9 days left

Hey devoted followers,

Thanks for checking in from time to time on our insights into this whole pregnancy thing. I can tell you that it has been a 2 eye opener for both of us. We are extremely excited that what was 9 months to go is now just less than 2 weeks to our due date. You can look up all sorts of stats about how accurate the whole due date is and you'll get lots of answers, but due to God's chosen timing we are excited that our son is just about to arrive. The baby's room has been renovated, moved, cleaned and decorated more times than I even want to count. The car seat is already in the car. We have our bags packed and we are ready to go. (not on a jet plane) We've plotted the most efficient path to the hospital and are trying to catch up on as much sleep as we can. We are as prepared as most people are for the delivery process and bringing our son home. But for our world to be turned upside down, we can only hope that we enjoy the ride. In my Boot Camp for New Dad's book, there's a quote that says "Everybody says it's going to change your life. OK -well what does that mean?" What it means is that even though you've planned for it, it is still going to be more fulfilling, more meaningful, and more humbling than anything you've ever done in your life. A common phrase that I've heard is "Once that baby fixes in on your eyes, it just steals your heart for the rest of your life." Growing up, I had heard that it wasn't macho to cry or whatever but I will not be ashamed if I cry when I first look at, hold, sing to or caress my son. Nor will I be ashamed if I cry when I change a diaper. (for a different reason) How can you be prepared for something that is going to rock your world? Ask me in about 9 days, and I'm sure I'll tell you that I wasn't prepared at all.

Daddy MAK

ps. another picture of Jessica at 9+ months.

Showers, Chefs and Doctors

Sorry for the delay in this post. We have been very busy with things that I'm about to tell you and other normal things about life. (working, eating, sleeping) Well since we last wrote Jessica worked on the last minute details of the Registration for the Royal Family Kids camp which went really well. (for more on that ask Jim Farmer) Mark’s co-workers are quite excited for him and they surprised us with gifts of generosity. And there may have been a trip to a place called Urgent Care.

In the American tradition called Baby showers the attendees are mostly female. Being the not-always-traditional-folks that we are, we decided to have the guys join in some of the fun. I was interested in what happens at these estrogen dominated festivities, so why not attend his first child’s first party. We invited guys and girls and it was a blast. The guys played billiards and miniature golf while the girls enjoyed their silly games. The boys returned when it was time to open the gifts and a great time was had by all. Thanks to everyone for the generosity and support!

Mark’s company is graciously working with him to take 6 weeks off after the birth of our Baby instead of the 3+ weeks we were planning on. We are extremely grateful for this gift of irreplaceable time for bonding, recovery and world introduction. Since he has more time off, don’t think we’ll call on your (all of you) support any less. We have taken more training classes and what we keep hearing is that we will inevitably, and indefinitely, be exhausted, but it will all be worth it.

Jessica has begun her Pampered Chef career and is excitedly sharing many of the helpful products that she’s learned about. Maybe you can schedule a party and she’ll tell you all about. (shameless advertisement) While prepping for her Grand Opening cooking show there was a bit of an accident before it even began. While cleaning one of the knives, she sliced her finger. She said it didn’t hurt much, but it wouldn’t stop bleeding, so she was taken by her Mom (as Mark wasn’t allowed near the party) to the Urgent Care nearby. It required 5 stitches and with a good attitude she returned to her party, which was just about to begin. With the aid of her friend and mentor the Grand Opening went off without a hitch. Now we are officially open for business. Keep her in mind for all of your kitchen needs. (another shameless plug)

We have added a couple of pictures of Jessica at 8 ½ months and 9 months below.

Keep your head down, the Time for action is almost at hand

What’s been happening with the baby you might ask? Well he’s been growing, and Jessica says that he’s quite the little Monkey. Most recently at our 36 week appointment we discovered that he is not in the correct “head down” position. Therefore we had a consultation appointment about a procedure called the External Cephalic Version. This procedure is where trained doctors place their hands on Jessica’s belly and forcibly maneuver the baby to a head down position. After weighing all of our options we decided to go ahead with this procedure. After all it has a 60% success rate, and 93% of the maneuvered babies remain in that position until birth. They did another ultrasound to verify that he still was in the breech (not head down) position and placed some oil on Jessica’s belly to reduce the friction. The doctor asked her if she was ready and she said that she was. Let me say that we were warned of the discomfort of this procedure. There’s a reason why it is commonly referred to as Barbaric Massage. All right back to the story. The basics are, 2 doctors repositioned the baby using force on the belly all the while monitoring Mother and Child. It’s a good thing we had already taken our Preparation For Childbirth class where they taught us some pain management techniques because Jessica testifies that this was a 10 out of 10 on the pain scale After roughly 5 minutes the procedure was successful and Jessica and the baby were monitored for an hour and then released because they were both stellar performers. I am very proud of her excellent attitude throughout the procedure.

Daddy MAK