Scary Moments...

It's amazing how fast you can get used to something. The doctors told us that Braeden should be moving 10 times in an 8 hour period. However, little man surpasses his daily movement count by about 5:30 in the morning. So two Friday's ago, when he wasn't kicking at all, we were both worried about 7:30. We decided that if he wasn't moving around by about 10 am then we'd call the doctors office. We even pushed on Heather's belly to get some type of reaction, but nothing. So Heather called the doctor at 11 am and they had her in a room being monitored before noon. They have a score that they give unborn babies where they grade them on four characteristics (muscle tone, fluid around the baby, dexterity, and practice breathing). Braeden did fine in everything but his practice breathing. So our unborn child is neglecting his homework already.

Anyway, he got 6/8 from his test which meant that we needed to do an ultrasound. They re-assured us that nothing was unusual, just that they liked to see evidence that he was going through the motions of breathing. So they take us over to the delivery ward and hook Heather up to all kinds of monitors. Two hours (and many tests) later, everything was fine but it made me realize how we had gotten to take his little movements for granted. It also made me realize what a huge impact he has on my life long before I even actually "meet" him. I also realize that we have a lifetime of trying not to sweat the small things ahead of us. I think I can manage, but his mom's going to be a mess...

Rob and Team Heather...

Mozart or Manilow

We met with the Maternity Care Coordinator at the hospital yesterday. She mentioned a sing and sign class to teach Braeden how to use sign language to communicate. I'm sure most of you probably know, but the theory is that children can actually comprehend language before they can articulate it. So by teaching him some sign language, Braeden can communicate with Heather and I before he can speak. I am pretty excited about the whole thing. I'm counting on a genius baby who will be able to talk politics and physics by the time he's 9 months old. Heather always gives me the "you're such a wierdo" look when I try to talk to her about any of that stuff.

Anyway, the fact that the class is "sing and sign" got me to thinking about music choices. Growing up, I was very lucky to have a wide variety of musical choices to listen to. My dad hammered classic rock down our throats and my own musical preference goes towards more modern rock bands (nickleback, 7 dust, seether) because of it. It's amazing to see how current bands pull so much influence from those that came before them. My mom is a huge Neil Diamond fan, and grandparents on the other side will represent the "Fanilows". No offense guys, but my favorite Barry Manilow song is "I am stuck on band-aid" and that's about it.

When my father was born, Benny Goodman and Bing Crosby ruled the charts. When I was born, it was Styx and the Bee Gees. And for Braeden, it's T-Pain and Young Jeezy. It's going to be interesting to see where his music tastes fall. Mine are all over the board. While I was writing this, that commercial for "Free Credit Report.com" came on.

F-R-E-E that spells Free
Credit report.com baby...

Man, I love that song.

Rob and Team Heather...

Planning my Saturdays...

Heather and I have always been in agreement that it would be great for me to have a special ritual with Braeden. Something that only he and I do together and we can all look forward to. So the thing I've settled on is "Saturday's with Daddy". The plan is (for a while atleast) every Saturday I will take him out to a park, or the zoo or something and we both let Mom sleep in. Works out great for me because I get to have time alone with my son to teach him about burping, and the in-field fly rule. And Heather gets a morning to herself, which from what I understand, is something that will become increasingly rare as our lives continue.

So now, I'm just planning the locations. I've got to take him to the sculpture garden at Nelson Atkins, The KC Zoo, and Grandma C of course suggested the park located conveniently near her house. The only thing that is really worrying me at this point is the diaper bag. It's an intimidating little backpack. I've looked at 5 different web sites and now have 5 different lists of "essentials" that should be in it. Toys, diapers, cream, wipes, etc... But from what I understand, I have to just wait and see what works for us. So it's becoming apparent that the first few "Saturday's with Daddy" will be very interesting and I'll need to be pretty resourceful. I'll keep you all posted.

Rob and Team Heather...

Breakdancing Baby

Everyone told us that it would happen, but until I saw the baby actually rolling over in Heather's tummy, I didn't realize how cool it would be. Gotta admit, it freaked me out at first. It was like he was stretching, one side was the ?head? and the other side had a couple of ?feet? poking out. At least I think that was the case.

I think Heather has finally reached the "ok, I'm done with this being pregnant stuff" stage. I've been relegated to sleeping on the couch. For a while there, I'd wake up to the alarm at 5:45 and she would be gone. She had been getting up around 3:45-4:00 am and moving to the couch. Imagine how much of a jerk I felt like when I realized that I was taking up the whole bed while the pregnant lady had to move to the living room. So to solve that, I'm just starting out on the couch to begin with. So far, two nights down and two nights of restful sleep for the baby lady. Hope everyone is doing well. We'll see some of you at the Wichita baby shower this weekend.

- Rob and Team Heather -

Belly Pics!

Team Heather is coming along nicely! I've uploaded a time line of belly pics at www.photoshop.com/user/carl10 for everyone to take a look at. There's a check box at the top right hand corner to turn the captions on in the galleries. That way you can see how many weeks along Heather was when the pictures were taken. I want to take full advantage of the only time in my life that I will be able to make any type of comment on my wifes stomach. Isn't she cute!?

We've had a couple of days of sickness in the house. Heather had to stay home from work on Monday and we think it's a stomach flu. But get a few popsicles for her and she's all better (for the most part). Braeden's kicking like crazy. The doctor told us that he should be moving 10 times a day, and he passes that by 4:30 in the morning. He's an active little guy. I guess he's getting in his Hockey practice early. I've got a scouting call in to Boston College but no reply yet. They better hurry or they will blow their chance.

Thats all for now. We promise to update much more often. And Chelsey, the next post will be pictures of the house. We'll give you a virtual tour.

Rob and Team Heather...

Braeden's Back!

Sorry to everyone that's been patiently waiting for the new post. We've been very busy around here and I haven't been very good at keeping up with the blog. I'm also a little in shock since discovering exactly how much stuff you need to have on hand for a little dude. Braeden now has his own storage room in the basement. I'm 28 and I don't even have that. So other than storing enough supplies to handle an army for a short time, we're just preparing our house and our lives for his impending arrival.

If you go to https://www.photoshop.com/user/carl10 you'll see the nursery in all it's glory. I'll post more photos shortly, I promise.

-Rob and Team Heather