Ok… so I’ve done a really, really bad job of blogging lately.

What can I say? I’ve been busy.

All is well on the home front, as both L & E are doing fine.

We had a minor issue with Emerson about a week ago. She started to get a little bit “fussy” for her and we noticed a small amount of blood in her stool. It turns out that she has a (seemingly mild) milk allergy. So, we’ve switched her to a soy-based formula and all returned to normal.

E’s been growing like a week. But, she’s still very much a newborn – meaning she’s more in “receive” than “send” mode when it comes to interpersonal communication (aside from crying and a limited range of facial expressions, of course). However, she has become more alert and aware of her surroundings (motion, noises, etc.). According to the books, she’s right on target (and sometime ahead) developmentally. For example, she learned to suck on her own thumb yesterday. I find watching her learn new things fascinating.

Here’s a picture of E at 1 month old…

Life returns to usual

I’ve returned to my usual work schedule… including travel. This has been modestly uneventful, and both L and E were fine while I was gone. Did I miss them? Sure. But, it’s what I do to earn a living, right?

Last week, I went to a conference in Atlanta. I came home and managed to bring a cold back with me as a souvenir. That sticks because I’ve had (at Libby’s direction) to stay away from E while I’m sick. This is actually more frustrating than being away from home, as I really like interacting with my baby girl.

Another silver lining

In other good news, I got my annual bonus payment recently. I was very pleased, as I managed to pay myself back the entire “shared risk program” fees in a single bound. This is another example of being perhaps more lucky in life than I deserve – a fact which is never lost on me. I suppose that at least I’m grateful… and, I’ll take it!

Now, I just need to save up for private school and college.

Medical update on Harley

I’ve mentioned in that past that one of our four-legged children, Harley, was diagnosed with diabetes. And, we’ve had a heck of a time regulating his insulin levels. I think we finally have that under control, but the poor dog now has GERD (reflux) and/or pancreatitis (common in diabetic Min Pins). I think we’ve actually lost more sleep due to H’s condition than we have due to E. We started some new medicine yesterday, and he finally managed to sleep through the night. So, I’m hopeful that we’ve finally got this thing on the run, which will be great for all of us. Harley’s a good little dog, and we’re hoping to keep him healthy and happy for many more years (he’s about 10 now).

L had her check-up today: 2 cm dilated / 90% effaced.

Contractions are still 12-24 hours apart. The doctor seemed to suggest it could be today, tomorrow, or next week. Thus, the waiting continues.

We are starting the process of getting her scheduled for an induction sometime late next week or early the following one. Hopefully it won’t come to that. But, at least we have a finish line in sight.

Emerson as a ‘girl name’…

Despite my public comments about not giving a crap about people’s opinions that ‘Emerson’ should only be a boy’s name, I actually had someone post a comment making that claim on my blog today. Unlike some bloggers, I have a track record of allowing free speech in all cases, including when I disagree with the views expressed or when it is not favorable towards me.

Frankly, I think too many bloggers are wimps when it comes to dissenting opinions.

Nonetheless, I will always give as good as I get. Consider that ‘fair warning’ from me.

Click here to see the exchange (scroll down to review the comments).

We’ve reached Week 38!

Since there’s nothing else to report on (just waiting!), I’ll provide a few health updates:

How’s Libby doing?

As I’ve mentioned, L’s had a (blissfully) trouble-free pregnancy. But, the last couple of weeks have started to wear on her.

She had some sort of weird rash on her back and upper chest (which is finally getting better) – that the doctors thought might be fungal but didn’t want to prescribe anything due to her advanced gestational state.

Her voice sounds like she has a cold. However, she’s not sick. We think this might be related to heartburn or reflux.

Speaking of heartburn, she’s had a lot of it lately. Indeed, she was up a good bit of the night dealing first with heartburn and then some sort of pain in her upper back. This is starting to become a recurring theme.

She’s also taken to calling herself “Momma the Hut.”

Needless to say, she’s ready for Emerson to arrive.

Biopsy results

Yesterday, I learned via a voicemail that I have a “mildly atypical (dyplastic) nevus” which Dr. Google tells me is pathology-speak for a “slightly funny looking mole.” The good news is that this isn’t cancer. The (slightly) bad news is that it means I will need more investigation and biopsies (mostly precautionary, I assume). And, I’ll likely need to remain under the observation of a dermatologist for the rest of my life, as I’m now twice more likely to get melanoma than a typical person (though it’s far from a foregone conclusion and far less likely than someone with a history of melanoma in their family).

I’ll find out more details today when I speak to the doctor’s office.

On Tuesday, L and I went for her weekly check-up and a sonogram to see if Emerson had turned (she’d been transverse previously). She’s now heads down and looking good, as well as estimated at a weight of 6 lbs 3 oz. We also learned that L was about 1cm dilated and 50% effaced.

I wasn’t sure what that really means. After further research, I learned it has no predictive value with respect to when Emerson will make her appearance (other than sometime in the next few weeks).

So, we wait.

Baby Shower

Yesterday, L had a baby shower hosted by the teachers and fellow administrators at her school. They really did a great job of organizing things—especially a teacher named Allison, who I think could become a professional shower planner—and it made for quite the haul of (mostly useful, thankfully) gifts.

Here’s a photo of a diaper cake (very creative, I thought):

Not to be excluded on my side, a good friend and co-worker of mine sent a really nice gift (Fisher Price’s “Rainforest Open-Top Cradle Swing”). I have to imagine Emerson will love that… sweet!

Biopsy

So, I went to the dermatologist on Tuesday for a “skin check.”

I have a couple of friends with melanoma. Not fun. Given my increasing penchant for hypochondria as I grow older, I thought it better to be safe than sorry.

It turned out that most of my moles, spots, and whatnots were fine. However, I was also told that I had “one lesion that might look suspicious” and that they “wanted to perform a biopsy—just to be safe.”

Holy crap!

I’ve talked in the past about my other psychological tick: occasional (mild) panic attacks. This news brought one on. Although, unlike the usual chest pains (which I’ve grown accustomed to), this time I starting sweated like a pregnant nun on her way to confession and then suddenly lost most of my ability to hear. Can you imagine?

Dr. Google tells me this is called “psychogenic hearing loss.”

Thankfully, it passed quickly. I get the biopsy results in two weeks. Perhaps, I’m just jealous of all my IVF sisters who’ve gone through the “two week wait” (2WW).

However, this time I’m really hoping for a BFN!

Well, it’s been a little while since my last update. As I seem to suck at keeping up this blogging thing, I thought I’d share a few recent “news” highlights.

Nursery Progress

I’ve finally finished the “construction work” in the nursery. It’s now painted and ready to fill with decorations / furniture (of which we’ve started… I just lack photos). Anyway, here are a few photos:

4D Ultrasound – Take Two

Last week, we did another 4D ultrasound at 29 weeks. We did the $100 “peek-a-boo” session. It was fun to “see” the baby again and reassuring to know that everything looks great. But, in all honesty the “wow factor” was kind of gone, because we’d already seen 3D images and (advice to those behind us) 29 weeks is a little late to get great pictures.

A little late? Huh?

Yes, a little late. You see, by this time, the baby is so large that there’s relatively little room free space in the womb. As a result, it’s difficult to get a full shot of anything without other structures/anatomy in the way. So, my advice would be to do a 4D ultrasound earlier even though the baby won’t be quite as baked yet.

Minor Crisis Averted

One morning this week, L freaked because her hands had starting swelling to the point that her wedding ring no longer fit without marked discomfort. She concluded that she simply couldn’t wear it to work. She was really upset. (Strange? Perhaps. But, she’s invested in these things.)

Anyway, she sent me a frantic text message later in the afternoon, confirming her worst fears. Apparently, some moron at work asked her “if something was wrong with Paul” based on the missing ring. Really? Who notices these things, on a pregnant woman nonetheless, and on the first day that the ring was “missing”? Get a life!

Fortunately, being the Greatest (and most modest) Husband in the History of the World, I’d already gone out that morning to a jewelry store and purchased her a “temporary” wedding ring (which is reasonably nice and just enough “non-wedding-bandy” that she can wear it decoratively on a larger finger on her other hand later).

Major bonus points, baby. Major points.

And it’s a reminder of my “Golden Rule of Pregnancy for Men”: