For those of you who've been waiting with bated breath - we're having a
For your edification, here's the money shot:
The ultrasound tech kindly put the arrows in to draw attention to the bits you're supposed to look at. Despite the helpful arrow, I can't tell from looking at it. To me it could be anything. Here's the other money shot:
I can tell much better from this one that he's got boy bits. The photo is as if he were sitting on a glass table with his knees bent and his ankles crossed. At this point in the scan the tech announced that she felt like she was violating the poor kid trying to get a good shot of his privates. However, she still added the ever helpful arrow.
I do realize that the kid is not even born yet and I'm already posting embarrassing photos of him on the internet. I'm looking forward to the first time he brings a date home, "Oh yes, this was the day we discovered our little man was a boy." And just in case you were interested in seeing a photo of him that didn't center around his bait and tackle, here's a face shot:
Yup - He's waving at the camera again. That's our kid.
We're still working on names, and probably won't make up our minds until the kid arrives. I already see the foundations of a extensive naming matrix being laid. "If the kid is born on a Tuesday, and it's raining, and he has hair - brown hair, then we'll use..." We'll come up with something eventually. As my mother in law pointed out, they won't let us leave the hospital until they can put a name on his birth certificate.
I am doing well. I have a few minor complaints; there is some ignorable pain, my nose is always running, and I FART ALL THE TIME. Why didn't someone mention the farting? Did you think it was funny to hold out on me? At home it's no big deal, Ryan will put up with my gastric symphony. But work is a whole different kettle of fish. I'm worried that I'll cut the cheese in front of my boss, or worse yet, my boss's boss. Just the other day one slipped out in front of my co-workers. It was one of those high squeeky long ones that you can't pass of as another noise that just happened to sound similar, you know like a shoe noise. Everyone ignored it, after a very long pause, for which I'm eternally grateful but I'm sure it won't be the last time it happens.
In other news, now that we know the kid is a he, we've started rearranging the house in preparation. We cleared out the guest room and we set it up as my home office. It's really lovely, the only thing that will make it complete is a couple of oversized chairs from craigslist. With all the crap out of the kid's room we've started arranging furniture and trying to decide what sort of decor options to choose. Does it make Ryan and I bad parents that we both love this wall decal from blik? Sad Psycho I really think it would work as a nursery theme, and the future therapy bills are totally worth while, right?
We've also started making our first "parenting" decisions. Parenting Decision of the Week: We will be cloth diapering.
Now that you've stopped screaming in horror, here are some of the factors that swayed us:
Perhaps having so many animals has given us a higher tolerance for, um, bodily fluids, but Ryan and I don't really see any problem. We have a wonderful invention in our home, called a toilet, it takes solid wastes away like it was designed for it. We also have a washing machine which does a really fantastic job getting rid of liquid wastes on fabric. It doesn't matter if it's a carpet that fell victim to Greebo's bladder infection or a rag we used to deal with Kismet's most recent experiments in grass eating, the washer handles both with ease and grace. And if, gods forbid, we somehow manage to get something "icky" on our hands there are these wonderful things called SOAP and HOT WATER, they're absolutely magical when you use them. Really, if you're not on the soap and hot water bandwagon, I suggest you climb on up - you can thank me later.
We'll post again soon with more updates around the Suburban Farm. We've got a bunch of cooking, canning, labeling to do this weekend, and I think Ryan's going to tile the big bathroom! Until then, some photos of Porter & Mal.
- Gretchen
For your edification, here's the money shot:
The ultrasound tech kindly put the arrows in to draw attention to the bits you're supposed to look at. Despite the helpful arrow, I can't tell from looking at it. To me it could be anything. Here's the other money shot:
I can tell much better from this one that he's got boy bits. The photo is as if he were sitting on a glass table with his knees bent and his ankles crossed. At this point in the scan the tech announced that she felt like she was violating the poor kid trying to get a good shot of his privates. However, she still added the ever helpful arrow.I do realize that the kid is not even born yet and I'm already posting embarrassing photos of him on the internet. I'm looking forward to the first time he brings a date home, "Oh yes, this was the day we discovered our little man was a boy." And just in case you were interested in seeing a photo of him that didn't center around his bait and tackle, here's a face shot:
Yup - He's waving at the camera again. That's our kid.
We're still working on names, and probably won't make up our minds until the kid arrives. I already see the foundations of a extensive naming matrix being laid. "If the kid is born on a Tuesday, and it's raining, and he has hair - brown hair, then we'll use..." We'll come up with something eventually. As my mother in law pointed out, they won't let us leave the hospital until they can put a name on his birth certificate.
I am doing well. I have a few minor complaints; there is some ignorable pain, my nose is always running, and I FART ALL THE TIME. Why didn't someone mention the farting? Did you think it was funny to hold out on me? At home it's no big deal, Ryan will put up with my gastric symphony. But work is a whole different kettle of fish. I'm worried that I'll cut the cheese in front of my boss, or worse yet, my boss's boss. Just the other day one slipped out in front of my co-workers. It was one of those high squeeky long ones that you can't pass of as another noise that just happened to sound similar, you know like a shoe noise. Everyone ignored it, after a very long pause, for which I'm eternally grateful but I'm sure it won't be the last time it happens.
In other news, now that we know the kid is a he, we've started rearranging the house in preparation. We cleared out the guest room and we set it up as my home office. It's really lovely, the only thing that will make it complete is a couple of oversized chairs from craigslist. With all the crap out of the kid's room we've started arranging furniture and trying to decide what sort of decor options to choose. Does it make Ryan and I bad parents that we both love this wall decal from blik? Sad Psycho I really think it would work as a nursery theme, and the future therapy bills are totally worth while, right?
We've also started making our first "parenting" decisions. Parenting Decision of the Week: We will be cloth diapering.
Now that you've stopped screaming in horror, here are some of the factors that swayed us:
- 1 - It's better for the environment (sort of). There is one infamous study from the UK (where they call them nappies) by the Environment Agency that has drummed up much chatter. After a four year study the EA came to the conclusion cloth diapers had pretty much the same impact on the environment as disposables. While disposables take up valuable landfill space, cloth still need to be washed and transported. What isn't clear from the (limited) reading I've done is what how the impact changes when you think about using the cloth diapers for more then one child, and if you hang dry them vs. using a electric dryer. Here's a quick Times article if you're interested: How green is your nappy? Prepare for a surprise
- 2 - It's cheaper then disposables. This is an undeniable fact for us. When we calculated the cost of the diapers and added in the cost of washing and drying (soap, water, electricity, etc.) the cloth come out way ahead of disposable. We even assumed that we're still on the regular grid for our electrics, not on solar panels. (Yes, we may get solar panels in our near future. We'll fill you in on that as the story develops.) There is a higher up front cost, but we feel that it's worth it.
- 3 - They're one size fits all. We can use them from the day the little one is born until he's potty trained and then use them on the next kid. The AIO (All in Ones - that's cloth diapering lingo) that we have chosen are the bumGenius 3.0. The 3.0 has snaps that adjust the rise of the diaper as the child grows and it has velcro tabs to adjust the waist size. The adjustability is a unique feature for the cloth diaper market, usually you have to buy sizes just like you would in disposables. Click here to read about the bumGenius 3.0 at euphoriababy.com. (Where, incidentally we're registered, if you're interested in contributing to our diaper supply.) The 3.0 really works just like the disposables do, only instead of throwing them in the trash you wash them. (This also means we'll be using cloth wipes too. But that doesn't seem like all that big a deal.)
- 4 - Cloth diapered kids potty train faster, or at least that's what we keep hearing.
- 5 - They come in fun colors.
Perhaps having so many animals has given us a higher tolerance for, um, bodily fluids, but Ryan and I don't really see any problem. We have a wonderful invention in our home, called a toilet, it takes solid wastes away like it was designed for it. We also have a washing machine which does a really fantastic job getting rid of liquid wastes on fabric. It doesn't matter if it's a carpet that fell victim to Greebo's bladder infection or a rag we used to deal with Kismet's most recent experiments in grass eating, the washer handles both with ease and grace. And if, gods forbid, we somehow manage to get something "icky" on our hands there are these wonderful things called SOAP and HOT WATER, they're absolutely magical when you use them. Really, if you're not on the soap and hot water bandwagon, I suggest you climb on up - you can thank me later.
We'll post again soon with more updates around the Suburban Farm. We've got a bunch of cooking, canning, labeling to do this weekend, and I think Ryan's going to tile the big bathroom! Until then, some photos of Porter & Mal.
- Gretchen