This week, in the life of Baby…

We’re at 33 weeks! We took a tour of the maternity ward of the hospital which we will deliver at. Labor/Delivery rooms are private as are the recovering rooms. And both Josh and I are impressed with the security in place. Baby is going to weigh in at four pounds (and for those keeping track of fruit, Baby weighs the same as a pineapple).

We also made a few decisions… namely that Josh is going to postpone Officer Candidate School for next year so he can be involved in the birth. But, secondarily, we are looking at different scenarios, some of these “what if…” things you should really talk about before delivery. We decided that if I do need to defer to the wisdom of Roman Emperors, Josh would follow the baby up to the nursery.

Another topic of interest to the Moms who read here… did you get a material present for your hard work in labor? Apparently, and I have been unaware of this, it has become a tradition of sorts for dads to get moms a present for all of her hard work at delivery. Follow the enlightening discussion on Vox Day’s blog .

Now, I don’t know about you… but since I was ignorant about this trend, I decided that I would set Josh straight about my expectations… I do not need a piece of jewelry to commemorate the birth of Baby at this point. I don’t particularly like what passes as classy mother/child jewelry these days. My mom and grandma have neat gold, likely rather expensive, charms with the names and birthdates of their children, but they received them as a set. And my grandma also has a very nice ring with all of the birthstones of their children. For people that are trying to live the lifestyle Josh and I are trying to live, I can certainly wait for something nice in several years.

Josh did buy me a set of pearls while deployed, and I have my sapphire wedding ring. What more does a young married woman need anyway in regards to jewelry. The only exception being Lake Superior Agate Jewelry. One can never have enough Lake Superior Agates. But, we have a good supplier.

Josh and I are exchanging Mother’s Day/Father’s Day gifts. I asked for the new Lutheran Service Book. Why? Someone needs to teach Baby that the only correct response to “May the force be with you,” is “And also with you.” (OK, sorry, I had to.) And I need to learn Lutheran hymns. Baby and I are buying Josh a grill, which he will pick out, lug home, and assemble himself. But, both are things that are nice to have for our house.

But, for those who still insist that men need to compensate women for labor and delivery… here are the things Josh does for me:
Packed and unpacked most of our stuff and organized our move.
He cooks for me and cleans for me.
He put off officer candidate school so he could be involved in Baby’s birth.
He gets doors for me.
When I snore at night and it bothers him, he moves to a different bed without complaining.
He has let me set some of our life priorities this year.
He is incredibly faithful.

And I’m grateful for him.

So, what have I done for Josh…

Well, I bought him a pocket watch, chain, and fob as an engagement/birthday gift after he proposed. We went to Houston to see the Cardinals play the Astros, and also to see my sister and her husband. When he left for Camp Shelby, I got him an iPod with a bunch of R.C. Sproul stuff on it. Then I bought him a lap top. Then I bought him a digital camera. We had a weekend at an obscenely expensive furnished condo in Florida when he had his last four day before leaving for Iraq. I bought him Superman Sheets and when I found out his battle buddy, Fish’s, girlfriend broke up with him the week they got to Iraq (the hussy) I sent Fish Batman Sheets. And we got several tickets to Twins games after he came home, plus some tickets to orchestra concerts that we’ll both enjoy.

What does all this have to do with the life of Baby? My parents exhibited that generosity is a lifestyle and not something to be brought out for certain occasions. I’m certainly not accusing the baby gift crowd of anything. I’m just saying that Josh is all the baby gift I need. That and ice chips. Lots of ice chips. And back and head rubs.