Ok. I can't stand it anymore. Even though most of my friends and family don't know yet, i guess im pretty personal with you freaks so here goes. Call me daddy! Can i tell you how excited I am? This is still very very new to us, but its amazing how quick things can change. How quickly your lifestyle can screeech to a stop and a new way of thinking comes about. Im sure my attempt at being cryptic on WAYD was futile, but there, now its out. Only our respective mothers and my bosses know and a close girlfriend who has had two children. Now you monkeys know. The due date is April 1st! The date of conception was July 4th (just doing my duty SIR!). I think we're hoping for a girl but would be delighted with either. I saw it for the first time yesterday in an ultrasound. Only about 2 millimeters big so far, but its there. I made bacon!!!!

That's great Patrick! Congratulations! Hopefully he inherits your John Thomas and your wife's good looks, and not the other way around.

I've already told you like six times but congrats tootsie. Yer gonna be a beautiful daddy. And I'm with Dougie on that one...

Do we get to name him/her? I'm sure we could come up with something very tasteful!

I stand and salute you fer doing yer patriotic duty! Congrads. Have you considered naming it Czarina?

we have toyed with a name for years now.... girl= Eva Jude boy= Sam (we havent gotten the middle yet, but we know we want his name to be sam) if you know my last name, then do the math...if not...oh well.

Give him 2 middle names: Sam I Am Morrison or the ever popular Doug E Fresh Morrison Jude is a boy's name, no? Can't have that for a girl. How about Eva Braun Morrison? Or Eva Doug E Fresh Morrison?

Eva Czarina has a nice ring to it..........

Actually it does. Go with it Patty.

it's a boy. i'm pretty sure.

hey dougie...thanks an all, but if it wasnt obvious i was trying NOT to print my last name. I think Jude is a neutral name. If not, let us be the first. actually naticus a close friend who has had two kids said that it makes her think its a girl. If you factor in the date from her last period, to conception etc etc. she seemed to think its a girl. apparently female sperm can live longer in the uterus....or something to that effect. who knows. i might be willing to put a wager on it though. czarina....no.

Well,fine. FYI,it depepends on the alkalinity in the vaginal tract,at the time of intercourse,to determine the sex of the offspring. Not that my feelings are hurt,or anything.

Congrats Patrick!! Boy or girl,when they are babies,toddlers,little people,they are both cute. Boy your life is never going to be the same now.

Sorry dude, thought it was common knowledge. My bad.

cool beans! I'm so happy for you. I've never been able to see anything in ultrasounds. They point and say "look, a baby/liver/whatever they're ultrasounding for" and I go "aahhhhh...". Anyway. Congrats.

One thing's certain, it will have the coolest baby clothes out there. Congrats, Patrick!

we'll see patty. i usually get it right.

im gonna guess girl. ill bet you a frappe nate.

Congratulations Patrick. Babies are swell and they smell nice, well most of the time anyway. And I'm all for Jude for a girl, especially as a middle name...Eva Jude...feminine, but strong. I like it.

thanks people.

im proud of you toots. really. its like watching you grow up right before my eyes. :)

Congrats Patrick. What lovely news. xooxox

Congradulations Patty. You know you want to name her Dani.

what a loopy weekend. it is quite an adjustment for us...not to be drinkin and smokin all the damn time. people are asking us "are you ok?" when I request water and deny a smoke. Its hard to keep such a secret from these people who are ready for an intervention when i tell them im not drinking that night. I did smoke a little weed, away from her, with her blessing. Being baked and telling myself "you're going to be a daddy (echo) daddy daddy daddy daddy daddy daddy daddy", room spinning, water going down your throat like drain pipe on hoover damn...that'll learn ya fast! in a matter of weeks we'll be even better but its this first part thats proving tough.

Congratulations, Patrick and Nico! I bet it will be a girl, too. I like the name Ava better than Eva, but that's just because I know a sweet and lovely 10-year-old Ava and wish all kids could be like her. She's got red hair, as your kid may have.

nico seems to think red hair skips a generation, though i've seen entire red headed families. most likely the little weiner will sport my brown hair. thats what nico hopes for anyway.

Red hair is recessive but weird (I think it has 3 alleles), so (if I'm not mistaken) unless you've got red hair in your family, your kid will probably have dark hair.

I have dark hair, my ex has dark hair, Hayley comes out with blonde hair. You never know. Red hair is cool, from what I have seen it usually skips a generation, but recessive genes are amazing. Good luck. Congratulations.

your entire life is about to change, patrick. buckle up and enjoy the ride. for the record, i like eva and jude, but not together.

Wowsers. I'm...intrigued. OK, so...middle name that goes with sam, middle name that goes with sam... How about...sam memphis...home of elvis and...the ancient greeks...do i smell, smell home cooking? it's only the river...it's only the river... or, umm, sam henry...i have always liked the name henry...

I like Eva and Jude for girls. Together doesn't bother me either. I like unusual names. My favorite girl name is Emma, but spunky wouldn't have that one. My uncle was born on April 1st. We call him our April Fool. Things are going to change. But you will not look back with longing....too often. Anyways, I am happy for you. And female sperm does live longer than male sperm, but it is really the natural acids on her cervix that decide which ones get in, so it could go either way.

mmm. natural acid.

Congrats Dad ; )

i had a dream i took acid. anyway... the mrs reminded me, we would name him sam drew drew is my middle name, my grandparents family name and a name i would love to give. we had this conversation sometime before but apparently i forgot. the name henry makes me think of a man in overalls who beats his kids.

oh you know....something else im observing... do you notice the smell pregnant women take on? i've noticed this in the past being around other pregnant women. and now im noticing it with ma lady. there is a special brand of girl funk that seems to be coming with this whole deal. maybe its in my head, but i swear there is the new brand of scent that is strong. its neither good, nor bad...comforting maybe, but not smelly. kinda like how puppies smell. you know? a distinct scent, neither good nor bad, but almost sweet. its human. animal. it is.

If the preggo smell gets to be too much Patrick, go hog wild with those Glade thingies that you put in the outlets and that'll kill any odor within a 10 mile radius of your house.

like is said, its not bad...its just distinct. its my wife, she never smells.

Nobody ever told me I smelled different when I was pregnant,but they could have been afraid to.

I woke up late this morning and didn't shower, nor did I use any deodorant, so I got that skunky kind of underarm thing going on.

This may have something to do with the trout picture in your bathroom.

I noticed the smell on Eri. Like Patrick said, it is not a bad smell. Just unique. And like Agatha said, hold on my friend. Your life is about to do a 180.

Hmmm any relation to van?

me? no. sometimes i pull people's leg about Van or Jim but otherwise no.

Perfect place to buy gifts for the new arrival: http://www.dookiewear.com/ Congrats Patrick! PS: I think you should call you baby 'The Dinner Baby'

I could so do a dumb pun joke here.. Waiting on the Sun.......

This is so Mikayla

Pregnant women do have a different smell from the hormonal changes. I was always told that I smelled different (not bad, but different) when I was pregnant and that people could tell I was pregnant before I even knew it because of that smell. Spunky noticed it all of the time. My ex noticed it, too. So did my old boss. I think it is some kind of pheromone thing...not that but like it.

Could be, J, could be.

i saw the lil bugger yesterday. heartbeat and everything. looked like a lima bean. those ultra sound machines give you neat little printouts of the screen. i have my first portrait. im collecting these to coincide with a 9 month long photo essay im hoping to do.

We saved those sonogram pictures, too and put them in Micki's baby book. Just remember to keep them out of the sunlight.

Why? Is your kiddie a vampire?

The papers that they print the sonogram pictures on fades in sunlight.

congrats, patrick. babies are very cute. yikes. you're gonna be all grown up now.

HOLY SHIT!!!!

Eeewww.

That chick has some HANDS, man.

At least the baby wasn't kicking so that you could see a little fist or foot sticking out the edge of her stomach. Towards the end of my pregnancy with Hayley you could see the little hand and foot print raised in my belly. That used to gross out the people I worked with.

i wonder why. hey patty, since you're not hitting the bong or anything you should get a good sugar habit going. i highly recommend taking a basket of berries, pouring about 1/3 cup of white sugar over them and then dousing them in heavy cream. for some reason it's really good.

i think i could deal with feet and hands poking out more than areolae run amuck. jesus nate.

areolae run amok? I didn't have too many changes in that area, other than I finally got big enough to have some cleavage, and the drop felt when a baby is crying for food, but that isn't noticable to the eye. You would be surprised how little the changes are in reflection to breast milk. My only advice there is if she decides to nurse the baby get her some breast pads, because when the milk comes in or when the baby cries they tend to leak. The only gross part for me was when I started leaking during my second pregnancy and it dried on there. Other than that, watching the baby move is grosser. I hate pregnancy with a passion reserved for very few things, but I am usually very sick and miserable. Aside from health reasons I only have one really bad memory during any of my pregnancies. When Hayley first started moving inside of me I would tell my ex-husband and he would tell me it was all in my head and I just had gas. He said that for months. For some reason I can't explain it really hurt me, and still does to this day. I say this because you won't be able to see the baby moving early on (it will start moving between 16-20 weeks) and you might be inclined to have the same reaction. Please don't. It is an amazing thing, and not to be disregarded easily. I have seen pictures of your wife, and she is thin and very beautiful. If I had to guess, she will not become fat, but gain weight right and toward the end of the pregnancy you will be able to determine body parts of the baby...arm, foot, elbow, hand, knee when the baby moves, because it will push out from her belly. It sounds gross, I know, but to see that little footprint sticking up is really amazing. I know a lot of guys who can't handle it. It sicks them out. Some of them physically become nauseous. I don't think you are one of those guys. I hope you can enjoy this pregnancy with her. You both deserve it.

Hay Patrick, congrats. Jeez, I leave for a while and look what happens...and I think Dani is right, Dani is a good name. And if perhaps a boys, I'd be pleased to have a namesake too. It's much easier to decide, not like Frankie and Louise, that's a big decision.

Thank you Dan. I'm quite fond of the name myself. I think Patty is on one of his " lets ignore Dani" kicks but I know deep down inside of him, he'd love to name his baby Dani.

i'm going to name my first born 'taco supreme' just like that. second will be 'usukteach billy'. that will be great fun in gradeschool. third will be 'thor'. no middle name. fourth will be 'mitre box' fifth 'tankden schtoned' sixth 'patrick drew' no one ever likes the sixth born much, anyway. seventh, of course, will be 'nate III' III being the middle name. eighth, 'kay mart'. go michigan! ninth, 'juanita chi-ping' she'll be adopted, obviously. i'd be crazy to have any more than that. if i accidently do have another, i'll just pick words at random from the dictionary.

I'd name mine Bacon.

Draiiconus Bacononmynus would be good too. Actually, way back when I was married to the mother of my chilluns, the ex and I decided to have twins and name them Seth and Beth, and then teach them to list, as their last name would would "Smith"........but then we didn't have twins.

lisp? ships list, shits lisp. that's how i always remember the difference. fag then flag, flag then fag. in case you need to voyage naval.

there was a lady on the plane on the way over to CA who had huge man-hands. great news Patrick babys smell nice.(thats not the great news btw.)

not intentionally ignoring you dani, i just don't have anything to say. thank you for your well wishes. i don't think dani is a good name for my spawn. you bastard nate.

Have you told your family yet? and you are right, those areolas were quite frightening.

our respective parents know. we havent spilled to extended family, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts etc. yet. we'll wait another month

I was just teasing you Patty. What I meant by ignoring me was when I wished you congradulations, standard procedure is to say thanks to the person who wished you well. You just did..9 days late but whatever. No biggie. I always said that if I ever had another baby girl, I would name her Kayci. I dont know why but I just like that name. Maybe because it goes well with Kim. No more babies for me. Kim is almost 12 now and I'd be crazy to do it again. 1 is enough. School started today and I feel lost without my Kim. What the hell am I going to do with all this free time again?

We just watched the videos of Micki in the hospital yesterday. We had to do an overnight stay with her, before we got to take her home and during the overnight EVERYONE came to visit, so we had my parents, my ex's parents and Spunky's grandparents all in the room on the video at once. It made me miss the baby phase (not that I am even considering having any more, I don't have a death wish). Reminded me of how wonderful they are when they are so small. It also had Grandpa Lyle and my Grandmother on it, so of course, I had to cry like a baby, watching them hold and talk, and play with Micki. Made me miss them all over again. Either way, when babies are small, and you are their whole world, it is amazing, and as they grow you forget the little phases they went through two years ago.

Yo Patrick, congratulations! That's great news; I wish you and Nico all the best with your little one to be!

dani, i didnt want to poop up a thread with thank you's after every single post. so i purposely waited a while to collectively thank everyone for their well wishes. which ive done and will do again. thank you people your well wishes are appreciated. this thread has nine months to grow.

good lord Patty, made on the 4th of July, born on April fools? LOL that is perfect! ;) But i hope it's born on April 2nd. That is the very best birthday ever. Fess up, how many times did you consider calling it Jim if it's a boy? Come on. You DID. Buy some tiny little leather pants..... Rock N' Roll, baby!!! next comes the mini van, sucker! aww, i love ya.

more like a Volvo rather than a mini van. thats not as bad is it? actually this is the first ive though of calling him Jim. im kinda grinning right now.

mojo risen as a middle name, atleast.

that, or Dr.Funkenstein

I hope you guys enjoy having a child, and teach her (I sense a girl as well) to be polite to others and use common sense. Common sense is so important - I cannot stress that enough. Please do not let your child grow up to be stupid. Oh, and buy her lots of presents. If you're worried about spoiling her, feel free to buy Me lots of presents. I deserve so much. (haha, I know Patrick's last name!! heeheehee!! I go hunt you down now! hee hee! if you get any pizza delivered to your house in the middle of the night IT WASN'T ME! It was probably J. She's like that.)

if you can find a place that delivers pizza in the middle of the night, knock yourself out. 99.9% of all pizza places in the world close by midnight sugartits. Yeah i was thinking of letting her grow up stupid, but you sold me...smart it IS!

Oh, my God. Not another Breader. Taking money out of my pocket to raise his spawn. Boo!!! Hiss!!! In other words I'm extreamly envious!!. And, I'm sure not matter what it is you two will raise it right.

takin money out of your pocket? how is that happening?

tax credit, baby. one of the biggest inequities in US tax law.

what about the sales tax on the items I will purchase for said kid? in years time, that should offset the deduction i get.

i don't live in LA, buddy. i do live in the USA.

hmmmm maybe you should just go ahead and have children nate.

Oh, you will spend a lot more than your little tax deduction bringing the kid up. But, that really doesn't matter. Because, for every kid you have you get a little deduction. Whereas. we who don't have kids will not. I think it's great you're having a kid. But, every year I get a little peaved filling out my tax forms. I get nothing, and the family accross the street gets nine additional deductions. Oh, that number is true. They have nine kids. I think they wanted a baseball team.

Consider: The cost per year to raise a kid to 17 is now about $10,000.

And the child tax credit is $500.

and that is bullshit logic. taxes aren't some fine. there is a bill and it is split up among us all. you choose to have a child and suddenly i get stuck with extra tax burden. all because i burden society less by not having children. bullshit.

you know, you *could* secede...

taxes are a "happy" fine. if rich is happy, then taxes are fine.

all those poor rich folk out there. having to pony up to support the society that made their menial jobs so lucrative. hi, i'm a manager in a very important software company. we develop products that provide a measurably important service to our clients. until we came along, our clients didn't stand a chance at succeeding. mcdonalds managers work 10 times as hard as i do but i make several times as much money as they do because i manage IMPORTANT stuff. so, you should feel sorry for me when i whine about how unfairly i'm taxed because i work hard. really hard, i tell ya and it just ain't right. cue the fucking violins. . .

nice dave. :) Children are not a burden on society. Parents raise the next generation of workers, consumers, voters, tax payers.... Yeah, that sounds fucking cheesy as all hell, but it's true. Children are a contribution to society and raising them is hard fucking work. Rewarding (from what I hear), but work nonetheless.

it's not like the world is overpopulated, or anything. if no one could afford a mcdonald's cheeseburger, no one would have a job making one, much less managing the person making one. don't be a moron, dave. why did you buy the digital camera that you did, dave.? couldn't you buy a cheaper one? who cares what features it lacked, shouldn't you have bought the cheapest one you could find? hell, couldn't you have just picked up a rock from your yard? it would have been free, who cares if it couldn't do what you want a digital camera for? you could carry it around and call it a digital camera! if you can't afford children, you shouldn't have children. why should I pay you to have kids? why should i pay the bi-polar, alcoholic, psycho bitch to raise her violent, destructive little bitchboy?

Hey, no one is paying us to raise our two girls!!!!! And guess what, WE ARE PAYING TAXES! I think it evens out in the wash.

ok spunky, think about it this way: the US of A is a big house we all rent. there are four equal bedrooms, four people. rent is $1000 (ha!) per month. initially we each pay $250 a month. sounds fair. then, i decide to get a dog. there are certain costs associated with owning a dog, vet bills, food costs, etc. in fact, two others in the house get dogs too. you're the only one without a dog. sucker. why sucker? because at a house meeting we have a vote and decide that because the three of us are burdened with owning dogs, we should get a $50 monthly rent credit. three to one, the vote passes. now we all pay $200 per month. rent for the house is still $1000, so you get stuck with $400. your perception is that the dogs are loud and stinky and generally reduce your enjoyment of the house, however we all show you articles in Psychology, Today! that illustrate the calming benefits of dogs. sucker. sounds fair, right?

I understand your point.

just shut up and have a kid already. and stop fuckin up my beautiful thread with your whines. to sit back and complain about the system is soooo un capitalist of you homey. a good capitalist would capitalize. sooooo....start crankin them out. Imagine what you can do with that credit.

soon after makin and delivering said bacon, i think id want one of these. kinda ugly, but who cares....

Whoa....ugly. What would something like that cost?

Alchoholic? Psycho? Should I be taking this personaly?

the vw website was saying in the mid 30s. hey anyone out there who was a smoker when you were pregnant? i need some advice.

the bottom line is take home pay -- how much they deposit into your account(s). your salary doesn't matter and shouldn't even be considered. when an employer tells you how much they'll pay you for a job, it should be simply how much you get to keep. why cares about the rest? nate, if you make half as much as i imagine you do, you'd probably still net 2 or 3 times above the national median gross income. go ahead and feel mistreated if you must, i think you're doing just fine. but, if you're having a hard time making ends meet during these rough times, i might be able to send you my child tax credit when i get my next return. if you think it would help.

"Most of us will be around to see our progeny beget, and those begotten beget to boot." Sounds like Antigone, with the word play. Enjoy.

"if you can't afford children, you shouldn't have children. why should I pay you to have kids? why should i pay the bi-polar, alcoholic, psycho bitch to raise her violent, destructive little bitchboy?" I agree. Kids are very expensive to raise and should only be done so by the financially stable. I smoked while I was pregnant Patty. I couldnt stop. I tried and tried and tried but I just couldnt. Probably because I stopped drinking and stopped all drugs so cigarettes was all I had left. Plus I knew the hell I was in for when delivery time came so that made me nervous so I just lit up. What do you need advise about?

im pretty sure we can't afford our kids....but we'll figure it out. dani, considering you couldnt quit, your not someone i would go to for advice on the matter. im learning that pregnant women have infallable logic and are never wrong and are in general mean ass fucks especially when they are trying, unsuccessfully, trying to break a smoking habit.

My wife's grandmother said, and I agree with her, if you wait to have kids until you could afford it, then you might as well give up. Not counting college, it costs an average of $150.,000 to raise a child to 18.

I don't debate that having a child, or pet, etc. costs lots of money. The question is, why should the government give tax breaks to people who have children? It's not like this is a credit for 'being poor', plenty of rich parents take this break as well. And children consume more government resources/programs like schooling and in many cases WIC, medicaid, free school lunches, etc. People without children are using fewer government services than those with children, but people without children pay more tax even though they are consuming less tax money in their daily life. Sort of an odd arrangement, isn't it? The creepy coded feeling answer is that the government rewards Americans for what it wants you to do. I'm a homeowner. I get a big tax break from that. But why? I probably needed it more BEFORE I owned a home. But the government rewards me for being a 'good doo-bee'. It creeps me out. If the tax credit comes back for married people it will be the same thing. But it's not like married people are more needy than others, in fact, since they live in closer quarters they arguably are often a more stable financial unit than the single (so many friends I envy whose spouse can carry them while they find a new job, go to school, etc.). I don't mind paying taxes for kids to go to school, or for social programs that I don't directly benefit from. That's the cost of society. The weird part to me is why people without children are asked to pay more into the pot than those with, regardless of income levels. But as I earlier noted, that's just Uncle Sam rewarding you for 'choosing the right' isn't it?

there is no such thing as a marriage tax credit, just the opposite. marriage penalty tax and they are talking about doing away with it but the dems don't wanna and its not a priority. married people are NOT "arguably are often a more stable financial unit than the single". How are married people any different than two roomates sharing a house? We don't make any more money being married. This logic is fucked. The reason you get a credit for reproducing is pretty obvious people, I don't see where the confusion is coming from. Children are key to the wheel of American power and might. Besides you people arent paying MORE because others have children, we're just paying less. You are paying the same, so stop yer bitchin.

We have never received the child tax credit. We have never received a tax refund of any kind. We pay the IRS approx. $5000 every year for the last 15 years. We have never received any help with raising our child. It's our responsibility to support our child and we leave WIC and free lunches and medicaid and food stamps to the people that really need it. What bothers me is the people out there that just keep spitting out kid after kid and refuse to hold a steady job and make a decent living. There is money to be made out there. Plenty of it. But you have to be willing to work for it. Sponging off the government to support your family because your to lazy to work each day is wrong and in the long run, us taxpayers do pay the price one way or the other.

hey dani, werent you and your husband worried when you were smoking while pregnant? did he buy smokes for you? in otherwords, did he protest? did he enable you to smoke? what i thought was a reasonable answer to a request for a cigarette (no) is turning out to be a MAJOR problem.

Patrick, think about it. this is the logic. In general terms, One single person = one income household. Married couple= two income household. Yeah, i know tow single people could live together, and there are one income married couples, but the tax thing applies. I know so many people who would not be homeowners if they were not married.

theres nothing preventing singles from buying homes. the whole reason behind the marriage penalty, as I understand it, in the beginning was what you guys are insisting that being married meant you shared certain expenses. ok, granted. BUT so do roomate scenarios, or what about married couples who live in large houses with roomates? SO maybe then the penalty should be based on how many people/incomes per household? right? not whether or not they are married? what about lovers living together? thats much much much more common these days, and dont they benefit just like married couples do in terms of expense? should they be penalized? thats the problem with the marriage penalty, across the board. It assumes too much.

exactly. it's based on "traditional family values" which in my book has come to mean "white relijimous folks tryin' to ack-wire regulatium over de highly rhythmic individ'ls and such."

My Husband begged me to stop smoking. I would try and do good for a day or two and then I would start thinking about delivery day and go get some Newports. I did however manage to cut way down during my pregnancy. Instead of 10-15 per day, I was down to about 4-5 per day. I ate right, took my pre-natal vitamins, and excersised but I just couldnt totally quit smoking. In the beginning, he totally refused to buy cigarettes for me so I would just go get them myself. After a few months when he realized that I just was not gonna quit, he ended buying them for me. I had this horrible fear throughout my entire pregnancy about delivery. I dont know why but it was a very bad and terrifying fear. I couldnt shake the fear for anything. I had no problems at all quitting drinking and drugs but I just couldnt stop smoking. I was lucky...her birth weight was normal and there was no damage at all as a result of my smoking. To be totally honest, I have never ever met anyone that had any problems with their babies as a result of their smoking. I'm sure it aint the best thing to do while pregnant but I also think that people make much to big of a deal over smoking while pregnant. I dont think a few cigarettes a day is gonna hurt anyone. Just my opinion.

I have two learning disabilities that have been tied to my mother smoking while I was in the womb. so there you go.

Second hand smoke has been linked to SIDS

well, one of the doctors whom she first saw, some Albanian guy said a couple of cigarettes a day will not hurt. (He also said the prenatal vitamins are good if we want to grow our child like a hormone fed chicken....so you can see where his non western perspective is coming from.) hes also not our regular doc. i've been very over protective and insistant on the smoking and the eating habits....probably a complete pain in the ass, but i have to feel like im able to help out one way or the other. otherwise i feel powerless and im trying to cope with that. so, im just not enabling her to smoke, meaning i dont have any in the house anymore, and ive taken to cooking most of the time, so i know shes getting a decent meal. but i think i have a right to be upset.

this is after birth kazoo?

well yeah...sorry, just reacting to the overall possibilities of the effects of smoking on babies

And Patrick, I think your contribution to the prenatal care of the wee bairn is one to be applauded... let's bring some JOY back to this thread hooray for daddy patrick

It always amazed me that with all this talk about how dangerous cigarette smoking is to ourselves and those around us but yet we can walk into any gas station, convenience store, airport, supermarket etc...etc... and buy as much as we want..legally.

i wish it were being met with the same sort of enthusiasm you are displaying at home. pregnant women are fucking mean.

hmmm...is it anxiety, like because it's still early? I'd be a cranky wreck. Not trying to be nosy...though, here I don't suppose it matters. Speaking of which, are you going to start telling people...or have you?

It'll be alright Patty. It's your first time so being all nervous and worried is justified. Let me ask you something...although your not enabling her to smoke, dont you think she's gonna smoke outside the house? Here's a tip: badgering a pregnant woman could be harmful to your health and well being. Besides, she could be doing much worse things while pregnant than just smoking a few cigarettes so be glad about that. Ease up a little dude. Things will be just fine.

Hey, I need to put my two pennies worth in here... SIDS means "The baby died and we are not sure why, so we are going to call it SIDS." I rank that along with "Coffee leads to bone marrow cancer" or "cell phones cause brain cancer" and "Teflon can flake off and give you food poisoning"

The cause of SIDS is anyones guess. There is no medical explanation. One day tomatoes are good for you and the next day they are bad for you. Who really knows. One day the doctor will tell you that having a single glass of wine while pregnant wont hurt you. The next day the doctor will tell you that it could be harmful. Who really knows.

"Besides you people arent paying MORE because others have children, we're just paying less. You are paying the same, so stop yer bitchin." dumbass. trace understands this, why don't you? here's an example you'll understand: we split an OZ, you and I. we each put in half the money and there it is, an OZ on the table. now, since my cock is smaller than yours, i decide i am owed an extra 8th. so i get 5/8ths of the stash. i get MORE weed, you don't get LESS. see?

I'd like to put my penises worth in too, but I'm not that kinda girl.

the cockless never fail to amaze me.

I am amazed by my cocklessness too. I musta left it at the store.

sids means "sudden infant death syndrome" which means it's the reason for death if there isn't any other. secondhand smoke being link to sids.... that's entirely logical, as cigarettes contain 200 some chemical compounds that have diverse effects of adult lungs, let alone those of a small child. one thing to point out: cars are expensive and gobble up our resources but nobody gets a tax credit for owning one, now do they?

The American lifestyle as a whole is expensive and gobbles up resources. We should all get tax credtis. Except for Pez and Ralph Nader.

nate that has to be the most ridiculous, convuluted, crackpot example yet. nate if we have two equal piles of weed, in order to comp your more for your shortcomings, it has to come from somewhere...if you get 5/8ths, i get 3/8ths. Its not like the ounce gets bigger to accomodate your cock. what i dont understand is your bitch about it, it seems un-natian thing to bitch about. regardless...... yes kazoo, its anxiety, im sure. its adjustment. our lifestyle, though not "the fast lane" it wasnt exactly the "slow lane" either. So much is changing. This past weekend was tough because it happened to be the biggest party weekend in my neighborhood, free concerts with kick ass bands etc etc etc. I was a bit selfish and paid for it. and yes dani, badgering a pregnant woman is no good. i asked my friend Lisa C about it, as she recently had a baby, i said "preganant women smell funny and are mean". She told her husband and he replied "shut up, do as your told and hopefully no one gets hurt". Lisa added "and tell her how beautiful and brave she is everyday of the week and hopefully no one gets hurt". point accepted. and no dani, i dont think she is smoking out side the home, i know her habits. during the day shes fine, like me, its in the evening, relaxing a cigarette is most enjoyable. one thing you are forgeting pez....children who grow up to be adults (i.e. workers) ARE resources that pay off for their initial investment....or so the gov't hopes. Humans ARE ball bearings in the machine. The tax break is encouragement for taking on the investment.

Hang in there dude. When the little one grabs your finger in her tiny, tiny fist for the first time....

Not to put a downer in this thread. But, patrick have you heard about the Minnisota Vikings player whose wife died because of complications during her pregnancy. She was 24 years old and only four months pregnant. I'd say this gives your wife something to be worried about. In other words learn that she is the boss and take it.

its not a downer because that sort of thing happens a lot more than you know, it just happened to stike some 4th stringer from an NFL team. Big deal. so...in other words, im no more concerned about it now than I was before i learned of this. also..."complications" can mean anything. she could have had a drug problem, or had some other condition.

Well I can honestly say I was scared to death the first time I was pregnant,I was a breech baby and my mom always reminded me of the hell she went through passing me out. And your body goes through so many changes,I remember looking at my body during the 9th month and thinking that the ship was sunk now.When I finally delivered her,they had to use forceps and I was hysterical.

"nate if we have two equal piles of weed, in order to comp your more for your shortcomings, it has to come from somewhere...if you get 5/8ths, i get 3/8ths. Its not like the ounce gets bigger to accomodate your cock." hey! you understand! now if you could just realize you understand.

hey nate im pregnant, im more dense and forgetful than usual.

Hey, did none of you fucks go to the site I linked to?

I did Spider. And, I have no comments to make.

It always amazed me that with all this talk about how dangerous power tools can be to ourselves and those around us but yet we can walk into any gas station, hardware store, sears, etc...etc... and buy as much as we want..legally. the nation should be put in prison for their own safety. i guess i always hope that some experience will help people become less weak selfish bastards, or that those who don't understand their responsiblities (like when having children) will just avoid these experiences. [patrick, i'm not talking about you. congratulations by the way.]

Power tools for sale at a gas station. Interesting. Unexperienced people suck. Especially the selfish bastards who have no children but yet find the nerve to judge those who do. [patrick, i'm not talking about you.]

we get these generalized updates weekly: "Your baby's face is beginning to look more human, even though he is only about 3 inches long and weighs slightly more than half an ounce. The eyes, which started out on the sides of the head, have moved closer together. The ears are almost in their normal position on the side of the head. The liver is making bile, and the kidneys are secreting urine into the bladder. The fetus squirms if your abdomen is prodded, though you cannot yet feel movement. Fetal nerve cells have been multiplying rapidly, and synapses (neurological impulses in your brain) are forming. The fetus has acquired more reflexes: Touching the palms makes the fingers close, touching the soles of the feet makes the toes curl down, and touching the eyelids makes the eye muscles clench." my baby is making bile *sniff* awwwwwwwww

I never got updates like that. I just got told you need to rest and take it easy and get a lot of rest, don't do anything, why don't you put your daughter in day care during the day and stay home alone and relax, everythings fine, everythings normal. You are going to have a small baby. That and "It's a girl".

BAsically, what they told Patrick is that his kid is just about out of the stage when they are essentially fish/amphibians. Unless I made that up.

Yeah, in a couple of months it will be covered in hair like a cat :). Micki hadn't completely finished that phase when she was born and had this peachfuzz hair all over her body for the first couple of weeks.

hmm, i wonder why we evolved away from being all furry. it seems like furry would be more useful than non-furry. oh boy, babies are so exciting.

Babies are like angels,they know no sin.

Today we got to take Jonathon to Castles and Coasters an amusement park out here kind of tacky,we stayed inside while he played video games,then we went bowling,it was the first time in over two years that we got to spend quality time with him,he's sooo smart and I have missed him sooo much,why are we being punished for what his mom did? And I could tell he missed us too,he kept hugging us and cuddeling us and I just love him so much.he has been tested as gifted and he is sooo talented his artwork would blow your mind seriously and he can really drum has his own set,but like me he's hyper and talks too much which doesn't cut it in school,I was like that,I just couldn't stop myself.

teach my kid the music that my mom always prohibitted

here's an update: "Your baby's about the size of an avocado now, but in the next three weeks he'll go through a tremendous growth spurt — doubling his weight and adding inches to his length. In the meantime, he'll be playing with his umbilical cord and practicing breathing by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid through his lungs. You're going through a bit of a growth spurt yourself. Your uterus has expanded so much that the ligaments in your abdomen are stretching to make room for it. If you feel any twinges of pain now, that's why." these updates are pretty damn accurate. this weekend Milkdud was givng her some shit...tossing and turning. A few times she stood up and got huge pelvic cramps that passed after a few moments. Shes definitely had a growth spurt in the last few days. I listen to Milkdud often and shine a flash light on the stomach just to give em something to do. Apparently he's liking to playing with the umbilical cord as of late too.

I was wondering how it was going. thanks for the update

so it's a boy? Milkdud...I love it

we dunno yet. we will in a few weeks. "Milkdud" the non-gender-specific name we have until we know for sure.

heh. avocado.

sprout

well. we know for sure its a M******* child. Milkdud didnt make it easy on the ultrasound technician, but what few glimpses we got, it looks like Milkdud....... is a girl. by the looks of the ultra sound, she was doing jumping jacks. Of course, being a M******* child she also gave us more buttshots than we perhaps desired as well. Of course we'll know absolutely soon, though the lady was pretty darn sure in her experience it was a girl. besides, if it was a boy, being a M****** boy you'd definitely *AHEM* be able to tell. ok. i swear thats the first and last time i'll make such a silly implication.

Aw, congratulations! A wittle baby girl!

it's a boy.

or both.

Heraphrodite! Hermaphrodite!

*blank stare*

they told my father's ex-girlfriend that she was having a girl and then she delivered a boy. are the ultrasounds more reliable? this was only about 5 years ago. me mum said that they usually can only tell for sure that it's a boy and only when you see his lil' pee-pee, otherwise, there is still a possibility of surprise.

yes. there is still the possibility for surprise. she didnt see no pee pee and the technician did get a decent glimpse between the legs, at one point. i dunno, i was out in the lobby for that part. of course there's always the possibility there are wrong. i dunno if ultrasounds are anymore reliable than 5 years ago. on the note of old wive's tales, nico is carrying a bit on the high side and she is raving mad for chocolate. all tell tale signs its a girl, supposedly.

my cousin carried pretty high. I don't know if she was craving chocolate. She's a recovering anorexic so I think she was more concerned with eating just the right amount to keep the two of them healthy. She had a boy.

They have these ultra-fancy modern ultrasounds that take really clear pictures now. Haven't you guys seen the GE commercial, with the mother and father crying in slow motion while looking at the monitor?

yeah. they make nice prints actually. photo quality paper. they also have the machines that can take a VCR tape, so you can record it. my studiomate is also expecting, hes two months ahead, but he and i have been talking of collaborating on some sort of project involving our respective preggers ladies and these new technologies. never seen such a commercial.

I had a ultra sound when I was pregnant with Heather,this was over twenty years ago and after I had it I found out the only reason they gave it to me was they thought something was wrong, I couldn't make out anything.They gave Amee a ultrasound when she was pregnant with Orion and they said he was going to be a boy,but I couldn't tell from the ultrasound.

hey pat, since you're eventually going to get a buttload of baby gifts, can i ask you (and all the other parents 'round these parts) something? where do you stand on the pink/blue issue? Because i worked at a store that sold some baby stuff, and gift bags, among other shit, and around mid-summer swarms of ladies would come in for baby shower gifts (oh, those lonely winter nights...) and i'd be subject to their annoying whims and discussions. And god forbid i show them a PINK rattle for a MALE baby. And if there was only one baby themed gift bag left, and it was pink, no sale. They'd just look at each other knowingly and giggle and shake their heads. One day i saw this poor husband get told off in the middle of the store for pulling down a pink bag. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Jerry?!?!" I felt for that guy. what...the fuck. Are we so bound by tradition? Like a 3 month old can even recognise colour? Or a kid can be turned fruity due only to the choice of pattern on a gift bag given to his mother before he was born? jeezus. And in case you didn't notice, babies get THE *GAYEST* SHIT, male or not. So i'm wondering why it matters if Cutey Baby Rainbow Cuddle Bunny(tm) has a blue bow or what. Dancing teddy-bears in a flower medow, on a bib: blue trim = manly. pink trim = FAG!!!!! babies have no sexuality! every gay friend i have didn't even start to come to grips with it until they were at least in highschool, some way later. Can they even remember what colour their pjs were when they were 4? hell no. what do thery really mean? That they don't want their kid or their friend's kids to be gay? like it's bad? obviously. How modern. And what would happen if you did bring a pink toy for a boy baby. Or vice versa. Well, i'm going to find out. At least one person i know is sure to have a kid soon. Let's find out.

"And in case you didn't notice, babies get THE *GAYEST* SHIT, male or not." good point

to be honest wisper, you've given it way more thought than i have. last night, there were some baby clothes thrown into the laundy i was folding. Clothing samples nico has kept away in a box. Samples she got wayyy back when she was doing a Baby Superstore and Toys R Us program for the Japanese company. I was marveling and giggling at how tiny they were, and as I recall there were garments in baby blue, including some sleepers and skull caps. I think the idea of gender/color crossed my mind for a split second, but it was quickly wiped away with the idea that "hey she'd look pretty cute in that. We will be designing the babies room with other psychologically stimulating colors, deep reds and dark greens. So no, we don't subscribe to that crap. At the same time, we aren't going to dictate to others whats appropriate and what isnt. Realize I am married to a psych major and a fashion designer. Clearly usual convention wont be adhered to.

Babies can't even see in color for a while. Wisper, your post made me choke with laughter. "blue trim = manly. pink trim = FAG!!!!!" Hee!

In order to have any male issue of mine be as manly as possible, they will only be dressed in leather.

like Rob Halford?

lemmy

put it this way.....and this may have a lot to do with the nature of my work, but i know of more leather shops that cater to big, burly, hairy men who prefer cock more than i do of leather shops that cater to men who prefer vagina.

when i was wee my parents didn't want to impose, so they gave me both dolls and trucks for toys and dressed me in all colors. i would rock the trucks to sleep. by the age of four i had decided for myself that pink was my favorite color. that was also the age where my choice occupation was "fairy-princess". so i figure that society has a decent amount of influence by that age regardless of the parents. a few years later i decided to become a pirate.

I never said anything about the baby looking gay or not gay, just MANLY.

"i would rock the trucks to sleep" damn that's cute my mother avoided buying me Barbie dolls for years. She tried buying me flat-footed and flat chested dolls, but I was not satisfied. When she finally broke down, she said nothing made her happier than when I down to the basement and got my brother's Castle Greyskull so that He-Man could be Barbie's next door neighbor. I had a crush on He-Man. I used to run home everyday to watch the cartoon, and lied to my friends so they wouldn't make fun of me.

haha i used to play the same game when i was like 7 or 8, except with barbies and batman (my brother's). they were neighbors but then sometimes they'd get married and produce little stuffed easter bunnies or other non-human offspring. my favorite part (it must have been because its what i remember the most) was building barbie's house out of wooden unit blocks and Tinkertoys. every room had windows and furniture, and there was usually a playground in the backyard, as well as a stable for the My Little Ponys. my brother had a paper mache bat-cave that barbie barely fit in, but usually they just drove around with her sitting on top of the batmobile as batman drove.

eventually Kevin took his He-man stuff back and I acquired another Barbie and a Ken doll, plus lots and lots of furniture. I had a nice walk-in closet, the floor of which became an apartment for the three of them. Sometimes they would be a family, other times they had a kind of Three's Company thing going on (despite the fact that I wasn't allowed to watch the show). It didn't matter, mine was better anyway because my characters had sex all the time, usually it was Malibu Barbie and Ken, but every now and then Malibu Barbie and Dream Date Barbie would get it on.

Yeah, my barbies had a lot of sex too. My parents didn't really buy me many toys, they were very into the book thing (luckily I was too). But the problem with reading "Lady Chatterly's Lover" and being given Barbies by your extended family is that your barbies have lots of sex. I also had horses for a while, being one of those girls who was obsessed with horses. Well, ok, I still am, but I don't have a horse at the moment. It would be nice to live somewhere where I could have a horse again, though. Hm.

i liked horses mostly because my dad played us cowboy music and showed us old westerns. i think my barbies got pregnant by kissing.

Hey, I wanted to be a pirate, too! I was obsessed with pirates after seeing "The Sea Hawk" with Errol Flynn when I was eleven. My toys were mostly stuffed animals and Legos. I played Barbies with the girls next door (their Barbies). Our Barbies were murderous strippers. I remember that we called their strip club The Little Red Devils. Crazy. A few weeks ago my mother and I had a conversation about Barbies. She had read this book that talked about the poor body image that Barbie gave young girls. I know that when I played with them, it never occurred to me that I should think of Barbie as an ideal of beauty. To me (and to the neighbor girls, and I would imagine to most sane girls), Barbies are just characters you can manipulate to do things that you can't. You yourself can only play-pretend so far....you can't pretend to throw yourself off of a cliff, especially when there's no cliff. But you do have a bed, and you can throw your Barbies off the bed.

My Barbies were skanks. Poor Ken. He must of gotten so tired out. I loved lego and cars. Had stacks of it. Mums ex-husband would buy me matchbox cars everytime he went to the petrol station.

Heh, I wonder if *all* girls made/make their Barbies out to be skanks. Someone should do a study.

They should. I had a girl as a friend when I was like, six or something, and about all I can remember was that she made her Barbies have sex, too. And to think the parents are all worried about sex education, when it's barbie that is to blame for teen pregnancy! How about that? I mean, it's been obvious to some parents for some time that GI joes cause teenage death sprees, but Barbie? She's quite the sneak.

i had no barbies. Then i was given one on my birthday from some kid who didn't know me very well, but that's what birthday parties are for. I brushed her hair, changed her clothes, shoved her in a drawer and went back to my HotWheels. I think she may still be in the back of that drawer.

Holy shit, I haven't thought of Hot Wheels in years. I loved that orange track with the loop. Those track pieces hurt too when you hit each other (siblings) with them.

I was in Target last weekend. The wifey was about to go medieval on the whole place because she needed professional clothes, but ones that accommodated her growing belly. Not an easy task when your a pregnant designer, possesing the patience of 2 year old, sorting through the racks of terribly made clothes. Anyway, I had to walk while she was trying stuff on, or else i was going to go medieval so I wandered into the toy section and marveled at the racks of Hot Wheels. i was a huge Hot Wheels collector and so our unofficial god children, so I grabbed a few off the shelf for them. Its good to see they are only about $1/piece and man do they have some cool designs.

I dressed my barbies in Ken's clothes all the time. Mine didn't have sex, that I can recall.

You FREAK! :)

Agatha,yours did have sex. Barbie was just a sneaky skank,and she hid her fornication from your youthful eyes.

I loved all my toys. I still have quite a few boxed up and in the basement. I loved some of the toys no manufacturer would dare make today the most. They are way to dangerous. The one I remember most, and wished I still had, was a pressed paper board with many colored wooden shapes a tiny hammer and real brads. You took the wooden peices placed them on the board in shapes and pictures and nailed them down with the hammer and brads. I played with it for hours at a time. Never once was I tempted to swallow one of the brads. It's a shame that we've become so safty consious that many of the really good toys are denied todays children.

We need to be watchful of the brad suckers.

what's a brad?

A brad is a very small nail. Usually used for trim work. Like door frames, moldings, and picture frames.

thank you! :)

True, my barbies might have been having sex in the "barbie box." My dog chewed Ken's hand and foot off, poor guy, and 27 years later, my dog of today chewed off the hands of the vintage Midge doll I had gotten Cleo for Christmas. Coincidence?

That's a shame,reminds me of when my brother broke the one thing I wanted most for Christmas,the little red spinning wheel,I stewed about that for years,he did it on purpose. We were taking stuff out of the attic to see what we had up there. I saved all the kids toys,transformers,He-man,Rainbow Bright,Strawberry Shortcake,Pretty Ponies,Care Bears and Cabbage Patch dolls. Now I see some of that stuff is comeing back.

you can sell that shit on ebay and make bank, j. my little sister drew children being chased by monsters on every single page of my new autograph book when i was seven or eight. i think that was the same year she took my brand new super deluxe caran-dache clay set, and mixed all of the colors together into a giant pancake. she's still making that shit up to me.

last night, i felt her kick! so weird man

its awesome too, the first time you have some kind of physical contact with your baby.

so we saw another ultra sound on friday. like a good M******* family member she gave us a crotch shot right off the bat. i can say "she" with a little more authority now. i have to admit though, i often have no fucking clue what im looking at on some of those ultra sound screens. the midwife was like "oh look and here's the vulva and her inner thighs, her bum....we're lookin right up her skirt so to speak" and I'll i see are Rorschach (sp?) drawings.

i am now officially taking recommendations when it comes to the purchase of baby related materials. your experiences with various products, good bad etc are most welcomed. i am looking over cribs, bassinets, car seats, baby back-packs, carriers, changing tables, diaper disposals and finding myself completely fucking overwhelmed. any advice some of recent parents might be able to offer (trace, eri, dave, agatha) would be most helpful before my head falls off. danke!

Diaper Genie's are a waste of money. Baby shit stinks, but it stinks even worse when all crammed into a little plastic container. If you are going to use disposable diapers, just throw them in the trash. If you want advice on brands for disposable diapers, all I can say is that my kids have abnormally sensitive skin and get diaper rash really easily and really badly. My recommendation there would be to get diapers that have a cloth-like outside and not plastic. The plastic ones seem to cause major skin issues, but my kids aren't normal in that aspect either. I always had to get special car seats and carriers for preemies, so I could give you good advice on baby size to measurements between straps, but that probably isn't necessary for you. My only recommendation is don't by Cosco Brand, because although they look as nice as the others, the cushioning in them don't hold up. I usually ended up getting Evenflo for all of that kind of stuff. I used the same basinnette I had as a baby and my crib was a Wal-Mart special. I hope that helps and if you need any help let me know.

Diaper Genie's are a waste of money. Baby shit stinks, but it stinks even worse when all crammed into a little plastic container. If you are going to use disposable diapers, just throw them in the trash. If you want advice on brands for disposable diapers, all I can say is that my kids have abnormally sensitive skin and get diaper rash really easily and really badly. My recommendation there would be to get diapers that have a cloth-like outside and not plastic. The plastic ones seem to cause major skin issues, but my kids aren't normal in that aspect either. I always had to get special car seats and carriers for preemies, so I could give you good advice on baby size to measurements between straps, but that probably isn't necessary for you. My only recommendation is don't by Cosco Brand, because although they look as nice as the others, the cushioning in them don't hold up. I usually ended up getting Evenflo for all of that kind of stuff. I used the same basinnette I had as a baby and my crib was a Wal-Mart special. I hope that helps and if you need any help let me know.

hey, eri! i was wondering where you'd been. get a diaper service, it's cheaper and better for your babies skin. get a snugli, or a sling, or both. well worth the money, and the more you spend on it, the better it will be. unless it's a good quality used one, which you can find a lot of the time. consignment stores are awesome when it comes to baby stuff. if nico is planning on nursing and working simultaneously, i would recommend buying a breast pump. they suck, but the benefits to the baby make them worth all of the "feeling like a cow" business. i always had piece of shit strollers that would fall apart in the middle of the road, so i wouldn't recommend any of them. i used the backpack a lot when cleo got a little older, being that we were constantly trucking all over the city and taking the bus. i'm trying to remember what brand it was... i'll have to get back to you on that one. i'll think of more later.

"they suck, but the benefits to the baby make them worth all of the "feeling like a cow" business" a breast pump allows you to get the milk at your leisure and store it away i gather? is this what you mean, otherwise i dont follow. im all about the backpack idea, mostly because of the security it gives them and the freeing of the hands. already have one of those set aside. yeah strollers always seem to be falling apart. how much does a diaper service run you per month? so a poop truck comes by once a week and takes your poopy ones away and leaves you clean ones? see? im totally clueless when it comes to this crap.

when it's your first baby, you have a tendancy to go out and buy the best. Don't waste your money. Go for cloth diapers with diaper service if you can afford it, they are the best for the baby's skin. Don't forget plain old corn starch. You can use baby powder if you want, but corn starch works wonders. If you want to use disposables, just make sure they "breath". They baby will tell you what kind of nipples it likes, but I loved the plasic liner inserts for the bottles versus the bottles you had to clean... My 2 cents worth anyway...

"consignment stores are awesome when it comes to baby stuff. " Those words are gold. I could not agree more.

consignment store? like what KIND of store? ive never seen just a "consignment" store. you mean a thrift store? i was mindful, when working on our list online not to always go for the most expensive shit. i tended to look at babiesrus.com user opinions as well. but yeah, i see what you're saying, at first i was like, fuckit, get the best, no worries, but thats not that case i hear. anyone have a online subscription to consumer reports they wanna share?

no dude, they mean BABY thrift/consignment stores. They usually have cheese names like "once upon a child" or "forever young". dress your kid in burlap, that's my advice. and name her Hieron. For the love of god, SOMEBODY have a kid and name it Hieron, because i never will, but i want to.

its a girl? i thought it was a boy? Try this out for local baby stuff

Trace is right on about the bottles with the plastic liners,they come with different kinds of nipples in the set I got for Orion.

yes its a girl. we know her eyesight is coming along. last night we played with her, taking a flash light to the belly. wherever we placed the light, along came a kick or punch. neat. good link trace dang the only consignment shop they list is thift store, in particular place where studios dump their wardrobes. burlap? noted.

http://www.babycenter.com/

thanks, we're actually on that list already.

Hi Agatha. I have been working, and haven't been around much lately. Snugli's are wonderful, a blessing when the baby is smaller. They are good for a baby as well, because they go up against your chest and the baby hears your heartbeat, which helps keep her own heart and breathing in good shape. Hearing the heartbeat of the parent is actually very physically healthy to the baby (I know it sounds crazy but we had to learn this shit when Micki was in the hospital to keep her little heart and lungs going). Consignment shops are wonderful. One thing I thought of. Basinettes are wonderful when the baby is new and small at home. I would recommend using one until the baby is too big and then going to a crib. You don't have to worry about the baby getting it's head and legs and crap stuck between the slats in the crib. You can put it at the foot of the bed. Really convenient for nighttime feedings and changings. A breast pump is so that she can pump the milk out when she needs to (if she doesn't pump she will get engorged and it can lead to many infections, not to mention be EXTREMELY painful). You put the milk into little disposable liners for bottles and stick it in the freezer for easy feedings. That way she can keep her milk up and the baby can have it when she is not around. Personally, I think manual pumps work best for this and are inexpensive. I think the battery operated ones are pieces of shit and the ones you rent from pharmacies are not worth it, so long as she is not having to pump all milk for all meals because the baby is in the hospital or crap like that. Since I am planning and hoping on everything going well for the two of you I recommend a hand pump you can get at any pharmacy or Babies R Us (probably cheaper). Some hospitals give you "breastfeeding kits" when they find out you are planning on breastfeeding which has the plastic parts you need for an electric pump and those pieces make a hand pump, too. I feel like I have written a novel, so I will shut-up now.

doesnt sound crazy at all. makes perfect sense. hell, even my cats like to snuggle to my chest and hear our heart beat. when you get a puppy or a kitten, its recommended you put a ticking clock under some pillows in its bed to simulate a heartbeat for comfort. its really quite sweet. So you think we should just get a bassinette for now and get a crib after we've calmed down after birth? we found this other device called the snuggle master or something, essentially it allows the baby to sleep in your bed, without fear or being squashed. the talk of breastfeeding...isnt it assumed all new mothers breastfeed? its a given right? yes she will be getting a pump. a Nice $50 pump bra, the electric one is like $150 or something retarded like that. the idea of pumping your breasts like Jersy cow is just so fucking weird. please, share anything you can. its helpful.

get someone to build her the clown bed from the Simpsons. babies love clowns.

get your own kid to fulfill your sick fantasies

I still say that $50 on a pump is too much. That's just me. A bassinet will be wonderful until she is ready to pull herself up on it. I used them for about the first 4 months or so with Hayley (Micki doesn't count cuz she was so small she couldn't go into a crib and we couldn't use normal mattresses and had to use wedges and shit like that because of the bradicardia and apnea). I really do recommend them for the first few months until she is ready to grow out of it, either physically or developmentally. You would be surprised how many new mothers choose not to breastfeed. Bottle feeding is easier, and there are still women who feel it is dirty. I think it is the most natural thing in the world and wish I could have nursed Micki but she just couldn't do it. By the way, tried the snuggle master. Sucks in bed, but helped a lot keeping Micki in the right sleep positions in the bassinette. Do you need any clothes? I just found a box of the girls old stuff. I don't know what you like or if you would object to hand me downs, but I do have some clothes I could send you for a girl, if you are interested. I got rid of the rest of the stuff, because there isn't any point hanging on to it if I can't have any more children. There are a lot of "developmental" toys out there. Be careful how much you spend on them because it can really add up. Most of the stuff you buy, you can also make yourself with leftover stuff around the house and serve the same purpose (they go through these kinds of toys very quickly in the first 18 months). If you ever have concerns about what your daughter is supposed to be learning at the different phases and what toys will help, let me know. Two years of physical therapists, occupational therapists, special instruction therapists, and speech therapists, you end up with all that shit permanently implanted in your brain. Example...for the first three months infants don't see in color, only black and white, so buying things that have lots of colors are a waste of money. Also lots of loud colors (like primary colors) can tend to keep a baby's attention and keep them awake when they should be sleeping, so soft colors like pastels(when they reach that age) are recommended for sleeping areas. Also, the crap they preach about classical music for babies is true. We learned this with Micki. She was about 2-3 months developmentally delayed. We started using this music during the time when she slept and napped and she caught up in gross motor skills in 1 month and fine motor skills in 2 months (maybe a little less, it has been a while). OK I am done with my psychobabble shit now.

cool. thanks for the offer of the clothes. i doubt we'll need them. please, donate them locally. nico's aunts and cousins, who seem to breed specifically females have sent us a butt load of clothes already. so thanks anyway. we both come from the less is more school of thought. out two god sons have so much fucking crap....i mean TONS of shit thats its utterly absurd. we intend to keep the grandparents family in checking by not over doing it with toys. the snugglemaster sucked for you or for the yins?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20406&item=2082331335 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2081659429 sorry to freak you out, but this is the brand i would recommend. the double ones are nice so you can take care of business all at once, but they are way more expensive and not necessarily worth it, convenience wise. http://losangeles.urbanbaby.com/gear/diaperservices_cont.html the lowdown on diaper services. well worth the money, in my opinion. cleo slept in our bed until she was about 3. sometimes, she still does. there are pro's and con's to the whole family bed business, but i'll leave that to you to figure out. i liked it, because i didn't have to wake all the way up when i was nursing. oh, i thought of another lifesaving baby tool... the wind up swing. oh my god, was that thing a godsend. can't remember the brand name on that either, just tell people to buy you a nice one and they will.

The wind up swings are kinda out of date now. They only make them cheaply now. They have battery operated ones that don't have that annoying bar at the top. They also play music. They are god sends. Ours was an evenflo, but I don't think brand names really make a difference on them now. That was why I loved the bassinet so much. Didn't have to fully wake up to nurse at night. Snugglemaster sucked for us. We still ended up pulling each other off of Micki in the middle of the night. It helped her out when we put it in her bassinet, though. But remember that Micki wasn't normal, had to sleep in a certain position with wedges under the matresses and things to hold her stationary in a certain position. That stupid apnea monitor still went off all of the damned time. We couldn't put her in a portable crib ever because the way she would lay would block her airway and she would stop breathing. After about 2 minutes in one she would be blue. Nothing like doing CPR on your baby you just brought home. I think that a diaper service would be worth the money, too, though I didn't do them. Last time I checked if the service cleaned them and everything it was in the neighborhood of $35 a month, or something like that. It is better for the baby's skin, but is messier. It is also much better for the environment. I know how you feel about SUV's and if you did research, you would probably prefer cloth diapers over disposable, based on the same principles. Breaking a child of your bed can be difficult, but breaking a child of whatever bedtime habits they are used to can be difficult too. For example, Micki used to be rocked to sleep every night. If she was awake when she hit the pillow, forget it. You had to rock her back to sleep. She is 3 1/2 now and we just in the past month have got her on a new bedtime routine where we don't spend hours rocking her every night. Every kid is different, and when it comes to bedtime habits you will end up doing what is comfortable for you. For the most part, just do what is comfortable for you. You try all of the things based on advice, but when that baby comes home with you you will figure out what is best for the two of you. It comes naturally with a little bit of experience. What you want to get for the baby will probably become clearer to you as you see how your lifestyle changes and how that baby fits into it. I do think that the less is more approach will be really helpful in all areas except clothes (they can go through 6-7 outfits a day).

thanks guys. 6-7 outfits a day? just like her mother. dig it. the first images. a month old, but my dopey friend took his sweet as time scanning them. im like "duuuuuude she'll be born byu the time you get off the bong and scan em.kids grow fast like that hyper weed you smoke" $35/month for a diaper service seems wayyyy cheap. thats less than my cable bill.

Wow, that's cool!

PS. Have you settled on naming her Eva?

yes. Eva Jude

yes. Eva Jude. check out that bottom lip. shes pouting. like daddy.

Eri wanted to name Mikayla Emma.

Patrick that is so cool. Thanks so much for sharing.

i love how the pic has an ad banner over it. that is so.... now.

its really more of 'should have been a long time ago' what do you expect for free? dig it...isnt she glorious?

holy crap dude. don't take this the wrong way, but i think your wife might be pregnant.

she's so cute. i kiss her!

im delighted to pass the message on.

we were invited and encouraged by our midwife to see this casting agent for The Discovery channel today. Some documentary on pregnancy and parenting they are putting together. If we get selected we get $250 for a 5 minute interview. College fund. i guess i have the real tv baby, possibly.

Only in L.A.

maybe in NYC, but yeah.

In NYC, you would be featured on some sappy morning show. You would probably have to be touched by Al Roker.

Hey! see if you can get on that sappy TLC "a Baby Story" show. Then you get a full hour and the entire birth on tv. which brings me to the question.... WHO watches THAT show?!

theres no chance in hell she'd ever consent to that. ever. expecting parents watch that show.

OH MY GOD!@$&! Patrick, you & that gorgeous wife of yours ARE HAVING A KID!?! Even *I* hadda stop & congratulate you on that! I thought you 2 were part of the "Childless By Choice" club. But I guess people change... Jeesh - I'm gabberflasted! I'm fine, BTW. Just living my so-called life in Florida, me & the cats. Happy New Year to you & your wife! And hugs & kiss to Sem, Nate, Agatha, His Markness & all the rest of the inmates. (Damn! Patrick's having a kid. Now I *know* I been away too long...)

My girlfriedn watches that show and she's not expecting (unless there is something I don't know about).

we have been perceived to be a part of tha club dear RC....in reality it was more like the "childless by chance" club. we had been playing with the fertility fire for years now. its a pleasant surprise and im starting to get more excited.

eva jude is an absolutely wonderful name. i love austere sounding names. good job. when's the baby shower? april?

thank you. i think the shower is being planned for late Feb. D-Day is april 1st so late Feb is the target. Our baby shower wont be just for the girls and there will be ping pong, pot and beer involved. showers, bridal or baby can be so dang up-tight we are determined to reverse this in our case. any yous are welcome if your in the hood.

let us know where you're registered.

its here. http://store.babycenter.com/registry/search/bpuKjp bookmark it though, we havent added anything.

Well what do you have already? Crib? Bassinet? Car Seat? Stroller?

nothing. we have a crib coming to us in coming months. our good friends are giving us theirs when M gets his regular bed in the next month or two(its a top of the line model that we'd never buy) we will use a bassonette for the first month or so. i've been wanting to get a car seat asap incase she pops early, but nico seems to think we should wait until the shower. that its ok to see what we get then.

i'll trade you a car seat for being refered to as "uncle nate" if ever refered to.

First I have to say that it is not proven that babies are color blind for the first few months; some say they are, some say they aren't. What is known, is that babies eyesight is not that great too close or too far away. It is said that babies see best at a distance from the breast to the face. Patrick, if you are interested, I just had my baby girl on the 8th of December, and by April I'm sure I will not be using the cradle that we have anymore. If you want it, it's yours. It's a nice wooden cradle. I can take a picture of it if you would like. And seeing as you're having a girl: Ten Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter Rule One: If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up. Rule Two: You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them. Rule Three: I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist. Rule Four: I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate; when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you. Rule Five: It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early." Rule Six: I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry. Rule Seven: As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car? Rule Eight: The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which features chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better. Rule Nine: Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me. Rule Ten: Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine. I thought that was pretty funny. I showed my husband and now he is printing one up and putting it in a frame by the door. She's just barely a month old... she is already daddy's little girl. Poor thing.

im already wrapped around her finger and shes still in there. thanks for the offer pam. im positive we will be overwhelmed with stuff in coming months, so now worries...offer it to someone local. its a deal sans the car seat nate. while such a genreous offer theres no need. we intend to be pretty finnicky about carseats and scrutinize the hell out of them. we are looking this car seat that also functions as the seat device for a stroller. just the other night at dinner, we watched this poor woman wrestle with the stroller and her trunk for 5 minutes. not us. and safety wise...of all the things to spend money on, that appears to be the one thing we wont be looking for bargains on. she will have lots of 'aunts and uncles' and im delighted she will have a creepy, stoney uncle nate in the backwoods of ca

she will be born on April 2nd. She will be my twin. i watch 'a baby story' like i watch Talkback on CNN... pale and gripping the armrests. Shaking slightly and mummbling "no....no...good god no!!" I can't make it through 5 minutes. what nate said made me laugh, so much.

We got one of those strollers that is big and bulky and the infant carrier/car seat can attach to it. They are definitely bulky, and not exactly fun to lug around, but they are definitely worth it if you plan to use a stroller during the first year. The one major plus to the combo strollers as they are called is that you can attach the infant carrier/car seat to the stroller and not have to wake your sleeping baby. Of course, other than being very cushy once the baby is older, there are no other attractions to them. If someone buys it for you, then that's wonderful; but if you don't plan on using it very much during the first year, you probably shouldn't waste your money, 'cause they're not cheap. Definitely get an infant carrier/car seat though. They are worth the money. With our son, we didn't buy the infant carrier/car seat b/c we thought he'd outgrow it too soon and it would go to waste. So instead we bought the regular upright car seat. Not a very good idea for a newborn. Their necks are can't really support the weight of their heads, so I had to hold his head in place. With the infant carrier/car seats they are reclined, so that you can drive with them in the car by yourself and not wonder if they're okay. You should probably get one of the headrest inserts though, b/c sometimes they need some more support around their head. Ethan stayed in the infant carrier/car seat for about the first year. It is definitely worth the money.

do you have a snugli? all of the women around here have them and they seem to really like them.

the device that allows your baby to sleep in the bed with you?

Infant carrier car seats are required for preemies, because they recline and because the measurments from the shoulder strap to the buckles are smaller. They are made to face rear for the first year, and then they can be turned around to see front after the baby is a year old or weighs 20 lbs. We got away with using it for Hayley until she was a little over a year old before we had to switch to an infant car seat. We would have been able to use it for Micki too, but it was beat up and wouldn't pass the inspection. I loved them, though. So much easier to just grab the carrier and slap it in the grocery cart or whatever than having to unbuckle baby and carry baby to wherever and hope they have something wherever I am that will work. I never had the stroller that worked with the carrier, but I did have one of those huge ones that can convert to a sleeping position or whatever. I hated that bulky heavy mostrosity. I loved it when I could just get an umbrella stroller with a sun visor on it. We were even able to attach Micki's monitor (apnea/bradachardia) to the back of it and just go whenever Hayley had a parade to perform in or something like that. Used the bulky think only when necessary because we hated it. Patrick your wife looks absolutely beautiful. I'm jealous. I look like shit pregnant.

no Snugli's are the backpack type things for infants. I think Snugli is like the brand or something. I have the Snugli backpack carrier thing. You can wear them on your back or on your front facing out or facing in. I liked it a lot. I still do. I think Snugli also makes slings, but I'm not too sure. I never had a sling, but I wanted one. They look comfortable.

slings dont look very sturdy to me. it looks like the lil weiner could just slip right out. we are definitely getting some sort of backpack device. those things are genius...freeing your hands and making your little one right in front of you for kisses.

aww Patrick you are going to be such an awesome dad.

my friend hillary has a sling, i can ask her about the frequency of lil weiner slipping outage. they do seem brilliant to me.

there is no slipping out. i thought the same thing when i first saw them, but they are actually quite secure. still, i liked the snugli better for out and about, the sling was pretty rocking for in the house.

wwaaaahhhhhhh i want a baby

how much does it cost to have a baby? i mean, the actual birth part, the hospital bill after something like that. Do you get an itemised bill that shows exactly how much the doc's gloves cost you, and how much the food was and everything? patrick, i've been thinking about child-rearing for the past week now (because of YOU!) and i have but one thing to tell you so far- do not be one of those people that lets their kid roam freely in a resturant while you finish eating or etc, and the little fucker toddles around screaming or poking other people's legs and tripping the waiters and playing on the floor with a napkin. Fucking hell, those people should die. Tie her down if you have to. Everything else is secodary.

would you rather have them wandering a little- by this, i mean within a table or two, and in a good mood, or strapped to their chair and screaming? or, would you rather that more moms weren't allowed to go out in public and cause a disturbance with their babies, and so they lost touch with reality and drowned their babies in the bathtub? just curious.

I have never let my children wander around restraunts and stores and things like that. It drives me nuts. I teach my children that there is a certain way to behave in public places and that I expect that of them. If they take off and leave, then we leave. I know it sounds harsh to some of you but we have only had to do that twice in 8 years with two kids and both times it was at Barnes & Noble. People who don't have kids and don't want to be bothered by others kids running around and pulling on their pantlegs have the right to eat or go shopping in peace. It won't be my children making their life hell because I won't teach my kids how to behave in public. There are places where kids have the freedom to run around, because that is what they do and where they are (McDonald's playland, parks, amusement places) and anyone who doesn't want to be bothered by kids doesn't go there. I let my kids go wild there, though they still have to be nice and listen and behave, just not the same as a coffee shop.

mmmhmmm.

oh dear, agatha, no nothing like that. i'd just assumed that it was possible to get kids to stay in their seats since i've seen both things happen in public. One table has their three kids running laps around the place, another has them staying in their chairs. Of course i have no idea if this is an easy thing to teach, or if it depends on the kids, or whatnot. I'm just saying....if at all possible.... yeah.

it's possible to keep them in their seats, in my opinion, until they are one, and then not again until they hit three and some change. for one year and a little more in between, it is possible to keep them roaming only within a sphere of maybe two tables. you can force them to stay in their chairs at this age, but they will either throw a tantrum or cry. that's all i'm saying.

Kids are people as well, and even though some people think that what they say is the law, it doesn't necessarily mean that their kids will think so too. I see both sides. I wouldn't want my kids running around in a restaurant anyway, b/c I am kind of paranoid like that. Someone could come up and snatch them or something crazy like that. I do think it is important to go out and have fun; just b/c you become parents doesn't mean that your social life is over. In my personal experiences, having a troublsome little boy, if we are at a restaurant and he starts acting up, then we take him for a walk outside of the restaurant. We take turns on who goes out (although I have to admit that Brad is the one that usually goes out with him). We don't go to restaurants very often though, not unless we have a babysitter to watch the kids. But we do try and get out and do other things. We couldn't go to movie theatres, but we had a drive in that we could go to and watch movies. That way I could nurse Ethan whenever I needed to and if he cried it was no big deal. Anyway, I wanted to give you some "advice" to pass on to Nico in regards to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is HARD. It can be very painful at first. And at this I mean for like a few weeks, and then the pain can just gradually lessen. With my first child, I had INCREDIBLE pain for only a few days, and then after a couple weeks the pain wasn't so bad, and after the first month we had it licked. But with my daughter, she is now almost 6 weeks old and we're still having trouble. The pain has been so severe at times that I had to double check and see if my nipple was still there. It is a learning experience for both mom and child. If Nico wants to breastfeed, tell her to try and not give up. Breastfeeding is such a great thing that you can do for your child; it is very healthy. But the most important this is that your baby is eating and that mom can maintain some form of sanity. If the pain is so bad, tell her to express some milk and let it air dry on her nipples. Also, make sure she uses pure lanolin on her nipples to help them heal. It will stain, so make sure she has breast pads to use, even if she is not leaking. The hospital should provide her with some, but if not, I don't think it should be too hard to find some. Also, she can try pumping or just supplement with formula for one feeding (the best formula they have out now is the one with "Lipil" b/c it is supposed to be most like breast milk). The paid does go away eventually, so if she just sticks with it and gives it time, then it shouldn't be so bad. She may be lucky and not have such bad pain. But there will be pain at first. Just try to be as supportive as you can, and when she's a raging bitch b/c she is in so much pain, it will pass. Try to be as understanding as you can. And if she decides that she just can't do it, that's okay too. The most important thing you can do for her, is make her feel comfortable with the decision she makes. Anyway, I am sure I am babbling, so I will go. I hope I have helped in some small way. :-)

oh yeah, by the way, it is very costly to have babies... with both my babies the hospital bill was just over $10,000. I think I had a semi-itemized bill, but it wasn't that detailed, not right down to the doctor's gloves. I think it was pretty general. Like how much for anesthesia, food, stuff like that. It is expensive. Thank God for good insurance is all I can say.

the discussion of how much it will cost has not come up yet. it will shortly. Im not concerned. My child will be born and looked after. period. wisper, im too anal for such public behavior. i will do my damnest to instill some manners and find encouraging ways to keep them in their seats/high chairs in restaurants. you wouldnt expect that behavior from an adult. (i hear you laughing agatha) my god children arent like that. they are instructed to hang out in their seats with the rest of us when we do go out and they seem cool with it. if they are loosing attention we devise something on the table to keep it while we finish eating. saturday after the protest i got some good experience in at the Chuckee Cheese with H & M. Thats the kind of place you go to let your lil weiner roam free. Everything is padded in that place and the employees (along with a shot of valium im sure) are sporting referee outfits with whistles should some little brats get out of hand in the ball bath. I can also vouch for my insurance and sing the praises of kaiser permanente this weekend. this past week, she has been coughing and wheezing like made. allergies, cold, whatever, its incessant and a real drag for her. everyone i know has had similar issues, myself included. being pregnant, we thought she was more vulnerable and perhaps the baby was pushing on her diaphram making breathing extra labored. But friday about 1 am shes really having a hard time sleeping and is coughing like mae. thats it, i get her in the car and head to kaiser emergency. Im thinking to myself...'shit....kaiser, sunset, 1am, friday....a triage of shot gangsters, beaten hookers and blue junkies... No way. We go in...they direct us to the maternity admittance. We sit right down in a bed and are seen by the doctor in 15 minutes. They check her out and give her a breathing treatment...all to little or no effect. Still, they checked her out and she was fine, just congested and slightly asthmatic, which she has never ever suffered. We were out of there within 2 hours. props to my healthcare on that. ovf course after we got there, two mothers in labor arrived. So as far as costs...if the level of service is maintained at its current level....im not worried.

what did they use in the nebulizer for the breathing treatment, patrick? that rocks. I don't think I've ever been in/out of an emergency room that fast. I wish there was Kaiser up here.

albuterol i believe. im sure we had such a great experience because she's pregnant and they dont exactly let preggers hang around.

I get a kick out of it when happy little kids come over to my table and say hello. I'm not so happy when one screws his eyes shut, screams like a banshee and runs headlong into me. The other day I was in a grocery store line and a little girl turned around and stared up at me with these huge unbelieving eyes. I looked down at her and grinned. She put her hands up like claws, bared her teeth, and snarled at me. I have green hair, so I suspect that I was a monster. Cutest damn thing... made my day.

I never knew I had asthma or had any problems until the third trimester of my pregnancy with Hayley, so maybe asthma flaring up for the first time during pregnancy is more common than I thought. Watch that, though, because it could be a precursur to preeclampsia. If she starts seeing spots or swelling a lot or her blood pressure goes up some, have her seen again for that. It could get nasty if not found and anticipated early. Usually shows up in the third trimester. I had Kaiser when I had Hayley, and they did the same thing with me, forget the emergency room, straight up to maternity. The doctors were great, they kept me laughing all of the time. I half expected them to show up in the delivery room with a baseball glove! Because my preeclampsia was so severe they sent me to a specialist hospital downtown, so I missed out on the baseball glove. Albuterol is allright for asthma, but sometimes they need to add some cromulin to it (the two together are the treatment they put in the nebulizer). Sometimes a little steroids can really help breathing.

ive been taking some ephedrine related prodcuts as of late to help my breathing too, but Ive always had allergy issues. she has never. thanks eri, im cutting and pastin this to her. she has an appt today and with any HMO, sometimes you have to prod them along with suggested causes.

The treatment they use in the nebulizer is a hardcore combination of steroids (predominantly albuterol). However, unless you have severe asthma, like me, you shouldn't have to use it. I don't know about how various medications interact with lil wiener, but if she's having breathing problems she/the doc may want to consider an inhalation steroid like flovent or maybe even advair. Nebulizers are not the sort of thing one wants to be using a lot; preventative treatment is better for everybody. Seriously poke the doc about this--even if it isn't a precurses to more serious problems, not breathing properly sucks.

i dont know for fact what was in the nebulizer. they could hear minor wheezing in her lungs so they gave her the treatment. they reassured us it was safe for the fetus. the inhaler she has....i read the packet and it supplied lab results on giving it to pregnant mice. they are relatively safe. no concern except un ultra high doses and even then the risk of complications is well under 9%. to be honest, we just want to ensure she doesnt have an amonia. a friend of ours had an amonia in her 4th month, took some serious antibiotics (or risk death) and she is convinced thats why the weiner came out a month 1/2 early. after the santa ana's last week, everyone is fucked. my colleague here at work has the exact same condition as nico. nothing is working. no antibiotics, no steroids, no cough syrup, no inhalers.

terror attack! add santa ana to the axis of evil list!

What's an amonia? Do you mean pneumonia? A friend of mine (otherwise healthy 23-year-old woman) caught pneumonia in October and she's still having problems with it. Nasty stuff.

well spider ammonia is a pungent colorless gaseous alkaline compound of nitrogen and hydrogen. "amonia" is a misspelling on my part. of course i meant pneumonia

I sat next to the cutest baby in the world today on the plane. She was all smiles and when she put her hand out to me, she turned it sideways like a handshake. That helped cheer up an otherwise rather depressed kazoo. Breathing problems are scary. When he was about four my brother had to be taken to the hospital for a croupy-whooping-cough type thing. He sounded like gollum and I remember I was kind of scared scared because I couldn't believe that my short, chubby little brother was making such a dreadful noise.

*update* im so ready. i so want to hold her. kiss her. in the doc's office last week i heard another lil weiner crying his infant eyes out. the sound actually made me sappy and envious. i know i know i know. after a week of the infant screech i wont be saying that but still... last night, rubbing on the belly i , for the first time, felt her lil heartbeat. how amazing! i could actually feel it!!! we checked nico's pulse to make sure it wasn't hers and sure enough, it was different. she's so responsive to my voice, i too am confident she is ready to come out. ok, enough sap.

Not much time left. Are YOU prepared for the labor and delivery phase?

why are you having the shower after her birth? you only have 7 things on your registry.

huh? the "shower" is on the 16th of this month? oh...i linked the registry that we dumped two weeks ago. sorry. go here to see our updated and current registry yes eri, im prepared, i have plenty of film. we are considering getting a doula for the delivery and immediately following.

i've heard doula's are really fantastic not only with mom and baby but with papa's who have never seen their wives in so much pain.

oh shit. sarah i put the due date, not the date of the baby party on that old one. see? this is why mom handles this shit.

OK forgive my ignorance here but what is a doula? I have ideas, but I could be totally off base.

doula

OMG Patrick, I have that exact same changing table as on your wish list. It is in light oak. We were trying to figure out what to do with it, cuz when we move it probably won't fit into Micki's room any longer. You will have to let us know if you don't get one and are interested in this one! The only difference is that it is light oak finish and that it was used. Your call.

haha suckas.

will do. doula's are popular in CA and amongst the hippy guard. we're hoping to find one for cheap. They have to do a certain amount of hours to complete their certification...like an intern. looking through the listings for CA, the ratio of Doulas in the Bay Area to the LA Area is like 4 to 1. Fucking hippies. Its like having a midwife's assistant at your beck and call. everything from doing the diapers, to emotional support. everyone we know has nothing but praise for them.

My cousin does that, but not professionally. She has done this with all of her friends. She helped with the delivery of Jamie Lee Curtis's son and even got into a fight with the doctors about the drugs, becuase the doctor was insisting on using them. If we were in Cali I would have had her there when Micki was born, but then again we were planning on a normal delivery and not an emergency c-section 11 weeks early. If I had to go on what I heard, then I would recommend them as well. Good luck.

sigh.

what? what does that mean? just a random sigh? just happened to land on this thread? was something said that prompted such a response? what, o cryptic one, does that sigh mean?

everything.

well then. ok. carry on then.

yes eri, im prepared, i have plenty of film. ha! you didn't even mean to be funny. here is a brief sketch of our birth room: me- in labor dave- askeered, yet supportive zoe- doula brigid- midwife courtney- my sister, napping in the rocking chair and selecting music beth- my pal, doing the same thing as courtney and also taking lots of pictures random doctor that came in at the end and yanked cleo out with forceps a variety of meddling nurses that brigid kept hurrying out of the room, plus one super cool nurse that we let stick around my pal merc- early the next day when i was still semi-delirious, with flowers and love that's about it.

im actually reaching the point where im wanting 5 cell phones, each a tuned to a different satellite, assuring access, 12 bags packed, in remote locales, detailed instructions taped to her back and front advising nurses certain of no no's and a driver on standby. we feel that there's a good possibility that the midwife we have now wont be there for the actual birth, but im confused about a lot of things. agatha did you have amy medication? nico is not fooling herself, she's pretty damn sure she will want pain meds. no epidural, just some good ole fashioned demoral for some relief. oh shit, im nervous thinking of..... i think sam will there, maybe out in the waiting room with a bottle for me, as needed. good thing i still have a shit load of valium too. holy hell. i made the mistake of tuning into Discovery Health channel's "Special Delivery" last week. Basically a show depicting all the things that CAN go wrong. i about had a heart attack.

Eri in labor wakes up screaming in pain looking for hand to squeeze to change focus off of pain, with loser sleeping in chair, this goes on for about 5 hours when Mom calls and yells at me for not doing the breathing (I never learned, this was a preemie delivery and before the classes). Mom shows up and does breathing with me, no longer noticing pain, just feeling muscle contractions, nurses check me and leave, 15 minutes later nurses tell Mom she has it under control and to let them know when I need to start pushing, and I say MUST PUSH NOW. Nurse says Oh, no that can't be you were only dialated to 3 1/2 15 minutes ago. I say Check again and get your goddamned hand off of my leg, they say oh shit get doctor and doctor is in my face breathing and begging me to hold off until we make it into the delivery room. Push 1 nothing, legs in wrong position, Push 2 head, push 3 here's Hayley, push 4 done. The only thing I remember hurting after my mom arrived was when the idiot tech stitched me back up. It was SOOO much easier than what I expected but I was really fucking tired and dopey afterward. And this wasn't a normal case scenario. I am sure that Nico will do fine and so will you. Just avoid Nubane. My cousin got some of that during her labor with her daughter and it put the baby to sleep and she was in labor for 5 days because of it. Then again, that was Torrance Memorial Hospital, so maybe they were just idiots!

Even though my "friends" think it's hilarious,a pregnant Nico has prevailed in why I haven't posted about growth coming out of my ass after childbirth.

uhh

Uhh I'm going to post about it one of these days, I can even laugh about it now but it sure wasn't funny at the time.For now let's just say after I had Ryan that pretty much did it for me and the s/o got a vasectomy right away. But I can honestly say that someone cut me a new asshole.He was my smallest one too.

Is Nico's mom comeing out to help after the baby is born?

holy shit, pregnant people are fucked up. where are ya putting that thing? on the wall in the kitchen?

I'd cover it with elephant shit and call it "Holy Virgin Mary"

yes J. she's already made her flight arrangements, to arrive on the 28th. Due date is the 1st of april. I think she will leave depending on when exactly milkdud is born. i was speaking with some parents on another BBS wisper... i came to conclusion that becoming a parent will thwart me into contact with certain elements of society i learned a long time ago to avoid. i will have to learn to better bite my tongue for milkdud's sake.

april fools day baby! don't bet on it's sex

My uncle was born on April Fool's Day! I never really knew him growing up, at all. He doesn't get along with my mother at all. They are always at each others throats. As an adult I have gotten to know him and his entire family and find them to be the most sane of the entire clan! I guess things could be worse than being an April Fools Day baby!

My uncle was born on April Fool's Day! I never really knew him growing up, at all. He doesn't get along with my mother at all. They are always at each others throats. As an adult I have gotten to know him and his entire family and find them to be the most sane of the entire clan! I guess things could be worse than being an April Fools Day baby!

eri you said breast feeding was really painful. why? everyone we have spoken too says if its painful, then something else is wrong because though it might be uncomfortable at first, its not supposed to be painful.

It wasn't painful to breastfeed. That was normal, but my girls were in the hospital for a while before they came home. Normally you start nursing right away and your milk comes in to the amount that the baby needs. My baby was in a hopsital, so I had to use a pump all of the time and bring the milk in to the hospital. I produced WAYYYY too much milk with Hayley and was almost always engorged. Christ, I could barely fit my tits into a D cup nursing bra and I was about 15 lbs lighter then than I am now. I was huge. I loved it, but there was too much milk and I couldn't relieve it often enough when I went back to work, so I had to dry up. With Micki (because she was so much more preemie) my milk never came in right and she couldn't learn how to latch on right, so that was painful. I gave up after about a month. She had so many little things going on with her body (heart, lungs, digestive system, and size) that I just decided trying to continue to teach this to her was too hard on her and she did great with a bottle (and damn did she need the food in bigger quantities) so I just quit. I gave her enough milk to get her through the critical phases of health problems and she got through them without surgery, but once she was just to the point of growing and maturing, I didn't bother. That was more emotionally painful than anything else, because I so wanted to be able to breastfeed her since I was going to be home with her and not have the work conflict. That and for some reason I felt like less of a woman since my milk never came in right, like why couldn't I do this perfectly natural thing that all mothers do, you know? It isn't painful to breastfeed if you are able to work with the baby from the start and your milk production is what the baby needs, except one day. Approx 3-4 days after little weiner is born the actual milk will come in, vs. the colostrum (don't know if I spelled it right) and when that happens it is so quick that you get really full and engorged and it can hurt, though not too bad, you just pump it out and it's fine.

i see. nico is convinced she is getting a prosthetic belly after the baby. oh the advantages of being pregnant. for example, tonight is the stones concert. the staples center gave us tickets (at random they say) way the fuck up in nosebleed. at a hockey game once, nico got vertigo. playing the preggers card picking the tix up the other day, she said something to the booth attendant and they lowered us about 10 rows, still upper deck, but an isle seat, 2nd row. she emails the NRDC, the environmental group that is sponsoring this concert for Global Warming, they respond immediately, apologizing that the nin com poop staff at Staples should have put her on a lower level. so now, we go to Will Call booth and get lower seats upon arriving tonight. Now if she could only work that magic to meet Mick and the gang.

Too bad I never was able to milk those cards when I was pregnant. When I tried to everyone told me it was all in my head and I had to get over it.

that sucks. people part the red sea when they see a pregnant woman coming.

Patrick, another cause for pain while nursing is that the skin on the nipple can dry out, crack, and bleed. My mom had that problem.

thats preventable though.

agatha, you know anything about this I just learned of it, forwarding it the wife, but to be honest it looks a little silly. large groups of hipsters make me nervous, overly cynical and generally uneasy.

I had an epidural in the 12th hour of my labor. Trust me, you really don't want to hear the story of my labor and delivery. Pain in breastfeeding is not preventable. It can be soothed, but it is inevitable to have some pain in the first month. Everyone I've ever known that breast fed, and I know many many moms that have, had at least some pain and discomfort in the first months of breastfeeding. For some, it's not so bad, but having a child suck on your breast once every two hours all day long is bound to produce a little soreness. I haven't heard anything about that gathering, but it reminds me of the ladyfest we had here in Olympia. Now, they're having them all over the place. I think that things like that rock, but I'm all about the community building events.

It's not pretty when your baby wants a feeding and your not there,cause the milk will come out anyway and it will hurt you,so get some breast pads.

Oh hell yes. Not just your baby, but you could be shopping at the mall or something and another baby cries and out spills milk. I still get that feeling even though there isn't any more milk. It never goes away.

Hey Patrick, it was I who was talking about nursing being painful. It is painful. When I wrote last time, I was at the end (and peak) of the pain. This happened with my son as well as my daughter. It lasted about 6 weeks, with the last week being hell. It was a lot more painful this time then I remember it being with my son, but it could just be b/c it is fresher in my mind. To try and prevent nipple soreness/blistering/bleeding, get some pure lanolin. They have some that comes in a purple tube called Lanisoh (I believe that is what it is called) and it works really well. I would recommend wearing breast pads when using the lanolin b/c it can stain clothes. It is safe for your baby to breastfeed while using it too. I have no problems with pain anymore while nursing. So if she can just make it past the first 6 weeks or so, she should be home free. Also, I had a doula with my first child and I really wish I could have had one with my last one. Had we known where the hell we were going to be when I had Bianca, I'm sure I would have had a doula. Doula's are wonderful. We met our doula b/c she was our lamaze teacher. She was great. She normally charges $300 but b/c we were having money problems at the time my son was born, she only charged us $150. Not only was she there to help make sure my birth plan was followed, and that I had plenty of support, she also typed up a two page synopsis of Ethan's birth. It was really great. If you can get a doula, I would highly recommend it. They are by far worth the money.

what the hell is a doula?

let's not go over this again. please pay attention, moonit.

don't mind her. she's high on Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

I'll just go stand in the corner with my chocolate stained face : )

theres a link above where eri asked the same question. scroll up

Yeah I saw that. Thats why I'm in the corner. Sarah, you rock - I am trying not to scoff them all and its so hard.

It's really common for them to go overkill on the epidural, leaving the entire lower portion of one's body numb, and making it near to impossible for any pushing to happen, consequently. Epidural bad!

sounds good to me. this weed is like an epidural. push what?

With my first epidural, I was completely numb, from the top of my uterus down. I couldn't move my legs, let alone hold them up, so I had my mom and husband holding up my legs. But I had no problems pushing. I had a small "window" near the top of my uterus where I could feel slightly when I was having another contraction. I pushed my son out in less than a half hour. With my daughter (second epidural), I was numb, but more of a tingly numb. I could still move my legs, and I still had some sensation. I could feel things stretching, but I couldn't feel pain. I think that was better than the first, b/c I actually felt like I got more of an experience with the last one. I push my daughter out in like 15 to 20 minutes. I think it may depend on the person, and also who your doctor is, b/c I had no problems with either of my epidurals. Or, I could just be damn lucky. Who knows?

is an epidural the same thing as a saddle-block?

when i had my epidural for 4 days i was only numb from my abdomen to my tailbone. my legs were fully functional.

I think so,that's what they called it when I had mine,also nobody told me to not lift my head after having one and I had the worst headache for 3 days,man was I crying.

Hey, that's the same problem people have (deathly headaches) when they have a spinal tap. Epidurals must do something to the pressure in the spinal fluid.

just an update so the baby has definitely dropped. nico says she feels like shes dialating. we'll know for sure today at an appointment. Last night in the shower she felt like the baby was going to slip right out. On the family front. My mom is driving me completely fucking nuts. She possesses this petty competitiveness with nico's parents and she refuses to come when they are here. she just wont do it and cites "it will be too much for you two and the baby to have us all at once". Of course i tell her thats not the case and that the month of april is when we are off. but she insists on coming in may, when nico is getting back into the work grove and taking a 3 day trip to brussels in the middle of may (with our midwife's blessing short of an emergency c section). my mom wears her emotions on her sleeve and is taking it that we dont want her and my step dad out here and its an "inconvenience" fo us when its really a matter of whats best for us. she keeps forgetting that its us with the newborn, not her. her inability to get over the petty competition with nico's family, her inability to adjust their schedule later in april (she wont say but they are going out of town, most likely to some bullshit golf related bougousie bullshit retreat). ifg it was a business trip she would have said so, but she hasnt leading me to believe she knows its shameful. she has a history of ruining our visits to the east coast making stinks about whether or not nico's family is getting more time with us or not (we've gotten to the point where we schedule time, by the hour, fairly just to shut my mom up, but she still finds room to bitch). She taints every visit with this shit prior and ive had it. I told her she can come anytime in april, when we have the baby and when we're off work and available for them to visit. otherwise she can wait till june, when nico has gotten her work grove back, we've adjusted a bit better and her brussels trip is over with. there. done. off my chest. back to more important matters at hand.

Spunky's mother likes to do the same thing. They changed plans on us during Christmas and we made everyone else change plans to accomodate them and then they changed plans again and we told them that we couldn't. They left the exact moment that we pulled in the driveway. We didn't see them at all. They are still sending emails bitching us out for not being there on time. They sent Trace guilt trip emails and phone calls because by not changing plans AGAIN we were putting "outsiders" before "family". Outsiders being my ex's family (who only asked for a couple of hours) who are wonderful grandparents to BOTH girls. Outsiders being my best friend who calls 5 times a week and emails me 5 times daily and made 2 trips in one year to visit us, when they didn't even call us until they realized we weren't going to be at their beck and call on this vacation. They drove us absolutely nuts. When Trace's uncle died (while we were driving home the next day) they were still a pain in the ass. They told us not to send flowers or plants to his aunt and then went out and bought flowers for her and put our names on it and didn't even tell us they were doing it. They didn't let us do anything and then did all of this shit in our names which is not what we would have done, if that makes sense. Basically they play the same fucked up emotional games. I have come to one conclusion. I will make my decision and stand firm by it. They will have to deal with it. Spunky is on the same page. If nothing you do is going to be good enough to make them happy anyways, then do what you want to do and they can join in or fuck off. So go ahead and tell your mom that April is best, or that they can come out in May. They have to understand that YOU are the ones having the baby and trying to fit this huge new change into your lives and that they are going to have to work around that. If your Mom can't handle this, I am sorry, but really, it is Nico and that baby that you are going to have to look out for. You have a life and you have plans and they don't revolve around your mom. If she wants to be a part of this then she needs to let those plans revolve around your needs. Maybe I am just being a cold hearted bitch again, but shit, you are going to have a lot on your plate and so is Nico. You don't need emotional games to take the joy out of this. This is your miracle and you should love every second of it.

the thing is you have two kids. you have to pack the car, toys, diapers etc etc etc. all they have to do is get in the car and go. they have the greater flexibility. im not playing into the emotional deflection, putting everything back on us. i resent and wont be apart of it. and ive told her. its just a bitch because she does this and taints what should be a pleasant visit.

my folks live in lincoln, ne. we lived in KC when Mikayla was born. She was in the hospital for 2 months, and my folks were in Kansas City twice while she was in the hospital. Guess how many times they came in to see her? 0

I am not saying that you should play into the emotional deflection. I am saying that when it comes down to it, you and nico and the baby are the ones having to make big changes and if they want to be a part of it then they need to come out when you have the time, like you said. "the thing is you have two kids. you have to pack the car, toys, diapers etc etc etc. all they have to do is get in the car and go." This is exactly why it was such a bitch with my in-laws. They just pack up and go ALL OF THE TIME and have never bothered to visit let alone call, so when we pack up everything we fucking own to go to visit, they can bee a lot more flexible and meet us in KS, since they were already there anyways. It does take the excitement out of the visit. That just ruins it for me. I would just say, stay strong and be you and things will be what they will be. At least you will now you are doing the right thing for Nico and the baby.

yeah, talk to me about parental drama. anyway, when the baby drops, doesn't that mean like any MOMENT now??

How was the appointment?

not exactly sarah but close. it just means she's moving closer and closer to the birth canal. we havent seen the "bloody show" yet, that is the mucuous membranes capping the cervix breaking and being expelled, meaning dialation is beginning and that the water will soon break. the midwife didnt check for dialation yesterday because she feels its not necessary. if she were to look, and see she is 1 centimeters, then we are freaked out for the next week or two. she said for us to just let it come, we'll know with the contractions or the water breaking. the baby can drop anywhere from 2-4 weeks prior to birth. the apppointment is great as always. our midwife rules. she likes us a lot because in her words " your gusy are hip, intelligent and not the usual latino/teen case i see way too much of". Her fiance is a photographer and i brought her my portfolio of nico pics the last 9 months yesterday. she's in her mid 40s, super fucking cool and totally progressive, supportive and has anticipated our every need and given us every bit of confidence. shes going on vacation and will most likley miss the birth, but the other midwife on staff will be looking after us, both are totally hip and comforting. since kaiser cant afford 24 midwife service, there is a chance we will be tended to by a doctor, but these two midwives have trained the docs. our 'carte blanch' so to speak is that if the doctor does something we dont want (like cutting the umbilical cord too soon or not putting baby immediately on mama's belly) we are advised to say "chill doc, susan is our miwife and she told us, to tell you to chill". docs tend to rush and be too procedural about things. we have a whole birth plan spelled out in an outline form on laminated paper we are to hand over. we're so prepared in some aspects its silly.

Will the laminated birth plan go into your scrap book?

probably.

baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaby baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaby baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaby baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaby (im calling her home, im tired of waiting)

Is she going into labor yet or are you just getting anxious?

the latter. she has cramping, fluttering, and what not but with no regularity at this time.

damn, it's coming isn't it. my sister-in-law took the 4runner airborne the other day. hit a patch of ice, narrowly missed oncoming traffic as she flew across the lanes, shot into the air, careened into a tree. my neice and nephew suffered not a bit in their carseats. my sister-in-law turned out fine, stress related muscle stiffness type thing surfacing later. when they landed, my niece (4 years old) took my sister-in-law to task- "what did YOU do?"

btw: the 2 year old was in the same carseat you ended up picking, patty. plaid and everything.

was she using the new LATCH system, wherein the seat is literally clipped to hooks built into the frame? this removes any play what so ever that a seatbelt may have because it doesnt even use the car seat belts. i mean i know seatbelts lock when the brakes are applied but sometimes the breaks aren't applied. I have the seat installed and its secure as a motherfucker, im quite at ease. glad your peeps are ok.

April 2nd, patty, i'm fuckin telling you.

I'm going to gun for March 23, on Dave's behalf.

ok. noted guys. they there is a .01% chance she will come out a he so nate is still in that running but it doesnt look good. i said 10 days on saturday so that would put me atthe 26th.

I think that's my dad's birthday.

3-31-03

I reckon Friday the 4th.

just so long (s)he is an aries. i'd say the 29th. but the 23rd would be cool too.

The Pandyr turns 29 on the 11th of April. He's such a grumpy Aries.

i turn 29 on sunday.

i always new i'd retire before i was 30. damn.

I turn 29 on April 20th. Too late for the baby to come then :(

the 11th is my dad, too. i'm the 21st, so i'm out of the running (so is he, i guess). god, i'm glad something happy is happening. babies are amazing.

eri, i'm 10 years and one day behind you :)

My best friend S is one day before me. We should all get together and party!!!!! 10 years and one day behind me....damn....either you are really young or I am just getting fucking old (the latter probably true).

My dad's birthday was April 10th.God it's getting sooner than I thought.

i'm gonna bet 03-30-03 as well. we should have a pool.

3/27 sounds like a nice date to me.

3-30 is my sister's birthday. Also, it's the anniversary of Reagan getting shot. Can't believe my little baby sister's going to turn 30.

My uncle is an April fools baby. Maybe it will end up April 1st!!!! That would be funny in a twisted kind of way!

Patrick, have you guys had your baby shower yet? Did you get the changing table you wanted?

we did have the shower and we opted to forgo the changing table. we have a two drawer-type chest thing in her room and we got a changing pad for the top of it. Right now the room is home to a vintage couch on the list to be recovered so we are short on space for the time being. everyone remember your dates. maybe i can round up a prize for the weiner. i like random guessing games. time is moving so slow for us. tick tock tick tock baaaaaaaaaaaby baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaby

I am willing to bet that your changing table gets used maybe once every two weeks. We changed Cleo everywhere known to man except for a changing table. You might end up having mountains of clean little cotton baby clothes, unfolded, on your changing table. Then you can call it your baby's "wardrobe."

well we dont actually have a changing table. just a pad on top of her dresser drawers but i understand and expect similar.

We use Micki's to store her toys. I used it as a changing table rarely when she was little, but not often. Same with Hayley. 90% of the time it is easier to change them right where they already are. Our changing table was a gift from my super pretentious aunt. It has been through 3 kids so far. Now it is just used to store shoes and toys. I doubt it is something I will end up saving, but since it is from my aunt who knows. I just offered it because it is the same thing that you had on the website for your wish list. It's cool. I never would have bought one and just have this one because it was a gift.

I didn't know you had offered that to Patrick, Eri. Foot in mouth...? Sorry!