Shots In The Middle Of The Work Day

It is always an odd feeling for me getting up in the morning on a week day and not rushing to get out of the house and on the road. Sometimes it is a holiday and the office is closed while other times it is because of weather. However, Friday was one of those days when it just made more sense for me to work from home due to an appointment right in the middle of the afternoon. Believe it or not, it was time for our son’s one year wellness check and I wasn’t going to miss this one.

As the day progressed and a surprising amount of work was accomplished, the minutes and hours seemed to evaporate. Before I had a chance to stop and assess where I was in the day, I looked up and found that I only had about 15 minutes before heading out the door. With a little bit of time left and about twice that amount of time in work remaining, somehow I managed to power through and get out the door with a couple minutes to spare. Well, that is what I thought.

On my way to the daycare to pick up our son, I couldn’t have encountered more delays if I tried. Between the slow cars (clearly not knowing where they needed to go) and hitting every red light possible, I barely made it into the classroom with enough time to grab all of his stuff from the week, turn around, and try and make up some time on our way to the doctor. Thankfully, our son was quietly watching the scenery the whole was and we did make it to the doctor on time about a minute before my wife pulled into the parking space beside us.

As we checked in and handed the woman at the front desk the forms to transfer our son’s medical record to a new doctor, our name was called. This may have been the first time that we didn’t have to wait since we first started bringing our son to this office right after he was born. While there were a few things that we specifically asked the doctor to check (and yes we actually saw the doctor this time), the great news of the appointment was that our little baby isn’t so little anymore falling within the 75^th percentile in nearly all of the usual measurements. And that is when the calmness came to an end and the needles entered the room.

While the tears began almost as soon as we laid him on the examining table, he surprisingly wanted his daddy when everything was done. By the time we left with a multitude of papers and forms in hand, our big boy had calmed down and was clearly ready to go home. With my wife taking our son home, I was able to get a few local errands done before joining them back at the house and taking the time to play with our son before his abnormally early bed time. It was a long day and an appointment we weren’t really looking forward to but it went about as well as we could have expected. Sometimes, that is the best day especially when the result is that our son is pretty darn healthy!

3-D Baby

Thursday was a hectic day which will soon be evident over the next couple of posts. But they were hectic in a good way as the early morning was a filled with coffee and anticipation at seeing our son again. It was almost as if he knew he was going to have his picture taken that morning. He was squirming from the moment we got out of bed and was pushing closer to the surface trying to get just a little bit closer.

He was calm for a time and very active at other points in the morning. Once the ultrasound began, he seemed to both want his picture taken and wanted nothing to do with the process at the same time. Of course, like the rest of the men in my family, he had his hands up and ready to block his face.

Even with all of the moving around, kicking, and punching, the nurse was able to take all the measurements that she needed… more than enough to tell us that our son is developing normally and maybe a little bit ahead of schedule. She was also able to catch him in the middle of one of his shifts with his face uncovered taking a nice 3-D image of our baby. A second later and he put his hands back up and didn’t move them away for the rest of the morning.

And now we have a face without a name. The latter will come in time but, for now, we know he takes after my side of the family both in his mannerisms and some of his facial features. And, yes, he still listens to daddy when I ask him to move, kick, etc. I am going to enjoy his cooperation while it lasts!

Kick!

 The doctor soon followed and double checked everything that had just been done and all the measurements that had been taken. Thankfully, everything was confirmed and our son is expected to be approximately 8 ½ pounds by the time his birthday comes around. While a big baby, we were expecting this as I was about the same size when I was born.

While everything has gone as smoothly as possible thus far we still have a lot of things that we need to take care of not the least of which is figuring out a few more options for his name. Other things that we are working on are pulling together his room, setting a delivery date, and bracing ourselves for the changes that are ahead. We will get them done I just don’t know when and in what order!

Great Way To End The Work Day

Here is our son beating up mommy!

Yesterday was a busy day at the office with various events and new projects that we have to prepare for. It is a long and sometimes stressful experience but also something that we can be proud of once everything comes to pass. As the long day wound down I slowly packed my bags, closed my computer, headed out the door, and off to my next appointment. These days, these appointment, are ones that I continue looking forward to as the weeks slowly drift by. It is time to check in on the baby.

My wife and I both arrived at the doctor’s office early and after catching up a bit on everything that is going on and discussing the questions that we wanted to ask the doctor we made our way through the doors, checked in, and sat in the waiting room. Every visit there seems to be a certain amount of excitement coupled with a slight hint of nervousness. It is safe to say that the worrying starts before the baby arrives.

It wasn’t long before we were escorted back into an examining room (amid glares from all the pregnant women who were sitting there when we first walked in). After a quick weight and blood pressure check it was time to hear one of the most calming, if not the most calming, sound that we have in our lives at this moment… our son’s heartbeat. It is a sound that fills the room (especially now that it is so much easier to find) and one that makes me look forward to the day when I will finally be able to hold him.

The tranquil moment passed as the nurse headed out the door and we waited for the doctor to appear. Again, a perfect time to make sure we had all our questions ready. The doctor came in, took some measurements, and let us know that our baby boy was perfectly healthy… all tests have come back negative, heart rate is normal, and the measurements are right where they need to be. Essentially, our kid is probably never going to be this ‘normal’ again.

Once we silently reveled in the god news of a quick moment, we began posing all of the questions that we have been reviewing for days. All of the ‘let’s just double check with the doctor’ type of questions. The doctor took her time, answered all of the questions that we had, and let us know about what we should expect during the next appointment in 4 weeks. I’m sure we will have more questions for the doctor upon our return but, for now, everything is progressing as it should and we are looking forward to meeting our happy and healthy (and VERY active) little boy.