#expecting parent

Dave & his wife are expecting a baby!

Well, our household got hit with the flu last week. My wife was the one who got it. She struggled with what we think was a little bit of a cold all that week leading up to Friday but then it finally hit her. I unfortunately had an event to work and managed to get home early but she had already thrown up twice. She spent most the rest of the night making hurried trips to the bathroom. 

The reason I'm telling you about this is because we were both scared. How does this affect the baby? Will it still be healthy from this? What can we find around the house to get some food into my wife? Why do we have no Gatorade around the house? Why is our damn doctor's appointment so far away?

It was scary, especially for me because I have no clue of anything thing to do. I'm trying to read things that I think will help. My wife found some "mother to be" blog entry of a week-by-week of what you should expect that actually takes a little bit of a humorous and sarcastic side to pregnancy. We both like it and so far it's been almost spot on. I would most certainly give it and the author credit but all she's told me is that she found it on Pinterest. It's hidden on some secret baby board that no one else can see, I'm assuming until we announce it. But nothing in that tells you what to do with the flu. And what can you do that would be any different form what you would normally need to do with the flu?

My wife has been feeling the morning sickness but just not getting sick. We think we've finally found a routine for her that's helped with some ginger ale and crackers. It's not much but it's nothing that would upset her stomach and it fits the other rule that we've found; she needs to eat something every 3-4 hours so she doesn't feel sick during the day. Then the trick is to find something that looks/smells/sounds appealing to her. She all of a sudden now has a Gus like super-sniffer. (have to be a fan of the show Psych to get that one) One minute something sounds great, and 30 minutes later it's the worst thing to have around.

Pregnancy is weird.

A sequel from my previous blog lol - in regards to what I want & don’t want for my baby (I’m not even a parent YET & already having fun with this).

I told my boyfriend that if my baby is a boy I don’t want him having any toy weapons that look like the actual thing. Water guns, those water swords you play with in the pool but nothing resembling a real gun.

Why? I want my son to play with trucks & cars, I want him to play with digging equipment in the dirt, I want him to play with plastic tools & try to fix whatever around the house. I want him to go on backyard adventures & let his imagination run just as wild as him.

If I’m to have a baby girl, of course the dolls would come into play. But I’d also want her mind to run free by the stories id read her. I want her to be messy, to paint, to bake, to dance around. To make tents in the lounge room & sleep in there with her friends.

To say that I was elated when I heard the news that I was going to be a daddy, would be an enormous understatement. When my wife showed me the two deep red lines that were inked on the pregnancy strip, I couldn't help myself but let my tears fall. The doctor's confirmation we received at the following visit sent another rush through our bodies, pumping us with another dose of elation. The tough part was to come, waiting share with others.

The next 5 weeks of waiting was long, but worth it. We, like many couples, didn't want to share our great news too early, and waiting only made sense. There were oh so many interactions where both my wife and I had to bite our tongues. Our desire to keep it quiet until the right time even pushed us to avoid friendships just in order to avoid spilling the beans. I can say that avoiding those friends was a very tough thing to do. 

All our waiting has finally paid off. Friday we went to the doctor and had our first ultrasound where for the first time I got to see my child. It was amazing, to say the least. I was able to see the buds of legs and arms forming, and of course there was the fluttering of her tiny heart. Realizing that in just seven short months I would be holding my first child in my arms sent shivers through my entire body.

Looking forward has become my new mantra. Financial responsibility has taken on a whole new meaning. My decision-making is being tailored to ensure that I prepare myself to be a quality head-of-the-house, and a great daddy. My health has taken on another level of importance, as I want to be in great health so I can take care of something so wonderfully precious. My desire to be more industrious, like the desire to build hand-crafted things for my future child, has surprisingly been on the rise since we found out. There have been so many new shifts in my thoughts, desires, and goals that I am trying to take them all in stride. 

Looking forward means a change of pace, a new way of thinking and processing ideas, and preparing myself to take care of my first child. I have seven months to get myself ready for the single biggest change of my life. What life has ahead for my wife and I is going to change rapidly over those seven months and the months to follow, and we couldn't be more excited.

A young cousin of mine has been waiting for us to become pregnant for quite a long time, and I believe he summed it up best. When he found out, he simply said, "OH MY GOSH! What are you going to name it?"