The Baby-Daddy :o)

In pregnancy, so much gets said about the momma, the baby, the baby-belly, the baby's heart beat, the nausea, the exhaustion, cravings, emotions, etc... a lot of times, a very important ingredient gets left out/looked over - the baby-daddy.:) Today's post is dedicated to my best friend, and my baby's daddy-o.

Despite growing up with only sisters, my husband was NOT well versed in many aspects of "womanliness." Plus, anything medical in nature usually makes him want to pass out. Marrying a woman, who also happens to be a nurse, who has had a variety of female health issues has been a stretch, to say the least, for the poor guy. For real, the dude is just now being able to consistently say "Vaginal exam" as opposed to "Vag-EYE-nal exam." And no, it wasn't just because of his southern boy accent, although he has tried to claim that excuse.

As with most couples, his journey through infertility was much different then mine. He had a great deal more faith in this area then I did, and he was able to take the focus off of himself and his desires and focus on supporting me. Something I wish I had been able to do better, in reverse.  In the beginning, there were times I would get frustrated with him for "not caring enough that we weren't getting pregnant," especially, when it had been his idea to start trying in the first place. Jared majored in Communication Studies, and excelled in his Conflict Communication studies. (I tease him often that I am the more naturally gifted communicator, and he had to get a degree to excel at it.) These skills definitely came in handy when trying to deal with his hormone/fertility drug induced wife. Initially, he would joke that all guy's needed there their wives to have a brief bout of infertility, as it brings lots of certain activities husbands tend to enjoy. After his experience was no longer so brief, he quickly recanted that sentiment.


When we found out we were pregnant, it took WAY longer for it to really sink in for him, then it did for me. I was pregnant from the first positive test I saw. He wasn't really sure I was officially pregnant, and not in fact dying of some disease until he saw our first ultrasound. Ha ha Even then, he was pretty disappointed that "it" didn't really look like a baby. Has anyone sees the Friends episode of Rachel and Ross' first ultrasound? In case you haven't it was kinda like that, with Jared being Rachel, and me being Ross:)... minus the spanish subtitles in this video:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY-Zo1Am_nc
(for some reason the video won't add to the blog, so just click on the link if you want to view the hilarity!) 


I have heard that "Moms are moms from conception, but Dads become Dads at birth." I wanted to make Jared feel like he was just as much a part of this experience as I was, and every bit as much needed. Just because, "He finally figured out how to do it right," like I jokingly/lovingly tease him from time to time, didn't mean his job was over and done with. It was only just beginning.


Since he didn't really get a lot of the info on pregnancy and fetal development, and I knew he certainly wasn't going to start reading any baby books until we were on our way to hospital, in labor, I needed to find a way he could educate himself (not me do it for him/to him) in way that was enjoyable and non-stressful for him. I stumbled across two amazing tools - email updates from:
whattoexpect.com and babycenter.com
They send you multiple emails a week about pregnancy and fetal development, and you can create an account for the daddy to get his own emails too! It worked! He actually reads them and remembers the info in them. I get told several times a week what food our child is equivalent to in size - melt my heart!:)

For his first Father's Day I got him a few little gifts/helpful reminders of our upcoming family changes.

Jared and my dad with their "Dad and Grandpa" gifts to go in their offices

In case you can't see, this is the book I got Jared

We had our last appointment with our fertility specialist this past week, along with an ultrasound. We got to see our baby, actually looking like a baby - arms waving and punching, legs kicking and stretching, and full body turning! It was amazing! My tears started as soon as I saw the heart still beating. Daddy's tears started once he saw his little munchkin acting like a human. As soon as we got home, he kept watching the video of the ultrasound over and over and editing it down to a small enough size to text and email to our family. He keeps resting his hand on my rapidly expanding abdomen. 

I think he has finally crossed over into "Baby-Daddy-dom":)