It's Not Delhi Belly, Weeks 36 - 38

The waiting game has officially begun. To be honest, I think both Lindsay and I thought that Little Luth would have made an appearance by now, but we find ourselves just waiting. We've been on a one to two times per week diet of doctors visits. We're both really happy with the practice we selected; however, one of the "down" sides is that as we see various doctors at various points, they each seem to have slightly different approaches. Just before 36 weeks we had an ultrasound that pointed toward the baby being ahead of schedule from a size perspective (it was measuring as if it were 39 weeks). Based on those measurements the doctor emphatically stated, that one way or the other, the baby would arrive before the due date.

The planner and professional in Lindsay instantly started peppering the doctor with questions (all of which were permutations that asked the much more direct question, "when is this baby arriving?" She's done this with each of the doctors we've seen since. On Friday, the doctor (who was on the more conservative spectrum) said, "The only prediction I'm going to give you is the due date, and I can confidently say I'm correct 5% of the time."

And so we wait.

And so we continue to take weekly photographs of the always lovely and beautiful (and increasingly more pregnant) Lindsay Luth.

Week 36

Week 37

Week 38

Baby Names

We're one of those couples that isn't finding out the sex prior to birth. From what we've heard, we're in the vast minority here. We're also one of those (annoying, to some) couples that isn't sharing baby names before the birth. From what I can tell, this phenomenon is becoming somewhat more common.

While there are many parts of the pregnancy that we're gladly sharing with others, it's kind of nice to have something that's just between the two of us. In addition, it helps that we'll never have to endure the situation where we tell someone a name that we like, they recoil in horror, and we get a complex about the name we selected. If someone recoils at a baby name after it's born and already named, it's on them. They're the asshole.

That hasn't stopped some ideas from flowing in. If people ask, I have a boy name and a girl name readily available to tell them: Ruth if it's a girl (i.e., "Ruth Luth") and Babe if it's a boy, (i.e., "Babe Luth"). Personally, I think both names are awesome but the wife doesn't agree. I keep threatening that I'm going to find a way to get either of those names on the birth certificate. She hasn't found these jokes funny.

Truth to be told, I nearly convinced Lindsay "Denali" would be a good middle name. It means "of the national parks" or something to that extent and is actually in the baby name book. I figured since I'm a bit of a national park dork that I could make it work. Though I do find it odd that a mountain that I'm pretty sure was named by native Alaskans well before the birth of this great country much less the advent of national parks could mean "of the national parks," but it was just ridiculous enough that I could have probably sold it if I really wanted to subject my child to that.

Speaking of subjecting a child to something, another name has been suggested that certainly would have raised eyebrows, subjected the kid to a lifetime of ridicule and/or questions like, "what the hell were your parents thinking?" Strangely enough the, the first name is the same as mine, John. The full name?

John Wilkes Luth

The Diaper Bag

There's a lot of crap to buy (or receive via registry gifts or as handouts from neighbors and siblings - thank god for both registries and the fact that other people have done this before) when a first baby comes along. One of the items that I hadn't initially considered but was directly instructed I needed to procure via my own means was a "daddy" diaper bag.

There are actually quite a few gender neutral options and even a couple manufacturers like Diaper Dude that make bags aimed at the involved father. To be honest, I didn't really care for any of these options. I get that bags from Diaper Dude are specifically designed for the purpose, I just couldn't get over the name and the logo just made it feel like they were trying too hard to cater to dads and masculinity, if that makes sense.

I started doing a little research and a little thinking. I asked myself, what characteristics do diaper bags have? Easy to carry, space for stuff and a bunch of compartments. My second thought was to go to my three favorite outdoor specialist manufacturers when it comes to luggage: Osprey, Patagonia, and The North Face. Unfortunately (but expected), they didn't have any bags specifically made for that purpose. Knowing that diaper bags need to be easy to carry, have space for stuff, and a bunch of compartments, I thought a little bit more. What other kind of bag typically has space for stuff, a bunch of compartments, and is easy to carry? A backpack. Who makes backpacks? Osprey, Patagonia, and The North Face. The dream was alive.

I sent an email to a former college roommate, who's much further advanced in this parenting thing than I am (and will probably ever be). I asked what he had done. His response was something to the effect of, "we got a special diaper bag and quickly moved into a backpack." This pretty much sealed it. Why even go through the motions of getting a special diaper bag? Why not just move straight to the backpack?

So yes, I used the excuse of having a child to add yet another backpack to the arsenal. In hindsight, the arsenal may have already contained such a pack, but it just seems so unsanitary to start your child's life with a diaper bag you've dragged across the world. I'd much rather have the diaper desanitized by things produced by said baby.

After careful consideration and hours of painstaking research (I left the unimportant research on things like the stroller and car seat to Lindsay), I finally landed on an answer: The North Face Surge. I figure worst case, even if it turns out to be a crappy diaper bag, I've got a brand new backpack designed for things like carrying a laptop and other suburban pursuits. It's a win-win.