Saturday, March 20, 2010

Free At Last, and Grossed Out

When we went to the doctors office on wednesday Shannon finally got the word to be back on her feet. The excitement of that was only disapointing for the fact that we had got to see our baby every week. It was like getting to visit a great friend every week. It's not that the baby is not inside of her still, but we don't get to see the development which was unbelievable. The other week we got to see a 3D picture, which I will talk about next time.
To celebrate Shannon getting off of bed rest after church our friend Logan went to celebrate with us at the local coffee shop who had a St. Patricks day theme with Shamrock Shakes and a local musician who played the guitar and sang Irish songs as we played the worst game of scrabble in our lives. What was amazing over the last couple weeks were the people who took care of us as Shannon was on strict bed rest. Friends, family, and people from our church kept meals coming and visits a plenty as Shannon was caged in our bedroom.
Back to the doctors office. As some of you know I have a little bit of spermophobia. Stop it, I know what you are thinking. spermophobia is the fear of germs. Now because I work with special needs children, this is a dumb fear to have. And I wouldn't say it is necessarily a fear as a strong avoidance. I'm not always like this (or maybe I am and just don't notice). I don't know what brought this on. Maybe it was the fact I grew up in a super clean house. Maybe it was the experiment some guys and I did when we turned on a black light in the dormitory bathroom and saw what lives on the walls (don't do it for your own sanity), but I often avoid germs. Children of course enjoy carrying them the most. And I know they are good for you to build up immunity. But I have certain social norms like never, ever using dip that's been used to double dip (these persons should be shot).
So what grossed me out? Well, when we were at the doctors office first of all when the nurse was testing Shannon's urine, she didn't use gloves. I know my wife does not have the plague or anything, but how would this lady know that. Then it got worse. After testing the urine she just rinsed it out and put it in a bag and gave it back to Shannon for the next time. WHAT! I'm all for being green, but come on. Is the health care system that bad that we have to reuse urine sample cups? Then another friend told us that she should put it in the fridge so it doesn't start growing things. Growing thing, and urine cups in my fridge? I told Shannon to put that bag in a bag, and that bag in a bag, and that bag in a box, which needs to go in another bag and I'll think about having it in my fridge.
The sad fact is this, I know it's only going to get worse. People who know my fear keep telling me stories of birth and babies trying to gross me out. Well, we either run from our problems or embrace them. So bring it on baby. I guess I'm ready to go.
To my regular readers. I know I only have a couple followers but many readers. Join the blog. I'll post more the more I know people are following. And chime in. Without being vulgar, what are other nasty things I need to prepare myself for?

Sunday, March 14, 2010

How to Gain Sympathy Weight

A couple weeks ago I was busting my buddy Matt that he was allowed to lose his sympathy weight being his little girl was over half a year old already. But now I'm starting to understand the logistics behind gaining the weight. I always thought you chose to gain the weight to keep up with your wife so she did not feel bad about gaining weight herself. This is not in fact true. I'm finding out that the weight just happens. Since we found out Shannon is pregant she hasn't gained a pound. On the other hand after losing about 9 pounds since Christmas, I have gained back 2 pounds already. Here's where it's not really sympathy. I am not eating to keep up with Shannon's weight. I'm eating because she is eating. When she eats she doesn't eat a lot, but she is eating a lot of meals. And when 9 at night I see my wife eating a really good snack or another meal right next to me, I smell it, look at it, it looks good and I join her. So the sympathy should be for the husband, shouldn't it?

Saturday, March 6, 2010

A Marathon of a Different Kind

Back in October Shannon and I ran our first Marathon. 26.2 miles of pure pain and glory. We had a blast. Running the marathon was not as hard as one would think. The training, on the other hand, was brutal at times. When you run the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, you have several advantages over training. During the Marathon you have thousands of people cheering you on (even if you are near the back), you have a definite destination, a definite time restriction, and people to talk to and get to know while you are running. Training on the other hand you are usually by yourself, you are running the same strip of land many of times, and people who are watching you train have no idea if you are on mile 13 or 3.
Ironically the Steamtown Marathon this year is the same weekend as our baby's entrance into the new world. After watching baby shows, I guess we will be having a marathon of another kind. But this begs the question, what is harder, running a marathon or having a baby? Now I know some of you mothers are probably already getting defensive out there just because I'm asking this question, but can't we at least ask it?
A couple thoughts, just as a man. As we ran with a group of people in the marathon, this question came up. The couple women we were talking to said the marathon was harder physically than giving birth. Now this is just a small poll of a couple of women. Maybe other women would feel differently.
One thing that they noted about the marathon that was harder was the fact that you can drop out of a marathon (I believe about one in five people do), but you can't drop out of birth. It's hard to finish because you know you can stop. On the other hand (before women come to my door and light me on fire) I think giving birth would be harder because there is no working up to it. There is no six plus months of going through more pain every couple days to get ready for the big day. So I guess I would be interested to hear if others have an opinion on this. What is harder, running a marathon or having a baby? Or are there other things that women think would be harder than having a baby?