Happy Father's Day!

So, today on Will’s first semi-official Father’s Day, he attended a Breastfeeding class with me. Can you imagine his excitement as we learned about proper latch-on, different breastfeeding holds, and troubleshooting normal difficulties? He is already such a dedicated father, not to mention his ongoing dedication as a husband. Though I know I drive him nuts with my pregnancy idiosyncrasies, he is so incredibly patient. I can’t wait to see him hold our baby in his arms! I’m so grateful for him! And also especially grateful for his father, who helped to shape him into the man he is today.

And on that same note, I can’t go further without also paying tribute to my own father, who helped shape me into the person I am. My dad and I spent a lot of time together when I was growing up, due to the many number of hours spent to and from soccer practices and games. I’m not sure I remember a single game my Dad wasn’t at, including in college. Though I often joke that my Dad is a man who knows how to say the same thing 100 different ways, most of the time every word is full of wisdom.

So hat’s off to the dad’s in my life. :) Happy Father’s Day!

Deuce Turns 3!

I’ve found myself lately feeling guilty that I don’t give poor Deuce enough attention. I find more guilt when I think about how much our lives are about to change with the addition of a new baby. I wonder how Deuce will react to this little one that will become a part of our family. I wonder if he even knows things are about to drastically change… Either way, today is Deuce’s 3rd birthday. I still remember the day I brought him home and how much love I have for the little guy. Though I know these feelings will pale when compared to the love for this little baby I’m carrying, Deuce will forever hold a special place in my heart.

So, in honor of Deuce on his birthday, here are a few of my favorite pictures of him.

A Male Childbirth Experience???

Our Preparing for Childbirth class has provided all kinds of new information and tonight a new experience. I never in my life thought I would ever have my legs in stirrups, but that came true tonight.

First, I need to give a little background information. For each class meeting, the last man to walk through the door was designated as "Demo Dad" for that class. Now the Demo Dad could have to wear a sympathy belly or be used in any demonstration for the class that night. Well, in our class the same guy has been the last guy through the door EVERY night. It's not his fault, he has to work until right before the class starts. So tonight we were going on a tour of the Labor & Delivery floor at Baylor Grapevine so our teacher could explain all the different machines and workings in the labor rooms. Of course, all-time Demo Dad was the last guy through the door and proclaimed that he would not be Demo Dad tonight seeing as last class he had helped demonstrate an epidural. In a moment of weakness, I felt sorry for the guy and volunteered to be Demo Dad. It turned out to be quite a mistake.

The class was at Baylor Grapevine and the teacher was explaining what would happen when it was time for Mom to begin pushing. She lowered the hidden light from the ceiling and took the lower part of the bed apart to expose the stirrups. She then asked me to remove my shoes and asked me to come sit on the bed. (You can guess where this is going...) I sat in the bed and she asked normal Demo Dad to join me to be my birth coach. So he grabbed my hand while the teacher had me lift my legs with my hands (as I would have to if I had an epidural) and place them in the stirrups. Then she sat on a stool between my legs as she had me simulate pushing during a contraction and resting in between. I think Cara took a picture with her phone, but I am really hoping it did not come out well. I'm sure it was one crazy site.

So yes, I have now had my legs in stirrups AND have now given birth to my very own imaginary man child. You can now commence the laughter...

An Eye Opener...

So Cara and I are in our second week of our Preparing for Childbirth class and last night was the class I was dreading. Last night was the class where we would watch a video of a natural childbirth and this wasn't the same video they showed you in health class when you were in high school. This video had nothing blurred and showed everything...and I mean EVERYTHING!!

The first part of the video they showed women in the early stages of labor, but I didn't pay too much attention as I was preparing myself for the big event I knew was coming. Sure enough, about halfway through they cut to a lady who was in her last few minutes of pushing. My eye opened pretty wide when I saw a baby's head appear.

Now, I am one of the weakest people in this world when it comes to medical procedures. I can barely watch Grey's Anatomy without feeling my body getting weak. I hate getting shots or having blood drawn. I even gag and panic when getting a tooth cavity filled. So I am very much a lightweight, but I tell you, I could not turn my head away from the screen. It was AWESOME to see this person appear out of something so tiny. It made me that much more excited for our upcoming birth experience. I am even now psyched about cutting the cord, which is something I was feeling a little uneasy about. It truly was an eye-opening video. :-)

Sidenote: I had to wear a sympathy belly in class last night for about 30 minutes. I now feel sorry for every woman who has to carry that baby around day after day. After a few minutes I was having trouble breathing and feeling the pressure on my stomach. Now I see why pregnant ladies go to the restroom so much. So much pressure!!

An Engineer and a Baby

Everything is still going well. We had a nice tour of the labor and delivery wing of the hospital and we have started the birthing classes. I'm a little nervous about this birthing class. I don't do too well with medical type stuff and the teacher is planning on pausing all videos of birth at "key" moments so we can all see what is happening. I'm not too excited about that, but it's necessary to be prepared.

At this point, the anticipation is starting to build and I've started to think what it is going to be like once we are actually at the hospital waiting for the baby. I know there will be some down time, well for me anyway, and I was wondering how I was going to help pass the time. I'm hoping the labor doesn't take too long because our conversations might evolve into something like this...










What can I say? I'm an engineer, haha!