20 Questions

1.When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I knew I wanted to work with animals in some way. Vet, scientist, paleontologist, etc. That’s why I got ended up getting a biology degree.

2. What have you done in the past week to help someone else?
I helped carry in a few big water bottles in for the tattoo parlor I went to.

3. Who is the best-dressed person you know?
Myself

4. What is on your nightstand?
clock, magazines, pictures of Hawaii, money

5. If you were a cat, what kind of a cat would you be?
Orange Tabby

6. If you lived in a house surrounded by acres of trees, what particular type of tree would you want flourishing on your land?
plumeria, they smell soooo fucking good

7. What do you find to be very overrated?
rock and roll

8. How many email addresses do you have?
four

9. Have you ever felt replaced?
nope

10. Would you rather watch football or baseball?
football, though both are fun to play, baseball is boring to watch for me

11. What is the wallpaper on your phone?
Me and my babymomma

12. Name a lyric from the song you're listening to.
Fuck land, I’m on a boat motha fucker,
Fuck trees, I climb buoys motha fucker.
I’m on the deck with my boys motha fucker
The boat engine makes noise motha fucker.

13. Do you use a feed reader?
nope

14. What chocolate do you always leave in the box?
walnutted ones and ones with “fruit” shit in them

15. What would you do if you found out your ex is engaged?
wonder how much money he makes

16. Do words hurt you?
Yes, too often.

17. Are you a talker or a listener? Is it ever possible to really be both?
I am both actually

18. Have you ever walked on the beach at night?
so many times…it’s a magical experience when the moon is out, especially while in Hawaii.

19. Who is your favorite professional athlete?
Alex Puccio, Nicky Dyal, Collette McInerney, Uriah Faver, Tony Hawk, depends on the sport I guess.

20. Which TV show have you seen pretty much every episode of?
there’s probably not one…

My first Ink Up

I did it...I got my first tattoo...finally after all these years. And it came out great!! I went with the Hawaiian Island Chain idea from the list I posted earlier.
The addiction has already formed...they should just do a "first one's free" method, because the return will be there. I already see an ocean themed left arm.

Wow 5ish weeks to go

Now the baby is 35 weeks old…which in fetal years is about 90 or so. She’s getting the last fattening stages completed and now she getting big. Her space is very limited inside the womb and her movements in there are fun to watch and feel. Her kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. On average, fetusi of her age are around 5-6 lbs and are around 18 inches long…though she’s mine so she’s probably like 20 inches or longer. I’m curious as to how tall she will become upon completing her growth when she’s all grown up.
Its truly amazing to feel that her arrival is so eminent. Soon I will be able to hold her in my arms. I hope she likes me. Rachel says that I will never sleep the same…not from the lack of sleep in the beginning, but from the knowledge that they are here, and that something may happen to them. Perhaps this is a female thing. I will have to comment on that when I get to sleep next to her for the first time.

Hypnobirthing

Last Monday my fiance and I attended a Hypnobirthing class at the University of Utah. This was the first of 5 classes explaining and teaching the Mognan Method of the style.
"We believe that every woman has within her the power to call upon her natural instincts to bring about the best possible birthing for her baby and herself"

-Marie F. Mongan

It boasts that less than half of the normal amounts of c-sections are required when using this method, and that 70% of vaginal births are unmedicated when using it. Those are great statistics as far as I'm concerned. Birthing vaginally is supposedly better for the baby, and creates a better connection. Mothers tend to be more in tune with the birth.
From what I'm used to hearing about births, they are painful and dreadful experiences. If Rachel can do this without extreme agony, and the methods and tools work, then I will be a very happy man, and I'm sure she will be a very happy woman as well. This will also allow me to be a bigger part of the birth experience. I will not only be able to catch the baby, but I will be responsible for keeping the peace and keeping her relaxed. I can do that!
The concept of HypnoBirthing is not new, but rather a "rebirth" of the philosophy of birthing as it existed thousands of years ago and as it was recaptured in the work of Dr. Grantly Dick-Read(odd name for an OB), an English obstetrician, who, in the 1920s, was one of the first to forward the concept of natural birthing. The method teaches you that, in the absence of fear and tension, or special medical circumstances, severe pain does not have to be an accompaniment of labor.
When I think of hypnosis, my mind flies towards the old hypnotist with a swinging pocket-watch, telling people they are getting sleepy. They describe the effects as less of a trance and more that it will be similar to daydreaming, or focusing that occurs when you are engrossed in a book or a movie or staring into a fire. I'll admit that at first I was a skeptic. And I still have these feelings like, well what if she forgets to use the methods or it all just goes out the door and she reverts to being afraid of the pain. I think the class will quell my nervousness and will expand both of our abilities to deal with pain in general. I could see myself using the techniques if I ever broke a bone in the backcountry orif I was with someone that was seriously injured, maybe I could help ease their pain a bit.
I will update more as the class progresses!
there are a few great videos on youtube if you just search for hypnobirth.

31 weeks and counting

So my babygirl has like 9 weeks or so to go. Her mother and her are putting the final touches on her skeleton and brain connections. Fetal growth is adding around a half pound a week...she should be around 3.5 lbs or so right now. Everything still looks great for both mama and unborn. We have been gathering all the baby's stuff she will need...crib, bedding, play pen, shelves, clothes, clothes, clothes, diapers, swing, bibs, diaper genie, clothes, nursing pillows, etc. Babies require a lot of stuff. Makes me curious as to what our way-back ancestors did for their babies. Like caveman style. Did they fashion swings and cribs? Did they have cloth diaper service? Bottles? I often wonder about what they did for everything. How well did they understand pregnancy? Pain medication? Diaper genies? Sure would be interesting to learn about that, if its a possibility.
I just found a book that I need to check out, "Caveman's Guide to Baby's First Year "
I'll review it if I get it.

Now we just need to agree on a name...we have some great ideas, but still have yet to decide. We stopped thinking that Mattis or Mattie was a good idea, but Rachel still seems to call her that when she is talking about her :) We will figure it out though just wait and see.

Fetal Progress

Everything is going great on the unborn front. Rachel is healthy, though the third trimester rarely treats a woman nicely. :) But she is being a trooper about it. We are looking at a late April - early May type birth. Which makes for not so much times to get completely ready, but we're working on that. One part of the transition that will be interesting, is the fact that Davynn gets a new baby sister. He's kinda the spot-lighted head-of-the-show type (in a good way though) So, he might take the baby as a bad addition to the show. (Like the red-head on Different Strokes) I'm not worried about major sibling rivalry or anything, but he might feel as though our attentions have changed focus. I will be trying my best to include him in everything, and be very attentive to his wants and needs. It may strengthen our bond, since mom will be boobing it up with the lil one. Of course I'll want to feed the baby too, though not in the same beautiful manner as my woman. It will be a delicate balance for all three of us.

Nourishment - not for the weak at heart. Kinda Gross.

So I was thinking about the nourishment that my unborn baby is getting from her mom right now. Many of the food items that Rachel eats, will go to the baby's needs. So, then I was thinking about what about when she swallows my baby batter, the same stuff that makes the baby. The protein in that must go towards making the baby. Interesting to think about...then I was thinking about my girl's breast milk. When I drink that, it nourishes me, probably to make more baby batter. So that's kind of a recycling system. She nourishes me with milk that is made because of the baby inside her, I nourish her with the stuff that made the baby in the first place, the baby gets nourished. The same will go for when my baby is suckling, and the like. Any one else find this interesting, or am I just weird?