Time for a long, rambling update of everything that's going on in our lives at the present time. Aren't you lucky?
THE GOOD:
~ At almost 35 weeks of pregnancy, Mom and baby are doing very well. Mary's blood pressure is not high (that was initially a concern, but hasn't been an issue throughout) and she does not have gestational diabetes (also something they were watching for at first).
~ Baby is already head-down, he's practicing his breathing, his heart rate is normal, and he's very active.
THE BAD:
~ Mary's job as a teacher requires her to be on her feet much of the work day. So...her feet and legs swell daily and it's very painful. I rub her feet and lower legs every night for at least half an hour, and it helps – for about ten minutes or so – but the swelling never completely goes away now. Sleeping is difficult for her, because no position is truly comfortable. Many "normal" things that she was able to do before pregnancy are more difficult or even impossible right now.
THE IN-BETWEEN:
~ Baby already weighs approximately 6.9 lbs.! The doctor we met with this week told us that he is still within the normal range (accounting for an up to 15% margin for error on the ultrasound measurements), but that Mary will likely not be allowed to go past her due date (January 5th); the implication was that Baby Boy may be ready to arrive even earlier.
THE GOOD:
~ We have two possible names (first and middle name combinations) picked out for Baby Boy that Mary and I both like a lot.
THE BAD:
~ We can't decide which name to choose. I have my favorite between the two, and immediate family members and close friends have also cast their votes in favor of one or the other. But Mary's name preference changes from day to day, and I'm truly okay with either one (which doesn't help much either).
THE IN-BETWEEN:
~ It is entirely possible that Baby Boy may not have a name until he gets here. And that's okay. Apologies to anyone who may have been hoping to embroider a blanket or whatever with kiddo's name on it prior to his birth.
THE GOOD:
~ We are not going to have to move out of our house and into a new one before Christmas or before baby arrives.
~ Which means that we are going to be able to decorate the house for Christmas as well as set up the nursery for the baby.
THE BAD:
~ We have this newfound flexibility because, unfortunately, the sale of our house fell through. The husband of the family who wished to buy the house found out – after we had agreed on a price and signed the contract (but prior to delivering the earnest money check) – that his job was going to be transferred to Raleigh. He did not wish to be transferred, and began the process of appealing the move to his employers. However, his workplace was extremely slow in getting back with him, and two weeks after we thought we had a deal, he'd still not received an answer back. With us already working on an extremely short time frame to find a new place to live, pack up our current place, and etc. all before Christmas and before baby arrives, the even shorter time frame was not going to work for us at all. With no earnest money check in hand, the deal was not official, and we chose to pull out, and subsequently to pull our house off the market until after we're a bit more settled with the baby.
THE IN-BETWEEN:
~ Though not selling the house is disappointing, we now have more time to look for a house that's right for us, and more time to better determine what we can and can't afford to spend on a house, and what location would be ideal for us as well. (This point should probably be in the "THE GOOD" column, but let's not quibble over trivialities.)
~ We have left the door open for the prospective buyers to make a new offer if they find out in the coming weeks that he is not going to be transferred to Raleigh. If their family is remaining here and they still wish to purchase our house, we will make it available to them even if it's not technically still on the market. At that point, with us having the baby and knowing better how much time we'd actually need to be out without being rushed, we would set the closing date in order for a deal to be completed. It may happen, and it may not, but we thought it prudent to not completely close the door on a potential sale.
THE GOOD:
~ I actually have more vacation time than I thought at first and am going to be able to spend a full two weeks at home with Mary after the baby comes! This was very important to me – I was willing to take family medical leave if necessary – but fortunately everything worked out in our favor.
THE BAD:
~ This is not technically a "BAD" thing for me, but it might disappoint a handful of people. Due to the fact that I will soon be helping take care of a brand new person and will be as involved as possible in all that entails, I will not be directing the Easter drama at our church this upcoming year. A replacement director is already being recruited and should be decided upon one way or the other very soon. I will be available to consult, but my "hands-on" involvement will be minimal at best. Will I miss doing it? Of course I will. I've been involved in the drama ministry in some form or fashion for over a dozen years now. Is it worth it to miss it? Absolutely! Those are the first few months of my child's life. I can't get that time back. I want to be there with him and my wife. And I will be.
THE IN-BETWEEN:
~ I only get two weeks to be home with Mary and baby! I think it's a travesty that many employers (mine included) don't offer paternity leave. It is expected that men these days will be more involved in the care of their children. Many fathers, myself included, actually want to be very involved. And yet, we men have to burn all of our vacation time in order to do that. It's not fair, but that's the way it is. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.
THE GOOD:
~ Today is the 335th straight day that I've blogged! Which means that I only have 31 days to go (it's a Leap Year, remember). I don't know about you, but even I am impressed with that! And amazed, frankly, considering all the craziness that's gone on this year. Did I know in advance that this – of all years – would be the year that we'd finally have a kid? Nope! Or that this would be the year we'd finally get our act together and actively try to sell our house? Negative! Did I anticipate any of the other strange and wonderful things that have happened throughout the course of this year? Not at all! It just worked out that way. But hey, it's given me plenty to blog about, right?
THE BAD:
~ Ugh! I still have 31 days left! What else is left for me to write about at this point?
THE IN-BETWEEN:
~ Don't you worry about that! I still have plenty of ideas. Not good ones, mind you. But ideas nonetheless. Stay tuned...
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