Bittersweet...

So I had an appointment last week and casually mentioned how I feel so much smaller than the other pregnant girls in our classes. Apparently the midwife took this as a serious concern of mine (that or she was a little concerned herself since I really haven't gained weight in this last trimester), so she scheduled an ultrasound to check on the baby's growth. Now I'm not one to turn down an ultrasound, especially since I haven't had one since my 20-week and my insurance pays 100%. It's always fun to see the baby and to finally figure out what body parts have been digging into my ribs and hips. Turns out the two lumps that I thought were the baby's head and butt are actually the baby's shoulders and butt, which means two things. First, the baby is much bigger than I thought if the shoulders and butt span my belly. Second, the baby's head is down either towards or inside my pelvic bone. We learned in our birthing class that this is what the good baby's do to prepare for birth. We've also learned what the good mommies and daddies do to prepare for birth, and let me just say that nowhere on the list was tear apart a house!

Anyway, back to the ultrasound. Using different measurements on the ultrasound screen, they are able to estimate the size and age of the baby. The baby is growing just fine, which means that my insides are just much more squished than the girls in class, and it seems the baby still has pretty long arms (makes me think monkey and makes Mark think quarterback) and legs. They also told us the baby is 5.5 lbs and measured at 33 weeks and 5 days. Here's where the bittersweet comes in. First, the baby was only supposed to be 33 weeks and 1 day. Now I know that 4 days might not seem to be a big deal, but remember, we're sleeping in the baby's room (which doesn't resemble a baby's room at all) because our room is under construction, and we start work next week, so we need each and every one of those 4 days. However, if the baby already weighs 5.5 lbs and gains .5 lb a week, which is average, and if I go full term, then this baby is going to be well over 8 lbs. This is an issue for two reasons. First, we've got a lot of really cute newborn clothes that say they fit newborns that are 5-8 lbs. I'd hate for the baby to outgrow these clothes before they're even worn. Second, we've talked about things and watched the videos in our classes and while I know it's the size of the baby's head that really matters, I doubt we'll have an 8+ lb baby with an itt-bitty head (and if we do it'll really look like a monkey). So while a part of me is hoping this baby runs on Ashworth time, the other part of me is a bit concerned that I'll end up delivering a large toddler rather than a small newborn.

The house and another birthing class

We two do not like to do things small or with much preparation. Sure, we think we are prepared, we research and discuss at length but at some point we decide: "What the hell, let's just give it a go!" We discuss things like "we should move somewhere crazy", then we end up on the other side of the planet. Or, whilst there we decide: "hey, we should just rent a van and cruise through the outback", then we end up dodging kangaroos for 4 hours and nearly run out of gas. Or, we decide: "hey, let's cut off the roof of our new house that we just moved into", then realize, one of us is 7 months pregnant and that 3 month teacher break is really closer to 2 months. Ahh the details.

Every single one these decisions and many more I could divulge all have been sound yet trying. The latest is mostly over the hard times and moving quite smoothly. But man, what we were thinking? I drew up plans for this addition long before we even owned the house and I was poised to deliver as soon as we closed. We were in the place about 6 days when the saws-all came out and away I went. We got the walls up and enclosed the outside within 4 days with a little help from a former student and one day from Zack Cleveland (who picked an unfortunate date to visit). Then we snuck out for a nice visit down to Cheyenne to see Nikki's dad and step-mom. Although it was tough to leave in the middle of the project, it was a great trip. Now the last few days, I have been squaring away some interior work to get the plumbing taken care of. We'll keep you posted if this actually gets completed.

On the topic that the blog is centered, we attended another special ed summer school... er... I mean... birthing class again. This time the girl with the baby-daddy who came late, left early, and didn't speak to baby-momma at the last class had her mom with her this time. She was an interesting one. The teacher of the class at one point asked her if this was her first grandchild. Her response was "I don't know fo sho, I was jus' tryin' to count them today, somewhere between 8 and 10". Reading the bewildered look on the teachers face she responded: "I'm not real sure, I got boys and you know how they lie" I should be rewarded a medal for keeping my composure and not breaking out in laughter. Later, the teacher was discussing kegels (which for those of you without pregnant wives and don't know, are basically a vagina push-up) and the same woman chimed in: "definitely! you girls need to take care of yourselves 'specially when you get older". The teacher explained kegels and how if you don't perform kegels you'll end up peeing yourself and the lady chimed in again: "oops, that wasn't what I was talking about". Again, reading the bewildered look on the teachers face, the lady responded with. "y'all know what I'm talking about y'all are pregnant". Alright, alright enough being a judgmental jerkface. Reality is the 13 year-old dad in the class (maybe I am a bad judge of age) seems to know more about the birthing process than me.
As for the class, I am finding the material interesting maybe not as interesting as the people but interesting all the same. For example, we were working on breathing techniques to keep your focus diverted from the pain. The teacher handed us an ice cube and timed us. I was whining in 30 seconds to which Nichole responded: "it is a good thing I am the one having this kid". Now, she is a smart girl but that might be the smartest thing she has ever said. Another portion of the class I found comical was during most of these exercises we, the dads, are supposed to comfort (i.e. whisper sweet nothings, and stroke hair/back/leg/etc.). This is really an odd thing to witness, I look up and there are 15-20 people slow dancing in a fully lit room with no music.
All in all, I am learning things that I can do to smooth this process as much as I can. I have been given important tasks such as: be in her face and talk sweet to her, hold the ice chip cup, monitor the breathing, and massage her. Although I find all of this useful I am pretty sure Nikki is going to tell me to go away, sit in the corner of the room, and don't bother her while she is busy.
Once again, I have realized I have rambled on for a bit and not really talked about Nikki being pregnant. Again, I just haven't got a whole lot to talk about on that front, she really is the same old sweet, sarcastic, gal I know and love only with a potbelly. And as for Bear, he is starting to slow the roll a bit... must be running out of room. And in case you haven't heard the kid's actual name will not be Bear (Nikki said no). We are however starting to narrow names down and as long as this kid stays on schedule we should be fine.

Birthing Class

Now I know I am an incredibly attractive and intelligent guy. I also know that I have and equally attractive and even more intelligent wife. This leads me to the conclusion that us bringing a child into the world will improve the overall gene pool. However, after spending 10 minutes at the birthing class I felt a need to turn Mormon and have me about 15 kids just out of moral obligation to the human race. My guess is that if you are reading this you know I am a somewhat self confident (arrogant if you want to be a dick about it) dude. However, if you were in this room you would agree with me. There was a chick that argued with the instructor that lifting heavy objects was okay because she had a friend that turned into "Hercules" whenever she got pregnant. Also, out of probably 20 or so people in the room I only saw two other wedding rings. Also, we were easily the oldest people in the room probably by an average of 10 years. Now it is certainly not my place to judge, and I will say that my parents had children very young and they turned out to be excellent parents. I will also say that the most informed dude in the room was probably 17 and listed his hobbies as track and field. So what do I know right?
On the other side of the coin, after watching some videos of this child coming out of the vagina (now called the birth canal(they call it this to sound like a bigger hole I'm guessing)) I felt really bad for what I've done to my beloved wife. And after watching the faces of the ladies in the videos I thought I should never do it again. So, here is the dichotomy of the situation... improve the human race or torture my wife. The jury is still out on this and I'll make up my mind after the birth of Bear.

Baby Bear likes Frisko Freeze...

My brothers were in town last week for a wedding and we had a great time hanging out with them. They got to check out the new house (and help us move in a new refrigerator) and a couple places around T-town. We also made sure to feed them well! We had lunch at Tacos Guaymas, which was Brian's first time eating a fresh super burrito (I used to freeze them and bring them to Billings for both Brian and Michael), and dinner at The Cloverleaf (known for the sourdough crust on their pizzas). We decided to top off dinner with a little ice cream, but we wanted something more unique than Dairy Queen or Baskin Robbins. Unfortunately we couldn't think of anywhere to go; then I remembered Frisko Freeze. I'd only gone once before, but it's a Tacoma landmark, so I figured it'd be the perfect place. I ordered a hot fudge and butterscotch sundae, which was delicious! When we got home, we decided to put on a movie. I laid down on the couch and pretty soon my belly was moving all over the place- I think that means the baby likes Frisko Freeze!