Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The Only Real Surprise

So, like our friends and family, Amanda and I are excited for Baby Fehr to be born, in part, so we'll finally know whether we have a son or a daughter.  Way back when the possibility of finding out the baby's sex first arose, Amanda and I talked about it and decided to wait until Baby Fehr was born.

I always thought it was more dramatic that way, and honestly, what's wrong with colours like green and orange for the baby rather than going all-in on blues or pinks based on gender?

Amanda had a different perspective on it.  She pointed out that there are so few real surprises left in life.  Movie plots are all-but given away online to entice viewers.  New product announcements are met with muted shrugs.  And once you're past a certain age, guessing birthday gifts isn't just possible, but likely.

But this is something we don't know, and can't guess with any certainty.  Sure, the ultrasound technician may know, but without actually asking her, there's no way for us to find out on our own.  It's great!

Amanda and I have actually made a bet.  I bet her five dollars that Baby Fehr is a girl, and she bet that Baby Fehr is a boy.  We've definitely noticed it in the pronouns we use to refer to the baby.  I talk about what "she" is doing, while Amanda comments about what "he" is doing.

Anyway, it has been fun to wonder, guess, and debate.  We'll find out in a few short weeks!

Monday, April 27, 2015

What's in a Name?

So it's settled.  Amanda and I have decided on the two possible names for our baby -- one boy's name and one girl's name.  We've had the first names picked out for a while, but the middle names were in flux.  We had at least three good possibilities for the boy's middle name, and a few lesser possibilities for the girl's.

But then I had a thought the other day at work.  There was a name I had previously thrown out as a possibility for a girl's first name, mostly because I liked the shortened form of it.  But when I tried the full name as a middle name, it worked!  As an added bonus, that name includes the name of a family member whose name wouldn't work well as a middle name!

While we ate supper tonight, I suggested the new middle name to Amanda, and she liked it.  We agreed that we've got an official name if Baby Fehr is a girl.  But that left the boy's name.  We had a few good possibilities for middle names, Amanda suggested that one would be her first choice, and we decided to go with it.

So Baby Fehr has a name, whether she turns out to be a girl, or he turns out to be a boy!

...now we just need to worry about other things like car seats, bassinettes, strollers, and other things.

As Days Go By...

May 20th.

That's the only date I can think about right now.  I know due dates, especially for first babies, are sometimes little more than a shot in the dark.  But that date is the one that will not leave my brain.

It's just over three weeks away.  Just over three weeks until I'm a dad and have a little person counting on me to keep him/her safe, warm, and fed (though indirectly for the first few months).

That is still an absolutely crazy thought.  Seven years ago, I was still living at home.  Four years ago, I hadn't even met Amanda yet.  And a year ago, in the wake of Amanda's surgery, we weren't really sure if we would ever be able to have children.

It's a lot to take in.  It doesn't help that we're not physically prepared yet.  Car seat?  Nope.  Bassinette?  Nope.  Stroller?  Nope.  If it wasn't for my mom making an *amazing* baby blanket and cloth diapers with changeable absorbant liners for us, Baby Fehr would be in real trouble.

Part of the difficulty has been our schooling.  I finished up for the semester on April 11th, just after Amanda started her first year of parts school.  An average day for me involved work, supper, school, and a scant few minutes with Amanda as it was -- even thinking about spending an afternoon looking at baby stuff seemed like too much time away from school work that I couldn't afford.

Amanda's not working while she's attending school, but there's an awful lot crammed into her six weeks.  Last week she had three tests, for example.  She gets off from school reasonably early, but usually has to spend the bulk of the night taking notes and working on homework.  As a result, it's been hard for us to find time to look at stuff.

Last weekend we did some looking, but quickly became overwhelmed.  We don't have a lot of room in our apartment, so were debating the size of bassinette we could handle, and whether it made more sense to get a smaller one-purpose bassinette, or a larger one that served as a playpen once the baby was too large for the bassinette portion.

At any rate, one way or another, we'll manage when Baby Fehr is born.  At the moment, it's just a little hard to see how.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Looking Spiffy

When we tried to go to a play last night, Amanda wore a dress one of my co-workers made and gave to her.

What happened was that she had made the dress for herself, but it didn't fit her well. She offered it to me for Amanda, and commented that it should fit Amanda fine because they both have broad shoulders.

So I brought the dress home, and it fit Amanda great!  To top things off, it looked really good on her.  Now, this is the same co-worker who kindly made me a diaper bag for our soon-to-be-born first child (unbelievably, the countdown is at 24 days).

So, the short version of the above is that I have an awesome co-worker!


Saturday, April 25, 2015

Dressed up with Froyo

So, 15 minutes ago, Amanda and I were at Menchie's.  Amanda was wearing a dress one of my co-workers made and gave to her, and I was wearing khakis and a polo shirt.  This isn't our normal dress code for frozen yogurt.  We were supposed to be going to a play, but they didn't have any record of tickets being held for us.  We were a little bummed, but quickly rallied and headed out for frozen yogurt instead.

And before we headed out, we took the first kissing couple photo we've taken in quite a while!  I'm clearly out of practice -- this photo has way too much of me and not nearly enough of Amanda.