Hiya, folks. 

So when it rains it pours.  I’m sorry I haven’t posted much in the past couple of months, but I’ve had a crazy time leading up to BabyWatch ‘09.  Not to belabour the point or rant too much (though you have been warned), but here’s a taste of the stuff that happened over October/November/December (I’ll try to get the timelines approximately right)….

• October:
  • The Catalytic Converter Caper:  So I bring in my truck for a check engine light, thinking there’s a wiring issue or something since older Toyotas are known for throwing check engine lights.  I was told to drop it off after work and they’d check it out first thing in the morning.  Got a call in the afternoon to let me know that someone crawled under the truck, cut the transmission hose and ran off with my catalytic converter.  They called Heather instead of me about this.  We wait for over a week to get the damn part in – which clearly I wasn’t going to pay for, that’s what they have insurance for – and when it finally does come in, they “fix” the check engine light by replacing a cover or gasket that wound up costing us about $500.   Um, guess how much a catalytic converter costs.  About $500.  Clearly, I’m done with that shady place.  Get this: JOY, the check engine light comes back on.  My boss and some other colleagues recommended a shop downtown and he fixed the check engine light for like $50.  Haven’t had any problems since.  Wayne – You are an awesome mechanic and you have a rabid fan and promoter in me now.
    • CONS: Stolen catalytic converter.  Inconvenient as hell to be without a vehicle in a 2-vehicle family for a week and a half.  Felt invaded by having someone cut something from my poor old pickup.
    • PROS: Brand new catalytic converter.  Interesting story to tell.  Check engine light is now fixed.  Found an awesome mechanic so I won’t need to worry about getting overcharged and underdelivered again.
• November:
  • Deer Hunting With Our Corolla:  Ah, any country boy can tell you that November means deer season and rut.  ‘Tis the time when deer – does and bucks – run rampant on highways and byways and cuddle with the bumpers of cars, leaving those oh-so-lovely carcasses strewn along the road.  Yes, deer are lovely creatures, majestic and serene as they nibble foliage in the forest.  But when this time of year rolls around, they become brainless sex-crazed cloven-footed menaces.  OK, I may be going overboard…  Here’s the story: Hurried home on a Tuesday evening to meet Heather and then to head up to The Farmer’s Market for dinner with her and my parents.  We met at the house, jumped into our little Corolla that we’ve had since we were married 8 years ago, and headed off to meet my parents.  I had had several late nights working on stuff, and had closed my eyes for a minute or two rubbing my neck.  It was just dark, with a bit of pale blue sky just evident on the horizon.  As I let my thoughts wander, I heard a loud crunch, thump, brakes, scream from Heather, and I felt my whole body slam forward.  This was followed by a delayed far-too-girly scream from me.  My first thought was we must have hit a deer, which I announced to Heather who had just begun to sob.  She pulled over to a center turning lane, and gingerly I guided her to the passenger seat while I inspected the crumpled remains of our front hood and bumper.  Then I got into the driver’s seat and headed home – fearful that the car wouldn’t make it.  Heather seemed fine, I was fine, the only thing that wasn’t fine was our car.  I got the poor thing home, and then calmed Heather down and got her into the pickup to continue on to meet my parents.  In retrospect, it probably would have been a better idea to maybe just stay home at that point, but I hoped my dad – an avid deer hunter – could help me verify that it was indeed a deer we hit instead of a jogger (which was a thought causing me anxiety because I didn’t see traces of anything – blood or hair – that would indicate what it was).  In the truck, Heather still understandably upset wanted to know if I brought a knife or gun or blunt object in case the poor animal was lying on the side of the road still suffering.  Flash to the image of me, stabbing a deer to death, or shooting or clubbing it Scorsese style – comical right?  Heather’s heart is enormous for wildlife – one thing I fell in love with her for.  No, I consoled her, I did not bring a death device, and told her I didn’t see the deer when we drove home; it may have run into a nearby field to die.  Heather was thinking of Bambi and us being the hunter who killed Bambi’s mother – I know that was what she was thinking.  Eventually she became calmer as her planning/OCD side kicked in and we started discussing the realities of the situation.  We were back to a one-vehicle household.  She was a good 35 weeks pregnant – near term.  Could give birth at any time.  And the one driveable vehicle that we had could not bring the baby home.  Crap.  This was our cue to begin CarQuest ‘09 (see below).  A short dinner with my parents later, and I had Heather riding with my mom, Dad and I driving his pickup truck by the murder scene to see if a deer was somewhere there, and then us standing in the garage with a flashlight examining the wreckage for signs of hair or blood like CSI meets The Dukes of Hazard.  I can tell you that I am SOOO thankful my dad has the hunting and tracking sense of a turn-of-the-century American Indian.  He spotted the brown hairs and a smidgeon of blood in a couple of places.  Enough to verify that it wasn’t human.  Or if it was, it was a human with four cloven feet, course, short, 2-tone brown hair, and had a jump radius of a good 6-8 ft.  Needless to say, all signs pointed to deer.  The next morning, we drove – if you can call it that – up to a nearby body shop and called our insurance.  The final verdict after yet another week of working from home and juggling around a pick-up truck as our sole car?  The corolla <tear> was totalled. 
    • CONS:  Totaled car.  Risked death and dismemberment at the hands of a woodland creature.  Deeply upset my 35-week-pregnant wife, who could go into labor any minute now.  Took us down to one vehicle again, one that was not suitable for transporting a baby.  Hurt a sweet woodland creature.  No venison steaks to show for it. 
    • PROS:  We needed a new car anyway.  We turned out to be fine.  It turned into a nice bonding experience with my parents.  Dinner afterwards seemed to taste better due to the adrenaline coursing through our veins.  We were able to drive the car home after the event.  It happened after the truck was all fixed; we could have been in a world of hurt if it happened during the week the converter was stolen off the truck.
  • Forced Hospitalization for Monitoring:  We didn’t think to call the doctor until the day after we hit the deer.   Our doc told us to promptly go to the hospital for monitoring.  A juggling of schedules and a semi-lengthy check-in process later, we were at the hospital in a bed for four hours watching and listening to the baby’s heartbeat.  Turns out mommy and baby were fine, but there’s nothing fun about a forced hospital admission.
    • CONS:  Stressful juggling of schedules to get into the hospital ASAP.  The waiting room and check-in process wasn’t what I’d call pleasant.  The fear that something might be wrong was definitely top of mind.
    • PROS:  Turned out that mommy and baby were just fine.  Got an opportunity at a dry run of the hospital where we planned on giving birth.  Got another chance to listen to the baby’s heartbeat.  Found out that Heather was beginning to dilate (1cm) and was having intermittant contractions.
  • Toothfis: I enjoyed breaking a crown off in the rear of my mouth.  Out to lunch with a couple of buddies at a favorite Mexican restaurant, and I bite down on a tortilla chip.  OK, we all know how thin a tortilla chip is.  It’s not like I was gnawing on tree bark or biting down on a cinder block.  Granted the chip was harder and crunchier than the salsa, but seriously people?  A chip?  Anyways, I chewed on my broken cap for a minute or two before I realized that it very clearly wasn’t part of my appetizer.  Liken it to the guy who hides the engagement ring in his love interest’s dessert and she bites down on it and -voila – pulls it from her mouth in shock and appreciation.  OK, don’t liken it to that.  It was nothing like that.  Did I mention this was the day before Thanksgiving, and my dentist was conveniently closed until the following Monday?
    • CONS: Broken tooth.  Closed dentist.  Had to basically gum my turkey and stuffing until the following week.  And yes, it did hurt as well.
    • PROS: Got the tooth replaced the following week and it’s now far less likely to break again.  Luckily it didn’t happen to a front tooth – that would have sucked.  Interesting story to tell.
• December:
  • CarQuest ‘09:  So it was our plan to get a new car this upcoming spring so that we could dually transport the little bambina to day care and not be reliant on just the one car (as I mentioned, the pickup isn’t exactly baby-friendly).  After the deer ‘attack’, we found that we had to push the timeline up a bit.  Now it appeared we needed two cars.  So, down economy, car market tanking, cash-for-clunkers over, and us buying two at once – you’d figure we’d get at least a competitive price from the dealership.  Not so much.  Anthony at the Toyota Dealership, your loss, buddy.  We ended up at Carmax, had a delightful experience and now weeks after initiating the process, have both a Camry and new Corolla in the garage.  (Yes, we’re a Toyota family.  Taichi Ohno, eat your heart out.)
    • CONS:  Clearly, buying two cars at once isn’t exactly stress free.  In addition, a two-car discount wasn’t to be found regardless of the economic conditions.  Also, pre-deer, we had $0 car payments.  Now not so much.
    • PROS:  We now have two cars AND a truck.  So I get to continue to be a weekend warrior AND have the flexibility to have a car in the shop and still two vehicles to use AND we can both transport the little one.  Plus we upgraded a touch, which Heather can attest to.  The difference in comfortability between a Camry and Corolla is indeed significant.  Car seats installed, and we’re good to go.
  • Come On Uterus, Figure It Out:  Uterine irritability is what it’s called.  Also, she had ‘False Labor’ – a no-no term, especially to any preggers mommy to experience this maddening condition.  No, this is not Braxton-Hicks contractions which are typically painless.  Prodromal labor doesn’t go away if you get up and move around, unlike Braxton-Hicks.   But it’s the uterine irritability that is so unbearable.  Imagine a contraction as they typically are depicted.  A noticeable start, crescendo, peak and decline. And then a pause before the next one ensues.  Uterine irritability is contractions back to back to back, but they never peak.  Instead they hover in the crescendo area, bottom-out and then spike again.  And repeat again and again and again, without reprieve.  So, no break for mommy, and what feels like one mid-grade, non-stop contraction.  Sounds uncomfortable, huh?  We went to the hospital, but since the prodromal labor coupled with the uterine irritability is still unproductive – not contributing to the cervix opening or thinning any more – we got sent home.  She’s had this consecutively about every other day with enough discomfort to bring tears to her eyes.
    • CONS: Well, going to the hospital and thinking it’s time to have the baby and then getting sent home is no fun.  Also, poor Heather can’t catch a break.  It is tortuous to endure this kind of thing, and the worst part is that it brings us no closer to baby.
    • PROS:  The contractions – any contraction – does massage the baby, so that’s a pro.  Also, these could be considered a vigorous workout for the uterus, helping it prepare for the rigors of labor.  If anything, it’s a good opportunity for me to break out all that I’ve learned for relaxing, massaging and calming my pregnant wife.  And it’s a story to tell, I guess.
  • Drug Reaction, Seriously?:  So, call it an overly sedimentary lifestyle, genetics, or poor food alternatives, but this Rookie Dad, like many others, has to take medication to regulate his cholesterol.  I take a drug called Simcor.  Well last Monday I woke up, realized I had forgotten to take the Simcor and went ahead and took my dose.  Then come bedtime I took another dose.  My intervals are usually about 22 hours or so, give or take.  This day though, it was more like 13 hours.  It could have been the two doses so close, or that I didn’t take an aspirin to minimize the side effects of the drug, but I woke up at 4AM with what felt like the worst sunburn imaginable – but it was everywhere.  My scalp, my ears, my face, my chest, my back, the tops of my feet, my hands, my neck – all felt like they were on fire.  So I immediately got into the shower and started dousing my skin with cold water.  That’s the last thing I remember.  Heather woke up to find me half in and half out of the shower, mumbling and twitching and completely unresponsive.  10min later, 911 EMT’s and firemen were taking my vitals and trying to get me from unresponsive… to slurred speech… to responsive.  I was carried to the ambulence on a stretcher, admitted at the emergency room, and all the while was completely freaked out that this stressful event would send Heather into labor.  A good couple hours later, I was told that it was most likely the niacin in the Simcor, and that it was a bad drug reaction.  I was discharged and we went home.
    • CONS: Um, $200 copay.  Had firemen and EMTs looking at me in my birthday suit.  The bp pads placed on my limbs ripped hair out when I finally was able to take them off -ouch.  I had to take a day of vacation so close to Heather’s due-date.  Scared the hell out of Heather who cried for days after the event.
    • PROS:  Well, I guess the only one I can think of is that it definitely showed that the baby is staying put until she’s ready to come out.  The up-side to this whole shower-scare is that it didn’t trigger labor, and if that kind of thing didn’t trigger labor, I’m thinking I can worry much less about stress kicking starting a premature entrance of our baby girl.

So that’s about it.  Plenty though, right?  Now, we’re 6 days from her 40 week due date and we’re on baby watch, sticking close to home, and doing some take-it-easy final nesting.  Whew!  An eventful couple of months!  No worries, folks.  RookieDad Sean hasn’t given up blogging.  Just delayed a touch.  I have plenty to share in the hopper so check back often.  Also, please register as a user so I can send you an invite for our email update list.

Happy holidays!

RookieDad Sean.

Hi folks.  It’s been a crazy few weeks, which I’m sure I’ll elaborate on in a subsequent post.  In the meantime, my lovely bride is now full-term and I have a revised Hospital Pack List for you.  My previous post and suggestions stand true, but I’ve edited the list a touch to allow you fellow RookieDads a more useable check list – replete with items broken down per bag, and with some great and important new additions.  Check it out here!