Looks Like a Real Person

28.5 Weeks at this point and entering the homestretch. Carrie is still in good spirits but we're both getting anxious. Time that once seemed to fly by is now standing still.

We did however visit the doctor this week and have some neat stuff to share. Technology is truly amazing and this week we had a 3D ultrasound done in which we got a chance to see up close and personal some images of the baby.

Not sure exactly how this all works but basically it's like looking top down through the stomach and at the baby. If it cooperates things look pretty incredible, if not a little blurry. For the most part the baby wasn't super cooperative but we did get a few great shots that I wanted to share.



Now it's funny because while they're doing the ultrasound the baby is moving and tossing and turning so you get to see all that going on and it's truly a real live person in there at this point which is somewhat shocking to me for some reason.

We saw hands opening and closing. Several times the hand seemed to wave at the "camera" or perhaps the baby is as non photogenic as I am and was attempting to block the view.

Another really crazy thing that happened was it's eyes opening. Apparently this isn't very common for them to catch this on the ultrasounds but it did in fact open it's eyes which again was very exciting but kind of strange as well because the images are pretty vivid.





We found a baby picture of me that Carrie thinks looks VERY similar to the baby in the above photos but we'll have to see when it arrives.

Another note worth mentioning from the visit is a possible answer to the ever popular question of "what are you having?"

We managed to again avoid temptation and not find out the sex but we did have two moments where we thought we might be getting hints from the ultrasound tech and the doc. The problem is they were opposites.

I swear during the ultrasound I heard the word "he" slip a few times while talking about the baby. Problem is after that with the doctor the word "she" slipped. Who knows? and honestly at this point I've given up...everyone seems to have one reason or another why it is what it is based on an old wives tale or something and I guess come the day of the birth we'll just have to prove half of those wrong.

Some Assembly Required

After much deliberation and two cribs being discontinued we left Baby's R Us last night with a crib in tow. I was very impressed with Carrie's selection for a variety of reason. First it is a very nice looking crib and I think it will go well with Carrie's style. More importantly from a man's perspective it looks relatively easy to put together and it was pretty reasonably priced..

Now when I say that it looks easy to put together that was just my opinion in eyeballing it. The true test will come when it actually happens. My doubts were raised though when the box was carted out and the words "Easiest Crib to Assemble" were on the side of the box." Why would you have to say that if it were true? It seems to me that anytime something is "easy" to assemble...it's not.

Fortunately I get to procrastinate a little while longer as the current bathroom remodel is taking precedent along with Kansas basketball season which has turned surprisingly successful over the last couple of months.

Full documention of the crib assembly will be available and if all else fails I guess I'll have to make Thomas get on a plane and fly to Denver. At the moment though confidence is high.

We Have Movement!!!

Well, I finally did it. I finally felt the baby move. Patience isn't exactly my forte and for a while now Carrie has claimed to be feeling the baby move. I however have never caught her or the baby at the right time to successfully feel any movement.

What am I feeling for? What will it feel like? All very confusing at times but never resulting in me feeling any movement which is strange because Carrie feels it so often.

Well the other night that all changed and my first reaction was...whoa...that's strange. At first I wasn't sure if it was Carrie hiccuping or breathing or what but she insisted it was the baby. Then the movement picked up a little and I was reminded of the Alien movies I watches as a child. Yes the the classic films where Sigourney Weaver battles the slimy aliens that pop out of peoples stomachs.

Fortunately I don't think Carrie is housing an alien and the experience of feeling the dancing baby breaking down was both very strange and at the same time exciting.

Now next week we go in for the extensive ultrasound and I guess that's when I'll get to see what this baby looks like and what I felt but for the moment I'm left with the simple fact that something is moving in there and it's a pretty amazing thing.

The Pink Baby Basket

So this story I meant to tell a long time ago but life seems to always get in the way. It happened over Thanksgiving and today I'm looking at this stroller assembled over Christmas and I am reminded of the simplicity of a recent gift. So here it goes...

We visited Kansas City for Thanksgiving and met my mom, grandparents, brother and his wife as well as my uncle and aunt at my grandparents house before heading to our destination. Now if you know my grandpa you will know that he is one of the better story tellers at least that I know. He also seems to have a knack for things that might just be important at some point in time. These two talents gelled together on that day and resulted in a pretty incredible gift in both Carrie's and my own opinion.

It started as we talked about how Carrie was feeling and the whole baby thing and gradually trickled into uncovering old photos of Lee and Mary Duvall in their younger days. Photos through the years trickled to those of their own children sprouting up from a box left in the living room. A particular picture pulled showed an infant child with long curly hair wearing what appeared to be a dresslike garment. The natural assumption, this must be grandma.

To the contrary however, we were quickly informed that the child in the photo was Lee Duvall. Clearly this photo was taken a few years prior to another famous photo of trick horseback riding in Waverly Kansas taken slightly later in life.

Now we get to hear another story from Grandpa and to my surprise this is a new one. Typically we all sit on the edge of our seats for one of the old standby's, crashing the Mexican wedding, camping with the convicts or the Duvalls on parade. Everyone of those are great and if you haven't heard them ask me and I'll do my best to explain or if you get a chance ask him, you'll get the real deal and you won't regret it.

Anyway, back to this story. As the story goes my great grandmother Lela Duvall had apparently always hoped for a girl with her first and only child. Accordingly preparations were made for a girl and to make a long story short this photo of a long curly haired grandpa as a baby was the result of what Lela had planned and prepared for, at least that's how my grandpa tells it.

Now on the surface that seems like a good funny story but here's where it got really neat for Carrie and I. My grandpa's baby basket was in the basement and in his story he explained how a portion of the basket was painted pink for a girl and when he was born rather than change it, it was left that way. He said he was going to pass it to the first great grandchild and as luck would have it, that's my baby!! So he awarded us with this idol of Duvall history and now the question again becomes, what if it's a boy.

Carrie and I have decided that despite my grandpa's blessing in painting it blue or another color if needed, we will honor the tradition boy or girl leaving the baby basket with the original pink trim. While clearly modern technology has left this a bit antiquated as far as practical use, we are very happy to have it, will be using it in some way and when the time comes passing it down the line.

Call me cheesy but I thought this was a pretty neat little story as well as a cool gift. It's gotten much longer than I originally anticipated due to some necessary background information and what I felt was an opportunity to get a good plug in for Grandpa Lee's story telling.


Thanks again grandpa

Update from the Doc

OK, where were we...oh yes Carrie's pregnant. Monday of this week Carrie made a quick trip to the doctor's office for some testing and a regular check up on the baby. First off we are happy to report everything looks great, but I did want to share a mildly humorous story from the visit.

As part of the regular checkup the heartbeat of the baby is checked for an listened to. The first time this happened it was very easy, put the instrument on the belly you hear two heartbeats. One is Carrie's one is the baby's.

On this particular instance there was a whole lot of interference going on with the monitor. After working a little to find the heartbeat the nurse started laughing a bit. Obviously this is at the very least reassuring but Carrie still wondered why she was laughing. When asked to explain she made the statement that this is the most active baby I've ever heard.

Apparently the baby was throwing a party in there because rather than hearing a clear heartbeat there was a whole lot more noise going on.

With this news I can only determine one of two things to be the case.

First it's possible the baby has taken after me when I have a few cocktails at a wedding and taken to the dance floor.

More likely though the answer is this...it is Kansas basketball season and Monday was a big road test against Baylor. Perhaps he/she was afraid of missing the action.

Next checkup is March 2nd...this will be a fairly extensive ultrasound. Should have some good action shots of the dancing machine. The big question is, to find out or not to find out the sex of the baby?

Top 5 Worries of Impending Fatherhood

All right...I have really dropped the ball here. I have every intention in catching up on all the happenings and thoughts of the last couple months. For today however, I think I'll just stick with 5 mostly sarcastic and somewhat humorous worries of impending fatherhood.

#5...What if I break it...I can honestly say I have probably held a baby in my life less than once that I am aware of. So that brings the grand total of experience to zero. Good luck to me...maybe I'll practice on Otis the pug.
#4...So if I'm home alone with the baby and a Kansas basketball or football game is ongoing, would it be appropriate to prop the baby up with a pillow to watch. It's pretty important that he/she become a Jayhawk fan. Furthermore, from day one there will be a rule instituted refusing any tuition payments to the University of Missouri...sorry to anyone who went there, nothing against you but it just ain't happenin!!

#3...What to feed it. I keep thinking if I was a baby, would I want to eat that?. I mean obviously the beginning is pretty self explanatory but I am talking about the jar of mush phase. I mean smashed carrots, sweet potatoes or the dreaded peas...are you kidding me? No wonder most toddlers hate vegetables. If it were me I would want pureed pizza, smashed pumpkin pie or something really good. We all think they make those mashing back and forth movements with their mouths in order to swallow when actually they are trying to spit it out but haven't figured that movement out yet.

#2...The last two are directly related to one daunting task. Changing a diaper. First off, I really don't want to be peed on. I've watched enough America's Funniest Videos in my life to know this is a possibility. That said it will become my mission to avoid this folly of parenthood. Maybe I can invent some sort of shield or modify a welders mask to a more child friendly image. I think I might be onto something here...The #1 Worry of Impending Fatherhood...Finally how to handle changing diapers...Not sure I can pull this off. When it comes to dog messes in our house the extent of my involvement is as a spotter. I spot the issue and Carrie takes care of it. I have been informed that this won't continue with kids. Now a few weeks ago we went on several child care facility tours and after the frequent use of the term "blow out" I am pretty worried. I would put a high probability on a video of me ending up on youtube gagging while trying to accomplish this chore. Why can't they just enter the world as fully functioning toilet users?

Cold Symptoms

I’ve been a bit lazy, under the weather, and busy with the bachelor party over the past weekend so I haven’t been able to update in a little while. So, I figured work is as good as any place to write up a little something.

After spending the holidays in Kansas City and one fun filled afternoon in the cold and rain watching my Kansas Jayhawks crush the delusions of Missouri Tiger fans everywhere I returned home with the dreaded cold/flu. What does that mean when your wife is pregnant? It means you move out. Well not completely but you move out of the bedroom, you sleep on the twin bed in the neighboring room and live off of Nyquil, Dayquil and whatever else you can scrounge together from the kitchen and pharmacy. The tricky part is convincing her you are now well enough to move back in and if anyone has advice on that remedy for the future let me know. See a funny thing happened since I’ve been sleeping in a separate room. Carrie has discovered that the queen size bed is much roomier than she remembered and those 3am blog postings she used to think about are no longer relevant since she doesn’t wake up at 3am tossing and turning. In short when I move out, Carrie moves to the middle of the bed. So while I have gotten her convinced that I am well enough to move back in, I think she is waiting for a cough or sniffle to kick me back out so that she can remain the queen of the castle.

Another side effect of my illness was I am now on the hook for 3 “go get me” coupons. Carrie was kind enough to go out and grab me some Nyquil on my worst night, but in this moment of weakness I agreed to go get her anything she might need or crave on three separate occasions during the pregnancy. I’m sure I have started a disturbing trend, but who am I really kidding?

With regards to the actual pregnancy, Carrie had her second doctors visit after we returned from the holiday and everything continues to look perfectly normal. I believe we are at week 11 in the whole thing and I must admit it sure seems like longer. The next visit will be in early January but as far as any big news I don’t think we can find out what we are having until week 20 or so. Although there is a neat story with regards to that and I will share it later this week.