I've Got My Answer Ready

"How was I born?"

"Ah, my son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Well, you see, your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on MSN. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a blessed little Popup appeared and said: You've got male!"

Times, They Are a Changin'

Thursday's doctor's appointment was quite eventful--probably the most information-gathering and revelation-receiving one yet. So, what was the big deal? As one of my favorite phrases says, "Would you like the entire list, or just the top 10?"

* Updated measurements: If you recall from our first ultrasound (i.e., last month's appointment), our little boy's head measurements were a bit ahead of the other two size indicators. Nothing of concern, but the doc ordered a 2nd ultrasound this time to see if everything was catching up. Yep. But here's the catch......this time, all 3 indicated an age of almost 27 weeks, yet the current calculations had us at almost 25 weeks. Which leads us right into the next point....

* If you have been over at the home page, and paying close attention, you'll see that the due date has changed, and instead of "24 weeks" increasing by 1 this time, it increased by 3. Yes, Dr. Bannister thinks that because of his current size, our little man might be here before we originally thought. So he's either gonna be here early, or we really calculated correctly all along and he'll just be extremely, uh, healthy, when he arrives. Only time will tell.

* Leah's iron level is a bit low. Nothing uncommon for pregnant women. So she is now taking an iron supplement to help that out.

* Sucrose test. This is normally something which is planned ahead of time. That is, they give you the sucrose beverage (imagine a real flat, sugary coke or orange Sunkist) on one visit and tell you to drink it before arriving next time. Your bloodwork is then taken to determine how well your sytems absorbs it. Any level <>

We're quite anxious to see how the weight gain progresses (the baby's, not Leah's!). We're hoping that nothing complicated occurs (size or otherwise) that would prevent a normal delivery. Of course, a late November delivery means we run into a chance of Thanksgiving conflict--it not this year, then in the future. Plus, Leah's brother's birthday is November 27--nothing against him, but sharing a birthday means sharing the spotlight, or having to say, "Today is my birthday, but also my Uncle Michael's."

We're still undecided about a name. At this point, we've kind of tossed around 2 main ones, but I don't know if the final choice will be from that group or not. Probably so. And I really don't know what's keeping us from deciding. It's almost comical at this point. One of the names involves using my middle name as a first name, something that I'm having problems getting used to because 1) it's never really struck me as a first name, and 2) I've never known anybody with that first name. So we'll see.

Tuesday night is the first of our "preparation for childbirth" classes. We're very excited about that, and anxious to see what kind of info that holds. Plus, we get to practice going to the hospital!

Russell Baby

There we were, back in early January. I blogged about my cousin Kristi being pregnant. The news was kind of a mixed bag of emotions for us at the time--we were obviously ecstatic that Kristi and Joe had overcome some similar fertility issues as us and had conceived, yet it didn't make our lack of success any easier to take.

Today, my late Uncle Mike's baby becomes a mother. This is one of those times that it makes his untimely death seem that much more unfair. I know in my heart that God has a plan much greater than ours, but my mind can't help but think what a wacky and goofy smile would be on his face if he were here and I saw him tonight at the hospital. He'd be beaming for the next month--if not more. I know it. Grandson #3--heck, he'd be 1/3 way to a baseball team!

Micah Shaun Caples.....in a few days, your grandaddy would've had a birthday. One day, your mom will show you pictures, and tell you how hard it was to tell him goodbye when she was only 17 years old. And hopefully you will soon understand that your grandfather saw you being born, and was just as proud, even though he wasn't at the hospital.

For now, you have a family that can't wait to see you. There's your Uncle Steve, and your cousins Austin and Matthew. And "uncle" Eric and "aunt" Leah, who are having a son in a short time. We've already talked about how we can't wait to watch the two of you grow up together, and hope that you become big buddies.

We'll definitely take care of you, little man. Your grandaddy wouldn't have had it any other way.

Registering for School

Just think, 6 years from now, our little baby will be registering for kindergarten. OK, never mind, I just had to throw that in to go with the "school" theme.

Baptist Hospital offers several classes for pre-natal and childbirth type education. Being that we haven't ever done this whole parenting thing before, we think it's worth a little time and money to learn stuff from people who know a lot more about it than we do. Most of the time (or at least, on TV anyway), you hear stuff about "Lamaze classes." Lamaze is apparently one of SEVERAL breathing techniques, and the classes cover more than just those type things anyway. There's a 4-session "Preparation for Childbirth", as well as single-session ones on breastfeeding and a general "expectant parents" one. There are even ones for grandparents, siblings, and sitters.

We are now in the time "window" that Baptist recommends taking the classes. You are free to take them whenever you darn well feel like it, but they discourage you from taking them too early, so you won't forget everything. But they also want you to be done with any/all classes 1 month before your due date. So now we're working on a November 10 deadline.

We'll get things kicked off with the childbirth prep classes in about 3 weeks--August 30. That will take us through late September (going once per week), and we're also taking a Saturday in September to take 2 more single-session ones. Perhaps there are some that might call this a waste of time and money, but at this point in time, neither Leah or I want to just rely on instinct or magic mother/father knowledge to get us through. Of all the births that take place day in and day out, I've never once heard of one baby coming with instructions.

Minor Med

We had a little scare today. Nothing serious, but something that I think had us both uneasy until we had something else to cling on to. I myself have never been pregnant before (please, try not to act surprised), so I really didn't want to try to offer advice or comforting words about something I know ZERO about. Should I really say, "It'll be OK" when in fact it may not really be OK?

So Leah calls me about 9:15 this morning, practically in tears. She's hurting, and her heart is racing. She had a similar episode yesterday at church (the heart racing part), so we skipped out after sunday school, er, "connection group." We really didn't think anything of it at the time, and just chalked it up as a bit bizarre. But the fact that it had happened twice in about 24 hours time seemed like cause for concern. She called the nurse's line, they suggested she come in, and so we probably annoyed the staff by not only interrupting their solitaire game with an unplanned appointment, but went to a different office than we usually go to. Should we bring candy or flowers as a peace offering?

I'll spare you the suspense. No big deal. The on again/off again pain is contributed to round ligaments--and is apparently something that varies from person to person and even pregnancy to pregnancy. There really wasn't an explanation for the fast heartbeat--it's also not unheard of. No real remedy for it, either, other than getting that soon-to-be 7ish pound living thing out of your tummy.

In the "every cloud has a silver lining" department, the doc called for an ultrasound just to make sure that the pain wasn't coming from something else (e.g., cervix, uterus, etc). So yes, we got the see the little man on the screen again. Seeing him today was as magical and heart-warming as seeing him the first time--except without Leah's tears (smile, honey!). He was quite animated today--and at one point even had his knees bent with his ankles crossed--with one hand on his knee. I think he was bored and wishing for some entertainment, but who am I to judge?! Believe you me--there will be plenty of LeapFrog, Evenflo, Graco, PlaySkool, and who knows what else when he arrives. And maybe even SportsCenter pumped into his room.

It is Finished

Please don't think I'm all sacreligious by going all "Jesus" on you....It's just that the painting in the nursery, and the border, and the furniture placement, well, it IS finished!!

As previously mentioned, Leah's dad, being the expert painter that he is, took it upon himself to perform the sheetrock patching and painting of his grandson's nursery. Oh yeah, and use his killer discount at the paint store. Then came the border. Not really being the Bob Vila type, I've never hung nary a piece of wallpaper or border. But home ownership and modest means do a lot for your pride. So I did a little internet research, learned a technique called "booking", and practiced a technique called "reading", as in, the instructions (for the border). Adding to the challenge was the discovery on the 4th wall that apparently the ceiling isn't exactly parallel to the floor, so I had a choice to make--the border would either be LEVEL or the bottom edge would be EXACTLY the same distance from the floor (cause it wouldn't be both).

All in all, it wasn't that bad. I will definitely hang border again, and I'm sure if it was adjacent to the ceiling it would be a bit easier because you'd have a built-in straight-edge. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so my assessment of the finished product is, "Well, a pro would point out this error, and this corner right here is off-pattern by probably 1/4 inch." But I'm not gonna beat myself up over it--I'll just tell the little dude to shut up and be grateful when he wonders why the bear in the pattern has 2 hats on or the basketball looks like a set of boobs. On second thought, depending on how old he is when he uses the term "boobs", it might be time to go to Hooters and buy him a cold one.

Anyhow, if you wanna see what a couple of rookies put together, I've got pics up over at the RussellBaby website. We think we're probably set on where the furniture will be, but of course, that's subject to change. We like how things are right now, but if we change our mind, we'll be sure and let you know.

Wow, religious reference and boobs in the same post. I might need counseling.

1,000 Hits and More

Whoa! I was just over at the RussellBaby main page, and I glanced at the hit counter at the bottom--I was number 1,000! For any of you not familiar with the internet lingo, a "hit" is simply a visit to the page. So if you, me, and Leah all visit the sight today, I would say that it had 3 hits today. So on 1,000 different occasions, someone has pointed their browser to our little site and checked it out. Heck, I just got an email suggestion from Amy in North Carolina about the Evenflo infant carrier--she saw a message that I had posted on a board and offered some "real world" advice since she's about 9 months ahead of us. If you're reading........Hello Amy, and thanks!!!

Well, the furniture journey came full circle on Saturday. Remember back in March, when we strolled casually into the Kids Furniture place and took a look around?? About 10:20AM Saturday, we went back there to pick up our furniture. Pulled around back and loaded 3 boxes up on a little trailer and went home. Dang, it was hot........but with the help of a borrowed utility trailer and a borrowed appliance dolly, my son's furniture found its way into his room. Very cool stuff. Of course, we still have to buy a mattress, as well as all the coordinating sheets and ruffles and wall hangings and blankets and quilt, but at least it's a start.

Grandaddy Blaylock (that would be our child's grandaddy, not Leah's) has started working on our nursery. He volunteered his drywall patching and painting expertise to the effort, so we certainly allowed him the opportunity. In a sick sort of way, I kinda enjoy painting (and still may help him, I don't know), but he told us awhile back that it was something that he wanted to do. So he's using his skills, and his Farrell Calhoun discount, and this week will be getting little dude's room to the hue that Mommy and Daddy picked out. Dang, this is getting weirder by the day.

And for those who may be wondering.......No, we haven't decided on a name yet. So sue us. If the ultrasound had revealed a girl, we would've had a name that very instant. But we have yet to decide on one for the little guy. You know, it holds a lot more consequences than, say, naming your dog. We're talking nicknames and college applications and kindergarten tablet paper. When we finally decide on one, we'll make sure everyone knows. For now, it's just driving everyone crazy. More so than us, actually.