Live firing range

We are on a live firing range. Kelli thought she was knocked up this month. Pregnancy test showed negative. Then the monthly visitor arrived. We will try again next time. Meantime we are thinking of hitting Vegas next month.

GATTACA

Gattca....not only a great movie....also a part of the DNA strand. Tonight my wife and I were discussing offspring and the topic of prenatal testing came up. A "discussion" followed.

I am in the belief that, if possible, why not have the most perfect child possible? If prenatal testing shows birth defects, then that's just nature's way of saying "oops". These "oops" happen. They have happened twice before too us. If prenatal testing shows Down Syndrome....I would rather not complete the pregnancy. My wife on the other hand thinks I am crazy.

And with this post, Byrdintheoven.com is re-acivated.

Not always easy

A good friend of mine is a single mother of a newborn. She is going through of one of the things I fear. Low/no money while having to take care of a kid. I can eat on crap food from McDonalds if we ever get low on money. Babies have no teeth. Here is a small portion of her blog over at http://geekandkid.com/

I’ve learned what it means to go to bed hungry – and not just because I’m on a starvation diet again! :P I’ve learned how to set a budget for meals for myself for under $10 a week. Sure, it’s not the healthiest of food, but it works…
It’s painful to fill up my car, even though I have a much more economical gas tank now than with my truck… it makes me sigh every time I withdraw money for daycare… I now make sure I have at least 3 giant cans of formula in the house (using the coupons the formula companies send it’s almost affordable) to ensure that my son is well fed… but it still makes me sigh when I have to buy it… I’ve switched to Luvs diapers (they really ARE just as good as the expensive brands and do work just as well…), I switched my dog and cats to a cheaper brand of food – they are doing just fine on it… I no longer have internet access or tv service in my house… (I pilfer wireless signals from neighbours when needed…)… a good friend sends me the clothes her son outgrows so I can hold off buying clothes for a bit…

I always have backup plans. I have them when it's not even needed. It's part of who I am. I like being in control....the first two tries at having a kid showed me I can't control everything.

Waffling

We are still hanging out. Kelli is all in. I am pretty in. What's the hold up? Well me. I really like our lifestyle. Being able to wake up on a Saturday morning and have one of us say, "hey let's go to the Aquarium.....in Atlanta," and then GO to Atlanta is fun. I like being free. I don't care much for Kelli's dogs. They are hers. I let them outside and give them water. Beyond that I am free from making sure they stay alive.

People who have kids always say it's different when it's YOUR kid. Apparently when one has a kid their lives become better. I'm very skeptical. People who have kids HAVE to say that. They can't say, "oh god this sucks. I hate that we had a kid!" I mean it's the same reason no one says "my baby is ugly," even if it really is ugly. No one can say their baby is ugly.

Will we have a kid? Don't know. I am waffling. Unlike a lease, once you have a kid it's yours for the next 18 years. Maybe someone should start a kid leasing business. Hmmm....I bet there is a law against it. Damn the man.

Kelli is very understanding of my feelings. Two years ago I was gung ho. After the first loss I was torn apart. We had an "oops" and got pregnant again. The loss after that one was worse than the first. I was really scared off having a kid.

Since then Kelli had been put on a regimen of pills and tonics. Ok no tonics...but pills and everything *should* be okay. But what if it's not? No one can say it will be okay....because they don't know. Of course one won't know if they don't try. Waffling.

How long will I waffle? Well this website is paid up through May 2010. If we decide to go for it there will be a post. If we call everything off....then this website will cease to exist.

Till something happens I welcome you to enjoy the antics of our other fine websites, Stillageek.com and Richmo32.com

Pills, Pills, Pills

My doctor's appointment last week went well.  I talked with the doctor for a while and got some questions answered.  I have been taking an over the counter prenatal vitamin up to this point.  I haven't filled the prescription yet because we weren't going to start trying for at least 2 more months.  I hadn't started taking the folic acid supplements yet either.  My doctor really wanted me to start taking those now so my system is completely prepared for when I do get pregnant.  She also wants me to keep taking a baby aspirin daily to help keep my blood thinned out.  I can take the aspirin all the way throughout my pregnancy as there is absolutely no risk to the baby.  In addition, they did a routine iron test and I am now anemic.  My doctor thinks its a dietary problem.  I very rarely eat beef or any other meat for that matter.  She told me to take an iron supplement and eat more beef.  So, now I am on a pill regimen.  Every morning I take 1 baby aspirin, 1 iron supplement, 1 prenatal vitamin which is really 2 pills because it has a DHA pill too, and 1 folic acid pill.  Then, every evening I take a second folic acid pill.  I have a really hard time remembering to take pills so I keep them in the bathroom so its really obvious.  Plus, Darren has set up reminders in my phone so I can't forget.  The evening pill is the hardest to remember, so the reminder is really nice.  We are making a conscious effort to add extra meat to our diets too.  Its not that I'm a vegetarian, its just that I'm lazy.  Meat products take more effort to prepare than lean pockets and easy mac.  I am trying really hard to be as healthy as possible.  I have also quit caffeine again and I am exercising most days.  Its my goal to do everything possible to make this next try at pregnancy easy and successful.  My doctor is very confident that this next time will go very well, and I trust her judgement.  I really couldn't ask for a better doctor for my situation.

Another Doctor's Appointment

I am going back to my doctor on Tuesday.  This time its just for my annual appointment though.  It's definitely one of my least favorite things to do, but I have a bunch of questions I'm looking forward to getting answered.  I wrote them all down so I won't forget.  I have 2 more months of birth control pills after this and then I am pretty sure we are going to start trying again.  It all depends on Darren of course.  That really bothers me, but what can I do?  Its one of the most important decisions a person can ever make and we both have to be on board with it.  I have been really frustrated this past month with Darren wanting to wait more.  I feel like I've waited long enough and now that we have an answer and a plan of action I want to just go ahead and try again.  I don't agree with waiting more, but I have come to accept it.  Darren can have the control on this one, to an extent.  Like I said before, I only have 2 months of pills left and I will not be getting a refill prescription this week.  Hopefully we will be on the same page with things by then.  If we were to try in May it would put my due date at the middle of February, but the baby would most likely be born at the very end of January.  We will see how it goes.  I guess there isn't much else to say until then so this page will continue to be infrequently updated.  I hope to eventually have lots to say though!

Screw odds

I like being in control. I'm not a control freak....but I understand those that are. I have a hard time riding as a passenger in a car. Kelli knows this and rarely drives me around. When she does she puts on "Darren blockers" and blocks out my random comments on her driving. Ever since I started flying I can hardly control myself when I sit in the back as a passenger. I want to be the one in the cockpit with all the information possible and the ability to control things.

This whole egg & sperm magic trick...many call conception and the resulting offspring....many call a baby....is something I have absolutely zero control over. Well I have control over the initial delivery.....but after that....I am a passenger. For 9 months I will be a passenger in the back of the baby flight. So many things can go wrong. Even after thousands of years of humans making humans...accidents and problems arise everyday. I don't deal with odds. The odds are higher that one will die slipping in the shower than in a plane crash...but ya know what...I am in control every time I shower and most of the time I fly.

I deal with stress very well. Flying through turbulence,rain and lightening will barely cause a change in my heart rate. I've got two months to work on figuring out how to deal with not being in control whatsoever for 9 months.

Too bad science hasn't perfected the insta-baby....or the science used in the movie GATTACCA.