I was just called a slacker for not having updated the blog in awhile. I recognize that it's true. I am, indeed, a slacker. It's hard to describe the events/emotions at this stage in the game. We're just over 32 weeks. Inching our way closer to 40 weeks (well, actually 40 weeks and three days is my goal... 10/10/10, here we come!)... Nothing is changing too rapidly. Yes, her belly is getting bigger...
Two big bellies!
And today is the due date for our new niece/nephew! So, things aren't as super exciting for us as I'm sure they are for them.
It was fun, though, to recently have a sneak preview of what our lives will soon become. Our good friends Josh and Alison paid us a visit over the weekend. Actually, our good friend, baby Eva, paid us a visit, and she was escorted by her parents. (Just kidding J&A.)
Evangeline is a cute little "angel baby," despite anything her parents may say about her being grumpy. She babbles, makes bubbles, squeals, and crawls, though not too far. She sleeps mostly through the night. She eats without making too much of a mess/fuss. She takes a few naps a day. She enjoys being entertained by strangers or by her parents, but she also can entertain herself for hours with some toys in a Pack 'N Play while her parents lose at Settlers of Catan. (Oops, did I just post that in public?)
All things considered, she's a superstar baby. (In fact, I'd go so far as to call her "gifted." And everyone likes a gifted child.) And then you look at her parents. They have been traveling with an 8-month-old for the past couple months during their excursion in the USA before returning to work abroad. They looked exhausted. Honestly, they looked really really happy. But they looked tired. To their credit, though, they're still able to plan their future and have ambitious plans and even make steps toward achieving their 10-year goals in the midst of their exhaustion.
The way I figure it, Josh and Alison's traveling probably throws about a similarly sized wrench into child-rearing as perhaps Libby's and my residencies will. Only, they're doing it for a couple months, and we're doing our residencies for years to come. And they look exhausted with an "angel baby." That's a little intimidating. What will Libby and I look like? What if we get a legitimately grumpy baby.
The gifted child, already a professional interior decorator. And a literate one, at that!
Anyhow, I know that God will prepare us for whatever wonderful plans He has. Just one more way to trust and obey...
In other news, I just heard a commercial on the radio as I was typing: "Today, prenatal medicine at Beaumont lets us learn a lot more about your baby than its gender before the delivery... Choosing your baby's hospital might be the most important decision you ever make. Do you both have a Beaumont doctor?"
Let's pick that apart a little. Learn more than its gender? Well, we didn't want to know gender. And what more could they discover? Reasons to terminate a pregnancy, if my limited obstetrics knowledge serves well... Granted, there's a low probability that you could discover something that you could actually treat prior to delivery, but we got that structural ultrasound halfway through. (that's right... AN ultrasound... singular. No need for more.)
Most important decision? Over the course of human history, babies have been born for several years now. In fact, I can personally testify to the fact that they've been born for at least 27 years. Plus, I've heard rumors that babies were born before doctors existed. In fact, I've even been present while babies have been born without doctors... I even caught some babies in Africa before I was a doctor, with no doctor anywhere to be found. Crazy, huh? If only those ladies had had Beaumont doctors, I bet their babies would've been composing symphonies or winning Nobel Prizes by now.
I don't have a Beaumont doctor, and my baby doesn't either.
Argh! I just remembered the post I had been meaning to write! About our last great weekend away... Indian wedding and all... next time, I guess... (how's that for suspense building??!? [if your answer to that question is, "lame," please keep it to yourself.])
