Day 233: Swelling

Yesterday Anat’s friends threw her a baby shower. I’m not really sure where to begin to describe it all, because first of all, I think I’m having sugar withdrawal and my brain isn’t working so well today, and because I’m a little tongue-tied when I think about how much love everyone put into the shower. I could probably blog for a few pages about all the thoughtful touches at the party, the heartfelt and amazing gifts, the fantastic food (you can never forget the food), or the fact that some friends flew in from the East Coast or braved knee-crippling MCL tears to be there. Even the arts and crafts part of the afternoon, which I was a bit curious/skeptical about, turned out great (pictures to come). Yes…, we tie-dyed onesies for Baby K. Let the stereotypes/jokes start …. now.

Overall, it’s been an amazing baby-related weekend. It’ll be nice to have a few days off soon where can sit back, put it all in perspective, and began to think about the last 15% of this pregnancy. I bet in the next few weeks we probably will get a little more nervous, but if this weekend was any indication of the support and love this kid (and us) have in store, then I’m pretty sure everything’s going to be just fine.

On a related note, the other day, Baby K’s car seat arrived (Thanks Ma). Excitedly we opened the box, took it out and started playing with it. Quickly we realized what (or who I should say) would be sitting in that seat and had to put the seat back in the box. We certainly were a bit blindsided by the reality of this piece of baby swag. Funny how neither the kicking basketball under Anat’s shirt, nor the hours of birthing videos we’ve seen in class, have really spooked us as much as this car seat. Well at least we have a few weeks to slowly acclimate to having it in the house.

All in the Family

Interested in having a big family? Check out the Duggars. According to their site, “[t]o date they have been blessed with 16 children, (10 boys and 6 girls) Joshua, Jana & John-David (twins), Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah & Jeremiah (twins), Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah (& Jennifer due July 28, 2007).”

I encourage you to read the FAQ to see what a typical day at the Duggars’ is like.

I’m a bit nervous about just handling one kid — I can’t imagine throwing in 16 more.

Baby Z

It is with great pleasure that Anat and I welcome Ellie Renee Z. to Al Gore’s Superhighway. Weighing in at 7 pounds 5 ounces, little Baby Z was born earlier today to blissful sounding parents, Lisa and Matt. Baby, Mom, and Dad, are all doing well if not a little tired after the exciting night. Already the considerate child, Ellie Renee was kind enough to wait until after her Dad’s beloved Patriots had shellacked the Bills, and after her grandparents had arrived from Mexico before coming out.

Mazel Tov!

UPDATE: So just how cool are these new parents? Well, this just came in the mail today for our future Terp fan:

On its own this would be a very sweet and thoughtful gift, but when you realize that this was sent from a Tar Heel family, you realize just how nice they are.

Welcoming The World’s Newest Phishhead

It is my great pleasure to be the first on the internets to welcome our dear friends’, Susie and Eli’s daughter to this world. She was born this evening in beautiful Asheville, NC and weighs in at 5 lbs., 11 ounces. Mother, Daughter, and Proud Papa all sound like they’re doing great. Here’s hoping that she gets Susie’s eyes and not Eli’s beard. Congratulations Susie and Eli; we’re so happy for you.

Pay No Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain

I have to admit, I’m totally a geek for clever applications and presentations of large amounts of data. Check out The Baby Name Wizard’s NameVoyager to see an example.

You can either move your mouse along the graph to show statistics for different names over time or narrow your search and check a box for gender and/or search on names that begin with a given letter or letter combination.

So cool!

(thanks to JM for the rec)

This Must Be the Place

Today a coworker and new father recommended we consider a home birth. He and his wife had one and are very pleased with the experience. While aspects of it sounded intriguing, I guess ultimately we’re not so into the idea. The WaPo had an interesting article about it here. Now, I’m not looking to judge other would-be parents. It’s just that in this case I certainly see ourselves as highly risk-averse; ultimately we’ll probably definitely go with the hospital. I mean, there are some things I’ll DIY: I rather enjoy cooking for myself and painting a room seems like fun, but fixing the brakes on my car or dealing with a root canal, I’ll leave to the pros.

NPR Recommendation

I’m sure many of you have heard some of these this week.  NPR has been airing a week-long series on adoption in America.  If you have some time, it’s worth a listen.