Andrea’s Weblog

For almost 9 months I’ve been on a countdown to July 21st. So much so, that I haven’t spent much time thinking beyond that date, but now that it’s only a week away there’s no avoiding it. The majority of the time I get excited thinking about meeting the baby and starting our family. Then I’ll have thoughts like “will we have to wait 18 years to enjoy a night on the town? will we still get to travel and explore the world as much we have? do I know how to take care of a baby?” I’m sure we’ll cross those hurdles one at a time and adapt to our new lifestyle.

I feel like after this past weekend we are ready for the baby to come. In fact, we have told the baby that he can have all the space he wants and doesn’t need to be cramped up in there anymore. He can come on out! We’ve also told the baby that he’s missing out on a great Tour de France – wouldn’t you like to be out here watching it with us?

People have asked me if I want to have a girl or boy. Until I read an article yesterday saying girls are more likely to be born after their due date, I didn’t really care. Now maybe I’m rooting for a boy.

I also did some reading on the trend of scheduled induction. Basically, (if the pregnancy is going well) you can schedule your baby to be induced on your day of choosing, provided it is convenient for the doctor. It seems like in today’s world people like to have everything planned—they want to know when to book airline tickets, when to stop working, when to stock up the fridge, order the champagne… Having a set date on the family calendar minimizes interference that a birth can cause in everyone’s lives. We are free to have the baby when it’s convenient for us.

We’re all for modern technology in our house, but there seems to be a point where nature should just take it’s course. We’re a definite minority in that we don’t know what were having or when we’re having it. It seems like everyone else knows that little Johnny will be joining their family on July 15, and with the new ultrasound technology, which is basically a photo of your baby in the womb, they know what little Johnny is going to look like too.

The funny thing is that I am the type of person who likes to plan ahead, yet I have no interest in knowing anything more about my baby than I already do. I’m looking forward to the biggest surprise we’ve ever gotten.