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A Couple of the '90s Decides to Nest

On Tuesday, March 2nd, we had our first "official" appointment with Dr. Parl. Since we were entering Week 7 at the time, I had all sorts of visions of getting to see an ultrasound showing a beating heart - or at least some sort of concrete evidence that this embryo was indeed climbing the mountain towards becoming our first child.

This was not to be. It turns out that the "heartbeat" visit will come next month, at Week 11. This day, our confirmation was to be a check of the uterus and a quick peek at Mr. Cervix - both of which indicated to Dr. Parl that a seven-week-old embryo was indeed inhabiting my wife's innards.

Jen has had a remarkable pregnancy thus far - considering what's rockin-and-rollin' inside of her. She has had very little nausea and the drape of fatigue that seemed to hang on her just three to four weeks ago has seemed to lift somewhat. I am still packing a cooler with crackers and water for her car each day, just in case.

Dr. Parl seemed pleased that Jen had started on prenatal vitamins prior to conception. Call it intuition, but Jen just felt that taking the vitamins might be a good idea. They're an over-the-counter brand available at Wal-Mart called "Spring Valley," and Dr. Parl seemed to think that they were just as good as anything he might prescribe.

Prior to our doctor visit, we had a chance to visit the "Baby Faire" - a traveling baby supply convention that parked in our town for a weekend. We were again overwhelmed by the sheer volume of "stuff" that you can buy for your baby. We made our first purchase at the "Faire" - a nifty Fisher Price "Sit and Soothe" bassinet with a vibrating element that lulls the baby to sleep. This, and Jen's old baby dresser that we refinished some time ago, are the sum total of the items we've got for our pending arrival.

I haven't had any epiphanies this week, but I have noticed a change in my driving habits - I seem to be less prone to slam the hammer down, and more apt to drive more "adult-like". Maybe it's a desire for self-preservation, maybe just an acknowledgment that fatherhood will indeed take me to a new level of responsibility. So why not start now?

More in a week or so....

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