Guest Post #3: Things That Give Me Nightmares

by Jason Huffman

1) He is born a different ethnicity from me. Not because I have any prejudices, but if he comes out anything other than Caucasian, I would like to have a word with our fertility doctor. I have heard of babies switched at birth, but babies switched at conception sounds like a great Jerry Springer episode...or a great Lifetime movie. I can see it now: "The Doctor Who Mixed Up The Test Tubes: The Belbertwald Huffman Story." I don’t know which roles they would play, but I insist that it stars Judith Light, Valerie Bertinelli and Meredith Baxter. Meredith Baxter will play me.

2) He looks like one of my college roommates. Then, I would like to have a word with my wife. During our fertility hurdles, many of my male friends sincerely and selflessly offered their support. Perhaps I needed to make it clear that this was not the type of support I was seeking.

3) He has been hiding a brother or sister in there. We would love a second child someday, but this would put a wrench in my delicately planned out, OCD life. I've been saving for your college education since I was six years old. I have a spreadsheet about you, son. Don't make me edit it.

4) The Farmer's Almanac is correct and I end up delivering him myself on the side of Powhite in two feet of snow. For those of you who know me well, I don’t do medical things. I don’t like getting blood drawn. If I have to be anywhere near the business end of this miracle, everyone suffers. Don’t get me wrong. I will do what needs to be done. But it would take an epidural and Xanax to get me through it.

5) He comes out using a Blackberry. I figure by the time he is a teen, texting will have evolved into some sort of brainwave, implanted chip type of shenanigans, where teens stare at each other and transmit telekinetic OMGs and LOLs while I sit there saying, "Back in my day, we had to use machines to text...whippersnappers!" Besides, I use an iPhone.

6) He is born with a birthmark in the shape of the University of Maryland mascot. Or worse, if he is born with a Virginia Tech tattoo. Come to think of it, if he is born with any tattoo.

33 Weeks (Christmas Day)

Snow vacation

It's 5 days before Christmas and there's a foot of snow on the ground.  I'm off of work for the next week.  I haven't left my house for 2 days and it's been GREAT.  A lot of much-needed productivity AND relaxation has been had.

Yesterday, we finally did our Christmas cards.  Unfortunately our Christmas letter, which took 2 print jobs to get right, didn't fit in the photo card envelopes.  Rather than fold the letter to make it fit, Jason took it upon himself to trim the sides.  It wasn't our best effort, but they're done and they turned out great.  Now we'll be lucky if they arrive in people's mailboxes before Christmas! 

I spent the bulk of today opening, sorting, washing, and organizing everything in the baby's room (including the cutest diaper cake that my mother-in-law made). Even though we won't get the rest of our furniture until January, I want to do everything I can now.  Four full loads of laundry later, this baby already has quite the wardrobe, and it makes his mom and dad proud! :)

In the midst of all of the productivity, we squeezed in a Christmas movie (The Polar Express), some baking, and a few decent meals, with lots and lots of Christmas music in the background.

Tomorrow, let the Christmas shopping begin (yep, that's right).  Happy Holidays, everyone!

Shower!

This weekend I had a wonderful shower given by my friend, Deb.  She has the most lovely home and was an amazing hostess, and everyone had a great time.  The food was delicious and company couldn't have been better.  I came home with lots of things that will be put to good use - to name just a few, diapers, books, toys, blankets, clothes, memory books, a booster seat...even some Pee Pee TeePees!  Jason and I are truly grateful for all of the support of friends and family as we anticipate baby's arrival.  We could not do it without you all!!

(To the right, a photo of mom and me at the shower.)

30 weeks and counting

My delay in blogging should give you an idea of the kind of December we're having - busy busy busy!!  'Tis the season.  Despite the busy-ness (and stress), it has been fun to do holiday decorating and activities along with baby preparations.  In my head, Christmas has been the last big "landmark" before the baby's arrival, and Christmas is 2.5 weeks away.  Yikes!

I am just past the 30-week mark.  The baby recently got the hiccups which was completely fascinating.  His movements are quite pronounced and frequent on a daily basis.  Something tells me we're going to have a very active little boy on our hands.

We got our rocker/glider, so there is now one piece of furniture in the nursery!  I'll post a photo of that soon.  Still waiting on the rest of the nursery furniture to arrive, which is really testing our patience (not that there aren't a million other projects to do in the meantime).

Last night, we attended our first official class.  I'll spare you the details as the topic was breastfeeding.  What I will say is that I was completed impressed with the high attendance of dads and the fact that they asked more questions than the moms.  We learned a lot and I felt a sense of relief in having some information told to me point-blank by an "expert" - I think I'm growing tired of weeding through books and advice.  Sometimes I just want someone to tell me what to do!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.