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Well, you don't know what we can find
Why don't you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride
You don't know what we can see
Why don't you tell your dreams to me
Fantasy will set you free
Close your eyes girl
Look inside girl
Let the sound take you away

I am not certain why, but the lyrics to Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" have been bouncing around inside my melon since we left the doctor's office just less than 2 hours ago. You see, Jess had her cervix checked (the first time) and turns out that she is 90% effaced and 2-3cm dilated and that little Nemo's in -1 Stage. In a nutshell, it all means that Nemo has begun inching his little way towards the light and her cervix is preparing for the delivery. It does not mean that I will wake up tomorrow morning a dad (though I just might start saying "who's yer daddy" to anyone that will listen, including cars next to me at intersections) or possibly even by Sunday, but it does mean that Jess' body is beginning to prepare itself for the events ahead. Which is exciting.

Which brings me back to "Magic Carpet Ride." Though the song is generally accepted as one big, drug-induced, euphoric ride, I have always imagined it as an adventure to neverland (sans the ticking alligator), full of wonderment and possibility... and the unknown. Which is how I am feeling right now. Excited, anxious, and possibly needing a little bit of drug-induced euporia of my own. But I have absolutely no doubt that when I finally hear the sound of little Nemo's voice, I will Let the sound take you away.

I will update again as we learn more. Until then, "Who's yer daddy?"

Posted by bunger at 6:40 PM | Comments (0)

Less than 3 weeks. Yup, that's the timeline. Oh boy. Here we go! The due date is quickly approaching (Feb 15) and I think we are mostly ready. Or at least as ready as we'll ever be. Which, when you think about it, how *ready* is that? Am I ready to be a dad? Am I ready to change diapers in the middle of the night, half asleep, and *not* make a mess? I don't think anyone is ready for those kinds of things. I think they just happen and you roll with them. Hmmm... that was a bit deep and almost uncalled for at this hour. Maybe we can chalk it up to nervous jitters because we have less than 3 weeks. Oh boy. Here we go.

We have begun our weekly doctor appointments, which so far have been fairly mundane. Nemo is correctly positioned now (head down) and the heartbeat at last check (Tuesday morning) was thumping away at 156 beats per minute. That number still floors me - I am near death if my heart rate gets that high (note to self: need to get in better shape lest I be not-quite-*ready* to chase a little one around). The doctor has not begun the cervix checks, which I imagine was because I kept saying "check the cervix check the cervix check the cervix check the cervix" and he wanted to deprive me a bit. Just kidding. I don't really want to see a cervix. Really. I don't.

We had our "prepared maternity" meeting at the hospital tonight, which was basically just Jessica filling out a bunch of forms (she may have put me up for adoption in the process, not sure though) and then a quick tour of the facilities. It was over in about a half an hour and the person with whom we met didn't even introduce herself to me. It has already begun. My sperm did their job (or rather one did it's job) and now I am relegated to the sidelines, forced to chant things like "check the cervix" and "push it out, shove it out, waaaay out" (and maybe throw in a little kick at the end for effect). Either way, it's doesn't matter. I'm just the dad.

I will try to take some pictures of Jess in the next couple of days. Unfortuantely, as you can tell from these pictures, she has caught on to my sneaky ways and now prefers to hide out under a blanket whenever I approach with camera in hand and smile on face. Apparently, she is a bit more ready than I am in that category.

I will try to post more Nemo updates in the final weeks/days, so keep checking back.

Posted by bunger at 7:41 PM | Comments (1)

Jess and I went for a walk today and were discussing the events of 2004, which then led to a discussion about the upcoming events of 2005, which was basically just more discussion about the fact that Nemo's flight is scheduled to land on Feb 15... which is less than 7 weeks away. Actually, a pregnancy is considered full term if the baby is delivered anywhere between the 37th and 42nd week. This means that Nemo's flight could depart early and result in an early arrival approximately 3 1/2 weeks from now. Holy crap.

So in addition to the basic things that need to be done in preparation for a new baby (like giving birth, for instance), the nursery is one area that is finally nearing completion. I had finished the basic remodel job at the beginning of Novemer, but we still needed to do the finishing touches - get a glider, put in mirrored closet doors, curtains, hang prints, etc. I am extraordinarly happy with how it all turned out and I think the Mackenzie Thorpe prints make the room. I still have some shelves to build, but that shouldn't be all that difficult. Worse case scenario, I'll fake a broken thumb and buy some shelves! :-)

I haven't posted much on our recent doctor appointments as they have been fairly bland. Dr. Madion basically listens to Nemo's heart and then we chat about whatever we have on our minds. Nemo's heart has begun slowing a bit in prep for arrival - from 161 beats per minute at the beginning stages down to about 145 beats per minute at our last visit. I am still amazed to think that little thing is pitter-patting at such a rate! We have another appointment coming up on Wednesday, so if anything is new I will update then.

Happy New Year!

Posted by bunger at 8:11 PM | Comments (0)

I just realized that it has been quite some time since my last Nemo update, so I snapped a couple of shots of my cutie-patootie Jess and will update you on the latest.

We had another one of our monthly doctor appointments last Wednesday and all looks good. We are at week 31 and little Nemo's heart was pitter-patting at about 151 beats per minute, he weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 pounds, and (unfortunately for Jess) has recently taken to kicking various parts of Jess' internal workings - Jess' ribs appear to be a personal favorite right now. He typically starts moving around every evening around 7pm or so and some of his moves are quite pronounced... I have a theory that he is try to be like his dad and is practicing some breakdancing moves!

With the holidays fast approaching and the due date in mid-February, I am sure this time is going to disappear like a blink. Some people have given the advice "to just enjoy" the time, but I think rib kicks tend to distract a person from all that fun! :-)

We have another appointment with the doctor on Dec 22 and are also going through a sort-of informal child birth education with one of their nurses, so we are both looking forward to that. I will post another update then...

Posted by bunger at 7:24 AM | Comments (0)

Well, I have pretty much finished the nursery makeover! I repainted all of the trim, put up cove moulding around the ceiling, swapped out all of the outlets and the light switch, installed a different ceiling fan ( the old one was... well... "old lady" <- those are Jess' words :-) ), and painted the walls and ceiling a different color. I still need to swap out the old wooden bi-fold doors with mirrored bi-folds, but those won't be in until Nov. 9... so I am on hold until then!

Overall, it wasn't all that bad. I am still not so crazy about the painting part, which, unfortunately for me, was a big part of the project. But it went on nice and I only got paint in the my hair once - still not certain how that happened tho!? And the moulding finished out sooooo much better than I thought it would. All I can say about that is "wood putty rules!"

I think Jess and her mom may pick up the crib in Grand Rapids next weekend and the doors should be in by then as well. We also bought some prints by an awesome English artist named "Mackenzie Thorpe" and will hopefully get those framed sometime this week. I think curtains are one of the few things left open, but I also think Jess has a plan for those! Soooo... hopefully the entire room will be finished within the next week or so. When it's finished, I will take more pictures and post them.

Until then... sleep well, eat well, and play well with others!

Posted by bunger at 7:44 PM | Comments (0)

Well, we just had the *big* 20 week ultrasound ( actually, Jess is about mid-way through the 21st week ) and it was amazing! Jess' doctor has a super-wazoo machine that has 2 different transducers ( that's the wand they rub all over your stomach ) - one for a "standard" ultrasound and the other for a 3D/high definition ultrasound!

Check out the pictures. The black and white images are the standard ultrasound captures while the golden-hued images are from the 3D ultrasound.

Posted by bunger at 7:32 PM | Comments (0)

I have been snapping a few candid pics of Jess for the last couple of weeks and have posted a few for your viewing pleasure. She looks so adorable that I just want to put her in my pocket and walk around with her all day long!

Posted by bunger at 7:38 PM | Comments (0)

Check out the latest picture of Nemo. Kinda looks a little like me, don't ya think?

Posted by bunger at 7:45 PM | Comments (1)

This an image for our very first ultrasound! Nemo is just teeny tiny little thing at this point!

Posted by bunger at 7:41 PM | Comments (0)