This Thanksgiving, my daughter announced that she has something new to be thankful about, she is now expecting a baby. That means that I now am expecting FOUR new grandchildren in the next 6+ months.
As it says on the right side of this page, my wife and I have five children between us. The oldest is expecting a little girl THIS FRIDAY. We'll wait and see the actual date. (No rushing). The youngest daughter is also expecting a little girl, the due date is a little fuzzy. Sometime between December 16 and January 1 is our best guess (I really wish they would schedule these things).
Sandwiched in between those are our other daughter (the one who just announced) due on June 6 and our oldest son's wife due June 17. The gender of these last two is yet to be determined.
We're all excited and can't believe that we are so blessed. My youngest son, took in the news and after pondering for a bit said "I'm the only one who's not expecting a baby". At 18 and still in school, I told him he could wait a while.
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
Monday, December 01, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Where were you 25 years ago today?
Most of you can't remember (or weren't even born then). But I remember well.
I have to go back to the night before, around 6 or 7pm. I think it was a Tuesday night, but I can't be sure. I do remember my wife and I were eating at Quincy's. She was already one day past her due date (our first) and three days away from when they said they would induce labor (my wife had some mild toxemia, mostly under control, but her blood pressure was rising).
We were standing in line to order our steaks when she turned to me and said she thought she was in labor. Being the sensitive husband I am, I said we should hurry and eat, so we didn't miss out on a steak. One mistake: she told her mother (the worry-wart) she thought she was in labor. More on that later.
Of course, we had to wait until her contractions were under 5 minutes apart. So, after dinner we headed home and began timing contractions. Rather than argue about when the last one was, I wrote down the time of each one. We began playing cards and doing other things to take her mind off of it and I'm still certain to this day that she missed a few contractions.
Also, several of my friends had recently gone through false alarms. Their wives' would say they were in labor and they would rush to the hospital only to be turned away. One co-worker went through this 3 nights in a row. I was convinced my wife would do this to me just out of spite.
Anyway, later in the night/morning, the contractions got within 5 minutes. Actually, they stuck at 6 minutes, then jumped to 4 minutes. Boy was I scared. She needed to give me more notice than that. So, at about 4am, we called the doctor, I emailed my co-workers and we headed to the hospital. I was still convinced we'd be back home later that morning. At the hospital, I was ushered into a waiting room while the doctor checked on her. About 15 minutes, later I approached a nurse and asked the status. I was told that they were going to prep her and get her to a room.
Innocent, and unknowing, I asked "Does that mean you're going to keep her?" Well, to make a long story short, within about 8 hours of hospital time, my wife gave birth to a little girl. Not so little, 8 lbs 15 + 1/2 ounces. So 25 years ago today, I greeted my little girl into our family. Happy Birthday Ashley. It's been a wonderful quarter century, looking forward to the next 25.
Oh, as for my mother-in-law the worrier. In the morning (while we were at the hospital delivering a baby) she tried to call us. Of course we didn't answer, so she called the hospital. All they would tell her was that she had been admitted, but no details. She called my coworkers. They told her what they knew, which was nothing. She called my coworkers several times. Finally, one suggested that she call the fathers' waiting room.
When she called the fathers' waiting room, a nice man put her on hold and went to find me. When he got back he told her he had spoken to me and I would call her as soon as it was over. She felt so much better. I never met the man and I certainly didn't speak to him, but I'm glad she felt better.
Happy Birthday Ashley!
I have to go back to the night before, around 6 or 7pm. I think it was a Tuesday night, but I can't be sure. I do remember my wife and I were eating at Quincy's. She was already one day past her due date (our first) and three days away from when they said they would induce labor (my wife had some mild toxemia, mostly under control, but her blood pressure was rising).
We were standing in line to order our steaks when she turned to me and said she thought she was in labor. Being the sensitive husband I am, I said we should hurry and eat, so we didn't miss out on a steak. One mistake: she told her mother (the worry-wart) she thought she was in labor. More on that later.
Of course, we had to wait until her contractions were under 5 minutes apart. So, after dinner we headed home and began timing contractions. Rather than argue about when the last one was, I wrote down the time of each one. We began playing cards and doing other things to take her mind off of it and I'm still certain to this day that she missed a few contractions.
Also, several of my friends had recently gone through false alarms. Their wives' would say they were in labor and they would rush to the hospital only to be turned away. One co-worker went through this 3 nights in a row. I was convinced my wife would do this to me just out of spite.
Anyway, later in the night/morning, the contractions got within 5 minutes. Actually, they stuck at 6 minutes, then jumped to 4 minutes. Boy was I scared. She needed to give me more notice than that. So, at about 4am, we called the doctor, I emailed my co-workers and we headed to the hospital. I was still convinced we'd be back home later that morning. At the hospital, I was ushered into a waiting room while the doctor checked on her. About 15 minutes, later I approached a nurse and asked the status. I was told that they were going to prep her and get her to a room.
Innocent, and unknowing, I asked "Does that mean you're going to keep her?" Well, to make a long story short, within about 8 hours of hospital time, my wife gave birth to a little girl. Not so little, 8 lbs 15 + 1/2 ounces. So 25 years ago today, I greeted my little girl into our family. Happy Birthday Ashley. It's been a wonderful quarter century, looking forward to the next 25.
Oh, as for my mother-in-law the worrier. In the morning (while we were at the hospital delivering a baby) she tried to call us. Of course we didn't answer, so she called the hospital. All they would tell her was that she had been admitted, but no details. She called my coworkers. They told her what they knew, which was nothing. She called my coworkers several times. Finally, one suggested that she call the fathers' waiting room.
When she called the fathers' waiting room, a nice man put her on hold and went to find me. When he got back he told her he had spoken to me and I would call her as soon as it was over. She felt so much better. I never met the man and I certainly didn't speak to him, but I'm glad she felt better.
Happy Birthday Ashley!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Oregon man says he's pregnant
Ok, most of you will just find this repulsive. Yes, you read the title right. Seems a man in Oregon is now (at least) 22 weeks pregnant. How did this happen? Well, it turns out the man is "transgendered" - that is he started out as a female. Somewhere along the way he decided to change sides, now he's considered a man. But he kept his female parts (I don't know or even want to know about male parts). I was going to post a link to the story, but even thinking about it is upsetting my breakfast. If you want to read more, do a search on "oregon man pregnant".
So, why would I blog about this? Well, first I'm avoiding writing my final note about Obama's racism speech. Procrastination may not solve anything, but at least it puts things off. And a second reason, is that I have a couple of good jokes about it.
Some folks have commented that they think I'm pregnant. Looking at my "bulge" (it's actually beyond a bulge), they will ask about it. I simply rub my protruding belly and say that I'm due in February (this works best in the fall). In fact, I still have a button that says "I'm due in February", so I can say this with confidence.
Then I tell the questioner my favorite story, that I've never seen an EPT test come back negative. My wife tried those things three times, they always showed positive. They've come a long way since 1984, when I first saw one. We studied that thing carefully for 10 minutes. At the proper "end time", the circle showed, but then was gone within a few more minutes. Our joy was tempered with fear that we had read it wrong, but soon enough, the doctor confirmed out happiness.
By the third time we needed an EPT, the test had gotten much easier and cheaper. My wife bought a double set, so she could try it a second time just in case. The testing was much quicker and much more clear, so there was no doubt and no reason to use the second test. I told her that I wanted to try it. I had never seen one negative and we had an extra one, so why not? Instead of allowing me to try it, she threw it away. (I've been told by others that they have seen these show negative and I've learned that this is not funny to certain women - use with caution).
My final joke about pregnancy is to tell soon-to-be mom's that childbirth is no big deal. I've been through it three times with no pain reliever at all, and I came through ok. I did take a little time off, but I went back to work in about a week and had no problems. (Typically, I make sure I'm more than an arm's length away before I say this).
Note to any female offended by these comments: Someday, I will post a blog about how I've worked with a few couples who couldn't conceive and I understand their pain.
So, why would I blog about this? Well, first I'm avoiding writing my final note about Obama's racism speech. Procrastination may not solve anything, but at least it puts things off. And a second reason, is that I have a couple of good jokes about it.
Some folks have commented that they think I'm pregnant. Looking at my "bulge" (it's actually beyond a bulge), they will ask about it. I simply rub my protruding belly and say that I'm due in February (this works best in the fall). In fact, I still have a button that says "I'm due in February", so I can say this with confidence.
Then I tell the questioner my favorite story, that I've never seen an EPT test come back negative. My wife tried those things three times, they always showed positive. They've come a long way since 1984, when I first saw one. We studied that thing carefully for 10 minutes. At the proper "end time", the circle showed, but then was gone within a few more minutes. Our joy was tempered with fear that we had read it wrong, but soon enough, the doctor confirmed out happiness.
By the third time we needed an EPT, the test had gotten much easier and cheaper. My wife bought a double set, so she could try it a second time just in case. The testing was much quicker and much more clear, so there was no doubt and no reason to use the second test. I told her that I wanted to try it. I had never seen one negative and we had an extra one, so why not? Instead of allowing me to try it, she threw it away. (I've been told by others that they have seen these show negative and I've learned that this is not funny to certain women - use with caution).
My final joke about pregnancy is to tell soon-to-be mom's that childbirth is no big deal. I've been through it three times with no pain reliever at all, and I came through ok. I did take a little time off, but I went back to work in about a week and had no problems. (Typically, I make sure I'm more than an arm's length away before I say this).
Note to any female offended by these comments: Someday, I will post a blog about how I've worked with a few couples who couldn't conceive and I understand their pain.
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