James Vernon Howell

A beautiful baby boy joined the family of Daniel and Charity Howell on April 13, 2008 at 3:19 PM. He is a (very) healthy 9 lb 7.5 oz, 21 3/4" inches long. He is named James Vernon Howell after our mother's fathers; honoring both our mothers and our forebearers. Both mother and baby are doing fine.

Still no baby.

We are waiting patiently for the baby to come. Baby, on the other hand, is very comfortable and warm in his little nook it seems. Rest assured, as soon as anything happens, we will let everyone know.

In the mean time, I'll share with you a neat little fact we found out. Scientists believe that amniotic fluid actually has a flavor depending on the things that the mother eats. They think this is why babies from around the world seem to be pre-acclimated to foods that other babies would have trouble with. Cool, huh?

Is baby going to have an affinity towards marshmallow cardboard puffs? No, because Charity hasn't touched the stuff, leaving me with the burdensome task of eating them (Update: I think I am passed the halfway mark, now).

What about steamed broccoli? Perhaps. If we weren't so judicious, we would probably be eating upwards of 10 lbs a week. Yum.

So, we'll see. There seems to be an equal probability that baby will not like any of these foods while being breastfed. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to have all the broccoli myself.

Great Expectations

Well, I've made it to week 38 and am half way to 39. I never expected to be pregnant this long but it has really been a blessing. I've had the time that I needed to get things together for the baby, to serve my family, and even to attend a baby shower put together for my benefit.

It was a lovely party and I was amazed at how many people came. I've since washed all the adorable outfits and put blankets, books, and toys in their proper place. Daniel has put up a shelf for me to put supplies on and we are set to go. Anytime... really.

I keep waking up thinking "How about today?". I think about what the date is and figure out what kind of mathematical pattern it makes. Then, if it is a pattern that I like, I tell my belly that it really would be a good day, if he's up to it. I even sang the 'Happy Birthday' song to my belly yesterday in the hopes of helping the him decide he wanted to come out and have a birthday party.

I suppose this is just the beginning of me learning patience with my children.:)

A break from routine...

I was able to fall asleep before Daniel last night AND sleep through the night. Granted it was only for hour and a half stretches at a time but it was so much better than my recent nightly routine. What is my usual routine you ask? I'd be more than happy to elaborate.

THE THIRD TRIMESTER ROUTINE:

We usually read our scriptures, say our prayers, and are in bed by about 10pm. Sometime about a minute (okay, 5 minutes) later Daniel starts to snore softly, indicating that he has once again abandoned himself to sleep. "Lucky," I think to myself and quell any justified feelings of envy. I then try to settle into a more comfortable position (Happily, I have many pillows to assist me with this endeavor) and manage to nod off around midnight. Unfortunately, it's right around then that I must get up for one of the many nightly stumbles to the restroom. I settle back into bed, take about 30 minutes to find another temporary comfortable position, nod off, and awake around 2am to repeat the process. I am sure that I think too much and this doesn't help the situation. After my 2am trip I usually start running things through my head. I think about the baby, the birth, my family, work, the laundry that needs doing, how the lipid levels in my cerebrospinal fluid are adjusting to my new circadian rhythm and other minutia not worth mentioning. After which ruminations I make another stumble to the restroom, come back and settle in to sleep for another hour before waking up to wait for the alarm clock to go off. Ironically, I usually fall asleep about two minutes before it goes off, groggily turn it off, and collapse into real sleep for another 30 minutes, only to awaken panicked that I will not make it to work in time. I shake Daniel awake, we say our morning prayers and a new day begins.

Home 'Stretch'

We are finally in the home stretch of the pregnancy. I have gotten big and people at work are beginning to look from my face to my stomach and then get a thoughtful expression. This probably would have occurred sooner if it wasn't for my big white lab coat that I wear all the time. How grateful I am for it! Without it I would have had to admit defeat and gone to the store to buy maternity clothes. (Not that I don't need materinity clothes, but I have been very blessed by generous women who gave me some of their old maternity clothes. Believe me, I have been making VERY good use of them.) With my lab coat, no one need know how I have stretched my wardrobe to its limits and beyond. Literally and figuratively.:)

Although I am increasingly uncomfortable, I am happy. Daniel has been very good about taking care of me. Just today he tucked me in on the couch with a glass of water close at hand and put in 'The Living Planet'. (...a nature show I have seen thousands of times growing up and which I find very soothing. In fact, I am never able to stay awake for more than a 5 minute stretch. A very useful fact I'm sure my mom enjoyed.) Whilst I slept, Daniel cleaned up the appartment, did the laundry, and made me lunch. I was unconscious and it felt heavenly.

Ten Things Better Left Unsaid

Treading carefully when communicating with a pregnant woman can be difficult. Below is a list of things that I would suggest you not say.

1. You're a big helper.
2. You're my all-round favorite girl.
3. You look pretty today. Not that you didn't yesterday... I mean... uh
4. Would you pick that up?
5. Didn't we have (insert food item) in the fridge?
6. I'm feeling fat.
7. Wow, I couldn't eat another bite.
8. Guess what? I've lost another couple pounds and I'm not even trying.
9. I think my pants are too big.
10. Did you know that your belly button sticks out when you laugh?

In all honesty, if said pregnant woman is not in a good mood or, shall we say, appears to not be at her best, it would be better to say nothing at all; just get her whatever she wants and don't ask what that is. :)