Maternity Leave

Today is Aimee's first day of her maternity leave. No baby yet, but she had to pick a day to stop working and now is as good as any we suppose. Too bad FMLA isn't paid. I'm so used to working with her sitting next to me, it will be a bit of an adjustment. How many couples can eat lunch together every day (in addition to breakfast and dinner too?) Of course, some of you
would kill each other. Not us, we have always been together almost 24/7. It will actually be difficult being apart.

It looks like our hopes for a 2007 baby are rapidly dwindling, but we will certainly be happy whenever the baby gets here. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers, so far so good!

Doctor Visit Update

Aimee had another Doctor visit today. She isn't dilated any more yet... however she is 50% effaced! That means the cervix is thinned out halfway. Also, the doctor said our little Eva is about 7 lbs! I think Aimee was hoping for a little less =)

She's definitely been having Braxton Hicks contractions, as I can feel her sides and stomach tigthen up and loosen. Thankfully those aren't painful, but they are working the muscles of the uterus to be able to push the baby out. Exciting stuff!

And the baby is squirming - she wants to get out of there and meet us face to face!

The Big Question

The question we've no doubt heard the most in recent weeks is "Are you ready?" Sounds like a loaded question.

Diapers? check. Lots of cloth diapers and all the accessories so they don't stink up the house.

Nursery? Ready.

Car? Mostly ready... car seat and baby bag are packed.

Food? We prepared and froze some meals for quick fixing once we are back home.

Oh - you are asking if we are ready - ready to be parents. I see. Can I say "I think so"? We've read lots of books, taken lots of classes, and in general I think we know what to expect. We know we'll lose some sleep. We know our regularly scheduled lives might spin into disarray within a day of bringing the baby home. So we are somewhat ready for those things.

I saw a cartoon that made me laugh the other day. The father and mother of a baby are getting ready to leave the hospital, and the father says to the doctor "So what time should we wake the baby up in the morning?" Hah! At least we're not that naive.

What we are definitely ready for however is to be surprised and overjoyed as we welcome this little girl into the world and into our family. Yes, that is something we're definitely ready for. And a few weeks off work never hurt either :)

Merry Christmas

We hope you had a Merry Christmas. I know we did. Aimee got me a video series I wanted, and I got her a cappucino machine. One of the reasons she wishes the baby was here already - caffeine!!!

I was reflecting on last Christmas... I think that was the first time Aimee and I felt like somebody was missing. I even had bought a train for under the tree - a tradition from my grandfather - in hopes that sometime soon a little one would be laughing and watching it go around and around. I bought it for me too of course, but still, last year it felt like someone was missing, and now we know who it is, and she'll be here very soon.

We admit it, we tried the spicy food, I tried rubbing Aimee's ankles, and she even went for a jog, but still no baby. I really didn't want her to drink castor oil (sounds all too similar to Castrol Oil). But we didn't want to induce little Eva. We want her to come out when she's ready, in God's timing. And this way she won't have that Christmas/Birthday/I got ripped off stigma.


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

The Waiting Game

It's December 23 and there are no imminent signs of a baby yet. Aimee is really hoping for a 'Christmas Eva'. The actual due date is in 17 days, but we all know of course it could happen any time now. It just doesn't seem to be, so Aimee is a little bummed out. She was at the Doctor again this past Friday and there was no change, she is still only dilated a centimeter (as opposed to one of her friends, which, according to her husband was dilated a METER, but we'll laugh about that and move on, and maybe buy him a yard stick for Christmas.)

Other than that, we are trying to take it slow and enjoy being off work for the holidays. Our company was gracrious enough to give us Christmas Eve off which made for a nice 4-day weekend. Tomorrow's plan: Sleep in.

The Most Exciting Time of Our Lives

This is probably the most exciting time in our lives, and I'm desperately trying to make sure we can slow down and enjoy it. The holidays are already a wonderful time of year, and to add our first baby makes it truly special.

Even though I've worked as a project manager for a few years now and planned out complicated settlements sometimes years in advance, I feel that nothing can really completely prepare me for this baby. This is, I suppose, because it is a new thing entirely. A first child only happens once in your lifetime, if at all. So just when we think we're 'ready', we realize there's more happening.

At the moment, this means that Aimee is trying to segue into her maternity leave soon, which has its own set of implications at work. Also we're starting to make plans for family to visit from out of state, which means trying to make sure we have a place for people to sleep. For now the nursery temporarily has a futon in it... since the baby won't be needing the entire room anytime soon and will be sleeping in a bassinett in our room anyway. But if we have overlapping visits we'll need to get an air mattress or something. No one has really solidified any dates yet which makes planning a bit more difficult. But at some point you just throw your hands up, right?

It's funny actually, because as I read what I just wrote, I probably sound like a control freak. But really that must not be the case, beacuse the one thing we are not 'planning' is the baby's due date, as we've decided not to be induced unless necessary. So amidst all this 'control' we will leave little Eva's birthday a mystery to be sprung on us when she is ready. And we'll sing 'happy birthday' to her and have a "0" year old candle. I suppose we'll have to blow it out ourselves of course :)

Quick Update

Aimee had a Dr. visit today and everything is looking good. She cut some hours back at work so thankfully she doesn't need to stress over making up that time and she can relax a little bit on Fridays.

So - her weight is good and the baby's head is down, which is of course good too. We were a little concerned because we were pretty sure the head was down, but then the other day the baby seemed to change position.

We have an Infant CPR class to take and then we are finally done with classes. They were very informative but they take lots of time (12 hours total over 6 weekdays).

Aimee has been having some very mild Braxton Hicks contractions, and she's dilated 1 cm - which means only 9 to go! Of course, that can happen within an hour, but let's hope not.

We'll keep you posted on any progress! We're still hoping for a Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve baby.

A Lot Going On

Christmas Time + Baby Almost Here = Really Busy.

If it isn't evident by my lack of postings, things are quite busy around the Honse household. One moment we feel prepared, then another moment we have dozens of things to do, before Christmas and before the Baby gets here. Getting Christmas gifts in the mail, I suppose, is higher priority right now. Thankfully, we are almost done with shopping for this year, and almost all the cards are in the mail. If anyone gets anything late, we apologize.

And classes. We are taking lots of classes. Birthing, newborn care, breastfeeding and infant CPR. I think we have two more to go then we can scratch those off the list of preparations.

We still need a pediatrician. We are pretty sure who we are going to go with but we are waiting for their open house next week. Someone should really develop a checklist for parents-to-be, as it seems like there are a million things to do!

Also - today is 36 weeks! This is good because Jupiter hospital won't let you deliver there if you are less than 36 weeks (since they are a level-1 facility without all the long-term emergency stuff for premature babies, etc.) So this is good news as we've taken the tour at Jupiter and met some of the nurses and we really like our Doctors too.

My workload at the office is one area where I don't feel prepared. Due to the nature of my duties and responsibilities, it's very difficult to walk away for any length of time, let alone two weeks at a moments notice! So I'm doing my best to summarize my work and get some other people in my department familiar with my cases. It's a big undertaking though.

As time is ticking down we are getting very excited! I talk to little Eva every day in Mommy's tummy and I hope she knows my voice when she comes out. We hope to have our little one here within a month. The first few months went slow but then it went fast for a while. We made lots of preparations - the nursery is almost done (just some finishing touches, stuff to hang on the wall), the car seat and stroller are even in the car and the diaper bag is packed. Yeah, we're kind of type-A, which is good but now at home its just a waiting game, so it's going slow again. We are trying to remember to take it easy and enjoy some of this 'free time' that we know will quickly disappear when little Eva gets here.

Thanks for your continued prayers and gifts, everything has been wonderful and so far there are no problems in sight.

Belly Update for Week 33

Aimee's belly keeps growing, and despite people telling her "you're all baby" she's pretty big in person! Our little girl is moving and kicking a lot, and she can't wait to get out of there and meet us, and we can't wait to hold her! Here is a montage of pictures so you can see how she's grown:










Week 14























Week 21





















Week 30























Week 33 - Almost ready to pop!

Thanksgiving Surprise

Our tradition in recent years has been to spend Thanksgiving with local family - namely Aimee's Uncle and Grandparents. This year when we showed up at her Uncle's house, Aimee was met with a big hug from her Dad, who came down from Atlanta to surprise her.



We ate lots of good food of course and played some board games and had a great time. Her Dad stayed until Sunday so they got a lot of time to hang out and catch up.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Long Overdue Update

My apologies for the lack of postings lately. We've been busy of course, but some postings were being held back for specific reasons. I'm happy to say that now we can get caught up - so browse around back to 10/13/07 as I am back dating the postings according to their actual dates to keep things chronological. Here are the dates and events:

• October 13 - 4-D Ultrasound
• November 10 - 2nd 4-D Ultrasound
• November 16 - Baby Showers Update

So many great things and blessings to write about!

Showers of Blessings!

I am truly in awe at how much we are loved. Any time I consider what the future may hold and where we might be living, I get sad because of how much we would miss the people we know here in South Florida. Our co-workers, bosses and friends from church are the most amazing, giving people I have ever met.

Aimee's boss threw her a surprise baby shower on Nov 6 and it was amazing. There were probably 30 people or more, and we had dinner at a nice Italian place called Brio. It was such a great time. It probably took Aimee 45 minutes just to open all the gifts for our little girl! She has no idea that a leopord-print outfit and a snazzy bath robe await her when she is born! I wish we had pictures of this event, but seeing as it was a surprise, I didn't have the camera with me. Here is a sample of Eva's wardrobe:

If that wasn't enough, our friends from church also threw Aimee and Eva another shower on Nov 16! Here are some pictures of that wonderful event:





We are just so incredibly blessed that we are speechless. God is so good and takes care of his children so far beyond what is needed sometimes.

We want to thank everyone who took part in the showers, and those who couldn't be there to celebrate. Thank you all so much, it really touched our hearts.

2nd 4-D Ultrasound

As I mentioned before, since Little Eva wasn't completely cooperative during the first utlrasound we were able to come back and get another at no charge. This time her cheek's were a bit chubbier, and we got to see her get a little fussy in the womb. We also saw her suck her thumb and try to put her foot in her mouth! During both ultrasounds we got to see her open her eyes too.

Look at that pouty face! We are getting so excited for our baby to arrive. We are still hoping for a Christmas baby, but she'll come in God's time.

Happy Halloween!

Our office is always up for some fun, and Halloween is no exception. In fact, everyone gets into it, we bring in food, have decorations, a costume contest, and truth be told, we hardly get any work done. This year we *leveraged* the pregnancy to our advantage, and Aimee had a great idea for a pair of costumes which were a real riot. Take a look for yourself!



I trust no explanation is needed. Everyone loved the costumes, and even though the competition was fierce, we scored big and won in the 'most original' category with a $100 gift card to Outback Steakhouse. Great idea Aimee! I wonder however if it was these costumes that won it for us, or the fact that little Eva had a costume of her own - we painted Aimee's belly like a jack-o-lantern!

How could people not vote for that!?

And if you haven't noticed yet, our little girl has a name - Eva Mae. And the nicest part is that everyone seems to love the name. We've known the name since before Aimee was even pregnant - we actually both feel like we'll have four kids - two boys and two girls - and they are already named. We'll see how it plays out, God willing!

Live From New York!

Aimee and I are rarely apart. We live together and work together and share a car. It doesn't get much more together than that. But we both love it. People always assume we get sick of each other but we don't. They tell us things like "well, that's only because you are newly married." They said that when it was 6 months. Now its been almost 2 years and 6 months. What will they say when we've been married 30 years? Maybe they will finally realize that it is Jesus Christ in our lives that makes all the difference.

That said, I'm in Katonah, NY for a business trip for two days for one of my cases. Aimee misses me and I miss her. Don't we just make you sick? I hope not. I'm staying at a nice Inn just outside NY in Ridgefield CT. My task? To stare at old data on microfiche in a library for a few hours.

But at least I saw the fall leaves changing color, which is nice. One thing I love about the northeast is that you can smell fall in the air. But, I want to be back home. I miss you Aimee! I love you millions!

Our Little Baby's Face!

Aimee and I decided to get a 3D/4D ultrasound when we found a place in Lake Worth that wasn't too expensive. The original plan was to make it a Christmas present for our families - as the package came with not only pictures but a DVD of the whole ultrasound session. So - we kept it hush hush, for a few weeks until we felt like our parents might be upset if they didn't get the DVD until Christmas, since the baby will be born right around that time. In other words, once the baby is acually here, the DVD will be more of a novelty since our parents will come down and see the baby in person. So - we decided to let our parents know and make them a copy of the DVD and get them a copy as soon as possible. It's on its way!

Okay, enough backstory. We got to see our little baby's face today! Actual facial features! She has her Daddy's nose and lips - a striking resemblance to my own baby pictures. We'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Little Eva didn't cooperate too much during the whole ordeal although we did get the great pictures above. Most of the time she had her little arm covering her face. She must think she's famous and we were the womb-paparazzi! The ultrasound place told us we can come back for free in a few weeks to hopefully get some better shots and a better session overall. We were still very happy with what we saw though!

A Rough Day

You know it's not going to be a great day when your laptop gets run over first thing in the morning.

Some people live in an equestrian community. We aren't that wealthy, so we live in a 'duck' community. Lots of ducks, everywhere. And the little ducklings are so cute, we just have to stop and feed them sometimes. Well, this morning I took a second to feed them some bread, but in my haste and unbeknownst to Aimee, I set our lunch bag and my laptop bag next to the rear wheel of the car. I didn't know Aimee was going to start the car and back up though. Some of our lunch was ruined, and the laptop, although it looked okay and actually still works okay, has a completely shattered screen. It's my work computer, but thankfully I hook it up to a dock at work so I have a seperate monitor at my desk. Work was pretty good about it.

The day was going okay until the afternoon. The tasks were just piling on faster than I could complete them. And to top if off, an emergency came in at 5:24PM, 6 minutes before I typically leave for the day. The nature of our work many times involves court deadlines, so if something needs to be done, you just need to bite the bullet and do it. So I did. And I was at work until 8:30 PM.

And did I mention Aimee and I were hosting a Crown Financial class at our house at 7:30 PM that night? Thankfully Aimee was able to get a ride home just in time, while people stood outside wondering why we weren't there. The worst part for me was that I knew all the ducks crapped all over the sidewalk, and I initially planned to clean that before anyone came over. And of course we had no time to straighten up the house.

But as always, God's providence and provision came through. That afternoon Aimee and I decided to hop over to Panera Bread for lunch instead of eating our packed lunch (the newly repacked lunch, not the one with the exploded yogurt.) That turned out to be a good move because we ended up eating our lunch for dinner while I was still working - otherwise we wouldn't have had any dinner!

And I like to leave it to God to put the icing on the cake. I don't know if there is cake in heaven, but if there is its probably the best cake ever. When I got home that night, the Crown class was already in progress, so I cleaned the kitchen and dining area a bit and prepped some snacks since Aimee didn't have time to before the class. As people were leaving that night, I noticed a large box we had received via UPS. Neither of us were expecting a box, but the unabomber isn't around any more so I wasn't concerned. Plus it was from my aunt. Upon opening it we were overjoyed to find a basket of gifts in preparation for the baby. There was an ear thermometer, a piggy bank, lots of cute outfits for the baby, and some bathing supplies. In short, it was perfect, and it was stuff we needed.

I'm not sure if my aunt and uncle who sent it are reading this blog, but thank you very much. It was a great end to a not-so-great day.

Weight Update!

Today was the day Aimee has been dreading -- when we each stepped on the scale and I weighed less than her! She's gained about 16.5 lbs now and just finally surpassed me. She's being a good sport about it though. Ideally she'll gain about 10 more lbs or so. We had a Doctor visit this past Monday and so far everything looks good. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Baby's First Hiccups!

by Aimee

I was sitting in my boss’s office today, and right when "Rescue Me" by Aretha Franklin came on, the baby followed the first few beats. I’m thinking, “Oh My! She has rhythm!” But it soon steered off beat, yet still consistent bump-like movement. It was too slow to be her heartbeat or my heartbeat, then I realized she must have the hiccups. Isn’t that cool!?

The baby is moving around so much, and is responsive to voices, and especially Daddy's touch!

A Colorado Vacation

We just got back from a very relaxing, slow-paced vacation in the Rocky Mountains, and it was great! We flew out to see Aimee's mother and her husband. We didn't do much, and that was fine by us. I think the vacation came just in time too - about a week earlier I was pretty stressed from work. I guess we did do a few things actually, we had lunch in Aspen and saw the John Denver memorial, ate some great ribs, and we went to Glenwood Springs Adventure Park (on top of a mountain) as well as their famous hot-springs pools. Colorado is beautiful, and the mountains are so much bigger than I expected! I can see why people would want to climb them. All in all, a great trip. Here are some pictures!
The Maroon Bells
Where We Stayed
Climbing a Fake Mountain on Top of a Real Mountain
The John Denver Memorial
Some Neighbor Horses we fed
Beth, Aimee and I above Glenwood Springs

Baby's Room is Coming Along!

Well, we finally got the carpet cleaned so we could start putting the room together. So far we only have the basic furniture stuff, so no fancy decorations yet, but here it is!

Now that our little girl is moving around so much, we like to play with her. Sometimes Aimee tenses up her stomach and when she releases the baby is a flurry of movement! Also, sometimes when I find where she is laying, I jiggle around Aimee's stomach and sometimes its seems like she jiggles back!

We have so much to do in the coming weeks. We have to register at the hospital and take a tour, find a pediatrician, sign up for birthing and breastfeeding classes, and Justin needs to take the Daddy Boot Camp class. At least we feel that we've a lot of progress on getting the nursery ready.

Progress On All Fronts!

Boy have we been busy! In the last few days we have begun to register for baby shower gifts, done a lot of research on cloth diapers, and I've spent most of my Saturday making preparations for the baby's room. Last Saturday we got it painted (thanks Matt and Dave!) and today I did some touch up work (because we were all messy painters) and installed new electrical outlets (since the old ones were painted over...but not by me.) I felt quite manly, although I am sad to admit that painting and installing electrical outlets are about the extent of my home project abilities. We are also going to install some baseboard and probably some crown molding. Here is what the room looks like so far:


Also, I am proud to say that Aimee is finally gaining some weight! I think she is at about 12 lbs now. We have had a lot of fun watching her tummy move and talking to the baby. Thanks for your prayers and please continue praying for Aimee's and the baby's health, as well as our finances to be sufficient - babies cost money!

Week 21 - Tummy

Aimee pointed out today that it seems her belly is noticably bigger than a few days ago. The last time we took a picture and compared it with the previous one, it wasn't a huge difference, so we didn't post it. But now it is definitely more noticeable, so here she is!

Her dress is the closest thing we will get to seeing the leaves change color down here in Florida. After a brutal summer we are looking forward to the milder weather which should be here in October.

We sincerely hope some of our family can come visit when the baby is here! It might be difficult for us to come to you!

The Baby is Moving!

I know this doesn't seem like new news because of my previous posting, but this IS new news! Aimee had thought she felt the baby move a few times lately, but every time she asked me to feel her belly I couldn't feel any movement. Not that I didn't believe her, but the baby isn't inside of me, so I can't feel it like she can. Tonight however was a different story. I felt the baby move several times, and I think I even saw the baby push or kick enough to see it from the outside! There is definitely someone in there!

Aimee still has not gained much weight, but the baby is gaining okay as of the last doctor visit, so we're not worried. I'm sure labor will be easier with as little extra weight as possible.

We need to start writing up our birth plan soon. We hope it won't be so complicated that the hospital won't follow it - our doctor advised us to keep it to one page if possible. Beyond that, he said, and everything will probably go out the window. This is important to us because we don't agree with many of the procedures that are done immediately following birth. We don't want to be control freaks, but we do want to be wise about the decisions made if we can help it. Please pray for wisdom for us in this area.

Sweet Sleep

Tonight after work Aimee and I ate some cornish hens that we cooked in the crock pot, went for a brief walk, sorted the never-ending pile of junk mail to be recycled, and then she crashed. I cleaned up, did some chores, downloaded some songs, paid the bills, and she was out like a light on the couch the whole time. Then about an hour an a half later, she woke up, went upstairs and crashed on the bed. I can only hope that tomorrow she will feel that she caught up on some sleep!

Aimee has been tired lately, a bit stressed at work, and while she isn't having any 'sickness' she still gets a little nauseaus here and there, and some foods still taste funny to her. We would appreciate your prayers, as the magic 'second trimester', the one where she is suddenly supposed to get her energy back, still isn't here and is obviously overdue!

One thing we are both excited about is that just about everyone we know seems to be having another baby! This is exciting because many of these other babies will be our child's friends most likley, as we will be around our friends, and so our child will be around theirs. It is great to know we have such good friends and a great church to support us. I can't imagine things any other way.

Week 18 Ultrasound Pictures

I finally got around to scanning in the ultrasound images. The main reason I wasn't in a hurry is because as I said before, they don't show anything much different than the previous ultrasound picture unfortunately. I was under the impression we were going to get one of those fancy 4-D ultrasounds, or that this one would be in more detail (since they sent us to a special office to get it done) but it is the same or less quality than the previous picture. I thought the nurse would at least give us the picture that shows the gender, but she didn't even give us that. Oh well. One really cute thing that happened and is captured in one of the pictures is that our little baby girl appeared to be waving to us, as you can see in the 1st picture!

The report is that she is nice and healthy, which is great. As for Aimee, she hasn't been sick in a few weeks now, however she still gets a little nauseas from time to time. Her belly is growing too! We'll get another belly picture up soon.

We are getting the feeling that the baby may be coming a little earlier than the original January 9 due date. For one, Aimee already felt the baby move, which doesn't usually happen this early. And two, at our second and third ultrasound appointments, each time they measured the baby's length, they said she was 3 days ahead. Of course they say it could easily be a week before or after the original due date, so we'll know for sure when the baby is here.

Aimee had another Doctor visit today, and this time we got to meet Dr. Kaufmann, the last of the three doctors to be met. I'm happy to say that they all seem like great doctors, but we especially like Drs. Kaufmann and Litt and we are totally comfortable with them. They are very respectful of how Aimee and I want to have the baby (naturally) and seem very willing to work with any special requests. We hear so many stories about doctors just telling the woman how they are going to do everything with no options, and that bothers me. If our doctor was like that, I think we would find a new one. But thankfully they seem great.

It's a Girl!

Just over an hour ago we found out we're having a little girl, and people are already trying to scare me with notions of paying for weddings and not being able to retire. C'mon people! We are very happy, mostly because the baby is completely healthy. She even waved to us! It looks like our initial intuition (as well as many of our friends) were wrong, and the ancient Chinese calendar was right after all. Right now the baby already weighs half a pound! The nurse said we don't need to worry that Aimee hasn't gained much weight yet, since the baby is gaining okay.

We will post some pictures of the ultrasound later (they really don't show anything new unfortunately) but right now I'm at work and don't have the tools to put the pictures up.
Stay tuned!

The Baby Moved!

First thing this morning, Aimee felt a little movement in her tummy! It's about that time that the baby starts moving, which is so exciting. She asked me why I'm not acting more excited... and I said "Well, I didn't feel it move yet!" We should find out the sex in 4 days.

On a positive note, Aimee hasn't had any morning sickness in over a week I believe, and she's able to make it a little longer in between meals when necessary. As for me, my back was all messed up last week and finally feels a bit more normal - I'd say 80%, and I can almost stand up completely straight, which is nice. Talk about something we take for granted! If I believed in evolution I would feel very bad for our caveman/monkey ancestors. But I don't, so I don't feel bad at all!

We'll let you know as soon as we get the ultrasound results.

One Week Away!

We are one week away from finding out our baby's sex. We are excited! Some people are giving us grief about finding out ahead of time, but oh well. Aimee and I are on the same page and we both want to know... what can I say? We like to be prepared. We will let you all know as soon as possible!

Aimee's morning sickness is doing a little better, so thank you for your prayers. The other night I put my hand on her belly and I'm pretty sure I was able to feel the baby's heartbeat! Also, Aimee hasn't felt the baby move yet, but she can tell it is changing positions. So far mommy has only gained about 3 lbs - but we expect that number to start going up very soon! Her belly hasn't grown much more yet, but as soon as it does we'll put up another picture.

The Church is Our Family

It was Jesus, who said "Who are my mother and my brothers?" Looking around at those who sat around him, he said, "Behold, my mother and my brothers!" That is how I feel about our church.

It is not that Jesus did not love his biological family, and it is not that we don't love ours dearly. It is because being part of a church means being part of God's family, the body of Christ. Jesus becomes the lowest common denominator even between strangers with the same beliefs. And this is an awesome thing.

Today at church, someone that we barely know gave us a stroller/car seat combo. It is to the point where our house already seems full of baby stuff, long before the baby is even here! The funny thing is someone else (that we barely know) already gave us a car seat - two car seats and we don't even have two cars! And we haven't had to pay a penny for any of it - it was all given to us by people from our church. Nothing was asked for, it was just offered to us. Who says God doesn't provide?

Now all I need is an able-bodied man to come over and help me move a desk and futon out of our spare room (which will become the baby's room) so we can steam clean the carpet and paint. This will help us get the crib, bassinet, changing table, etc out of our living room and into its permanent position. Any takers?

Flashback to about a year ago, when we were looking for a new vehicle, we were looking for something reliable, not too many miles, something with a little horsepower (I think every car should have at least 180 hp.) What we were not looking for was an SUV. Not that SUV's aren't nice, but they are usually out of our price range, so I didn't bother looking. At the car dealership, I was looking at some Toyota's and Honda's, and the sales guy points out a Hyundai Santa Fe in our price range (newer and less miles than the Toyota's and Honda's - and mark my words - Hyundai will be the new Toyota one day soon - get one while they are still cheap!). I drove it and liked it a lot (aside from the color), and the salesman actually said he had another one in maroon coming in soon.

So a few days later we went to check out that one, and not only was it maroon (the color I wanted) but also had leather, heated seats and a V6! I got upset when I looked at the sticker and it was $4,000 more than he said it was...thinking he was pulling a bait and switch on me, but he came out and said, "What can I say? It's over-priced." And he dropped the price $4,000 on the spot. So we ended up paying exactly the amount we wanted to, but got a lot more car for our money! God knew we were having a kid before we did! And I'll tell you - just needing to haul around a stroller is reason enough to have an SUV. Yes, God provides abundantly.

I'm Feeling So "First Trimester"...

That's what Aimee said today. Unfortunately the magic moment when the vomiting stops and the energy comes back just has not happened yet, even though she is a few weeks into her 2nd trimester now. She has been getting sick about once a week lately, but got sick twice today and was tired all day long. So by all means, we would appreciate your prayers for the morning sickness to go away! This isn't a vomitorium!

Ancient Chinese Secret!
On another note, a co-worker showed us something interesting this week: A Chinese birth calendar. The calendar was buried in a tomb near Beijing for 700 years and now can be viewed at the Institute of Science in Beijing. Surprisingly, although the claim is 99% accuracy, Aimee and I have asked a bunch of friends and family and the thing really does seem to be about 75% accurate.

Using the date of conception (not birth, but conception - about 9 months before birth), you look up the Mother's age when the baby will be born, and the month conception would have occurred, and it will supposedly tell you the gender of the baby you will have. Go ahead and try it for yourself! We'd love to hear if it is accurate for you or anyone you know! Remember, its not based on the baby's birth date, but approximately 9 months before that date. It is on the web at:

http://www.webwomb.com/chinesechart.htm

If this ancient Chinese wisdom is right, we'll be having a little girl! Hopefully we'll find out for sure within the next three weeks.

30th Birthday Surprise Party!

My wife had apparently been scheming over the past few months planning me a surprise party. I must say it was an awesome sight when I walked into the restaurant. At first glance I didn't even think I knew that many people! There was almost 50 people! Friends from church... friends from work... even my chiropractor was there! And if that wasn't enough, my good friend James from NJ showed up too!


I must admit, part way through the party when I noticed a lot of beer and not a lot of checks I got a little nervous, because I knew the work crew can really put 'em down. (The church group, incidentally, did not do likewise.) But, I did not let my mind wander too far as to worry. Even if the party was expensive, so what! I'm sure my wife knew what she was doing. I'd never had a surprise party before. I can't remember a time in my life when I've had so many good friends, and it was great to see them all in one place. Can you put a price on that?

The Suspense is Killing Us!

Aimee had another doctor visit yesterday just to see how things are coming along. They took the obligatory urine sample to ensure there's still a baby in her belly. Also we got to hear the heartbeat again, which was nice and strong just like before. Plus, now the baby has moved up to her abdomen so it can start kicking her ribs in due time.

We were hoping that the stage 2 ultrasound would be scheduled quite quickly after this visit (within a few days) so we could find out if we'll be having a little boy or a little girl, but unfortunately they can't get us in until August 7! What a buzzkill.

Little known fact (at least, according to our doctor): The stage 2 ultrasound isn't scheduled to find out the baby's sex as is commonly thought. It's actually done to ensure the baby is forming properly with no defects or abnormalities. Finding out the sex is usually just something that happens while everything else is being checked out. It makes me happy to know that we have the technology to look into things so thoroughly now! Please pray for a healthy baby, boy or girl.

Everyone keeps asking me: So do you want a boy or a girl? Typically it seems the woman wants a girl and the man wants a boy. Oddly enough, Aimee wants a boy. Don't get me wrong, we're okay either way. I want a boy too, but my mind is wondering from things I've heard...that little boys have a closer bond to their Mothers, whereas little girls have a closer relationship to their Fathers. This is a curious thing but I do not doubt if it is true. I can either have a little boy to throw a football around with and teach him to play guitar or drums, or I can have a little girl and be her hero. I'm almost teary-eyed right now thinking about that. That's a tough choice - thankfully God gets to make that one!

We promise to let everyone know the minute we find out what we're having... so hopefully that will be no later than August 7!

Belly Profile - Week 14

Never make the mistake of telling a pregnant woman that she looks a little 'chunky' or is 'looking round' in the first trimester. It will just make her angry. Though I am not guilty of this, some people who shall remain unnamed are. In fact, Aimee has barely gained any weight so far. However, her body is changing, and weight is redistributing itself. She just 'started to show' the other day, so here's a picture!

Aimee's next doctor visit is July 16, but unfortunately we don't find out what the baby is that day. I believe we schedule the next ultrasound to find out the sex though. We are so eager to find out! We have our names already picked out (which is a secret unless we've told you personally!) but we'd like to know what to refer to the baby as!

So Many Books... So Little Time!

As most of you who know us probably know, we like to be prepared. Heck, we got pre-engagement and pre-marital counseling, and took a financial class before we even got married. So now with a baby on the way, there is no shortage of information to take in before it gets here. So we are reading (and planning to read) several books: What to Expect When You Are Expecting, Along the Infant Way, The Happiest Baby on the Block, and To Train Up a Child are all on the current list of books that we know have good solid information in them. Between these four books it seems to cover just about every aspect of having a baby (at least until they are about a year old.)

We already took a class that went through "Along the Infant Way" which is about getting the baby on a schedule so it can sleep through the night, but we will need a refresher right before the baby is here (I told you we like to be prepared... we actually took that class even before we found out we were pregnant!) So now we are just trying to find the time to make it through all the books, as well as researching information about the birthing process, immunizations, circumcision, epidurals and all that stuff. I'm told there are a few other classes that we should take as well... Daddy Boot Camp, and a few at the hospital, like Infant CPR, which I hope I never need to use.

Thanks to all of our friends who are encouraging us and just letting us ask questions like crazy. We really appreciate your time and the information is really helpful with our decision making.

Paint is Expensive, but People are Generous

So far we have been very blessed and we haven't had a ton of costs associated with the pregnancy aside from some snacks for food cravings, some prenatal vitamins and OB visits. But then this past weekend we bought the supplies to paint the baby's room -- $109! Somehow I don't think I'll feel any solace when the $10 rebate from Lowe's gets here, hopefully before the baby is born (stupid mail-in rebates take forever!) Since I know you are itching to know, here's the color:

And no, the color doesn't give anything away - we still don't know if the baby will be a boy or girl, we just like the color and figure we can make it work either way (pink goes with blue, right?)

However it is great to know that many of our friends and family also have had children and have useful items for the baby that they were willing to give us or let us borrow that will save us a lot of money (not to mention help get us prepared in time!) We have already received a bassinett, a car seat, a crib, a dresser with changing table, an electric breast pump (sorry guys), some clothes, some toys (including the baby's first teddy bear -- thanks Mom!) and other miscellaneous things. The best I can do now is show you some scattered pictures, since we have a lot of re-arranging (and painting!) to do before the baby's room is ready:

So thanks everyone, for your generosity and your prayers. Please pray for Aimee as she enters the second trimester officially, that her morning sickness will stop. From what I understand the second trimester is usually much better but some mothers have the morning sickness all 9 months, and that's no fun (for either of us!)

Busy Weekend!

My Mom and newphew came down from PA to visit and go to Sea World this past weekend and we had a great time. It started out a little rough... Aimee was just getting over a cold and I caught it, and at softball practice I pulled my back out of place. The next day it hurt so bad I couldn't move, literally! A few chiropractor visits later I was limping around at Sea World, a feat I thought impossible just hours earlier. Praise God! It's hard to believe how much better my back feels just a few days later.

Aimee also had a second ultrasound on Monday, in an effort to calculate our baby's due date with a little more accuracy. Here are the pictures -- click to see an enlarged version!



The picture on the left is the baby's face and belly, and the picture on the right is the baby's butt and little legs and feet! We also got to hear the heartbeat and I'm happy to report it was nice and strong. As for the due date, the new estimate was technically January 6, but since it was so close they are just keeping it at January 9. But we all know the baby is gonna come out when its ready anyway!

Sedgwick Family Reunion - Aimee Sick Again!

Aimee's Dad's side of the family held a family reunion in Liberty, MO (about 45 minutes from Kansas City) this past weekend. It was nice to have a few days off work to relax. We shot some pool (the women in Missouri can do that, no coaching needed) met some relatives and had a good time. The midwest is different for sure. Blue Springs, Aimee's Dad's hometown, reminded me a lot of Berwick, my hometown. There are open fields, people have yards, and in general you just feel like you have some elbow room.

Unfortunately we were only there about a day when Aimee started coming down with something. Not getting enough sleep and taking a few plane flights likely was the culprit. Pray for her health, as well as the baby's -- also pray that she doesn't need to take any more vacation time at work, she's running low!

Snacks Galore

Aside from insurance-related costs, I think the biggest unexpected expense is in the category of snacks and extra food in general. Aimee is learning that the only way to keep her morning sickness at bay is to basically keep eating. I make her stop to breathe, of course. Needless to say the grocery list is longer, and it takes a bit longer to pack lunch in the morning. Extra granola bars, apples, bananas, oranges, bagels with cream cheese, yogurt, peanut butter crackers, you name it. It's no wonder that sometimes they say Daddy can gain as much weight as Mommy with all these snacks laying around!

Also there can be no more extended periods of time between the end of the work day and dinner, which we'll have to work out before softball season with the company league. She won't be playing this season of course (she was the star first-baseman the last two seasons!) but I'll be playing, so we'll have to get some food somewhere between 5:30 and game time!

First Toy!

Man, our baby isn't even out of the womb yet and they have their first toy! That's right - it's baby's first cell phone! It even emits radiation like the real thing! Yeah, I have mixed feelings about our society when we think our babies need to have a cell phone like Mommy and Daddy do. But I'm thankful for the gift nonetheless.

You won't catch me letting our kid drink starbucks either until they are of a normal, coffee-drinking age, and I'll still make them get decaf.

Aimee had another OB visit and this time she got to meet one of the doctors and he's a nice guy. The doctor doesn't know the age of the baby either, so she is scheduled for another ultrasound on June 18. We are probably about 9 weeks or so, at least that's our guess. Hopefully we'll find out a real due date sometime soon!

First Ultrasound!

Aimee had her first ultrasound bright and early this morning. Normally from what I understand, an ultrasound is not usually needed this early in the pregnancy. However, because Aimee's hCG levels were previously low (though they are normal now) the Nurse wanted to have an ultrasound to make sure everything was okay and to try to get an accurate age of the baby. Here is the picture!

We are so excited! We could see the heartbeat and everything! Aimee calls it 'her little peanut' because its so small.

One thing that was unexpected is that the nurse said Aimee was only 6.1 weeks pregnant, even though we thought she was about 7.5 weeks. It's hard to argue with a professional using an ultrasound machine, however since Aimee tracks her cycle pretty meticulously, I'm not completely convinced the nurse is right. For the nurse to be right, conception would have had to occur around day 28 of her monthly cycle. For those of us that don't know (guys...), the ability to conceive is usually around day 14 and it is a short window of about a day.

If I'm right (assuming the baby goes full term) we'll have a baby between Christmas and New Years. If the nurse is right, the new estimated due date is January 9. Really though, we don't care, we just want a happy, healthy baby!

Heave, Ho!

Just a quick update - Aimee was hoping to escape the evil clutches of 'morning sickness', but that might be a pipe dream. Yesterday after work was her first 'incident' in the parking lot in front of our place. Today she had to run a meeting for some bigwigs at work so I told her she should make sure of the location of the nearest garbage can! Thankfully it went smoothly.

Aimee is mostly over her cold, and now I finally got it. I've missed two days of work, but I worked from home so I don't really feel like I got much rest. What was I thinking?

Tomorrow morning is our first ultrasound to make sure things are moving along swimmingly, so we'll keep you posted. Thanks for reading!

hCG Level is OK

Aimee stayed home from work again today, still sick, but it appears she is past the worst of it. Thankfully she was able to pick up a few hours working from home. The Nurse called and informed her that her hCG levels were rising properly, so that's good. To find out how far along she really is we are going to go in for an ultrasound next Thursday morning. We won't be able to find out the sex of the baby yet of course (which will be a boy :) but we should find out what week we are really in.

Mommy is Sick!

Aimee came down with a cold and has missed some work. Hopefully she'll be all patched up for Monday. She isn't missing the rest she's getting though! Some bug is going around, several people were out at work today.

Aimee got a call from the Nurse Practitioner on Wednesday and they wanted her to come back in to take another blood sample, as they said her hCG levels seemed low. This doesn't seem to be cause for alarm necesarily, but the nurse seems to think Aimee may not be as far along as originally thought -- maybe only 5 weeks. We still think she is 7 weeks though. We hope to find out Friday as the blood test results should be in and will at least tell us if the hCG levels are rising properly. If we still can't tell how far along she is, we can schedule an ultrasound soon.

Keep us in your prayers -- for the baby and for Mommy's health!

Health Insurance Update

I made a few phone calls today to BCBS and our company's benefits department, and we got the answers we were hoping for. We should be able to have a smooth transition between Aimee's insurance and my insurance when the time comes, which means that aside from the deductible and copayments, we should be pretty fully covered.

The discouraging news of course, is the increased cost of the health insurance... family coverage doesn't come cheap!

We appreciate your continued prayers and support.

A Healthy Report

Today was Aimee's first doctor visit. They confirmed the pregnancy and estimate that we are on track for a Christmas/New Year's baby like we thought. The Nurse Practitioner said everything looks good.

Our church had a meeting Sunday night and so we let everyone know. Being congratulated on being a 'daddy' was nice. Everyone was so happy for us, and I know we'll have tons of support going forward, which is a good feeling. That, and we found out that another person that we know at church is also expecting, with almost the exact same due date!

Everyone keeps telling us we'll make great parents, so I hope we can live up to that. It's a strange thing to hear when you don't have any kids yet. If someone already had 3 kids, I could see telling them that, since, you know, it would already be obvious! But really, we appreciate the encouragement.

My mom just got her Mother's Day card with the news in it today, and she was happy too. Although she's planning a trip down next month, she's already planning a second trip for early 2008 to see the baby.

The Cat's Outta the Bag!

Well, Aimee couldn't hold out any longer. She was hoping her Mother Beth would get the surprise in her Mother's Day card, but its been 4 days and the card still hasn't made it to its destination (a small town in Colorado). So after church today she broke down and called to give her the news, and she was ecstatic.

We have been excited about it and of course we want to tell people, but I wasn't sure how to handle it. You hear so much about pregnancies ending in miscarriage, especially in the first 12 weeks (80%), so part of you wants to spare people of those extra roller-coaster emotions if the unfortunate were to happen. I guess this is why I've heard its typical to wait 3 months, but 3 months is a long time!

So we're letting our family know first of course, then our friends. Our biggest challenge is our co-workers though (we work together at the same company.) This is mainly because our office is like one big family, which is great, but they don't want Aimee to go anywhere anytime soon, so they probably won't take the news well that we are planning to have her stay home. Needless to say we need to be careful how the news comes out at work, because even though Aimee may have the capability of working from home, that's not something we want to agree to before we even know how this baby thing is going to work for us at home!

So for all who are reading this, please pray for a healthy and normal pregnancy for Mom and baby, and please also pray for our finances to stretch to accommodate trying to live off of one income, along with the extra expenese of course.

Our Baby - Week 6

The embryo is about 1/5 of an inch in length. A primitive heart is beating. Head, mouth, liver, and intestines begin to take shape.

A lot is going on with our little embryo this week! Their brain is still growing remarkably fast; miniature hand plates are starting to develop and the early formations of their individual fingers are visible. The lower limbs do not develop quite as fast, so they’re pretty much still flippers. Up until this point, our baby has been very curled up with the head and tail in close proximity, but this week their trunk and neck are beginning to grow and straighten as their tail recedes into its resting position in the back. Even though our little miracle is only 6 weeks old, they’re already demonstrating reflex responses to touch!

Being Pregnant - Week 6

So far being pregnant has been going rather smoothly. I thought that if I were pregnant that I would have morning sickness, but thankfully I have not. In the beginning before I knew that we were expecting my emotions were so strong and so low. I often felt moody and sometimes sad.

Now my emotions are becoming more stable, but in week 6 I have noticed two new symptoms - fatigue and sensitivity to taste. I feel so tired. When 3 in the afternoon rolls around I feel like its 10:30 and time for bed. As far as eating, everything tastes so rich and sweet. Fruit and sweet teas are too sweet, candies are not quite as tempting and even the sandwich meat at lunch is too rich. Even though I feel hungry water is the only thing I can't get enough of.

Being fatigued and realizing that I'm pregnant has left me so distracted. Sometimes I stop and think, "There is a baby growing inside of me! Oh thank you God!". I can't believe it! And I have a hard time bringing my attention back to the task at hand.

The Big News...

Well, it's official... Aimee is pregnant! At the time of this writing nobody really knows yet. In fact, we've put the news in our Mother's Day cards which are in the mail, so our Mom's don't even know yet. Aimee's monthly visitor was later than usual (she normally has a long cycle) so we took a pregnancy test on Sunday, April 29. At first, the 'positive line' was very faint -- so faint that we weren't even certain she was pregnant. The line became much more clear after 10 minutes, but you aren't supposed to trust the results after that long. So we waited a few days and took two more tests (thankfully they come in two-packs) on Wednesday, May 2, and both confirmed a positive result. Plus, she had some minor cramping, and has been lethargic lately, which are also symptoms.

Because we practice natural birth control, we track not only her cycle but also our times of intimacy, which means we can actually pinpoint the day we believe conception occurred. The most probable day was April 1. Since doctors use a 40-week gestation time (although it is actually 38 weeks), this means she is in week 6 already! This means we will likely have a Christmas or New Year's baby! Just in time for a tax break, LoL! God is so good!

Now, before you get hung up on the mention of 'natural birth control', and say 'I told you so', please don't. Aimee and I have been talking more and more about having children lately. The natural birth control method worked extremely well for almost two full years of our marriage. It has helped us understand Aimee's reproductive cycle like clockwork, even though she is irregular. So, the reason we are having a child is that, admittedly, we have been a little lax about following all the rules (which, again, is why we can pinpoint the day it probably happened.) And part of the reason we have been a little lax was leaving room for God to do His thing if He wanted us to have a child. I am absolutely confident that this method is superior to any other, and we will not only continue to use it, but counsel others about using it. There are far too many risks associated with certain methods of birth control. This method, when used correctly, can help you both achieve and prevent pregnancy. Since we plan to have more children eventually, it can be on our timing.