Knocked Up Rollcall

Right here. DD - Nov 1st. Lets hope it sticks!

http://mirror-us-ga1.gallery.hd.org/_exhibits/food/_more2005/_more05/champagne-cork-popping-flying-water-liquid-drops-on-blue-AJHD.jpg

(Not a visual metaphor btw.)

talking about it...Lil has accumulated a giant collection of outgrown clothes and I suggested sorting through them for donations or consignment shops and my wife says, "why don't we just hang on to them?"

this is is what passes for serious discussion in my home. Anyway, congrats!

yay - more scorpios in the world! congratulations!

Hooray! Congrats!

Still got four weeks to go here, I am SO over being the size of a house!

YAYYYYY!

a thread idea with staying power too

congratz, sunny!!!!

not totally relevant but: my poor best friend got pregnant the first time after failed condom followed by failed ECP. now they've been trying for over a year to give their 'accidental' daughter a sibling, to no avail :(

YAY Sunny congrats! You must be so excited. Awesome news.

Thanks you all. We've even had a new portrait done.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_R054bYs_S5U/SciFr1hGdYI/AAAAAAAAAug/jPyQ7aObpbg/s1600-h/the_best_yearbook_photo_ever.jpg

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt203/pplains/the_best_yearbook_photo_ever.jpg

That picture is pretty awesome. Btw, congratulations to you too!

Have you told Beeps anything yet or is she too young to really understand?

I like the ass-cupping action going on there. It just adds that much more class to an already pretty untouchable pic.

That's a beautiful image.

So have you managed to escape morning sickness so far?

congratulations!
both for the baby and the excuse to post that classy-ass picture! ;)

Thanks, guys! not really loving the thought of the next 7 months but cant wait for baby to appear.

Meg, im already totally sick most of the time and if the first pregnancy is anything to go by i'll be like that for the 2nd and 3rd trimester too. blah.

Justine, thats sucks for your friend! I always hear about the second time being the easy one as far as conceiving but i guess not for everyone. :(

congrats, sunny!!!!!

thanks, tza!

(and pp i guess)

he had something to do with it! he did!

also, congrats. beeps II !!

congratulations!!

All I know is that she went to New Jersey for a week...

hurrah! i doubt beeps will get it. until beepsie two is around for realzzz. :-) well, we tried to tell ophelia (who was of course quite a bit younger).

my friend's daughter told her kid sister:"look" (while pointing at her mom's belly) "you're getting a new sister!" hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha guess she thought that little fat bump was cultivating a third kid. they're not, sadly, even though mommy wants one. daddy has decided it's not possible.

yeah beeps doesnt get it. although i couple of weeks ago i drew what i had seen on the ultrasound on her chalk board so pp could see how tiny the kiddo is right now. i said to beeps 'hey come look at your brother or sister!' she walked around and saw where i was pointing to. she let out an 'ohh!' then picked up and piece of chalk and proceeded to furiously scribble over the baby part until it was obliterated. she then set down the chalk and said in a very cheery singsong voice 'All done!' and walked away. pp and i just stood there with 'holy shit!' looks.

holy shit!

That is awesome.

LOL!!!

that's the awesomest thing i heard all week. beeps, you go girl! :-)

Yay, congratulations!!!! Am slightly envious, just ever so slightly!

Congrats to sunny, PP, and big sister Beeps! (November 1st is my sister's birthday and thus a fine time to be due.)

We might have been working on (ew) small Holland number two by now if I hadn't started a new job in January - going on maternity leave after anything less than a year in post seems just slightly cheeky.

Oh my god, YOU HAVE TO DELIVER ON 31st of October, then your baby will share his/her bday with Elisabeth. Woohoo. :-)

Congrats SS/PP!

Awesome, you guys!

Congratulations!

hooray!

it's gonna be tough coming up with a name as good as "beeps" tho

honks

loops

joeks (if it's a bruv)

name it lord farthing

Congratulations Sunny!

Aww, I missed this thread - congrats SS and PP!

Now, Beeps what have you got to say about it?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/3207343677_907f079fdd_o.jpg

haha thats about the attitude too. thanks guys!

okay this puking is getting out of control

redecorated work bathroom floor this morning

Congratulations! (About the baby, not the puking).

thanks!

I should read this board more (not that I have any intention of using it for anything other than vicarious thrills at other people's kids). Congratulations to the SS/PP household, the world definitely needs more kick-ass kids.

Thanks, Ailsa! This kid is already kicking my ass!

I am STILL knocked up and not happy about this, surely second babies are supposed to come a bit quicker?

wow. when is the due date. i was figuring sometime this week?

just imagine in a few days youll never have to be pregnant again!

Due date was Monday, so the little wotsit is already six days late...

wow! i always assume second babies are early. well, hang in there!

Had a sweep this morning, 1-2cm dilated, but nothing moving yet. Booked in for an induction on Thursday if nothing happens by then (boo).

Beeps was induced. People have said to me that she doesn't have a real birthday. Whatever. I'm pretty sure if you were born you have a birthday.

Were you overdue with Howie?

What a stupid, terrible thing to say!! I mean, I can be blindly natural-childbirth/LLL/dirty hippie etc-crazed but to say a child didn't "have a birthday" is just ridiculous point-scoring!

peeps can be lame. what can you do? maybe we can use it when shes 16 and wants a car 'oh you know we'd love to get you a car for your birthday but its probably time we told you you don't actually have a real birthday. sorry!'

SS, I am constantly amazed at the rudeness and mentalness of people!

Howie came 10 days late but I was in labour for two days so was already in labour by this time with him. The annoying thing is the hospital doesn't routinely induce until term+12 which would be Saturday, but they don't induce at the weekend and they're fully booked on Friday so I have to go in two days earlier.

Cant wait until Monday? We need Ally on this thread to tell the story of how her mom was a month overdue with her.

My preggo update: still v v sick but getting longer and longer periods of feeling ok (before the sick starts again) too.

Sunny, that's like classic Gilbert & Sullivan. I highly recommend that strategy for keeping Beeps under lock and key (and under the legal age for anything fun).

I think you only don't have a real birthday if you were born on February 29th.

Alice was induced too, but I've never ever heard that 'not a real birthday' thing. How bizarre.

Meg, good luck for tomorrow (if not before!!)

They won't leave it til next week because it's hospital policy to induce at term+12 and I would be +14 on Monday, plus the delivery suite is so busy that often you have to wait a day or two to get an induction slot, so that could take me into the middle of next week. TBH I am so fed up with being pregnant that I'm willing to be induced if that's what it takes! but would obviously rather go into labour naturally.

I had strong, regular contractions from 4am-6am this morning but they have tailed off since, here's hoping they get started again.

good luck!

Not knocked up any more! Archie William finally arrived at 3.52am, weighing in at 8lb 15oz. Will post on the photo thread later.

Yay!!!!! Thats so great, Meg. Snuck in just before the induction, right? Sounds like everything went well. Was it faster and/or less painful this time? Congrats! Can't wait to see the photos.

Congratulations!

Fantastic news, congratulations! Glad you didn't have to go through the induction, can't wait to see the photos

That's a big baby.

Congratulations!

Congratulations!!

wau!

archie's a great name. congratulations!

Archie! Woot! :-) How are things going?

All going fine, thanks! He's an angel baby thus far, mainly just sleeps and feeds (and feeds, and feeds -- weighed in at 9lb 9oz yesterday, ie has put on 10oz in 12 days!). It seems much easier than the first few weeks with Howie; I don't know if that's because Archie's more laidback, or we are...

sounds like elisabeth. the first three weeks all she did was sleep. then she woke up and never wanted to sleep for more than two hours. hah but oh boy do i feel broody seeing all these wonderful babies.

my best friend (since we were 9) just found out shes having a boy! she is also due on the same day as i am.

Went for high risk scan today. scary stuff but everything is perfect size and no unexpected fluid gathering anyhwere. kid also moving around like lightning in there. oh also seen - testicles.

!! A little brother to boss around...

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_juV31YwBJoU/SAkdoMUEdOI/AAAAAAAABQE/paAfpBBGUoQ/s320/Linus_boxing_Lucy01.jpg

haha. exactly

Yay! How many weeks are you now?

18 and something wks. due date is now a toss up between oct 29, nov 1st and nov 2nd. Neither of my drs is willing to commit to any of those.

OMG!!!!! Cld be same as Elisabeth! She was born 31st of October. :-))))

halloween babies!!!

sinusitis while preggo = lame

sinusitis while preggo in stupid unrelenting southern summer + 2 year old that doesnt sleep = lamer

any kid born on halloween is gonna be a wildcat when they grow up, btw

trust me, the kid is already a wildcat now. :-)

SS, oh crappers, that's horrid. :-( hope it gets easier.

Ah, I had sinusitis for about a month in this pregnancy too. Got antibiotics in the end, which sorted it in a couple of days.

woah just found out my brother's wife is pregnant with a boy due 2.5 months after Henry. weeee.

Just noticed this thread - wife's due on Friday with our first. Exciting!

Friday??? WOAH! Congrats. Is it your first?

Oh you said it's your first. Duh!

hahaha Nate, see how absentminded we get once we pop out a kid. :-)

Congrats btw!

Thanks SS & Stevie - still no sign!

How about now?

Still nothing!

!!!!!

is there a plan to induce?

Well Sam worked her due date out as that Friday (24th), the hospital worked her due date out as Wednesday 29th. So by her reckoning she's 10 days over, by the hospital's she's 5 days over. She's got a midwife's appointment on Wednesday and I guess they'll decide then whether or not to induce.

Both mine were 10 days over so I feel your wife's pain! We tried all the usual: curry/pineapple/raspberry leaf tea/walking/sex/nipple stimulation. In the end it was a sweep that really got things moving.

a little less than 3 months to go here. kid better not be overdue. this pregnancy has been so consistently painful and uncomfortable that i feel like im dying some kind of slow death. /whining

We tried all the usual: curry/pineapple/raspberry leaf tea/walking/sex/nipple stimulation.

Haha...I *did not know* about nipple stimulation!

We think curry did it for us.

Damn sex was what got us into the situation in the first place. Not doing that again.

Ever.

Walking kicked it all off for me I think - late night (i.e. leaving at 11.30pm) trip to IKEA wandering round the whole thing, contractions started 4 hours later.

my mom dragged me around a mall for FIVE HOURS and it did nothing!

Still nothing. Sam's getting fed up now. Getting induced tomorrow.

wow. best of luck!

Right about now I guess! Fingers crossed for you.

excitement!

Our first one was induced, but the induction didn't take until almost 36 hours later, so we had a "wonderful" three days in the hospital waiting, walking, waiting, arguing about walking and waiting,.... We had to stay because they broke her water manually, and so she was "technically" in labor I guess despite having basically no contractions for about 20 hours after being admitted. At that point she was nearly 2 weeks overdue, so things got tense re. c-section (doctors sorta wanted to do it, we strongly didn't). #2 was induced too but was easier; #3 just popped out as I guess #3s are wont to do.

wheres that babby

i had a dream last night that i started getting contractions so my mom took me to the hospital where all of my extended family were hanging out and getting high with their friends. the contractions went away and everyone got mad at me for making them go to the hospital under false pretenses. as payback, on the drive home my mom dropped me off in some dark alley in a strange city where i had no idea where i was or how to get back to the hospital. THANKS, MOM.

Little baby Woolls was born earlier today (12th August) at 11.40am!

yay! congrats!!!

Thank you! Now the real hard work begins I guess.

hooray! well done!

Congratulations!

Wow! Congratulations!!

About time! Good news! Congrats!

Congratulations woolls family!

Congratulations! What's the little one's name?

His name, after much deliberation, is Seth.

that's cute!

That's a lovely name!

Congrats to all the woollses!

saw the babby on a 27 y/o portable ultrasound today. hes in position and ready to go.

:D You must be so excited.

sorta. no cervical action, just like with beeps. got a feeling this one will be another inducement.

Oh right! Baby's due at the end of the month, right? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let it be 31st of October. Same as Elisabeth

OMG dilated 1cm

oh sunny<3<3<3

im horrified. i was planning to be in denied until at least halloween.

denied = denial holy crap

denied my denial :( :( :(

!!!!!!!!

i should point out im not in labor yet but its coming at me like a freight train.

:D I hope everything goes as smoothly as possible once things really get started!

october is the raddest month to be born

i agree

!!!!!!!!

― tehresa, Monday, October 12, 2009 5:14 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

Dilation updates please!

(Not really. GOOD LUCK!)

Thinking of you Sunny!!!

Sweet! Bring on babby!

how is babby formed????

yeah where is babby now?

babby is hanging in there. the way my doc was talking on monday i thought itd be all over by now.

you can stay minimally dilated for quite some time, though, right?

keep us posted on cervical action

yeah i think the rapid effacement was more of the concern. xp

anything for you, mookieproof.

October peeps are the best. I know from (personal) experience: me and Elisabeth and Beeps MkII. :-)

alright inducement tomorrow 10/20 YIKESS

omg!!
good luck <3

!! All the best!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

thanks!

!!!!!!!

a babby is maed

<3 to you and babby.

go lil 10/20, go!

Whoo-hoo!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/4030708294_437ee68497.jpg

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY. WELCOME HENRY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Hope you're doing well Sunny. :D

<3<3<3 congratulations and welcome to you, henry martin baker!!

baby

cool name, great job!

Congrats!

That is a proper-sized head for a boychild.

Congratulations Sunny and PP and Beeps! Welcome baby Henry, don't be concerned, it's quite nice here really!

good work everyone, we are proud of u and happy also

internet baby

Thanks, you guys. Kid is cute as hell. When he cries he sounds like cats fighting.

<3 and also <3 that beeps is a big sister now.

i always like photos of proud bossy looking older siblings with their arms around dubious looking babies.

Congrats to the whole fambly!

It's been an honor to witness The Bakers grow. Congratulations you guys.

I hope Henry's cries never stop sounding like fighting cats.

<3 you, iiiijjjj.

Thanks everyone :D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2616/4030180291_82e0ee3ec3.jpg

<3 <3 <3
congrats!!!!!!!!

wow he really is way cute for a newborn. usually they look like little ETs!

congrats sunny <3

awwww-some!

Looking calm and collected (with a hint of "i am not openiong my eyes yet you mf's let me sleep goddamnit - also where is food").

Felicitations to you all!

Congrats! Henry Baker is a cool name.

Congratulations sunny, PP, beeps and welcome Henry! He is adorable, loving the hair :)

:D :D :D

Wow, what a lovely looking newborn! Brilliant, well done all concerned.

Many congratulations! He is gorgeous!

congratulations to PP and SS!!!

:D

This is FANTASTIC promotion for Sunny Successor and Pleasant Plains Appreciation Day on the Cape of Good Hope tomorrow!

Well done Sunny!

A REAL LIVE BOY!

Good job!

Handsome little guy. : D

He is so cute! What does Beeps have to say about the new addition?

Aw, he's adorable. Congratulations!

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh. :-))))))))

OH YAY OH YAY OH YAY Beeps is going to be GREAT! And by "great" I mean, Henry has no idea what's in store for him....

Congratulations to you both, parents^2!!

Wecome babby (a good looking fellow indeed!) and congrats SS, PP, and beeps!

Thanks y'alls

Henry is going 'YIP! YIP!' in his sleep right now.

Okay... One more photo because for a while there we thought he might never open his eyes and then he did:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2690/4033013691_ebd320ca8e_b.jpg

lookin a little skeptical!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so cute

Oh I love him! So cute.

How/why did you end up having a C-section (if I'm allowed to ask)?

Well I was getting induced 2 weeks before the due date because I had some mild pre-eclampsia symptoms and my dr didn't see any point to risking it getting worse if Henry was already full-term. When we got there he got ready to break my water but after a quick check realized H was sitting really high and there was something next to his head. The concern was that it might be the umbilical cord and if he broke the water the umbilical cord would go out before Henry blocking off his oxygen. My doc gave us two options - induce and wait to see if he moved into place and that the object moved away from his head or go straight into a C-section. We went for the former. After an hour everyone was very suprised to find he had moved a down a little and that the umbilical cord was not coming out first ( no one expected anything to change until noon - 4 hours away). So the vaginal birth was on and my dr broke my water predicting a noon time birth. I held out on the epidural for a few hours but caved little after noon. Aftr some waiting we all realize the epidural didn't work. In all of this time I'm only 2 more cm dilated and Henry is still up really high and is showing no signs of moving. The dr and the anesthesiologist have a powwow and propose to us that the smartest thing to do at this point is go back to the c-section option because it's beginning to look like a 36+ hr labor which they don't feel good about in an already dodgy situation. By this point I'm ready to get this kid out so we say okay. In we go and 15 min later out comes H with the umbilical cord wrapped twice around his neck. It wasn't choking him because he was still up so high. Had we waited for him to drop it would have gotten very tight and who knows where we'd be right now. Phew.

OMG Sunny! What a story. I am so happy he came out happy 'n' healthy. <3 <3 <3

I was getting very tense reading your account even though I knew it ended well. So glad it's over!

wwwwowww

way 2 go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations! Hope you're all home soon and coping with being the parents of two!

Congrats!

BTW I became an uncle this morning ^_^

xpost hahaha Oh man. People warned me how much more work it'd be but I was totally naive about it. :-)

awww congrats, Dan!

Honestly the only problem we've had so far is when Beeps is in a tantrum and then Henry starts with the crying. That's only happened once though.

WHAT UP DUDES

congrats my dude

congrats!

Dude, yes!

congratulations, congratulations

oh wow! congrats!

wow! congrats to both of you!

wooooooo (i already expressed my woooooo elsewhere but gotta represent on all fronts)

Cool news, congratulations!

http://timnovate.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/junior.jpg

thanks all. exciting times.

whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

^_______^

congratulations!

whoa, awesome.

Glad for you two!

hey awesome!

Woooooooooooooooooo.

Congrats dude! :-)))) Having babies is the bestest thing in the fucking world. :-)

It makes me sad: I wish I could have more babies. I mean, I could, but I think we'll stick to two. Which saddens me in a way. Ah well.

wait, omg congratulations to you guys!!!

Wooooooo!

:)

thanks to all the bros and bro-ettes for their hearty congrats

srsly dude so pumped about this

^^^^will personally deliver babby

bit late to the party, but congratulations!

when is the due date?? are you going to find out the sex? how is the pregnancy going? puking? nightmares? or happy glowing times???

Sunny I saw you updated this and was all, "OMG, another one??" lol.

congratulations!

haha, E. I wish! No more for us. I got a stupid disease called Adenomyosis (sp?) from the last minute c-section w/ Henry and now ive got to have a hysterectomy in 2 weeks from today :( So lame.

Oh Sunny I'm sorry to hear that. Just looked it up - sounds pretty damn painful! Hope everything goes well with the op and that your recovery is quick and smooth.

Thanks. They say its a 2 week recovery. Weird thing is the recovery period ends on Beeps 3rd birthday. Its like some perfect life circle or something.

hi Sunny! Due date is July 26. We are going to find out the gender but it's still too early (we're at 15 weeks now). Sarah had really bad day-long morning sickness (no puking but lots of general nausea and not being able to think of foods she wanted to eat) for a few weeks near the end of the first trimester; she actually lost a little weight between her first and second appointments. But that is almost all gone now and now she's mainly just tired and hungry all the time. Lots of crazy hectic life stuff going on in addition to the pregnancy but the baby seems to be coming along nicely.

Ahhhhhh!!! So Mrs. Kongvsgodzilla just had a positive pregnancy test and now she's running around telling everyone in town before I even have a chance to process the news and now my 5-year-old wants to know how the baby got inside of mommy's belly!!!! Ahhhhhh!!!

But overjoyed, really. : )

hurrah!

Congrats!

Awww so many yays!!! for n/a and kkvsg

Ow Sunny. Wish I could hug you. :-( That sounds awful. :-((((( Huggggggssss.

lol heres hoping for a kingkong instead of a godzilla (cuter, likes the ladies and buildings so will become an architect.)

My wife was appalled to learn that I have not announced the impending birthing of our son on or abouts November 2nd. So now I have!

congrats!

golly gee, congratulations! Are you gonna name him Magnar Thorklesson? That would be a great name.

Putting that name on the list definitely, but wife has final veto power.

Btw we got a free Pottery Barn drop-side crib this weekend. Eek! Kid products are terrifying!

http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/07/14/pottery-barn-cribs-recall-drop-side-cribs-to-be-banned/

congrats, alexSF!! keep us updated. maybe he'll be a Halloween baby!

also...yeah stay away from those side drop cribs. scary stuff.

Back once again with the ill behaviour. Due next April.

Congrats!

Congratulations!

:-)

i suppose that i'll check in here too, as only the ilxors via facebook know that Zac (Mr Noodles) and i are expecting a second (and likely last) kiddo about two months from now. Julia (born in 2007) is going to have a baby brother. i'm currently way huge and i feel like crap! yay!

congrats all

Stevie and Kim WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CONGRATS HOMIES

12 weeks knocked up with 2.0 aka Twiglet, due 9th June. Blimey!

YAY VICKY BABY

:) :) :)

hai guys is this board indexed lol

That can be dealt with, and big ups to you and yours aero!

http://www.acreswaycats.com/Congratulations%205.gifhttp://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb210/hebnem/congratulations-1.jpghttp://www.acreswaycats.com/Congratulations%205.gif

Yay! Congratulations!!

Wow congrats john!

been keeping it under wraps because I prefer not to talk about real life stuff @ work & it's a work-intensive spring & summer, but yeah...August! sooooo stoked

the first diaper is the hardest

until the first diaper after they eat a whole bowl of pickled onions at a restaurant

OMG AUGUST!? That's so soon!

do you know the sex?

xp I know! I can keep a secret when I have to! Mrs Whitford however is at the point where to keep this secret she'd have to make up some pretty outrageous stories tho! you guys I know everybody hates the pregnancy-is-mystical dude but I gotta tell you I am at a place where I wanna sculpt & worship terracotta figurines of my wife, it's so fuckin BOSS.

that middle-trimester sex drive YEAHHHHH

at least in our experience

congrats :)

congrats!

oh boy, congrats! (or, oh girl, congrats!)

!

congratulations whitfords!

weeee! congrats!!!

:) so happy for you aero

omg so many congrats!

:D congratulations! plus also your <3 for mrs whitford is beautiful to behold.

o man welcome to the club dude

congrats and I hope you are jamming "new mama" on the regular

congratulations

babies are great

diapers aren't that bad

I have a little bit of an advantage in having changed a whoooole lot diapers back in my hospital-working days, from babies to brain-injury patients to the elderly - I fear no diaper

do you own a Bristol stool chart y/n

fear not of man diapers because man must die babies must poop

Each diaper is a new surprise. Henry pooped four times yesterday morning, each bigger than the last. Still, it beats his recent trick of pooping so much it bursts out of the top and bottom of his diaper and then he either crawls on you or wipes his booty against a wall or rolls all over the coffee table. boys.

tell henry i said tsk.

xpost
That's also a good trick to get out of long meetings

holy shit, congrats aero!

<3 aerocub

NSFW but oh so true:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqRh9IToskA

estela i will do just that

WAIT

Isnt this NOW. Like RIGHT NOW.

12 weeks knocked up with 2.0 aka Twiglet, due 9th June. Blimey!

― Vicky, Thursday, November 25, 2010 4:58 AM (6 months ago) Bookmark

Also I was looking on amazon for looking for pull apart brain models for Beeps to learn from and eventually fulfill my dream to be a neuroscientist (because thats what kids are for right?) When I found this little gem:

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5254/dnay.jpg

WAIT

Isnt this NOW. Like RIGHT NOW.

It is! Overdue in fact, the scan brought due date forward two days. Not feeling very imminent though, feeling far too good to be going into labour in the near future!

Congrats aero!

yay! so excited for you!

huzzah. babies are pure magic.

have an awesome birth Vicky wow!!

twins, 40 wks will be late October, but all the pros say it'll be more like late September.

hey, congrats on superbabies! careful when they start picking up the furniture

With our first, the monochild, I was mildly envious of my wife's magical ability to gestate a human life from withing. But now, I get down on my knees every day and thank the universe for making me a dude.

home from work for the foreseeable, ready for the big day within the next few weeks, so many awesome emotions!

get lots of rest, luxuriate in sleep, and enjoy one another's company

congrats all! so in love with my kids; my five year old now speaks in outrageous accents of indeterminable ethnicity just like her daddy & it pleases me very much.

having riotously funny dreams in what's supposed to be the last week before the blessèd event. last night dreamt that we were having a girl (we're not) and that my wife had her heart set on naming her "Instahoof"

Can't stop giggling at "Instahoof."

neither can I it has been making me lol all day!

had no idea a little aerosmith jr was on the way! congrats!!

Li'l Smitty

<3 instahoof

evidently up in Virginia the oncoming hurricane is serious enough that they're telling pregnant women to come into the hospital ahead of it - will Instahoof Smith enter this world in a fury of whipping rain? stay tuned 'hoofers

good luck dude/your wife/little dude!

born in a cross-fire hurricane!

I was born on the back seat of a Mustang
In a cold night, it was a hard rain

whoa holy shit congrats aero, i was also unaware!

instahoof is killing me btw

INSTAHOOF

Hoofster Babbies

fwiw my son is convinced that baby #2 will be named "ahftikah"

https://twitter.com/#!/Aftika_Dara

#2!! :D

Instahoof sounds like horse-foot caulk.

It's kind of growing on me tbh.

Yes #2 is due to arrive in... three weeks! No idea what gender. "Aftika" is going to be a hard row to hoe for a boy, but it'll build character

Aftikah
Maksud nama tiada di dalam rekod.

Apa ada pada 'AFTIKAH' ?

AFTIKAH
A	Amanah
F	Fleksibel
T	Tulus
I	Ikhlas
K	Komited
A	Alim
H	Harum

3 weeks, damn! I totally missed that. Congratulations. Awww I bet it's got to be pretty cute watching #1 wait for the impending arrival.

man if i was born amid a hurricane i would find a way to mention it in most sentences. "you want five copies of this made?, double-sided print? no problem - no problem because i was born in a hurricane".

godspeed!, anyway

no longer knocked up

oh my God today is a beautiful day you guys

congrats!!!!

the artist formerly known as Instahoof is sleeping so peacefully & I am floating, everybody. man oh man.

congratulations!

does instahoof have an alias? are you at the hospital? how is your wife?

AERO, CONGRATULATIONS, MAN!!!

whoa I had no idea, congrats aero!

awesome dude congrats

Welcome to the world, little Instahoof! And congratulations to your mom and dad!

congrats, big man!!!!

rock on!

Congrats to you all!

Instahoof! Yes! Congratulations and I hope your wife is doing well, too!

<3instahoof, congratulations family!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY INSTAHOOF!

instahoof for head hoofster, congrats!!

man if i was born amid a hurricane i would find a way to mention it in most sentences. "you want five copies of this made?, double-sided print? no problem - no problem because i was born in a hurricane".

godspeed!, anyway

― (Chris Isaak Cover) (schlump), Friday, August 26, 2011 5:17 AM (12 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol can't stop thinking abt this post

O_O

Aero, I had...no...fucking...clue about this blessed event. Gotta read this subboard more often. Congratulations to the three of you.

holy moley, congratulations!!

i swear 2 god i had a dream about aero having a baby a few days ago

wow, a thousand welcomes to Instahoof!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY INSTAHOOF!

― your mom the burrito (ENBB), Saturday, 27 August 2011 04:51 (5 hours ago) Bookmark

kisses, dude. also thx for someone else to pay for our Social Security.

Congrats AERO and Ms. AERO! Hail Instahoof! <3

Congrats!

yay congratulations!

:D :D :D

GOD SPEED SWEET 'SMITH FAM

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/9905/felicitation11.gif

congratulations

Well done all concerned!

hooray for instahoof!

Ohhhhhhhh shit congrats dude

RADBABY TIMES 2 U

way to go!
Tracer, that's awesome.

http://www.celluloidheroreviews.com/images/dog_day_afternoon.jpg
Ahftikah! Ahftikah!

man if i was born amid a hurricane i would find a way to mention it in most sentences. "you want five copies of this made?, double-sided print? no problem - no problem because i was born in a hurricane".
godspeed!, anyway

― (Chris Isaak Cover) (schlump), Friday, August 26, 2011 5:17 AM (12 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol can't stop thinking abt this post

―  (gr8080), Saturday, August 27, 2011 12:07 AM (14 hours ago)

Anyway, kudos and congrats all round.

WOOOOOO HOOOOOO

Woah!!!! Congrats!!

Oh well done!

Congratulations!!!!

Welcome to Instahoof Irene Tyler!

btw for my last post on the knocked up rollcall thread I wanna say that all the insane intense you-can't-know-til-you-know shit ppl throw down about the blessed event are, for me, true - that while I don't doubt that a wordy motherfucker like me could find the words to describe the emotions in me today, the pure intensity of it sort of occludes the desire to actually do it. because I'm typing this while my son sleeps with his head on his mother's belly. that's what it is, you know? it's that level of gary-snyder-in-his-groove simple depth, that view-of-a-mountain huge. completely in love with this little guy, can't even start to talk about it without crying yet.

oh man wow! congratulations!

congrats on well formed babby!

congrats, aero!

So no one has been pregnant since 2008? I am 12 weeks today. I started mood swings at 8 weeks but approaching 12 weeks... those mood swings were small thunderstorms compared to the tsunamis I am getting now.

I will be going through the day happy and excited and then out of nowhere get hit with semi-anxious, overwhelming sadness. There is no reason for it and I find trouble when I start giving it a reason or searching for a source. If it is hormonal, it has no reason other than hormones raging.

I have never experienced chemical depression or ever had PMS that compares to something like this. I am not in the habit of feeling sad and depressed without a solid reason and I guess I am not grasping the hormone thing. I never bought the hormone thing and scoffed at anyone who used it as a reason for anything. I loathed it when girls said their PMS made them do it. While PMS made me feel low sometimes, I could always control my thoughts and emotions. Can hormones alone can make me feel like my world in caving in on itself? I usually find solutions to my problems but now I feel crazy.

When I am hit with this semi-anxious sad feeling the tears start flowing and it's hard to even get out and try and take a walk to take my mind off it. I can't top crying. I tried exercising which always makes me feel great but then it exhausts me and feeling tired seems to be a trigger, not eating as soon as I crave something is another. Although sleeping and eating don't always prevent them or cure them, helps decrease their intensity somewhat.

Yesterday I woke up feeling great. Had a dip in mood so decided to sleep it off. Took a nap. I was awake 3 hours straight, worked out, had a snack, felt great but was extremely sleepy again. This is the sort of drowsiness I only previously experienced going into and coming out of anesthesia. It is really intense.

After a second, shorter nap, I woke up, ate dinner with my boyfriend and was fine for about an hour then had a drop in my mood. Unfortunately, my boyfriend was home and was quickly devoured by my tsunami of anxiety and depression. A question led to a conversation that led to a discussion that escalated and now things there are weird. We woke up this morning in separate beds.

This is my first pregnancy and his as well. I don't think I am able to articulate my frame of mind accurately to him, don't understand this hormone thing. I am happy about pregnancy but at the same time I am shocked with what I find myself experiencing. Having been a person who was previously in control and now finding myself unable to control things going on inside and with my body. It doesn't feel normal to feel so out of control, to have mood swings and these sleeping fits. I see Rosemary's Baby in an entirely different way now. It is a scarier movie than I thought, I get it now.

Is there anybody out there, who knows what this out of control feeling is all about? How to keep things in perspective so that you don't wind up taking a Greyhound to Nowheresville only to get there and mood swing back into a what have I done moment?

Sorry for that first sentence, this was previously posted on another board.

i am not a lady but based on my wife's experience, hormones can do some crazy shit in pregnant ladies. for her, things evened out in the second trimester and she was a lot more energetic/cheerful.

have you talked to yr OB about this?

Congratulations, *tera! Can't help with the hormones though.

I will next week at my visit for sure. It is just that books and sometimes doctors are very generalized and each pregnancy is different. This is why I wanted to hear more personal experiences.

I just happened to meet a woman this evening and we started talking and she mentioned that she had it for nine months straight but never suffered from post-partum. She also mentioned the fatigue being overwhelming and said she spent the entire pregnancy in bed, she loved her bed, just wanted to be in bed. Her advice was to give in to it. It did make me feel better to hear a mother of three describe things I have been experiencing.

Twins this morning, boy okay-sized, but spending the night in NICU to get his blood sugar up, girl gigantic (for a twin) currently sleeping on my chest like a pro.

congrats! I became a big brother 28 years ago yesterday when my brother and sister were born. they've had the most awesome bond their whole lives.

congrats dr. superman!!!

^

Congrats to the whole
http://www.dccomics.com/media/product/8/7/8758_400x600.jpg
!

congrats!

congrats! don't throw jimmy olsen out though, wtf?

congrats!

Awwwwwwww congratulations!!!!!

Congrats with superbaby!

Congrats!!!

http://rakidshare.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/dora-super-babies.jpg

Heyo

Congrats!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/45/RabbitTestEnglishDVD.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZrtqv90oXE

Congrats, dude.

Whoa

Way to go, Shakey Mo!

should be findin out the gender on Wednesday... this will be a 5-year age difference between children, which is a little wider than most parents I know, but on the other hand I think I will appreciate having to deal with only one set of diapers at a time.

Congrats Shakey!

^^!

*clap* *clap* *clap*

yay shakey!
your wife must be a week or so behind mine, we just found the sex

Good job, Shakey!

it was a lot of hard work on my part, lemme tell ya

Congrats, shakey

I'm almost a decade younger than my older bro; it can be done. congrats

it was a lot of hard work on my part, lemme tell ya

― the choogler and the chosen one (Shakey Mo Collier)

http://www.bundyology.com/bal2.jpg

holy shit! congratulations man!

congrats!

"hard" work

I Love People Making

shakey I have 3 siblings which are older than me by significant gaps - 6yrs, 18yrs and 20yrs - and its just fine

congrats to the SMColliers and the mbisons!

Yay shakey!!!

congratulations m bison and shakey mo

Yeah, congrats to the mbisons as well!

wife is freaking out about this alleged 1% chance our baby has of having Down's Syndrome. Sorta pissed at the doctors right now. We did the 15 wk ultrasound today and they said the fact that the fetus has a big head in proportion to its arms and legs is a "soft marker" that increases risk of Down's Syndrome to between 0.5% and 1%. There are no other indications that the baby is at risk for Down's Syndrome.

My daughter and myself both have big heads (my daughter was born with her head measuring in the 99the percentile, for ex, but the rest of her was in the median range) - a fact the Kaiser doctors were unaware of because my daughter was delivered via a different healthcare provider and they don't have her records yet blah blah blah. So, to me, I see this big head thing - combined with the lack of any other markers - and I think "eh, odds are in our favor the baby is fine". My wife, however, who is of "the glass is half empty and probably poisoned as well" variety is now totally losing it, debating whether to get an amniocentesis and possibly terminate the pregnancy if the baby has Down's Syndrome (which she says is her "worst nightmare" even tho I personally can think of a million other much worse scenarios).

while I, for my part, nurse the suspicion that the math behind this is pretty fucking convoluted and made-up, and that it's also in Kaiser's interest to both minimize their liability by reporting any statistical anamolies as well as take advantage of people who have zero tolerance for any statistical risk at all and will thus sign up for whatever procedure is available, thus making Kaiser more money.... the counselor tried to reassure us that a 1% risk is still really low, that they just want us to be aware of our options etc but, cognizant of the amount of emotional stress this was going to generate in my wife, I sort of wanted to punch her in the face for even raising this outcome as a possibility

counselor also pointed out that recently the doctors had been sending her more and more of these "soft marker" sort of findings ("just to be safe" and the vast majority of the time "everything's fine") which just made me more skeptical/angry

aww man my heart goes out to you just for the stress. we did every check along the way, the nuchal translucency and all that, and it's scary stuff. 1% really is extremely low, and when you say your daughter has a big head that to me says you make big head babies. I myself am the dad of a big head baby! Hope this stress reduces soon.

thx just needed to vent.

feel like this would have been handled differently if we had a single physician that we consistently saw, rather than the constantly rotating cast of techs + doctors at Kaiser

my son and i have big heads. perhaps your wife can take solace in the fact that your children have a sweet brain reserve:

http://healthland.time.com/2010/07/12/what-does-head-size-have-to-do-with-alzheimers/

opting not to get the amnio. a 1.25% risk of DS (which imho is probably actually even lower) is just not worth it, and neither my wife nor myself could bring ourselves to terminate a pregnancy at 21 weeks, which just seems crazy. so it's not like an amnio would provide us with any useful information. I'm just gonna hope for/assume the best and put this out of my mind. fuckin doctors.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Colliers and Bisons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The nuchal screening was all I agreed to and it was done at 14 weeks and that was already too late to really get results. It is supposed to be done at 12 weeks. I never got the other tests and they were really pushing them on me because I was over 35. I asked a lot of questions, read as much as I could and the bottom line was that most of the testing is inconclusive. I didn't see the point if screenings etc...were inconclusive. I didn't want to risk an amnio, wasn't going to terminate the pregnancy if something seemed off so I really just had to stand my ground. A doctor and nurse at the nuchal fed me two scary stories about what happened to two other couples. They were blocking the door, standing there feeding me stats. I finally told them I don't have insurance and it was like they vanished into thin air. The tech told me the baby's movement was completely normal and not to worry about it.

So there is a 99% or more chance the baby does not have Downs.

yeah the over 35 thing... I am wondering if my daughter's huge head was not flagged as a "soft marker" at the time because my wife was under 35 when we had her. the math and statistics with all this stuff is so hand-wavy and vague... and then I don't trust Kaiser's motives at all ("we scared you into taking another, potentially unnecessary but JUST TO BE SURE, procedure!" = $$$)

See....

ughhh maybe this is the appropriate thread to vent about our awful experience right now.

so at our first visit to the OB, my wife's blood pressure was v high. the med assistant pipes in "so you have chronic high blood pressure?" a: no, this is the first time this has ever happened. next visit, normal BP, but some sugar in the urine, leads same med assist to ask "so you are diabetic?" a: no. my wife then has to do a glucose test at our next visit. one flat orange medical soda later, no preexisting diabetes. but BP is high again.

we get a BP monitor to use at home and my wife's BP is always normal fine (110 to 115 over 60 to 70). it looks like a case of white coat hypertension induced by the anxiety of being at the doctor and fearing that something is wrong. we have a couple more visits in which my wife's BP is high everytime (always accompanied by aforementioned med asst saying "it's HIGH" in a very told ya so manner). our OB appeared open to the white coat hypothesis, but referred us to a specialist anyway. she insisted it would be a onetime consult if everything was it appears.

we go to the specialist and her BP is high again. nurse practitioner basically says we need to start seeing them weekly, condescending to us the entire time and completely breezing past our mountains of evidence of normal BP at home or in non-clinical settings and treating us as if (a) we don't know anything and (b) that my wife is some paragon of bad judgment and poor health. "this is for the health of the baby", really? no kidding, I've been laboring under the delusion that my child's health is unimportant, this is giving me something to think about hm hm FUCK off.

same visit, BP taken again after some time to chill. lower, but still high. second ultrasound in as many weeks reveals everything is fine with the baby which is exactly what we knew last week. BP taken a third time. normal. the actual doctor starts to backpedal a little realizing my wife is not chronically hypertensive which is what we've been saying for weeks. so maybe we don't need to come in every week, apparently, but she'd rly like us to come in every month or so. so my wife can collect her piss in a sunny D jug for 24 hours and have you tell us...that everything is fine?

god that's long

tldr version: motherfucking doctors can't listen for shit if that information gets in the way of billable services

ugh that sucks

btw my son is growing a little ahead of schedule and his heartbeat is normal. if we had never sought medical attention this entire time, we would be in the exact same position we are in now only without the stress and more ca$hed out.

that's awful. like it really makes me mad. also as a non-pregnant person i want to go to a doctor soon (i don't have one) but i have doctor anxiety and this kind of thing is why, thanks.

yeah it's completely unacceptable

to compound things, if we wanted to switch OBs now, it'd more difficult bc my wife has been labeled a "high risk" pregnancy which many doctors will not take at this pt.

I've been laboring under the delusion that my child's health is unimportant, this is giving me something to think about hm hm

I lol'd

High risk because of the blood pressure thing?

yes, and judged solely by her clinical BP results

'Sup.

Nice...welcome to the club!

What?????

lol

HUH

duh

Congrats and bestest wish!

Thank you! It is v. exciting.

FOR REALSIES?? xp Could not possibly happen to a nicer person(s).

For real! Thank you! That is a nice thing to say!

Oh - Due December 24. We've been sitting on the announcement pending the ultrasound where they make sure everything is extant and in the expected places, which I had this morning.

N/a otm and also yaaaaaaaaay

OMG SO EXCITING! Congrats, you will be one hell of a mama. I hope it is a giiiiiirl

I was being reasonable, really I just want to post "EEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeee!!!!!!" for the rest of the day.

awesome :D

can ILX name it, please? I can start a poll.

We haven't settled on a name so I guess we're open to suggestions.

Welcome little Suggest Ban Agatha!

Nedwina Winkyface Agatha

Aw!

!!!!! Congrats !!!!!

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR

zomg this is so awesome!!!!

please to name yr babby balmstain

Luscious Seduction Balmstain Agatha

oh damn! congratulations

Thanks, jg. <3

congrats on your preliminary admission to the club
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
sucka :)

What?????

― Jeff, Monday, August 12, 2013 10:33 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

lol

congrats!!!!

lol @ jeff

I am still giggling at that.

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

Is it totally bizarro being preggo y/n

quincie that still isn't spanish

congrats carl

to my credit, I managed to figure out the "are you pregnant or trying to get pregnant" boxes on the Spanish dental intake form, but only because I know the word "mujeres" from bathroom doors.

lol. also embarazadas from the subway right?

ha, you completely overestimate the transportation infrastructure of La Paz, much less La Ventana. I haven't been on a subway in a looooooooonog time

Carl may I suggest to you a baby shower concept to which I was once introduced. You get mostly naked on a table and your girlfriends drape like paper mache on your boobs and belly. The it dries and you have a cast of. . . your boobs and belly. Which maybe you want to hang on the wall as "art," or maybe you want to use as a way to serve chips and two dips.

to answer your previous question, yeah, it's pretty weird. It's also kind of gross and uncomfortable. But it's also fun in a way that I can't quite articulate. Aside from being nauseated daily, sometimes all day, and finding 95% of all food completely revolting for the first... 20 weeks (I'm 20 weeks 6 days, so I am only now enjoying the part where food is this wonderful life affirming substance that I actually want to smell and put in my mouth and boy it took some restraint not to complain about that on the internet let me tell you) I've had a pretty easy time of it, though, plus we've been trying to do this forEVARRRR so I'm not complaining.

In response to your shower suggestion, no.

that shower sounds o_O

I don't think that such things should be limited to pregnant women. I think birthday parties, retirement parties, housewarmings should all involve nude body-mold making and subsequent chip and dip service.

Yeah but you really need the 8- or 9-month preggo belly if you want to do the chips plus two dips thing. My cast would be like a tray (for cheese, I guess?) and then like a cup that fits a handful of chips and a cup that fits like 1 cup of dip. Good preggo belly can do a whole bag of Tostitos.

Plus, y'know, a fair amount of salsa a guac

Woah! Carl, that is SO awesome!!! Congrats!

omg! congrraaaaatttssss!!!

Is it really hard not to tell anyone? I would want to blab to everyone. I expect.

can we all chip in and get you a BUN IN THIS OVEN tshirt

Such wonderful news!!! So happy for you both!

Thank you all! It is making me feel all warm and fuzzy. Or maybe that's hormones.

kinder, we told our parents at around 10 weeks, and IRL pals when I got to the second trimester* so it wasn't a total secret. Like I said we've been trying for awhile and I miscarried a little more than a year ago so I just didn't want to talk about it on the internet and then have something happen. Just a surfeit of caution, really. I did have to be mindful of not posting things that might give obvious hints, though, like that I ate nothing but baked potatoes for three days or that I puked in the street while waiting for the bus in front of Trader Joe's.

*me not drinking was too unusual to go unremarked, so we kind of had to come out with it. I went to lunch with a friend one Saturday and ordered a Sprite and she was like "YOU'RE PREGNANT!!!!!" because I didn't order beer.

aw congratulations!!

xp - gurl, you know it. a friend of mine came over (you know her carl!) and i offered her wine and she turned me down and i was like hold up....yes? and she looked at me and was like YUP and we hugged :)

I think every British guy learns at some point or another not to say LOL ARE YOU UP THE DUFF when a lady chooses a non-alcoholic beverage
Usually that point is far far too late though

hahah

I feel v sheltered as this is not a thing that I've ever a) noticed or b) been clued in enough to ask

this is a friend i've known (and drank wine with) for almost 20 years. she has never turned down a glass of wine ime.

that is to say that it was a fun friendship moment, not like some dillweed at the grocery store asking if she's expecting.

lol

OMG CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARL CONGRATULATIONS!

The not drinking thing is an instant giveaway for most people I know, so much so that at a recent wedding a friend kept her pint glass full of apple juice all night as she wasn't ready to go public yet.

omg this is so excitng

yay yay yay your kid is going to be so awesome

^^^

jeff are u working on yr dad joeks y/n

and will you grow a dadstache

hs thank you!

joygoat is this our mutual friend? She was telling me the lengths she and her husband went to to make it look like she was drinking. My favorite (the the one Jeff wished we had thought of) was ordering a drink anyway and giving it to her husband to drink in addition to his own. Also near beer and secret convos with wait staff.

I mainly just didn't go out much, which worked out well given my general barfiness.

carlngragathalations!!!

Thanks crut!

and will you grow a dadstache

He already has a dadbeard so there's that. I think I'm the primary font of dad jokes in our household much to Jeff's exasperation.

haha

yeah that's her, it was kind of funny in a convoluted way especially since me and the wife were told beforehand but nobody else there knew about it. it was pretty convincing.

I have some time in between appointments so I just came back to say EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

Good preggo belly can do a whole bag of Tostitos.

in more ways than one, I bet

congrats carl!!!

so radical

This is two pregnancies due in December I've found out about in the last twelve hours, what a day

I kind of hope the kid is born on Christmas day because my mom's birthday is New Year's and mine is on Thanksgiving every seven years and it seems like appropriate winter holiday symmetry. Also this - http://www.werewolves.com/why-the-christmas-myth/

also the opportunities to talk up the power of krampus are exponential with this xmas babby

Christmas birthdays are awesome imo (28th here) and OMG this is very cool and exciting. You're going to be an awesome mother, CA.

I'm sad that my Krampus t-shirt will not fit this holiday season, but now that you mention it, I think I should probably invest in a Krampus onesie. xp

Thanks, E!

ENBB, do you have any thoughts on how not to let Christmas itself eclipse Christmas adjacent birthdays? Jeff and I don't do much in the way of celebrating Christmas (we don't exchange gifts and only give gifts to immediate family members because they would fuss if we didn't), but I know that on the years my birthday is on Thanksgiving, it's like I barely have one since everybody is distracted by their own holiday plans.

Oh my goodness, such fantastic news! Congratulations Carl & Jeff! :)

omg krampus onesie! I die. Also, I think I need a Krampus t-shirt!!! Which do you have?

My mom's birthday is NYE and she always got completely shafted so she always made a big point of differentiating between Christmas and my birthday to try not to let that happen. By the time the 28th rolled around all the birthday stuff was up an we always did something special. I would also suggest doing birthday parties a couple weeks early because Christmas week itself is tough since many people are away but everyone is in a festive mood mid-December so having one then works well. Don't wait until January - people are burnt out. You can't really stop other people from doing the whole HB/Merry Christmas all in one thing but I think you guys making a special point of separating the two is enough. In the event that he/she is actually born on the 24th or 25th maybe you could do a birthday observed thing on the 26th to keep the festivities going and have a whole day that really is their own.

congrats carl!! super awesome news.

Can I chime in an add: yes, please put an extra special effort into a separate birthday, maybe even do a half-birthday thing in the middle of the year. Mine is the 20th and I was always told that I could just open a xmas present early, and that was about it for my entire childhood, except the 2 out-of-character parties my mum threw for my 4th and 5th birthdays.

Oh that's so sad. :(

lol i know it makes me sound really pathetic but the upside is that ytth spoils me crazy-rotten every year bc he feels so sorry for me.

These are good suggestions! I like the idea of having a party on the half-birthday, since there will not be people around for a party on the kid's regular birthday, plus half birthday will be in June, which is a more screaming children's party-friendly time of year anyway. Telling a kid to open a Christmas present early is pretty sad! I'm glad you get spoiled now, just1n3.

This is the Krampus shirt I have - http://shirt.woot.com/offers/greetings-from-krampus. It is very fun to wear it to family holiday gatherings. And that design is available in a onesie - http://www.cafepress.com/mf/63438157/greetings-from-krampus_bodysuit. My mother is never going to speak to me again...

I'm the 21st, which means that every year I get a b'day call from my brother in which he adopts a sinister voice and growls "you were born on the daaaaaaarkest day of the yeeeeeear."

Honestly I think birthday obsession is a bit obnoxious in adults, so may as well start with keeping it pretty low-key with a kiddo? Anyhow I do always appreciate that my friend Lynne makes a special effort to wrap my b'day present and her BILs b'day present (he is the 25) in "Happy Birthday" paper and not not the handier christmas-y paper, which everyone has lying around at the time.

That's something I will have to be mindful of as I wrap everybody's presents in Christmas paper, regardless of their birth date or the occasion, since that's all I ever have.

Wrapping paper is stupid, anyway.

I resent wrapping paper, FYI.

I used to save the Sunday comics section (color) and wrap presents in that :)