Vital Statistics

Now that I've officially started posting here, let's drop a few numbers into the mix. Today officially begins the 19th week of pregnancy. Nearly halfway to the finish line now. My favorite online pregnancy calendar (I'm man enough to admit it; I like the pretty pictures) tells me that our baby is probably about 6 inches long and weighs in the neighborhood of 7 ounces.

Point of interest, to me at least, despite the fact that she's showing and has a 7-ounce tiny person inside her, mommy-to-be hasn't gained any weight. In fact, I'm pretty sure she's lost a pound or two. The docs tell us this is normal, so I'm not at all concerned, just fascinated by the quirks of biology. I mean, there's some serious conservation of mass going on here. (W)pre-pregnancy=(W)mid-pregnancy + (g)in utero. If I felt like it and didn't want to get my butt kicked, I could probably figure out the exact weight of the developing nerd spawn. That's right, folks. My blog title just got literal.

A week from today, at the start of the 20th week, we'll have the BIG ultrasound. The "what the heck is this thing growing in my wife anyway?" visit. Specifically, we're excited to (hopefully) learn the sex, as many people are. Full disclosure though, we've had two impromptu ultrasounds at this point. Not because of any problems, just that at 10 and 14 weeks, the docs said the baby's heartbeat might be tough to find using the audio-only Doppler wand, and they didn't want us to freak out. And who am I to say no to looking at the kid?

The first time, the only thing we could really discern was the head, and what I assume was a leg. The second time though, that was an actual human being. A 3-inch long human being, to be sure, but it was people nonetheless. My only regret? Why didn't I pull out the iPhone either time and snap a picture? Not that you'd be able to see much, but I could have had something to look at later. Ah well. I missed another opportunity to record something for posterity when we heard the heartbeat at the 18-week mark. Again, isn't this half the reason to have the iPhone? Making a record of random stuff that happens? I guess I was just living in the moment.

Anyway, I'm drifting off topic here. A week from today, we should have an official, not-snapped-on-an-iPhone picture of the kid. That's pretty exciting. It's going to be a long week.

G is for Geek, and that's good enough for me

I'll be the first to admit it: I'm just not that cool. I used to try pretty hard to be cool, but somewhere along the way I figured out that the fact I was trying so hard sort of guaranteed that I'd never actually be cool. Which is not to say that I'm no longer trying. When you're kind of geeky, you always sort of try to be a little cooler than you are. And you know what? I'm cool with that.

So what if I have a predilection for goofy hats? So what that I'm 30, and I probably have more superhero t-shirts now than when I was 10? So what that I majored in English, and I still think Douglas Adams and Philip K. Dick are better chroniclers of the human condition than Herman Melville and F. Scott Fitzgerald? I'm a geek, and I'm cool with that.

So if I accept that I'm tragically uncool, capable of unwittingly embarrassing myself and others (mostly my wife) with absurdly in-depth knowledge of Star Trek, musicals of the 1960s, and the chemistry of cooking, then I accept this: I'm one step closer to being ready to be dad, and I am so cool with that.

It's my hope that this blog will serve as a record of my attempts to reconcile the big Geek that I am with the little geek I hope to raise. I'll report on significant events, everyday occurrences, and my thoughts, hopes and plans for the little g. I'll try to keep things light and generally on point, but I can't promise that you won't occasionally visit this space and find me discussing the finer points of Doctor Who or ranting about the iron-fisted regulation of cheese in the USA.

Such is the life of this geek. I hope you'll indulge me.