On Nesting

I know these pictures are totally cliche, but I feel as though it's a sort of right of passage when you have a baby.

Besides, so what if it's cliche.   I lapped up the sight of my man putting together our baby's crib the same way millions of women have before me.

               And although I did find ways to make myself useful during the process....

                                                    ....in reality, I was about as helpful as the dog.

We complained dragging the box up the stairs, struggled to contain the explosion of packing styrofoam in the process and procrastinated cleaning up the mess afterwards.

Seeing it all set up as the finished product just as lovely as the floor model we'd seen in the store, it hit me all over again - we are having a baby.

                 - Mama, out.

 

It's Official!

For any woman out there who's been lucky enough to have a baby with the love of her life, you'll know the look I'm talking about.  It's a look during the ultrasound that your man makes when they see your baby up on the screen.  Because they're the only one that can see the screen during the exam, their face is the sole focus for you.  You're searching it for emotion the entire time.  Searching it to know the baby's heart is beating, that it has two legs, 10 fingers, and didn't get your grandmother's nose.  But the look that distracts you, calms you down and centers you is one of pure wonderment and love he has for that little person.  He is speechless, and when you ask what is going on, all he can do is shake his head and smile.

During my whole pregnancy I've been pretty sure we were having a boy.  Can't explain why - just thought so.  However, my dear Mitchell was convinced it was a girl.  We constantly fought over boy names (sorry Mitch...but River is vetoed.  I get it....you like to fish), but had a beautiful girl name we both loved locked in.  I loved the way the name sounded when he said it, and couldn't stop picturing a little girl with long, dark, tangled, unkept hair like her Mama's.  I kept picturing this beautiful little girl, but quietly knew my little man was cookin' in there.

About halfway through the ultrasound, my gut feeling was confirmed.  I'd known the whole pregnancy and even though I couldn't see the screen, I knew from the look on Mitch's face he had lost the bet and would be buying lunch in an hour or so.  Poor guy looked so disappointed.  Not sure if it was because he turned out to be wrong, or because there wouldn't be a daddy's girl on the other end of this journey. 

We didn't have that moment you picture having where you both start crying, the ultrasound technician joins in, and everyone is completely overjoyed - embracing the moment.  That didn't come just yet.  I was so excited, but Mitchell's disappointment had me a bit worried about him.

We left the appointment, got lunch and I dragged him to Baby Gap - the one place I knew in that moment would turn him around.  And sure enough, as soon as he held up a little onesie that said "I Love Daddy", the misty eyes I remembered from the first time he heard the heart beat were there....right there in the middle of Baby Gap.

 
And so, this Mama will be shopping for overalls instead of tutus, watching The Lion King instead of The Little Mermaid, and will one day be paying an obscene amount of money in car insurance so her son can drive his 17th birthday present to school and back.......and I couldn't be more excited.

Honestly, I'd rather build a fort than have a tea party ANY day.  And as for Mitch, well he's already ordered a fly fishing bib for his new fishing buddy.

              - Mama, out.

In a Month's Time

I wrote a post on my NZ blog a month ago about chapters in my life from a fishing perspective with it ending on how Paige and I are going to have a baby. Not much has changed since I wrote that, except the fact that it’s a month later, Paige’s belly has grown and we are nearly halfway until the baby arrives.

Sure a few more things can happen over that month and they did, but on the other hand some things haven’t.

I still have the most beautiful women in the world in my life. The fullness in my heart and my love for Paige is still there, but only even greater. I love waking up everyday and being able see her asleep, knowing that our baby is sleeping right with her.

I got to see a glimpse of how proud Paige will be of our child. One of her schools was putting on a play and she was bursting with pride over them…and I can’t imagine how proud she will be when our kid does something similar…or when she 1^st talks or walks (yeah, I said she. Everyone seems to think we’re having a boy except for me!)

Paige’s belly is beginning to get big and she looks amazing. My sister, Chelsea, had given Paige some oil to rub on her belly and I have a new ritual of rubbing that on her belly every night and bonding with the baby.

Tomorrow we find out if we are having a boy or a girl. I can’t remember a time when I was more excited. I get butterflies in my stomach every time I think about it. Soon we will be starting to gather things for the baby’s room and getting ready for it when it comes home for the 1^st time.

Also in that month span I’ve also decided that reel mowers are a pain in the ass. It takes twice as long to mow the lawn and I advise anyone whose thinking about getting one to think twice.

                  - Papa, out.