Mallorey & Randy + 1

The 1 in this title represents our son/daughter that will be joining our family in October/November of this year! Mal and I have been so excited ever since we heard the news she posted in the blog before this one. I must say the experience at the doctor's office that day was not only unexpected, but a time for tears. As she said, the nurse had to bring ME the box of tissues! I was by no means ashamed to let it all out.

I did my very best to comfort Mallorey that afternoon as I held her hand before the ultrasound. After what the doctor had told us the possible things that could be wrong, we were both worried and very nervous. Thankfully, something we anticipated to be very grave turned out to be something very special...A BABY! Looking at the ultrasound monitor and then turning to see Mal's face are images that I'll never forget. Seeing our baby's heartbeat was overwhelming. Aside from marrying her, this is one of the best things that has ever happened in my life. I've always wanted children, and I can't think of a better woman to raise a family with. Of course I would like to have a boy (I mean what Dad doesn't want their first-born to be a boy??). But regardless of gender, all I really care about is complete healthiness for Mallorey and our baby throughout pregnancy and as a newborn.

I'm grateful that Mal has yet to really have any morning sickness. I've heard some women say that it's one of the roughest times in their lives and that it lasts usually non-stop for weeks. That's something I certainly do not want to have to see Mal go through. Although I know it's part of pregnancy, I'm still thankful that she has been lucky so far.

Over the past few weeks it has been fun to look at the baby clothes as we walk through stores in the mall. Even though we are normally buying for either her or myself, we tend to always look in the baby aisles to get some great ideas for clothes, toys and other essentials. In fact, we've already purchased 5 uni-sex baby outfits since we don't know the gender yet! Two of these are Christmas outfits and the baby will only be about 1-2 months old for their first holiday season. I wish I could say the other 3 outfits are purple and yellow Minnesota Vikings outfits, but I'd be lying if I told you that :( The others are very cute though and I can't wait to see what they look like on our baby. Mallorey is doing a fantastic job of keeping an eye out for baby clothes and she loves doing it. Even though she tends to reach for the girls dresses first, she is pretty fair about picking uni-sex clothes at this moment in time. We've already discussed and made the decision that when we find out the gender of our baby in mid-June, I'm handing her the checkbook and letting her go wild on a shopping spree for baby clothes. I figure if she makes me look good, why can't she make the little one fashionable :) Finding out the sex of the baby can't come any sooner. We are both so anxious!!

On a side note, Mallorey and I spent the better part of 20 minutes trying to figure out how her Mother-to-be's Day present worked. I surprised her by buying a pregnancy pillow from Babies-R-Us. Now for those of you who aren't familiar with how this looks, it's a cyclinder-shaped pillow that is formed like the letter C. Some people say a picture says a thousand words, but the illustration on the front of the package didn't do Mal much justice. I assisted her in flipping the long pillow back and forth as she tried to get as comfortable as possible. The goal of the pregnancy pillow was to align her spine so that it will relieve the stress on her back and give her a better night's sleep. And, in a few months, it should provide support for her growing tummy as it can rest on the pillow. Another reason why I got this is because not only had she pointed it out to me before, but, it also serves as a small bed for the baby and a cushion seat for when they become a toddler! I think it will end up being money well spent once she breaks it in for a few nights. Wait a sec...I think I can hear her snoozing away in the bedroom as I'm typing this...it really works!!!

Finally, our next doctor's appointment is on Friday May 15th and I'm confident that everything will go smoothly. I was hoping for another ultrasound, but her doctor has recommended that we wait until mid-June in which we'll find out the sex of the baby at that time. Turns out Mallorey is going to have a little bit of fun at my expense once that day comes. She's going to find out the gender without me knowing and then surprise me a few days later on my birthday which is also Father's Day on June 21st. She's so sneaky! But I love her and I will play along. I only hope I have enough fingernails left after gnawing on them for more than a month! GOLLY!

It's going to be a great day once the baby is born and I think so far both of our families are very excited for us!