It’s been six days now since we found out we’re having a girl and all is well. We’ve received some cute little outfits for the baby and I am ready for the baby’s arrival. One problem, the baby won’t be here for another 4 plus months. Hopefully time will pass quickly. It really should considering I have my work cut out for me with the kitchen project. Below are some thoughts from the days following the ultrasound that forever changed my life.

• Kate somehow looks better and better everyday. Although she wouldn’t agree with me there’s something about her that keeps getting better. While she complains about how “fat” she’s getting I can’t help but think she full of $%#@. It’s almost like she is fishing for compliments. I say nice things all the time so I don’t know why she would do this.
• In an update of the War of the Marseglia’s, Kate and I have decided to throw out both Sophia (my favorite) and Madelyn (Kate’s favorite) from name contention. We were at a stalemate and it was really our only option. We have finally come up with a name that we both like, Grace Elizabeth Marseglia. We haven’t agreed yet but that is the favorite. We’re currently going with the idea to not commit completely to a name yet. Kate needs to almost try it out before agreeing. Since the name Claire came and went as her favorite so quickly I think she’s afraid to commit right after finding a name.
• Bella wakes us up every morning at around 6am. Kate takes her out back and she does her business. This is probably somewhat good for when the baby arrives. Once the baby starts sleeping through the night she’ll probably be getting up around 6. Kate needs the training. Not exactly the morning person my wife.
• Kate’s cousin Franny is mildly upset that we’re now considering the name Grace. He apparently has laid claim to that name for years now. He’s a Cubs fan and his all time favorite player is a guy named Mark Grace. Here’s the thing, he’s not even married let alone expecting a child. And when he does get married there’s no guarantee he A) has a daughter, or B) has a wife who likes the name Grace. And what’s the big deal if his cousin and he name their first daughters the same thing. He lives in Atlanta. Heck I was named after my mom’s favorite cousin. Hopefully he realizes this isn’t an issue should we name our baby Grace.
• The baby has really changed our lives and she is not even here yet. We talk about so many things on a daily basis regarding the arrival of the baby. How we’re going to do certain things differently once the baby is here, how we’re going to make our shore trips with the baby in tow, etc. Of course once the baby arrives all bets are off. Everything we say now can be completely thrown out the window. How exciting!

So we know! It’s girl. The close up images of the baby’s private areas provided 100% assurance it will definitely be a girl. I sort of shocked myself yesterday. As we stood there in the room (Kate was laying down) while the technician did her thing I was completely and utterly calm. I didn’t even really have butterflies. The tech said, “You want to know right?” We said yes and like that she said “It’s a girl!” I wasn’t remotely upset. How could I be? I’m standing there looking at my first child via ultrasound and everything looks good and healthy. Plus little girls are so damn cute. It’s when they hit 13 when the wheels come off. So I’m not in any real danger until than. Below are some recent thought’s from a guy who’ll now have to spend 50-75k on a wedding someday.

• When I logged onto the baby’s new girly blog I nearly fell out of my chair. I know that the baby is a girl and I know Christina is a little nuts, but I was still shocked. Needless to say I warmed up to it immediately and now I like more that the old gender neutral blog.
• My main goal with this baby girl is to make sure she knows that she is loved by her father. She will receive many hugs and kisses. She will be Daddy’s little girl. I can’t wait to meet my little munchkin. I have a sneaky suspicion that I will end up under some kind of magical spell and my daughter will rule me. I’ll probably age faster now.
• Even though I preferred a boy, having a girl first will probably be to our benefit. She will be much better with younger siblings than a boy would have. I’m basing this on my experiences with families who have a girl first versus families who have a boy first. She’ll be almost like the leader. One who, if she’s like Kate was when she was little, will boss the other siblings around and keep them in line.
• Kate and I are at a stalemate in the name department. If the baby would have been a boy I was ready and willing to sign off on Lucas Stephen Marseglia. The discussion would have been over because that’s the name she wanted. But with it being a girl I still prefer Sophia and Kate still prefers Madelyn. And neither one of us are budging. It’s looking more and more like we’re going to end up throwing both of those names out so we can move on and find different names. I still really like Magnolia Marie Marseglia. And call her Maggie. Kate hates it. Magnolia is more of a southern name which I think is why Kate can’t seem to warm up to it. As usual we’re accepting name suggestions.
• I really hope these next four months fly by. If they do that means I’m a father and the summer has arrived. Seashore here we come! All three of us!

It seems like it’s been a week since we set our appointment for the ultrasound that should be able to identify the baby’s sex. But it’s been 20 days! That’s right! We’re a week away from finding out life long information. The type of information that will determine whether I’m sleeping through dance recitals or hollering through tee ball games in the coming years. So here are my thought’s heading into the last week of my life that I won’t know what my first child is.

• In an attempt to make the pregnancy seem to be moving faster than it is I have broken it down into events. When we found out we were pregnant I told myself we had to first get past Halloween, than Thanksgiving, than Christmas, and so on. Well yesterday marked another one of those events. It was my 27th birthday (old fart). After crossing that annual event off my mental list next up is Kate’s birthday on February 2nd. After that is Easter then our wedding anniversary. After that we’ll be only a month away from the expected due date. See it works. It makes you feel like the baby will be here in no time.
• I’m getting belly pictures of Kate soon for the blog whether she wants them or not. She’s getting so damn big everyone needs to see it. (Note to Kate: You’re beautiful right now. I meant that just your belly is “getting so damn big”)
• Rainy days are sad. It was windy and raining when I walked into work this morning. As is was fighting my umbrella I started thinking about our journey that will begin with the arrival of our first child and I think the rain and wind actually subsided a little bit. Maybe being happy and having happy thoughts does make the day brighter and better.
• As of today no other friends are pregnant. We have 4 sets of friends who live close to us who are married (A & C, A & B, B & B, and J & B) and none seem to be joining us. I guess we’ll have to wait until the summer down the shore with Kristen, Eddie, and Cameron to have others with baby fever.
• I am also aware of what next Wednesday means in regard to the name selection battle royal. I really think something can be quickly ironed out if it’s a boy. But if it’s a girl I’m hiring a voice therapist to help me train to be able to yell louder than Kate.

In case I fail to post thoughts again by next Wednesday be assured that I’ll update the blog’s main page between 10:30am and 11am with the findings from the ultrasound.

Time seems to slow down when you’re as anxious as I am to find out the sex of the baby. But not this week! It has flown by. And with a three day weekend littered with work at my second job the weekend should fly by too. By the time I return to work next week we’ll be a mere 8 days away from knowing if I need to buy a doll, a baseball glove, or if I need to wait another 4 ½ months to find out the sex of Baby Big Head. The downfall of a fast week is that my thoughts were few and far between. So here is an abbreviated version of my thoughts.

• There are pretty much no more outfits that can hide Kate’s belly. And I think it’s great! I love looking at her and seeing the bump. She probably doesn’t feel the same way but I guess we’ll never know since she never posts her thoughts.
• Last night Kate abandoned me for dinner with some old friends. So I decided to go to Barnes and Noble and buy some books to start reading to the belly. I made two glorious purchases. Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. I loved these books growing up and if I’m going to be reading to my little bastards before they go to bed it’s going to be something I like. I’m going to start reading to the belly because I read that if you read books to the baby while he/she is still in the comforts of the womb that when the kid is two or three those same books will help them feel safe and comfortable in their own rooms before they go to bed.
• At this moment in 12 days there’s a good chance we’ll know what we’re having!
• I recently suggested the name Magnolia (Maggie) Elizabeth for a girl. Kate, as usual, nearly squirted venom out of her mouth. Whenever I come up with a new name Kate gives one of two reactions. She either says “It’s alright” or “I HATE IT! That’s the worst name I’ve ever heard!” She has never said “oh, I like that” or “that’s an option” or “okay, we can consider it”. Anything she suggests I’m always open to seeing if it grows on me or not. Surprisingly, Madelyn Elizabeth, her current favorite, came from me and when I suggested it I got the “It’s alright”. Four days later the name Claire was forgotten and Madelyn was the new flavor of the month.
• Yesterday Kate hit the four month mark of her pregnancy. And today we hit the 8 month mark of our marriage. It’s almost not believable that she’s been pregnant for half of our marriage.
• Kate and I decided to ask our mother’s if they want to be in the room during the ultrasound and they both gave resounding yes’. I’m happy for both of them. Hopefully the karma they bring from having produced 5 boys out of a combined 7 children will help my cause.
• And finally I think we should change the name of the blog if we’re able to find out the sex. Plus the baby’s melon isn’t as oversized compared to the body as it was during the first trimester. So Baby Big Head doesn’t really apply anymore. If anyone has any ideas please post them here. All entries will be considered. It doesn’t have to incorporate “The Adventures of” either. It could be anything from “Baby Motor Mouth’s Journey to the Light” if it’s a girl or “The Chronicles of Junior Tall Man” if it’s a boy. Something that’s more endearing than Big Head.

This past Saturday Kate, her wonderful mother (Kate said I’m not allowed to call her crazy anymore), and I went to Kristen and Eddie’s to see little Cammy. She slept a majority of the time we were there but I was able to hold her while she slept. She was so tiny and peaceful. I continued to convince myself I would be happy, almost thrilled, if the baby was a girl. I never thought I wouldn’t have a preference to what sex the baby is but I’m getting uncomfortably close to that point. Below are some more thoughts from the past few days:

• Kate is officially showing in the belly department. I was at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal this morning when I looked into the bathroom and she was standing there drying her hair and her belly was protruding out a good 2-3 inches. For those who don’t get to see her I hope to get a current belly shot on the site in the next few days.
• In the past week I’ve learned a decent amount that should become useful upon the arrival of Baby Big Head. I learned maybe more than I need to about breast feeding on Saturday at Kristen and Eddie’s. Kristen even made me cop a feel! They were like rock solid grapefruits! Oh, and Eddie showed me how to change a newborn’s diaper. He even included some tips that Kate thought were funny.
• Being at Kristen and Eddie’s made me really excited about the summer. They’ll be down the shore pretty much all summer and we’ll be down there a lot. Our house should be primarily completed (only because no house is ever done) so I’ll probably spend 3 out of every 4 weekends down there. Our friends Brooke and Brian are also down the shore a lot so it should be a lot of fishing and relaxing during the day and hanging out and staying up with the baby at night. This is all contingent on the baby not being a crying machine like her mother was as a baby. Don’t worry Kate, there will plenty of days were you can go to the beach all day while I watch the baby.
• I want to start talking to the belly but I think it might be too soon for the baby. The other day Kate fired off a few obscenities and I said, “hey, the baby is listening” and her response led me to believe it was too soon for the baby to be hearing and recognizing voices. And input on this matter would be appreciated. Feel free to comment to this post anonymously if you’re uncomfortable saying who you are.
• 16 days until the appointment that may reveal Baby Big Head’s sex!
• I continue to find myself thinking about what it will be like this time next year. Sunday Kate and I were packing up the last of the Christmas decorations for storage when I said to Kate, “this time next year, we’ll be packing up the decorations with a seven month old around the house!” It’s probably a little geeky but I don’t care.
• It’s amazing how this whole pregnancy has me wondering how I got so old so fast. I’ll be 27 later this month but my age isn’t what I’m talking about. I’m talking about my life style. I’d actually rather sit home and watch TV with my wife versus going out to a bar. And it’s only going to get worse after the baby is born. I had 8 guys over to play cards on Saturday night (I lost as usual). I looked around the room to gauge who was where I am in life. Excluding my 16 year old brother, four out of the eight of us were married. Another one is getting married in the spring, another one has had the same girlfriend since college, and another one has had the same girlfriend for about two years. And the last one, he has only had one actual girlfriend since 1998, so he’s extremely available. And one of the married guys has a step daughter. So basically I’m pretty much par for the course for a 27 year old from my group of friends. If this is true should I not feel old? Or is it normal for anybody to question themselves and their aging process as they travel through the stages of life? I’ll welcome input from anyone who is older than I am.
  

I want to start this post by congratulating Eddie and Kristen Ferrari on the birth of their first child yesterday. They welcomed baby girl Cameron Yvonne Ferrari into the world at approximately 3:32pm yesterday. Little Cammy weighed in at 7 lbs and 12 ounces and 20 ½ inches long. I had the honor of being at the hospital during her birth. I even walked past the room during the actual pushing portion of the birth. Yikes! She was so damn cute though and she has a full head of black hair. This only furthered my excitement for the arrival of Baby Big Head. I also want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2006. On to the thoughts:

• Sitting in the waiting room yesterday gave me a glimpse of what I could expect on our big day. It was almost like taking swings while standing in the on deck circle.
• We were able to see Kristen right when we got there. I gave her a kiss and said “you look good” and than I leaked out “given the circumstances”. I hope she forgot this immediately. We were in the room for not even a minute before the nurse came in and kicked us out because it was time to push. Exciting stuff!
• I was worried yesterday about what Kristen might tell Kate after the birth. I knew Kate was going to ask what it was like. So we get in there and Kristen looks at Kate and says “It was awful! It was worse that I thought”. She went on to say that she wanted to quit several times during the process. And whenever she was told she was doing well she thought “they’re just saying that”. I don’t think this will scare my Kate though.
• Only 22 days before we find out what sex Baby Big Head is!!!
• I just found out that the guy who sits near me at work also became a father for the first time yesterday. I’ve mentioned him before and he has been really excited and impatient recently too. I’m really happy for him. I wish I could call him to congratulate him. He and his wife had a baby boy.
• Eddie cried yesterday when Cammy was born and told me afterwards that I would be crying too. So last night I took a few minutes to test myself on whether I would cry or not. I shut my eyes and created the potential scene. I pictured Kate lying in the bed fully pregnant with me holding a leg while she pushed. Nurses were assisting the doctor while I also encouraged and helped with the breathing. And than during the final push the baby entered the world and the doctor held the baby up for all to see (I pictured a boy in this scene). And despite a strange burning sensation above my nose I was fine. So there I have it. I probably won’t cry when the baby is born.
• This next comment may seam like me planting the seed for future damage control but it’s not. I think I’m becoming more and more excited about the possibility that it’s going to be a girl. I’ve spent so much time dreading the idea and praying for a boy that I never really thought about the joys of having a baby girl. I wish I could have bottled up the excitement yesterday coming off of Eddie as we stood there outside of the nursery when they were running tests on Cammy. He was glowing standing there looking at his little girl.
• After hearing Kristen’s sister (who looked strong and was in the deliver room helping Eddie) say how tiring it was holding a leg and helping during the long process of giving birth I think we might need help in the room. Options were discussed and I think we’re going to need a strong able bodied male in there with Kate and me. Kate is much stronger than she looks. I’ll be taking applications for the next month if anyone is interested. The requirements are: minimum 5 foot 10, 180 lbs, and can bench press at least 225 lbs (only once). If you only meet two of these requirements you are still encouraged to apply.
• Kate and I have agreed to both take off the day of the baby’s next appointment to celebrate whatever the sex may be. We’ll call our parents and let them know and we’ll post something on the main blog. After that we’re going to go out to lunch and buy some little gender specific things as a way of celebrating. I’m thinking maybe a little baseball glove or a “daddy’s little girl” shirt.