The candyman

We have another vote for a boy. The man in the candy store is also thinking blue. But not because I'm carrying like a basketball, not because my lips are full -- an entirely different old wives' tale that I hadn't heard before.

"In my country, if woman is smiling, laughing, boy is coming," he explained. (I didn't ask what country.) "If woman is --" he paused, searching for the English word. Instead he made a scrunched up a face. "Then it's girl."

I thought that was funny. I didn't think little girls made you irritable until about 13 years after you gave birth!

But I was in a good mood at the time -- I was in a candy store, for goodness sake! Until I got back to my desk and discovered that the sour Jelly Bellys I had bought had some non-sour jelly beans mixed in. I thought about going back and yelling about the mixed up candy -- not because I was terribly upset, but because I wanted to see if the candyman changed his mind about the sex of my baby!

Get the margarita mix ready...

Kevin thinks I am using this blog as an opportunity to make fun of him. He may be right, but it's his fault he gives me so much good material!

My last day of work is this week, and Kevin asked me if I was excited to be finishing up. "Because you know, in our working lifetimes, you're probably never going to get so much time off at once ever again."

My mouth dropped. "Kevin. This is not going to be a vacation, you know."

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "You feed the baby, you put it down for a nap, you change its diaper...and you can be playing video games the entire time! Sounds like a vacation to me!"

We'll see how he feels in a couple of weeks...

Learning to be parents

I want to take a parenting class that the hospital offers. Kevin does not agree -- he thinks we will learn it all "as we go."

"But there are just so many things we don't know," I argue. "How do you tell if the baby is crying because it's hungry or if it's crying because it has an earache? Can you bathe a baby before the belly button falls off?"

There is a pause, and Kevin furrows his brow.

"What do you mean 'the belly button falls off'?"

Thanks, Kevin. You just proved my point. I will sign us up for the parenting class right now.

Our Halloween

I already posted cute Halloween babies, but I just got around to uploading the pictures from OUR Halloween.

Kevin and I went as Juno and her boyfriend Paulie Bleeker. Here's a picture:



On Friday night we went out to a couple of bars with Kevin's brother Ryan and his wife Emily. A lot of people didn't think I was really pregnant -- they thought it was part of my costume! I was also told several times that I was a real trooper for being out. I just replied that it was going to be a lot easier to go out this year than it would be next year!

The next night we went to a party on Long Island, and we got to wear our costumes again. Which was a good thing for Kevin, because he really seemed to like his short shorts! Here he is with his friends showing off his legs. This is Andy in the back as a 70s cop, Brad as a seagull, Chris as Indiana Jones and Scott as a Reno 911 cop. Scott was giving Kevin a run for his money as the guy with the whitest thighs.

The best financial decision we ever made

"So, when you breastfeed, that's all the baby eats, right?" Kevin asked me one night.

"Yep."

"So it won't need any formula?"

"Nope."

A big smile erupts on his face. "So the kid eats for free!"

"Well, I guess so."

"And we won't be going out as much once the baby comes."

"No."

"Having a baby just might be the best financial decision we've ever made!"

He was so excited, I didn't have the heart to burst his bubble by talking about the cost of diapers, day care, college, etc. "Yes, having a baby is definitely the best financial decision we've ever made," I agreed.

Hey, maybe our kid will be so cute and charismatic, we will be able to sell out and get him or her into modeling!

Kevin's OCD impulses

Kevin and I went out for breakfast this morning. He ordered an egg white omelette with bacon and cheddar. He was deciding between mozzarella and cheddar -- I told him to go for cheddar. Although he ate most of the omelette, I could tell there was something bothering him. It turned out there was, but I would have never been able to guess what it was.

"I have a problem when my food is not color-coordinated," he tells me. "I wish I would have went with the mozzarella."

So it turns out when he orders egg whites, he wants a white cheese. Yellow cheese is okay when he gets regular eggs. I have known this guy for seven years, and I never knew this about him!

"Yeah, I've been trying to work on it over the last couple of months." Based on breakfast he doesn't seem to be succeeding, but I guess we can't expect to make these huge important changes overnight.

The most amusing part about this whole thing is that this is a man who doesn't even know how to color-coordinate his clothes! I once made him a chart with all of his shirts as the column headings on the top and all of his pants as the row headings along the side. Then I put a "yes" or a "no" where the shirts and pants intersected based on whether they matched, and he referred to this chart the way some people refer to the Bible. Maybe a better idea is equating each piece of clothing to a food. At least my mornings would be a little more entertaining.

"Maureen, do you think chocolate and pizza sauce could go together?"

Hungry

I have been so hungry the last couple of days. But I don't really know what for! This was highlighted in a conversation Kevin and I had the other day. He called me when he was on his way home and asked me if I needed anything (what a sweetie -- he did this before I was pregnant too).

"Yes, I'm really hungry," I told him. Keep in mind I had already had a dinner and a half so far.

"Okay, what do you want?"

"I don't know."

"Oooookay. Do you want a meal or a snack?"

"I don't know."

"Uh-huh. Do you want something salty or sweet?"

"I don't know."

"Okay. I am going to go to the grocery store and just grab what looks good."

I should mention that I was not being whiny here (at least not in my recollection), and Kevin did not sound annoyed at all!

Anyway, that wonderful husband of mine came home with chocolate-covered pretzels and tater tots! I decided on the chocolate covered pretzels, and they were perfect!

Glad someone knows what I need, because I apparently do not!

Birthing babies

"I don't know nothin' 'bout birthing babies!" — Prissy in Gone With the Wind

Now we can say we know *a bit* about birthing babies. We have successfully completed our childbirth education class. Some of the videos were a little, um, hard to watch, but overall the class was really good. I actually found it to be reassuring. It just reminds you that we are not the first couple to go through this!

One thing that the teacher said that really stuck with me is that most things that are painful are painful because they are continuous. However, with childbirth, you have breaks between contractions so it makes it a bit more manageable. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but it made me feel a little bit better.

The early part of labor didn't sound so bad either. This is when the contractions aren't that intense yet (or that frequent) and excitement and happiness are the main emotions felt. We would still be at home at this part, and in between contractions, we are supposed to be doing something that takes our focus off of the labor -- like playing a board game or something. It will also be the last time that we are hanging out as a family of just two. Dare I say it -- it sounds kind of like a fun bonding experience!

Those of you that have gone through childbirth are probably laughing at me right now. Go ahead, but please don't do it to my face -- let me keep my fantasy alive for a few more weeks!

Tip for visitors

For our friends and family that are in the New York area or plan to be in the New York area in December and/or January, we would love to see you and show off our little bundle of joy!

A tip for you -- the woman on the hospital tour said the only people that should be visiting the baby in the first four weeks are those that are bringing food or doing laundry. So plan accordingly!

Hospital tour

Tonight we went on our hospital maternity ward tour...and we figured out WHY they want you to do the hospital tour!

We got to the hospital on time, but we couldn't find the tour. We entered through the emergency entrance and went to the maternity ward on the fifth floor -- they told us to go to labor and delivery on the fourth floor. They told us to go to the Lisky Lobby. So we followed the signs to the Lisky Pavilion, which we later found out was not the same as the Lisky Lobby. The people at the Lisky Pavilion sent us back to labor and delivery. We found some nice doctors who led us in the wrong direction for a couple of minutes.

Then we found a nurse and told her we were looking for the maternity tour. She thought I was in labor. "You need a doctor, honey?" she asked.

"No, we're just looking for the tour."

"Oh, you need a doctor! Let me help you up to labor and delivery!"

"NO!" We ran off the elevator and left her yelling after us.

Finally, we found the tour. It was actually great, and we learned a lot. Some really important stuff -- like our hospital (Beth Israel) is where Rachel had her baby on Friends!

Seriously, though, the hospital tour was very informative and reassuring. The hospital is very big on baby bonding with the parents, which of course we are also in favor of! This means that the baby stays with us immediately after it's born -- it doesn't get whisked off to the nursery. Also, the baby gets to sleep in my room, not the nursery. The guide walked us past the nursery -- and there were no babies in it! The babies are sleeping in the mommies' rooms -- what a concept!

Beth Israel also has one of the best neonatal intensive care units in the state. Hopefully, we won't have to use it, but it's nice to know that it's there.

We also got a look at the rooms. Not surprisingly, insurance pays only for a double room, but you can pay extra for a private room. There are even deluxe rooms, which have fridges and flat-screen tvs. Kevin decided if we are going to be there on a Sunday (ie football day), we would splurge for the deluxe room.

Halloween babies

This post is a little overdue, but I think it will be worth it! Here are some cute babies dressed up for Halloween!

This is my friend Samantha's family in Denver. They might just be the most adorable family ever! This is Nick, big sister Sloane, Samantha and baby Sydney. Keep in mind Sydney is only two days old in this picture! But Samantha still looks perfect, like always!


Here is my cousin Maggie's daughter Allison's first Halloween. She is with her big cousins Casey, Bailey and CJ (my cousin Charlie's kids). Could you find a more angelic face for an angel?


Then here we've got little James the pony. This is the son of one of Kevin's best friends. He is nine months old and lives in DC. (We got to see him in person last weekend, but I will write another post about our adventures.)


And now, the nieces and nephews. Well, we don't actually have any nieces and nephews -- Cohen Kiddo will be the first grandkid on both sides. But our siblings do have dogs, and they do dress them up for Halloween!

These are Kevin's sister's dogs. Maggie is a prisoner, Laci is a witch, and Nerak is a football player. They even went trick-or-treating!




Last but not least, my sister Mel's dog Buster.



Happy belated Halloween!

Memory books

My Aunt Carol bought a memory book for the baby. It has things like what our family tree looks like, funny moments during the pregnancy, what happened when we took the baby home from the hospital, a list of baby's firsts, and other things like that. It is so cute, and I know we will have a lot of fun filling it out. There is just one problem.

When I brought it home and showed it to Kevin, he was looking through it, and toward the back, there is a page with favorites -- favorite toys, favorite books, favorite songs, favorite activities, favorite foods, favorite playmates, etc. Kevin said, "Do we put the baby's favorites or our favorites?" Well, it's the baby's memory book, so it is for the baby's favorites. "Oh," he said, looking slightly disappointed. "But where do our favorites go?"

More crazy symptoms

It was always amusing to me the way anytime anything ails you when you are in Colorado, it is blamed on the altitude. Headaches, stomachaches, fatigue, depression -- the altitude can cause any of these things, or so the locals say.

Pregnancy is kind of the same. Stuffy nose, bleeding gums, heartburn, insomnia -- all blamed on pregnancy.

For the last week or so, my feet have been horribly itchy. Like, take off my shoes at work and use my letter opener to offer some relief itchy (my apologies to my officemate Peter!). I have heard of itchy stomach while pregnant, but not itchy feet. Could this be another pregnancy symptom? Or maybe just athlete's foot? (Not that I've been what you can call an athlete in about, oh, eight months.)

But I googled it, and apparently this is a somewhat common pregnancy symptom! Due to increased levels of estrogen or something. Some women get itchy palms too. No good remedies offered for it though -- just moisturizer and oatmeal baths. But at least I won't have to pull out the Tough Actin' Tinactin.

Debevoise should bottle this stuff

Well, for any of you concerned that I would be lonely being the only pregnant woman in the office -- not to worry! Two more have come out of the woodwork. Emily is due in March with a boy, and Sari is due in January with a girl. Sari is actually a temp hired to help out while Sarah, Susannah and I are gone -- hmmm, ironic, but exciting nonetheless!

Many law firms are trying to figure out how to deal with this economic downturn. Seems to me if Debevoise could just figure out how to sell their magic fertility substance, we should be okay.

Get ready with the blue...?

I am getting more and more unsolicited comments from strangers that this is a boy based on the way I am carrying. The TSA woman at LaGuardia last weekend is positive it's a boy. And her colleague is pretty sure it's not just one boy, but two. (Yes, this is the third and fourth TSA opinion I have gotten -- maybe they have X-ray vision in addition to X-ray machines?) The cashier at Chipotle agrees. And my cab driver coming back from LaGuardia too. "I am going to drive extra careful to protect that baby boy of yours," he tells me. (Interesting that he wouldn't drive extra careful just to protect me!) But he didn't stop there. "Yep, it's a boy, and he's going to be born on Friday." "THIS Friday?" I asked, because of course, I am entirely not ready for a baby showing up five weeks early. "No, just another Friday," he said, shaking his head at me as if I'm crazy for not believing him. Riiiiiight, I'm the crazy one -- you're the one that is making predictions about a total stranger's baby!

All of these opinions have made me wonder -- does the way you carry really make a difference in the sex of the baby? It just doesn't make any scientific sense to me. I decided to research it by taking an informal poll of my friends and family who have had both a boy and a girl. Here are the results:

-- My friend Colleen (has a boy and a girl): carried differently in her pregnancies
-- My friend Susannah (has a boy and a girl): carried differently
-- My cousin Tammy (has two girls and a boy): carried differently for all three
-- My cousin Sandy (has a boy and a girl): carried the same way ("just big," she says)
-- Kevin's cousin Marcy (has a boy and a girl): carried the same way
-- Random Debevoise secretary (has a boy and a girl): carried the same way (but then went on to tell me the only difference in her pregnancies was how often she had to shave her legs -- with her daughter, hardly ever; with her son, she "was an ape". Um, too much information, thanks.)
-- Sarah Palin (has two boys, three girls): carried the same way in all of her pregnancies (okay, so I don't know if this is for real, but I did dream that I met Sarah, and this is what she told me!)

I will let you all draw your own conclusions.

UPDATE: Let me know how you carried if you have had more than one baby!
-- Kevin's aunt Rita (has three girls): carried differently every time (and every time, people said it was a definitely a boy)

Two kids to take care of

"But Maureen, are you ready to take care of TWO children?"

This was Kevin's Aunt Rita's reaction when we told her we were pregnant. Anyone who knows Kevin can see where she was coming from. I was reminded of her comment on Sunday morning when I woke up to see Kevin rubbing his leg.

"What's wrong?"

"My shin hurts," he said.

Kevin's been playing soccer and running lately, but I knew he hadn't done either in a week. "Why does it hurt?"

"Well, last night Julia and I were kicking each other in the shins all night."

It sounds like some kindergarten courting game. But this was his friend Julia from Long Island -- two adults.

"Hmmm. Well, maybe if you don't kick girls in the shin and let them kick you back, your shin won't hurt. Can you remember that the next time we see Julia?"

But I think Kevin's immaturity will serve us well as parents. I have essentially been dealing with a child for seven years, so I consider myself experienced. And Kevin, well, he will be on the same level as the kid, so he will understand fully what he or she is going through!

Everyone's a doctor

The woman behind the Burger King counter is positive we are having twins. “Yep, I can tell, that’s why you’re so big.” “No, I am sure it is not twins – we have had enough ultrasounds to rule that out.” “No, I am telling you, it happened to my cousin, one of the babies was hiding behind the other.” “Really, we would know if it was twins.” “Why have you been having so many ultrasounds, anyway? Is anything wrong?”

Um, can you just keep your opinions to yourself and get a pregnant lady her Whopper Jr.?

We have also been hearing from a lot of people that really have no experience in this field that it is a boy. The TSA guy at the airport, people at work, the women at the nail salon. It is hard not to believe it when so people tell you that it is definitely a boy, even if these people have no scientific basis for their opinions!

Benefits of being pregnant

Benefits of being pregnant:
-- Getting an extra piece of pork from the cafeteria worker (“for the baby,” he says with a wink)
-- When you start breathing heavy, your husband takes over laundry duties
-- Unsolicited smiles from just about everyone
-- Getting a seat on the bus (usually, although sometimes not, but that's for another post)
-- Getting told you’re beautiful all the time
-- Ice cream pretty much whenever you want

I have a feeling none of these benefits will continue once the baby comes. We will see how all of these people treat me next year when I have a screaming baby on my hip. Yes, in addition to that whole being-responsible-for-someone’s-life thing, I would be okay with being pregnant indefinitely.

Kevin, on the other hand, is so anxious for this baby to get here!

Might want to think before drinking that water...

I am not the only business development staffer at Debevoise to be blessed with a little one this fall. My colleagues Susannah and Sarah are pregnant too! We are all due within seven weeks of each other -- Sarah is due December 3rd and Susannah is due to have a Halloween baby.

It was pretty funny last spring when almost every day someone went into our boss' office to tell her she was pregnant. Yolanda took it pretty well (at least when she was in our presence).

But it has been very comforting to have women that are going through the same thing. Like when Sarah came to work freaked out because her gums were bleeding ("Not to worry, that's a pregnancy thing," Susannah told us). Or when I was afraid I was miscarrying in the first trimester because my boobs weren't sore anymore ("Don't worry, mine stopped hurting about two weeks ago," Sarah reassured me).

Here is a picture of us a while ago, I don't remember exactly when, probably sometime in July (me, Sarah, Susannah):



And now we are winding down. Sarah has decided to quit and focus on her pregnancy and baby (yes, I'm a little jealous), and tomorrow is her last day. Susannah is set to go out on her scheduled maternity leave in a week. We took another picture on the last day we are all in the office together (Sarah, me, Susannah):



We also had four weddings in our department this year, so I might not be the only pregnant one in the office for long...

Another heartbreak...

So I really thought this was the Cubs' year. No, really! Throughout the season, they were just so confident, every aspect of their game was superb. There was none of the waiting for the inevitable collapse like in previous years. And it would be so poetic -- winning the World Series after a 100 year drought.

Kevin and I had been so excited, making lots of comments about how this baby was going to be born into a championship household what with the (upcoming) Cubs World Series win and the Giants Super Bowl win last February. In fact, we even had names for the baby picked out based on the Cubs impending championship.

Until the NLDS. Who were these guys? Pitching was subpar, the defense was horrendous, and the offense was even worse. And they had NO HEART! It was so pathetic!

The worst part is, it has made me question my abilities as a parent. As many of you know, Kevin and I made an agreement long ago on which teams we would raise our kids to be fans of (every couple should have this discussion before things get too serious). We decided our future children would be Cubs fans.

But can we really do this to a poor, innocent child? Year after year of heartache? Like the Cubs management, Kevin and I have a lot of thinking to do this offseason.

And it looks like Fukodome Cohen will never be...