It's A Girl!!!

Jenna and I decided we wanted to know the sex of the baby. Neither of us are particularly good with waiting on surprises and we have so much baby stuff in storage, it gave us plenty of time to organize and get ready (by plenty of time I mean Jenna has already done it because she is the premier dominant force in parental planning and organization, thanks love).

Our appointment was Friday morning, the day after our 4th wedding anniversary. The ultrasound tech was a pretty funny lady who nicely asked us to look away anytime she was going to show something that might give the gender away. The anatomical screening was really cool anyways. For those of you who are new to this, they basically get at least one good picture of every major body part so the doctor can review it and make sure everything looks good. It took us about ten minutes of Jenna being poked and prodded to get a sort of good picture of the babies left hand.

We left the doctors office with an envelope sealed and decided to have a little picnic for ourselves. We took the trek to Highland Park and sat underneath a nice tree with a great view of the sunset and the reservoir.

We celebrated with a photo shoot.

We had countless conversations and guesses about the babies sex, but in all honesty neither of us cared either way. We were too excited in general. That being said, we both assumed it was a boy. It was not. For a brief few seconds (minutes/hours/days... I don't know) I might have freaked out a little. I'm not saying I'm buying guns and turning to religion and strict conservativism, but I am saying Romney! Romney! Romney!*

For five excruciating days Jenna and I kept our secret. Exchanging name ideas. Smiling every time we said she. Just living in the joy of knowing. Throughout those five days we prepped what would become one of the best parties I've ever been a part of. We have so many loving family and friends who are already a huge part of our babies lives, we decided to celebrate the cupcake (our nephew Elijah told us if it was a girl we should name her cupcake... it has become a go to nickname already) with as many people as could make it to our house on a Wednesday evening. We were missing some close friends and family, but if my count is right 53 of our friends showed up for the occasion.

We only invited three people.

The amount of love that has already been shared and expressed from the folks above and our friends and most importantly family members who couldn't be there has been staggering. We're having a little girl and literally EVERYONE we know loves her. She's not even here yet and I'm thinking of making her a Facebook page (jk jk).

I made a few comments at the party, as I often do, thanking everyone for being there and expressing my love, respect and admiration. I assume that is what I said. If it wasn't, that's what I meant and I hope it was conveyed through the tears I was fighting back and the gigantic smile on my face.

Little Baby Cupcake Chew is a girl! She's beautiful. She's so smart, it's unbelievable. I can finally feel her kicks (which is surreal and phenomenal and is making me smile right now) and I'm pretty sure they are in  Morse Code. The first time I felt it I'm pretty sure she said Go Bills.

I'm so thankful for the people in my life. I hope you can tell.

* Authors note: Comedy hurts sometimes and I can assure you it pained me to type those words and that name. Obviously just kidding.

Moving and shaking... less shaking.

Last week Jenna and I bought the baby's crib and put it together, together. I had finished up the room (a project that took way longer than I thought it was going to take, partially do to the trickiness of crown molding and partly due to me taking a two week break after the crown molding project).

Looking around the room and imagining everything we and the baby are going to do in the room was an overwhelming thought. I started remembering playing in my room when I was a little boy. A three year old lining up his stuffed animals and pretending I was a teacher. My first poster I put up on my own, when I was old enough to think things were cool.

Then one of my best friends and his wife had twins and I started thinking of all the friends the baby is going to have. That led to thinking of all the people who already love and cherish our baby and they haven't even meant it. We are finding out the sex Friday and next week we are having a Gender Reveal Party (because Sex Reveal Party sounds too provocative) and people are so excited for it. We have more people insisting on babysitting our child than asking. Friends who look out for Jenna and offer me completely unconditional support.

I'm not surprised. If anyone has ever read either of my other blogs, you know how much of an influence our friends and families are in our lives, but this is an entirely new level of love, respect, and community I was not expecting. In a lot of ways our baby and our family is a very private, personal, and special event Jenna and I get to experience together, but there is this whole encompanying sub plot involving the people around us who will be a huge part of our babies life.

I'm not one for blessings, but I do feel remarkably loved and supported. It isn't always easy. Jenna and I are doing our best and learning more and more as the days go by, but I can say with certainty and joy that the people around us want to make it better and easier. Sometimes people say the wrong thing or have no idea what the experience entails, but in a lot of ways that is just as nice. Their concern, over complicated personal and social adjustments, or just general lack of knowledge on the subject matter is endearing. It reminds me how special it is to be going through this. This entire experience puts us in a new an exciting challenge we get to tackle together. Thankfully we have a gigantic (and super attractive) team of supporters behind us. Let's just say Jenna is Ryan Fitzpatrick, I'm Mario Williams, and all our friends and family are packing into Rich Stadium every Sunday to support us as we completely and totally win the Super Bowl this year and every year after this. (I've been thinking of Football a lot lately. Editor's Note: If the Bill's end up doing poorly, which I highly doubt, please adjust this analogy to Jenna being McAdams, I'm Gossling, and all our friends and family are the millions of people who love the Notebook.)

I can't wait to meet this little person. I can't wait to be a dad. I already love seeing Jenna's little belly and it makes me just melt to think of where the world is taking us. Thanks everyone who has shared their love and support. It makes everything so much easier and I'm definitely not scared to admit we're going to need it. I hope to return the favor to all of you (via hugging) as soon as I can.

Totally Worth It

The wait that is. This long overdue post and the coming of the newest Chew are both very much worth the wait!  I realized its been 5 busy weeks since I last posted a summary update and I'm going to use the pregnancy/parent card here as I apologize for being such a slacker. I'm sure this won't be the last baby related adventure that I launch into with strong determination only to find that fatigue has once again gotten the best of me!

         Baby Chew waving hello at 13 Weeks!

Estimated Due Date: January 6, 2013

Pregnancy: 17weeks 2 days- Second Trimester

The baby is as big as: A sweet potato

Weight gain: Well, I stopped checking when I started seeing numbers on the scale that I've never seen there before but let's just assume I'm right around the recommended 10 lbs!

Baby bump: Yes! It has emerged and is undeniable!

 

What am I craving? As boring as it is, I haven't had any wild cravings like in the movies. No pickles dipped in chocolate frosting or frosted flakes saturated in orange juice for this gal. I have however, been enjoying an old favorite more than usual. Around week 14, I ate Indian food 4 glorious days in a row. I forced  Thomas (not really, he loves his pregnant wife's appetite!) to take me out to several different Indian buffets so I could critique and rate each of their variations of Chicken Tikka Masala and Chana Masala. Thomas, being the attentive husband that he is, even took a stab at making my two favorite Indian dishes at home! Despite being a tad spicier than I usually enjoy, they were delicious! The Best Indian food in Rochester study is still being conducted and I'm thinking it probably won't be over until somewhere around January 6th.

How am I feeling?  I still feel good!  I have almost as much energy as I had before pregnancy and my bedtime has even creeped back up to 10:00pm! It seems I bypassed pretty much all nausea associated with the first trimester which I will forever be thankful for!

Interesting/Noteworthy events of the week: I felt baby movement! The first movement I experienced felt like a golf ball rolling around in my stomach and it was honestly quite petrifying at first! Not knowing what to expect and having never felt anything like it before, the first few squirms totally freaked me out! At first I only felt movement periodically, maybe once every few days but now, at 17 weeks, I feel movement several times a day. I recently started feeling tiny little kicks through out the day that instantly bring a smile to my face. Whenever I feel the tiny little poke, I picture the tiniest, most fragile little arm or leg attempting to beat me up from the inside and it makes me laugh to myself. Its just such an adorable thought! I'm sure I won't be saying the same thing in 10 weeks when the baby's bones are totally formed though. Those real punches to the ribs will probably be significantly less precious!

Interesting thoughts: Lately I've been thinking a lot about what I expected pregnancy to be like and how it has actually been for me and I must say, I had a pretty unrealistic interpretation of how I thought it would go. I realize that physically, I've been blessed by the pregnancy gods. I've had a very uncomplicated pregnancy, the baby is growing like a champ, I dodged the nausea bullet and my bump has been kindly slow to take off. What I never gave much thought before pregnancy is the emotional and mental toll that growing a baby can take on a mother to be. When I envisioned myself as a pregnant women, I pictured the bump, the nursery, the list of names, and my husband constantly rubbing cocoa butter on my belly (he doesn't do it nearly enough!). What I left out, what I never pictured, was me worrying constantly about my tiny baby or the way that every single decision I make during the day is effected by that tiny baby. For some reason, I never thought about the connection between my pregnant mind and pregnant body and the influence that that connection would have on every single aspect of my life. Probably the toughest part of pregnancy for me has been making the adjustment from "I" to "we" when thinking and making decisions that I was so used to making for myself, all alone. I'm slowly learning to be the most unselfish version of me ever to exist. Its not easy, but then again, no one said pregnancy or childbirth or parenting or life in general is. But its all so worth it and I'm so thankful for all of it.

P.S- Our anatomic scan is scheduled for August 17 (the day after our 4 year wedding anniversary- yay!) and we are BEYOND excited! We plan on asking the ultrasound tech to keep the sex a secret while we're in our ultrasound and to write down and seal it for us once its determined. We decided that, with something so special we want to learn the news with just us two together so that we can really share the excitement. We haven't decided when or where we're going to open the envelope yet but when we do I'm sure there will be plenty of tears and jumping up and down. As far as sharing the news with others, we decided to keep it to ourselves as our own secret for a few days and we'll be making an announcing later the following week!

Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle

Seeing the baby move in our second ultra sound was mind blowing.

One second I see and hear the heartbeat (which is still amazing).

The next second we're getting measurements and I'm realizing how much bigger the baby has become since the first ultra sound.

Then Boom! Movement, lots of movement. The angle and image that pops into my mind is a wave like gyration reminiscent of how Robin Sparkles danced in her old music video from How I Met Your Mother. Strange reference, maybe, but that's what popped into my head.

Either way... Mind. Blown.

The development, both of the baby and Jenna and myself as a couple of parents, is such a crazy phenomenon. We read the websites, have a pile of baby books, and we talk about baby stuff quite a bit. Some say it's the size of a lemon, others say plum, others say medium sized star fruit (they really like fruit references and nobody said anything about a medium sized star fruit). I feel like I've already learned so much, but I know I haven't even touched the surface. I'm surprised all the time. It's the best surprise though, because it's ongoing, constant, and it ends with being a parent.

I have noticed a few other things that have struck me as funny or interesting. Most potently is the fact that I am much more emotional now than I have ever been before. I don't cry, obviously, because I'm a man and men never cry... what are you trying to say, I'll fight you! Just kidding, I don't buy into the archetypes set by the dumbest parts of our society over the sexes. I don't cry... yet. I have smiled gigantic smiles or gotten ridiculously happy based on TV shows, movies, nice stories, anything. My friend Spencer said turning 40 made him a cry baby, but I think it was having his daughter Charlie and the lack of time he spends with me.

I (sorta) understand the whole, touch the pregnant woman's belly. I constantly want to touch Jenna's belly, even though we can just now feel the little baby bump (also awesome). I assume this means that when friends or strangers hear Jenna is pregnant, they are filled with so much instant, deeply rooted in personal history, and intense love for her and the baby and just can't stay away. That happens right?

Overall, I'm just elated. I know I keep saying similar things and might come off as a broken record, but when that record is playing the best song in the world, who can blame me.

12 Week Summary

Estimated Due Date: January 6, 2013

Pregnancy: 12 weeks 2 days- First Trimester

The baby is as big as: A Plum

Weight gain: +2lbs

Baby bump: Just a tiny one that is hidden very easily!

What am I craving?   My cravings come in waves. I call them kicks. This past weekend I was on an orange root vegetable kick so we ate a lot of sweet potatoes and butternut squash. Past kicks have been much less healthy: lemon desserts, ice cream bars, skittles to name a few. 

How am I feeling?    I’ve been so fortunate not to have had much by the way of nausea. With the exception of one day around 6 weeks, I have been mostly nausea free! My most prominent symptom is definitely fatigue. Over the past weekend, I made the mistake of thinking I could stay up until my old weekend bedtime of 1:00 am twice in a row. Let’s just say that my days of staying up past 12am for recreation purposes are probably pretty much over! I’ve been paying for my late night fun since Sunday! 

Interesting/Noteworthy events of the week:  Our OB appointment on Thursday was mostly uneventful except for one little bump; our doctor was not very pleased with my blood pressure. I have a history of slightly elevated blood pressure but not so much so that any doctor has ever been concerned. However, as I’m learning, pregnancy can do whacky things to your body that you have NO control over! Unfortunately for me, pregnancy induced hypertension is one of those things. The good news is that the (totally safe) low dose of medication that I was put on is working and my blood pressure is back down to where the doctors like it. I’ll be closely monitored for the remainder of our pregnancy as a precaution but as of now, all looks well!

Interesting thoughts: Being put on blood pressure medication was a challenge for me. It was tough to accept the fact that I’m not a super-mom and that there are aspects of the pregnancy that my body just can’t do unassisted. I have been consciously eating balanced meals, staying active and getting enough rest (with the exception of last weekend!) but it had never crossed my mind that, while I’m doing all the right things, our baby might not be getting the most vital component, enough blood (which is the risk to the baby when the mother has high blood pressure). It was a scary reminder of how complex the process of growing a life is and made me very thankful that the process has been going so smoothly for us otherwise.  

A Biscuit in the Oven

After hearing the heartbeat for the second time, Thomas and I decided it was time to make the pregnancy “Facebook official”.  We wanted to make sure that we personally told those closest to us and once that was done, we were ready to open the flood gates. We wanted to make the announcement creative and a little silly and we both liked the idea of posting something abstract that forced our friends to think a little. After throwing around some ideas, we decided to play off of the phrase “Bun in the oven”. The only problem was that it was 7am on a Friday morning and the only bun-like pastry in the Chew household was a roll of refrigerated Pillsbury biscuits. That was good enough for us! So baking ensued and we posted our very exciting news soon after.  Within seconds we were inundated with “likes” and comments. We were so overwhelmed with the excitement of our friends and are so comforted knowing that we will have so much support during our adventures through parenthood! Thank you all!! 

Just checking in

It seems these notes aren't as easy to write as I thought they would be.

Things are moving so fast and yet way too slowly. Huge changes, but things are still exactly the same. Life is just different now and Mommy and I are figuring it out pretty well I think.

I'll tell you one thing for sure, your Mommy is a champ. She works really hard, thinks about you constantly, and is already getting ready and making sure your life is going to be amazing. It is hard to keep up with her sometimes.

We went to visit our friend Evans' in North Carolina last weekend and she was great. We took you to your first concert. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band pumped your tiny ears full of New Orleans Jazz and will help insure your imminent awesomeness.

Pretty much everything gets me thinking about you. Who you will be, what you're going to like or dislike. Our friends are a big part of that too. Our friends here in Rochester and all over the place are really excited to meet you. They're probably going to spoil you and teach you all the cool things I'm not allowed to teach you. They will introduce you to amazing music, tell you stories about Mommy and Daddy, and you'll learn about how friends can become family and how important it is to surround yourself with great people without even trying.

Our lives will never be the same and at first that was really scary. Now I'm excited for it. I want to meet you. I want to meet me in a year. I want to meet me in four years and see if I'm holding up to my ideas of what and whom I want to be for you.

I find myself thinking and getting excited and worrying and then overthinking and then I stop. I take a breath. I think all of those things and I realize between me, you, your mom, our family, our friends, and Google we can handle anything.

And we will. We'll tackle everything and we'll do it with style.

- Dad