazing.  With so many people we know having babies, and the reality of it something we talk about every day, I'm amazed that neither of us has let it slip out, absentmindedly, in a conversation yet.

Once you all find out, I hope you don't mind that we waited so long to tell.

Out planned "coming out" event is just a month away now.  That time will be over before I know it.  Work is kicking into high gear as we prepare for the new school year.  Daily training sessions start next Monday and I've still got 3 or 4 weeks of catch up work from last year in my queue.  No rest for me until Labor Day, which may be a good thing.  The more focused I am on work, the less time I spend thinking about the "shrimp" (the official name now bestowed upon our offspring) during the work day.  The less time I spend thinking about the shrimp, the less likely I am to spill the beans without meaning to. :)

Back to my poor dear wife...

I'm surprised she didn't just blurt it out while we were in Boston, especially the first couple of days when she was trying to keep up with her sisters.  They were pretty active during the day, out and about, shopping and doing lots of walking.  I'm learning that lots of activity isn't something most pregnant women enjoy.  She was completely pooped by the end of the first day.  She hung on (and out) as long as she could before succumbing to "shrimp exhaustion."  So Sue and Felicia, now you now, your big sister was feeling sluggish for a reason.

The trip to Boston helped me gain some perspective, too.  It was probably the last big trip event we'll do as just a couple for another 20 years, maybe more.  As we did our sight-seeing I got the warm fuzzies thinking about how in the near future, these types of things will be "family" events, not just the two of us.

Our first official appointment with the doctor here at home is coming up in two days.  I think we're both a little anxious and curious about what's going to happen.  We had our last appointment, and confirmation of the pregnancy, in Ann Arbor over a month ago.  Even with everything we've been reading about the process, it feels like we still don't know what to expect.  Going to a doctor here definitely makes it seem more real (not that it hasn't already felt real, it just MORE real now.)

September 12 feels like it's right around the corner....for one of us anyway.