Science is overrated....

My friend at school predicted the sex of the baby last week using a pencil, piece of thread and a needle. I know, it doesn't seem scientific or reliable, at least that's what I thought. But she used it on herself and it "predicted" that, in her lifetime, she'd have two boys and a girl (which is what she has). So after these trial runs, I get "tested". The verdict...in my lifetime, I'm going to have a girl (Victoria), and a BOY:) Can't wait to see if this test was right.

Any predictions you'd like to share?

So how was your month?

I cannot believe it's been a month since we were able to post. Actually, having been around here the past month, I can believe it.

With marching band season, and school, and fall sports, and other assorted real life kind of things going on, it's been hard to post. We've also had to deal with a dodgy internet connection that has been totally unpredictable. It's working now, though, so here I am.

Melody and I went in to the OB/GYN - or as I call her, the O.G.* - for the second monthly check-up Tuesday morning. Despite being unable to find a parking spot within the same ZIP code as the office, things went well. We did get to hear the heartbeat this time around, a rock-solid 140 B.P.M. Cool, right?

Our O.G. must have a lot of patients obsessed with finding out the gender because she immediately said "And you CAN'T tell the sex of the baby from the heartbeat." Two check-ups, two "and you CAN'T tell the sex" lines from her. Okay, Doc, we get it.

Not that we need to know the sex of the baby. Most people have already declared it a boy. I even had my first baby dream this week, and the baby was a boy.

We CAN tell the sex of the baby from a 20-week ultrasound, which we will have sometime around/after Thanksgiving (we haven't set that appointment yet). We're still set on Carolina Lily for a girl. We've been favoring Brooklyn Ilan for a boy, but we've been known to change our minds.

I will leave you with a scan from our first ultrasound last month - one normal shot and one with our latest progeny highlighted. Enjoy.

--Kess

*O.G. is hip hop slang, standing for "Original Gangster." It's also Ice-T's fourth album, released in 1991. This is incredibly funny to me. Mama Kess pretends to laugh along with me, part of the reason our marriage has worked so well.

What Not To Say To Expectant Parents Part 1

"Ohhhhh...You don't want to have a baby born on April 16. That's the day my mom died."

"THE Talk"

Tonight was the night. After putting it off for a day or two, I finally answered the burning question of the week:

"How does the daddy's sperm get inside the mommy?"



It wasn't that hard to do, actually. I had a day or two to look up age-appropriate things to say and to psych up for it. When the moment came, I stifled a nervous giggle and pressed ahead.



Whew. I hope I passed that test.



I gave VJ the scientific info she needed and made sure she knew it was okay to ask me any thing, any time. I only made her promise me one thing. Don't - don't - talk to your friends about this. Every mommy and daddy gets to tell their child about it in their own special way and they, not you, get to be the messenger. I hope she takes me seriously.



It's been nearly seven years since I had a newborn to care for, about two years since I had a preschooler. I realized the other day that I'm a bit out of the loop and better start brushing up on the latest trends in parenting.



Dana Loesch's column in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reminded me just how out of it I am. I recognized precious few of the shows on her "official pretentious hipster guide to kiddie shows" list. I agree with her on Lazytown, Oswald and Thomas the Tank Engine. Just horrible.



She piqued my interest, however, with her rave reviews for Yo Gabba Gabba, I show I was inclined to dislike on name alone (reminds me too much of the Doodlebops and TeleTubbies). How could Biz Markie be on a children's show and I not know about it?!?!?!? This is an outrage. I'm totally setting a tape for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. It's time to brush up on the beatboxing skills.



--Jeff

It's Official!

So I guess this means it's official. We have seen the baby's heartbeat. It was a long process, but we finally viewed the this living creature and all it's amazingness.

We are 9 weeks and 6 days pregnant, which made it somewhat difficult to pick up the heartbeat the usual way. So the doctor decided we should have an ultrasound to see that everything was fine.

Once we saw the baby, it suddenly became real. We really ARE having a baby, and it really IS growing inside my body! It was moving it's tiny little arms, and it's heart was pumping strongly.

It is too early to view the sex of the baby, but all that is important right now is that the baby is healthy and has a strong heartbeat. We couldn't ask for anything more!

We will keep you updated as to the progress of this pregnancy, and we will share our ultrasound pictures as soon as we get them scanned in.