Today is Monday, April 24, 2006. Kate is exactly 33 weeks pregnant. Seven weeks shy of her due date and five weeks short of what those in the baby field deem full term. So what’s going on in my head? Nothing! I’m just trying to stay focused on getting the house ready for the NFU (new family unit). And as it stands right now we’re looking pretty damn good. The kitchen only needs those a-holes from the countertop company to put the counter in. The nursery got spackled and partially painted yesterday (thanks crazy mother-in-law). The laundry room finally got completely gutted, some new wiring, re-sheet rocked, and the first coat of spackle. All of which got done this past weekend. I think I’m actually ahead of schedule at this point. Enough about the stupid house though. On to the recent thoughts:

• I’ve been reading a book that fancies itself as a humorous attempt to prepare me for what lies ahead in the coming few months. Last night after I got home from work I read the chapters about the birthing stages. It all seems pretty damn crazy. The author also advised me to make sure I’m not around for the final stage which is called the after birth. He claimed that if I saw this I would be scarred forever and I would probably need serious therapy.
• I’ve been focusing on the house so much these past two months I’m starting to get the feeling that I’m not ready in other areas. For example, we haven’t even toured the hospital yet. And I have no idea who the pediatrician is going to be. We have a friend whose dad is a pediatrician but his office is a pretty decent drive from our house. Kate was hoping to get one closer. Hopefully Kate starts to take care of this stuff ASAP. I mean do I have to do everything! Screw it, I’m golfing when she goes into labor.
• The baby still has a decent amount of room inside Kate. Last weeks developmental update said the baby would stop moving as much but this morning she kicked me in the hand when Kate and I were lying in bed. Don’t worry though, I took a swing back.
• I’m starting to feel bad for my dog Tyson and the baby isn’t even here yet. The poor guy gets neglected far too much. Here’s what his day consists of. He wakes up to the noise of Kate getting up to take our other dog, Bella, for a walk. He then stares at the front door and cries because he wants to go. Then he sleeps all day. When Kate gets home she lets him out back and takes Bella for another walk. She lets him back in and tells him to go lay down while Kate gets ready to go for a car ride that includes Bella. Tyson cries again. Oh, and Bella sleeps on our bed at night with us while Tyson has to sleep on the floor. Poor guy!
• I’m thinking we need to start putting together a bag for the hospital. In the book I’m reading it says to pack her favorite CD’s, plenty of clothing, and anything else imaginable. The problem is that her CD’s are unbearable. I don’t think I can listen to Tori Amos or any of that other crap she likes. Maybe I’ll bring Biggie, or some ELO, or maybe some McCartney. Maybe we’ll rock out to the Stones during the baby’s arrival. Just an idea. If she hears Tori Amos she might be scared to come out. I would be!

Tomorrow Kate will officially be seven months pregnant! While seven months is quite a bit of time, two month isn’t. And that’s all we have left until the infant former known as Baby Big Head arrives. This seven month marker has me checking my “things that need to get done before the baby’s arrival” list. When we found out we were pregnant it was the day before we left for Dallas to visit KC and Laura and to attend the Eagles/Cowboys game. At that time Kate and I wanted 3 major things done before BBH’s arrival. First thing on the list was the bathroom. Anyone who has seen our original bathroom can attest it was ugly. So around Thanksgiving the bathroom was torn out. And by mid December a brand new bathroom took its place. Task one was complete. Task number two, and by far the largest project to date was the demolition and reconstruction of the new and greatly improved kitchen. The kitchen is a countertop installation, some minor plumbing, and a little more electrical work away from being complete. And luckily I’m not doing any of those three things. That leaves project number 2A. (What you thought Kate was only going to want three big projects completed in time for BBH? I wish!) While doing the kitchen Kate decided the laundry room needed a complete facelift. I’m currently about two weeks away from completing that project. And the third and final project is the nursery!!! The baby’s room was already gutted, re-wired, re-insulated, and re-drywalled a year and a half ago. So all that needs to be down is painting and decorating. Oh wait, that’s right. The year and half old carpet in that room isn’t up to date enough for my wife. So we’ll be installing hardwood floors in the nursery. Estimated project time two weeks. So in summation, everything that needed to get done before the baby’s arrival, along with the extra stuff my wonderful wife wanted done along the way, will be completed by around May 28th. A full two weeks before the due date. So who’s worried? Not this naive jackass!

Two months! Two months in comparison to a whole nine month pregnancy is nothing. Especially when you consider the baby is considered full term anytime after 38 weeks. Kate will have completed her 38th week on Monday, May 29th. Yeah that’s right, the day after I’m estimating the house to be completely done. But on the flip side of that argument the baby could just as easily be two weeks late too. Basically what I’m saying is the baby could be here in no time flat. Actually she will be. Here are some thoughts from the past week or so:

• I think Kate and I have subconsciously decided on a name for BBH but haven’t agreed formally yet. It’s almost like a default name. It won’t be either one of our personal favorites but it’s something we can both live with. It’s a shame I can’t trust my wife. If I could I would agree to let her name this baby as long as she forfeited and input on what we name the second. Actually she wouldn’t go for that because of her control issues.
• This past weekend demonstrated a wonderful benefit of being pregnant. We had a rehearsal dinner Friday night and a wedding Saturday night. And guess who got chauffeured home both nights by his designated driver wife. Yeah, me!
• This morning Kate looked significantly more pregnant then she did last night. Is this even possible? I think we need to get a belly shot on the website ASAP. She’s starting to look pretty damn big. I can’t imagine what she’s going to look like right before show time.
• I’m finally starting to understand the whole issue of her not fitting into clothes. For the rehearsal dinner the other night she had this skirt and shirt picked out and they didn’t look very good on her and she knew it. It was a scary 20 minutes before she found something to suitable replace it.