Well, I have no doubt that many of you have already read Liz's post, and if you haven't, you should. Needless to say, we are thrilled to finally know that we are having a baby boy. It looks like we will be buying lots of stuff with guitars on it. We are decorating the room in guitars, and I also plan on decorating the baby with many guitar clothes as well.
I am continuing to be amazed with the healthcare technology that we have in our modern world. Not only were we able to see that it was obviously a boy, we were able to see all four chambers of the heart as it beat. We were able to see the separate hemispheres of the brain. By far my favorite moment from Thursday was seeing the baby suck his thumb in utero. I honestly didn't know that they were able to do that at this stage. It was an event that made the fact that we will have a baby in about 5 months real to me.
I have noticed that, as nothing is physically happening to me, it is hard for my mind to understand that I am going to be a dad in a few short months. I kind of have to take certain events to make it more real, and this sonogram definitely did that for me. The baby really does look like a baby. We could see bones developing and the baby actually has a recognizable face, though right now, he kind of looks like Skeletor from He-Man, but evidently, that is normal at this point in time.
Liz pretty much talked about why we chose the name Carter, but it was very important to me that we did not choose a name that was at its peak in trendiness. I have only known a few other male Shelbys as I have grown up, and I suspect that Carter will know more people with his name, but at the same time, I didn't want my poor child to be one of three or four kids with the same name in his class. I can remember back to elementary school when the name Sara/Sarah was insanely popular. I believe in my first grade class, there were three girls with the name Sara/Sarah, and it got very confusing having to use last initials with each of them. Another important thing when picking a name was that the name had to sound serious, but have personality. Obviously, Liz and I think somewhat outside the box, so we wanted a name that we thought had personality, and "Carter" certainly fits the bill, but that the same time, it is a name and a spelling that one could take seriously. We had a friend tell us to put the words "Supreme Court Justice" in front of the name, and "Supreme Court Justice Carter Wilson" sounds like a name that could be taken seriously.
We are still searching for a middle name, but I would like it to be something that has meaning for Liz, including but not limited to family names. Obviously, since it is a boy, he will always have the last name Wilson, which is a part of my identity much more than Liz's. Anyway, we are still talking about it and will have that for you whenever it happens. (I am glad we have plenty of time.)
Needless to say, I am thrilled that I will have a son that I can teach to play music and that will be able to play music with me, if he so desires. It will also be nice to have a video game buddy, as Liz really doesn't like to play a lot of what I play. Sure, we have a ways to go before we can do all that, but I am excited that it is on the horizon, nonetheless.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
What's in a name?
At 11 weeks our doctor told us not to go paint the nursery cowboy blue, but his hunch was that we were having a boy. I thought there was no way, from that grainy picture, he could tell. But I got used to the idea that we might be having a boy, while still thinking it could be a girl. So on Thursday, when we went in for our ultrasound, I was prepared for anything. Well, our little BOY made his presence very clear. Our ultrasound technician kept commenting on how calm and chill the baby was and we’re definitely okay with the idea of a mellow, easy-going baby. It made her job pretty easy because he held still and let her take all the pictures she needed. We watched as the technician looked at the four chambers of the heart, while it was beating. She measured the femur and the brain. I was too fascinated by what I was seeing to get emotional. It made us laugh because we even got to witness the baby sucking his thumb. Words like perfect and normal were music to our ears, because everything (heartbeat, cerebellum, etc.) measured exactly as it should. We left the appointment feeling excited to know that the next part of this journey could begin. We can start to prepare the nursery and buy clothes. You know, the fun stuff!!
When we first found out we were going to have a baby, we went made a list of boy names and girl names. We had veto power over the other person’s list, eliminating any name on the list we couldn’t stand. So what we were left with were 4 fairly sizable lists with names we liked. Of course, we both had our favorites. But we decided not to discuss it in depth until we knew if we were having a boy or girl. We had a few passing conversations about the meaning of a couple of names but nothing serious. Amazingly, when we left the ultrasound appointment and turned to each other to talk about his name, we came up with the same name. CARTER. We knew his name was Carter. But when we made the lists, while Carter was on both of them, it certainly wasn’t either of our original favorite names. I feel pretty confident that given the circumstances it’s the right name.
Here’s the meaning behind Carter’s name for us:
During a rough patch in our marriage, a friend of mine gave me the first few seasons of ER on DVD. When I was in middle school, I had watched the show faithfully and had always liked it. I had crush on Noah Wyle and George Clooney. But when I went to college, I stopped watching. I was excited to pick it up again from the beginning and had planned to watch it at night after Shelby had fallen asleep. (When I was working on my Master’s, I only worked part time so my sleep schedule was very different than Shelby’s.) He informed me that was fine because he really had no interest in a medical drama. So I put in the two hour pilot episode and Shelby stayed up and watched the whole thing. I was never allowed to watch an episode without him after that. During a snow storm, we watched at least 12 episodes while snuggling on the couch and eating soup and cornbread. It’s a treasured memory and was a healing weekend for our relationship.
Our favorite character on the show is Dr. John Carter. Over the seasons, Carter had lots of different story lines but always maintained characteristics I admired- kindness, generosity, patience, and determination. Often in the middle or at the end of an episode, Shelby and I would look at each other and one of us utter, “Man, I love Carter”. Earlier in summer, we finished watching season 15 of ER so I suppose Carter was still fresh in both our minds. During one of our off hand conversations when we were talking about the meanings behind names, I mentioned Carter. I had said that the meaning behind it was kind of boring, a cart driver, but Shelby said he liked the meaning. He said something about carts being able to carry heavy loads. I liked the idea that no matter what life piled on a Carter might be able to carry it all. And being the Beatles’ fans we are we were reminded of the song Carry That Weight. The lyrics, while simple, always make me feel better when you listen to them in relation to the song that comes before it in the medley, Golden Slumbers. Here are the lyrics to those two songs…
Golden Slumbers
Once there was a way to get back homeward
Once there was a way to get back home
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby
Golden slumbers fill your eyes
Smiles awake you when you rise
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby
Once there was a way to get back homeward
Once there was a way to get back home
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby
Carry That Weight
Boy, you're gonna carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time
Boy, you're gonna carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time
Carter sits at number 54 on the list of popular baby names. Shelby informed me that this was low enough not to be too trendy. I was relieved. We still haven’t decided on a middle name. Of course, that one wouldn’t come as easily as the first name! But we figure we have plenty of time to choose one! As soon as we know it, we’ll share it!
When we first found out we were going to have a baby, we went made a list of boy names and girl names. We had veto power over the other person’s list, eliminating any name on the list we couldn’t stand. So what we were left with were 4 fairly sizable lists with names we liked. Of course, we both had our favorites. But we decided not to discuss it in depth until we knew if we were having a boy or girl. We had a few passing conversations about the meaning of a couple of names but nothing serious. Amazingly, when we left the ultrasound appointment and turned to each other to talk about his name, we came up with the same name. CARTER. We knew his name was Carter. But when we made the lists, while Carter was on both of them, it certainly wasn’t either of our original favorite names. I feel pretty confident that given the circumstances it’s the right name.
Here’s the meaning behind Carter’s name for us:
During a rough patch in our marriage, a friend of mine gave me the first few seasons of ER on DVD. When I was in middle school, I had watched the show faithfully and had always liked it. I had crush on Noah Wyle and George Clooney. But when I went to college, I stopped watching. I was excited to pick it up again from the beginning and had planned to watch it at night after Shelby had fallen asleep. (When I was working on my Master’s, I only worked part time so my sleep schedule was very different than Shelby’s.) He informed me that was fine because he really had no interest in a medical drama. So I put in the two hour pilot episode and Shelby stayed up and watched the whole thing. I was never allowed to watch an episode without him after that. During a snow storm, we watched at least 12 episodes while snuggling on the couch and eating soup and cornbread. It’s a treasured memory and was a healing weekend for our relationship.
Our favorite character on the show is Dr. John Carter. Over the seasons, Carter had lots of different story lines but always maintained characteristics I admired- kindness, generosity, patience, and determination. Often in the middle or at the end of an episode, Shelby and I would look at each other and one of us utter, “Man, I love Carter”. Earlier in summer, we finished watching season 15 of ER so I suppose Carter was still fresh in both our minds. During one of our off hand conversations when we were talking about the meanings behind names, I mentioned Carter. I had said that the meaning behind it was kind of boring, a cart driver, but Shelby said he liked the meaning. He said something about carts being able to carry heavy loads. I liked the idea that no matter what life piled on a Carter might be able to carry it all. And being the Beatles’ fans we are we were reminded of the song Carry That Weight. The lyrics, while simple, always make me feel better when you listen to them in relation to the song that comes before it in the medley, Golden Slumbers. Here are the lyrics to those two songs…
Golden Slumbers
Once there was a way to get back homeward
Once there was a way to get back home
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby
Golden slumbers fill your eyes
Smiles awake you when you rise
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby
Once there was a way to get back homeward
Once there was a way to get back home
Sleep pretty darling do not cry
And I will sing a lullaby
Carry That Weight
Boy, you're gonna carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time
Boy, you're gonna carry that weight
Carry that weight a long time
Carter sits at number 54 on the list of popular baby names. Shelby informed me that this was low enough not to be too trendy. I was relieved. We still haven’t decided on a middle name. Of course, that one wouldn’t come as easily as the first name! But we figure we have plenty of time to choose one! As soon as we know it, we’ll share it!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Week 16: On the joys of maternity pants...
I am convinced that maternity pants are the single greatest invention…ever. Yesterday, I went through my entire closet. I tried on every article of clothing to determine what I would and wouldn’t be able to wear in the coming months. It took more than 4 hours. Here’s what I discovered: I have too many clothes. And it looks like most of my pants have about one wearable month before this baby outgrows my entire wardrobe. Fortunately, I have plenty of skirts and dresses that will work for a good long while. The only problem with that is that I like to wear pants to work more. I inherited 2 pairs of maternity pants from my sister-in-law, a pair of jeans and a pair of khakis. I found another pair of jeans at Children’s Exchange. But I can’t wear jeans to work that often so today I bit the bullet and bought a pair of black dress pants. Here’s what I love about maternity pants-they are so comfortable. In the past whenever my pants started to feel a little snug, I’m always reminded of an episode of How I Met Your Mother. In the episode “The Front Porch”, Marshall defends his choice of wearing an old man nightshirt by saying nightshirts have “no elastic waistband leaving it's judgmental pink teeth marks around my Thanksgiving belly”. So the fact that maternity pants will never leave angry pink teeth on my belly is awesome. Also, a friend recently reminded me of a moment on Friends when Joey wears Phoebe’s maternity pants to Thanksgiving dinner. I’m so pumped to be wearing maternity pants on Thanksgiving this year! Imagine the possibilities…
Speaking of Thanksgiving, the baby bump had bumped, reminding me of the little red pop-up timer on turkeys. One day it’s not there, the next there’s no hiding it. The baby is the size of an avocado this week and according to everything I’ve read I should be feeling s/he move sometime in the next few weeks. I’m really excited about that. This morning I thought I felt something, turned out Charlie was sleeping on my stomach. The baby’s eyes have started to move from the side, closer to the front and to their final position. Also, in the next few weeks the baby will begin to double in weight and length, which explains the pop-up timer. I found a clip of the Friends episode, enjoy!
Speaking of Thanksgiving, the baby bump had bumped, reminding me of the little red pop-up timer on turkeys. One day it’s not there, the next there’s no hiding it. The baby is the size of an avocado this week and according to everything I’ve read I should be feeling s/he move sometime in the next few weeks. I’m really excited about that. This morning I thought I felt something, turned out Charlie was sleeping on my stomach. The baby’s eyes have started to move from the side, closer to the front and to their final position. Also, in the next few weeks the baby will begin to double in weight and length, which explains the pop-up timer. I found a clip of the Friends episode, enjoy!
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