baby registry

I just had an email from someone asking about the baby registry and requesting me to post details on the blog. You can access it online at www.babiesrus.com Go to Find a Registry and select an option to search by. I think you can find it by my name, Arthur's name, my maiden name, or the grandparents' names, and if for some reason none of those work, the registry number is 76758782. My aunts Carolyn and Sandra (the ones who did all the food for the wedding reception if you were there) are inviting all the family over for a shower Sat. Jan 24 at my parents' house. I assume I'll have other showers that people will be invited to, but none have been mentioned to me yet. But you don't have to wait for a shower to give us gifts! :) We finally got the nursery started last week. The crib is up at least, but the rest of the room is pretty bare for now. Arthur keeps scaring poor people telling them it's painted charcoal gray. It's not that dark of a gray I keep saying, more like an ELEPHANT gray. But when it looks more like a nursery, I'll get him to take pictures to show you. Speaking of Arthur, I don't think I've shared any of his latest columns about the pregnancy.

November 13, 2008
Where does the time go? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the folks who talk about the slower pace of life in small towns just don’t know what they’re talking about, or they’re not trying very hard.
Bridgett and I caught a movie out the other night for the first time in a long time. We got to talking about it and realized it was a very long time. How long? Well, I’m not going to tell you that. It just made us realize how hard it can be to find time to fit everything in to our busy lives.
How are we going to do it with a youngun? I have no idea. I’m also told I have no idea how much my life is going to change once the youngun makes his or her way into the world. I’m sure they’re right, but you adjust eventually. I know one thing, that time is getting closer. We’re just now barely able to feel him or her kick. Well Bridgett’s been feeling it for a while, but it’s gotten to the point where you can feel the occasional kick outside now too. Things are moving fast!


December 18, 2008
People have at times called me an impatient person. I still have no idea what they’re talking about. OK, maybe sometimes.
But I can be a patient man. There are times in photography and journalism where it pays to be patient.
Recently, I’ve had to be patient and learn to concentrate more effectively. There have been nights now when Bridgett and I will sit contorted on the couch, concentrating and waiting.
We’re waiting and concentrating, waiting for something to happen, something very specific. I hold my arm up, pressing my hand against her belly and we wait.
“Did you feel it?” she will ask. I am unsure. We continue to wait.
A minute or two passes with us frozen in our poses. “Surely you felt that,” she then says. And perhaps I did, or maybe I didn’t. I want to feel it, but I am unsure. Perhaps I was expecting too much.
We discuss my expectations, and yes, I was expecting too much. We continue the vigil.
Then I think maybe I feel something, but she says nothing so I begin to doubt.
Then she asks me again if I feel it, I had lost my concentration and missed it.
Then it happens; we both feel it; a movement coming from inside.
The word “kick” is really a misnomer. It’s more like a “lump that comes and goes.” But regardless what it is called, it is there. It is a child. Our child. Less than three months from making his or her way into the word and these are our very first interactions.
They say the movements will get more vigorous and will actually become more like kicks as time goes on. We’ll be there, waiting for them.
Still a mystery
If you’re wondering, we still don’t know if we’re having a girl or a boy. We’ve decided to keep it a mystery until the birth. At the doctor’s office the other day, it seemed like everyone was about to say something but remembered our request just in time. I’m sure so many people these days go ahead and find out, it’s easy for the pros to forget that not everyone finds out beforehand.


Ok, I think that catches you up on everything. I've gone and blogged twice in one day now, haven't I? Well, don't be upset and start sending me nasty emails again if a week goes by before I add more! ;)

baby's first christmas

Here's an almost 30 week shot by the Christmas tree.

Hospital Lab closed Day after Christmas

I got a call this morning from Springhill Medical Center. Apparently Central Scheduling wasn't aware that the hospital lab would be closed the day after Christmas when they booked me an appointment for my glucose tolerance test. So, I had to reschedule it for New Year's Eve. So, I get to endure 5 more days of avoiding sugar with the hope that it will help me pass the second test. You don't realize how much sugar is in stuff, or how badly you want it til you can't have it. Now I know how it is for my diabetic brother. He had to go "cold turkey" five years ago. At least right now, I still have the option of drinking that sugar-laden juice if I want to. Here's our pic with Santa. Hopefully that catches me up on everything I needed to share. Enjoy your Christmas! Sorry I didn't get cards out this year!

maternity shoot take 2

glucose screening

I failed my glucose screening test yesterday. Which means the day after Christmas I have to go back for a 3 hr glucose tolerance test. Being at the hospital at 6:30 am after not having had anything to eat or drink since midnight and having your finger stuck 4 times in about 4 hours and drinking nasty orange liquids sounds like so much fun doesn't it? If I fail the next one, I'll get dr's orders on diet, exercise and insulin for gestational diabetes. The good news was that my blood pressure was down from the last visit. My hemoglobin count was fine. I went from measuring 25 weeks (at 24) to 30 weeks (at 28). So, even if belly shots don't show a huge difference in the last month, apparently the baby's growing. And I had finally gained a few pounds. Although I shouldn't be complaining that I haven't packed on the pounds. Hopefully I won't have to worry too much about trying so hard to lose the weight afterwards.

28 week shots

picture with santa

Ok, I know I'm behind, but you know how it is when you're waiting on someone else to do their part. So, I still owe you pics from the maternity shoot and maybe tomorrow we can take a 28 wk pic so that you'll have a new belly shot. And now I also owe you the baby's first picture with Santa. McLean Photography did Santa pics in Thomasville Thursday night at the downtown stroll. The last 15 minutes were pretty slow and Arthur's protege Ryan came in, so Arthur asked him to take a pic of us with Santa. Apparently, we broke the camera. Or at least broke the connection of the program set up between the camera and the computer (that allowed us to print photos on the spot). So, two more customers walked in at the top of the hour when we were supposed to quit and we couldn't print out their photos!!! Then last night, we had Santa photos at another location in town, and the program still wouldn't work. So, Arthur had to come up with a creative solution to be able to print photos on the spot. We still don't know what RYAN did to mess it up! haha But maybe one day I will get my hands on the jpg and can upload it for you to see the first official picture of the baby with Santa. I'm sure this year's photo for the baby went a lot smoother than it will every year from now on. Santa really is terrifying for poor children.

pics from shoots

In case you were wondering, that was just a teaser yesterday with the 26 wk pics! :) I thought that Arthur had finished editing the photos from the maternity shoot, so I started uploading them. Then I realized that he was not finished, so I quit after a couple of pictures. So, there really are more photos than that, and they will eventually make it on here. Some of you may be glad to have seen something already, and others may be mad that there wasn't more. What can I say?

26 weeks