The Rumors are True

Yes, our due date actually is tomorrow.

This ominous "May 27th" that has loomed in our distance since early September has finally arrived. And yet - no baby. He is still quite happy inside, growing at an alarming rate, and evidently unaware of what he's missing in the outside world. Wait, who am I kidding, the kid has constant access to warmth, food, and attention. Who would give that up?

But, I digress. I'm sure you are wondering when the big day will be and, believe me, so are we. For the past four weeks (yes, FOUR weeks, and I'm not even due yet) I've had the most unlikely of people ask me (to my face) "so, have you had that baby yet?" to which I would generally like to respond "does it look like it?". Other frequent and similarly stupid questions have included "when are you going to have that baby?" and "How far is your cervix dialated?" (a note about that last question: My midwife doesn't check my cervix. Why? because it's a completely irrelevent measure of progress until one is actually in active labor. One woman could walk around three centimeters dialated for 3 weeks while another could be zero centimeters dialated one day and have her baby the next - on a totally seperate note, our co-workers really souldn't be asking us how far dialated I am, I think it's a rather innappropriate question for them to ask. Then again, I'm very pregnant, uncomfortable, and SICK of people reminding me of those two things, so maybe this is my over-sensitivity speaking. You can't blame me, can you?)

But, I dirgress (wait, didn't I already do that?). If you happen to know a woman who is pregnant, regardless of how far along she is, let me give you the following tip. No matter how tempting it may be, please kindly resist the urge to remind her that she's "getting close!" or that it could happen "any day now!" because the reality of it all is that a due date is really just an estimate -it is not a gold standard. Let me remind you that the baby doesn't know a single thing about a calendar, or about time, and he certainly has no idea what a due date is. No, a due date means very little as only 5% of babies actually arrive on them (90% arrive within 7 days of their duedate, on either side, while the remaining 5% arrive well before or well after)

Take home message: I have no say in when this baby arrives. I am more anxious than you are to have him out, BELIEVE ME! So, if you find yourself just dying to know if we've made any "progress", rest assured, be it by blog, e-mail, phone, or facebook, you will be aprised of the details eventually and if we can be patient, so can you.

I welcome your encouragement, but I really need you to help me let the due-date anxiety go by focusing on other things for the time being. Thank you for your support!

A post from dad

Hello Everyone,

My wife has done a wonderful job keeping you all up to date on the goings on with us over here in Nebraska. She is such a good writer. With the impending birth of our little one growing ever closer I thought this would be a good time to give you a sense of how Dad is doing.

It has been a wild and fun ride, though challenging. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of our midwife appointments and childbirth classes. I love the ultrasound images and the heart beats on the Doppler. I am learning a lot as a new parent already, mostly that I still have a lot to learn. It is a gradual process, one that I am thankful to be blessed with.

The big moment for me thus far was finding out we were having a boy! That certainly cemented the concept for me. As my wife began to expand (I think she is absolutely gorgeous) our little guy began to take on a personality all his own. We are head over heels and we haven’t even met him face to face.

That will be a scary and wonderful day. I am reminded of something that my dad said to me recently, something he remembers from seeing me for the first time. As I was minutes old, he was minutes old as a father. There is no instruction book that comes individualized for each child. We learn together.

Dad and Levi have “tummy time” (when Dad puts his hand on Mom’s belly to feel Levi’s acrobatics). He tends to quiet down when Dad is around, whatever that means, but I absolutely love to feel him move. I talk to him often and he definitely responds to my voice or the vibrations anyhow. I think it is because it is deeper than Mom’s, which is with him all day.
We enjoy sharing this experience with those around us who are interested.

We (our life group from Church plus Jared & the Gipe family) surprised Melissa with a baby shower a few weeks ago. Everyone played their parts well and we totally got her. You should have seen the look on her face…priceless. (the picture below is us trying to cloth-diaper a stuffed bear - only using one hand each)

It isn’t often that you can pull one over on her, the little stinker. Her intuition is too sharp, or she is just nosey, I can’t say which – I’ll get in trouble :o) If she hadn’t been pregnant, there would have been no hope. It definitely leveled the playing field.

Our “babymoon” (visit to a local bed and breakfast) was wonderful. Mom and Dad are certainly enjoying spending time together before their little one joins the fray.

The new “space diapers” will be interesting. My my…have we come a long way from squares of cloth and diaper pins or what? I’m totally on board.

Rumor has it that the decision making continues for at least the next 20 years of this little guy’s life. It is good exercise for spousal communication that is for sure. Thank you all for your support and for sharing in this journey with us.

Until next time – Praise be to God,
Jonathan