It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here.

Honestly, I’m too busy living life these days to have much time to write about it.

Overall, all is well. E continues to grow, learn, and thrive. She’s a very good baby. Last month, we all went on an overnight trip down to Sarasota (as well as L and I spending an overnight in Orlando alone another weekend). Both mini-breaks went off without a hitch.

L has finished her maternity leave and started back to work at the beginning of this month. That was a little hard on her, but it is made much easier by the fact that my mother is providing E with all of the love and attention she needs during the day.

Last weekend, we celebrated Mother’s Day. This was very emotional for L (not surprisingly), as one year ago she was in the midst of stimulating for IVF cycle #1 and now she’s a mommy (and an excellent one at that). She’s really taken to motherhood, and she’s clearly grateful that we’ve been so fortunate to have E.

Harley (our doggie son) has continued to have medical issues… the diabetes and stomach issues have been resolved, but now he’s got eye problems. We’re trying to heal an ulcer in his right eye. After that, he’ll need to have cataracts removed in both eyes — all told, I think his medical bill totals will break into five figures. Good grief. But, we don’t have the heart to give up on him, because H is still a happy and loving little dog.

Finally, for your viewing pleasure, here are a few recent pics of the kiddo:

Too cute, I say!

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.

I’m writing this on an airplane (surprise, surprise) en route to Minneapolis for a Board meeting tomorrow morning. I think I’ve mentioned that work has been a bit hectic lately. It’s all been good, but I have a lot of responsibilities and feel very obligated to the ensuring the success of my company. One of my closer colleagues (and friends) mentioned that I’ve started losing something of my “easygoing” nature and that I seem more “intense” these days. I think he might be right, which worries me a bit as I’ve always prided myself on my imperturbable countenance.

Anyway, on with the “baby” news…

To start, I’d be sadly remiss if I didn’t mention that my IF buddy, Myndi, had her ET today. So, L and I send her our best wishes, many “sticky” baby thoughts, and much love! I’m really positive and hopeful for her.

I’ve also managed to finally get my rear-end in gear to start preparing the nursery. Last weekend (after returning from Minneapolis), we ordered a crib and changing table from Babies ‘r Us, which is now at the store and awaiting pickup. In addition, we’ve had the first shipment of nursery supplies arrive from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child too. Restoration Hardware stuff is really pretty pricey, but I honestly have a hard time resisting the temptation to get such things because, well, I simply think my daughter deserves to have the best.

L is spoiled rotten by me. Annie (my “doggy daughter” and “pretty, pretty princess”) is spoiled rotten by me. Now, they’ll just be another lady with me wrapped around her little finger. Go figure.

Meanwhile, I’ve also been reading baby books…

And, I have to say little comes as a real surprise. Indeed, I think I have pretty good instincts for what should and shouldn’t be done with little ones. So, it’s nice to see in print that my ideas are roughly on the mark.

The biggest “issue” that I’ve rethought is our ideas about travel without the baby. We’d planned to take two big vacation per year… one with and one without the little one. However, it seems that leaving an infant / toddler for a prolonged period (even with a very familiar family member) could be traumatic. As such, I’m really starting to rethink my position… not to reduce our travel plan (perish the thought) but to bring her along on more adventurous trips at a far earlier age. Crazy? Probably.

Today was another first…

For the first time today, I was able to feel the baby kick through L’s stomach. How cool! I know this will sound stupid, but it’s actually difficult for me (as a man) to really “get” that there’s a living human inside my wife. Oh, I understand it intellectually (I do have a Ph.D. for goodness sake—so, I’m ostensibly not an imbecile)… but it’s a little difficult to really feel/imagine. It’s actually amazing when one sits back to contemplate it.

Finally, a name will be forthcoming soon…

We actually have/have had a first name picked out for a really long time. We’re just working on finalizing the middle name… so stay tuned! The announcement may come as early as next weekend.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m just a horrible blogger. I have three reasons:

1. I fail to write regularly.
2. I fail to even check my blog and respond to comments regularly.
3. I can’t even seem to report the “news” about related areas of my life.

It’s all very shameful. I should do better.

In my defense, I’ve become increasingly consumed with work since my promotion in July. I’m not complaining. I’m really happy doing what I do. But, it does distract me from other interests, especially as I usually end the day fulfilled in terms of doing work in my headspace (reading, writing, thinking).

Anyway, I apologize to my loyal readers (all two of you). I’d promise to do better, but I’d hate to lie.

P.S. All is well in babyland… the girls (Libby and the baby) are doing well.

Finally feeling better, I went shopping this weekend with L for maternity clothes! We went to our relatively new neighborhood mall, The Shops at Wiregrass, which I might add that I hate.

(Note: the mall is one of these outdoor “lifestyle centers” that smacks of ill-conceived new urbanism. It’s setup to resemble an ambling street, complete with a gently curving “road” with on-street parking. Of course, the “road” only leads between the parking lot at one end and a parking lot at another. This layout means the “sidewalks” are relatively narrow, causing pedestrian traffic jams as the moronic residents of New Tampa stop to inexplicably gawk at The Gap or whatever, as if it were an unknown and foreign destination. Worse yet, it’s out-of-doors: a hot and humid mass of concrete and asphalt that leaves you a sweaty, sticky mess 9 months out of the year. Give me a good, old-fashioned air-conditioned shopping center a la Mallrats. But, I digress).

However, given its proximity and my laziness, I didn’t want to drive to a more distant destination. Plus, it has a Motherhood Maternity in addition to the department stores that sell prego-wear.

I’m a guy who doesn’t mind shopping. But, I have to say: I did not enjoy shopping for maternity clothing. We started at the JC Penney. It’s not the sort of place L usually shops for clothing at, but any port will do in a storm, I suppose. We actually found some decent pants and jeans there. Better still, they were on sale for 50% off. That made the average price $15-20 per pair. Sweet.

Next, we went to Motherhood Maternity. For me, this is when things went downhill. I was the only dude in the store (it seems that most pregnant women like to shop with their mothers, not husbands). I was inundated with “color commentary” about all sorts of body parts: “my thighs are disgusting,” “I used to be a member of the ‘tiny tity committee’ before they blew up” (blew up? that can’t be good., “my ass is sooo huge,” and so forth. I listened to women talk about spreading their nether regions with cocoa butter and cocoa oil (both are best, it seems). At some point, I started longing for a trip to Victoria’s Secret, my previously least favorite place to shop with L.

I don’t think L loved the experience either. She had a sort of a “deer in headlights” look about her. This was especially true when they strapped the plus-three-months belly onto her. Upon the sight of herself in the mirror, her eyes grew wide to the size of half dollars. I thought she was going to let out a scream. And, she only managed to stammer out answers to the salesperson’s questions. Happily, she found some very nice shirts. I said we should buy them all.

So, all told we managed to get: 4 pairs of pants/jeans and about 7 shirts. Plus, some sort of undergarment and cocoa butter/oil. The told cost came to around $250. Not too bad.

While walking back to the car, L stopped abruptly in the parking lot and informed me we’d order the rest of her maternity clothing online. It seems the strap-on faux belly and talk of thighs was too much for her too. Fine with me.

P.S. I’m posting this entry from 34,000 feet while flying from Atlanta to Dallas. I have a one-day trip that started with me leaving the house at 3:30 this morning. I’m scheduled to land back in Tampa around midnight tonight… long day! The WiFi service on planes is pretty cool… I’m becoming addicted.