Too Much TIME on My Hands

I usually don't write on Tuesdays but we are too close to Deuce's arrival to skip a day. Today is Day 264 of the pregnancy and there are TWO days to go, officially, until the due date. I really have not been nervous! People ask me all the time if I am nervous. I am not lying! I am ready for this baby to come and ready for the responsibility of taking care of it. However...the more time that passes before the birth, the more apprehensive I become. Does that make any sense at all? The last few nights have been a bit restless for me. I go to bed and think about the baby sleeping in the bassinet next to our bed...waking up every few hours to eat and crying in the middle of the night. Will Elijah wake up when the baby cries? Will I wake up during the week when the baby cries and then be completely useless at work?? How much will Elijah regress? How much will I regress??? Anyway, you get the picture. I just want this baby to arrive soon so I stop thinking so much. Bottom line is that I honestly cannot wait. I am ready.

Today, Zeide Abe arrives from Florida. I am happy that he will be here when Deuce is born. This is very special to us because Zeide Abe's wife Bobe Ana, passed away in 2001 and Deuce will be the first baby born since then. It's important that Zeide Abe is here because Deuce will be named, in part, after Bobe Ana. It will be a very special time.

The first breaths Deuce will take are the hardest. It has been calculated that the first breathing-in requires five times the effort of an ordinary breath, because the air drawn must expand the thousands of tiny uninflated air sacs of the lungs. It is an effort that can be compared to blowing up a balloon.

If you are planning to breastfeed, you are going to be offering the most well-balanced immune-protective nutrition available to your baby. Each of your breasts gains 1.5 pounds during pregnancy in preparation for nursing. Deb will not be breastfeeding because she is "disconnected" as a result of breast reduction surgery 9 years ago. On one hand, she feels lucky that the breast pain and discomfort is non-existent in her pregnancies. On the other hand, of course, all things considered she would like to breast feed. For me, it's fantastic this way because I get to help 50-50 with feedings. PLUS, when we are 80 years old and everyone has breasts that hang down to their knees, Deb's will be standing at full attention still. :-)

P-Tips....When the baby was in your uterus, its world sounded watery and sloshy. While you can go out and buy a toy that duplicates intrauterine sounds, the sound of running water is also soothing to the baby and will help lull it to sleep. Tape-record the sound of a running shower, water filling the tub, or a running dishwasher and play it if your baby is having trouble falling asleep. We have a series of cassette tapes that we got when Elijah was born that are incredible. They just play heart beating sounds and we believe that Elijah slept well in the beginning because of these tapes.

"Pretty much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children."

That's it for today. I remind everyone to set their bookmarks to www.671967.blogspot.com. This will be the home of the Daily after Deuce arrives. The website will be forever expanding and will include pictures, video and a message board for everyone to check in!!

Have a good day!!!

dad