A message from the Queen.

Howdy gang,

Here is the post that you all have been waiting for, you finally get to hear from my wife! I wrote down a few questions and told her that she had carte blanche to say whatever came to her mind. I made a few comments at the end of each of her responses, but this one is all her. As Elizabeth can attest, Fat-dad is funnier, but the masses had spoken and they wanted to her from my Queen. Enjoy!

First off, how do YOU feel about the blog?
As an avid blog reader, I was excited about the blog and eager to see where it would go. I've always known Brian can entertain a crowd and was excited to see how his stories unfolded in writing. I love the long blog posts most, but get excited to see the daily updates on Facebook as well. Plus whoever takes the majority of the photos that are posted is a pretty awesome lady! I seriously learn new things about my husband and daughter (good or bad) through reading the blog and look forward to the moments that make me think "Really, that's how he remembers that event unfolding?" Or, "Oh, I do not claim responsibility for [insert crazy action, nerdy reference or vulgar phrase here]."

“Despite what she says, I am pretty sure that she doesn’t like many of the things that I write about, but she has been an amazing sport about all of this so far.”

Can you describe how you felt when you found out you were pregnant?

Since getting pregnant took about 2 years for us, I was certainly shocked when I first saw the positive pregnancy test. I wasn't even planning to take the test that Sunday night, but once I told the yet-to-be-titled Fat-Dad that I thought I should take one that week, he insisted that I should take the test that night when we were together. He's not one for surprises, so waiting any longer wasn't really an option for him.  I had seen plenty of negative tests in previous months, so it took me a while to really realize what I was looking at before the excitement set in. I was both excited and shocked! I was so used to seeing negative results and bring disappointed by it that I really didn't know how to feel. I kept my initial reaction hidden for a few minutes and let Brian read the results for himself. My second thought, I believe, was "Shit, we drank a lot of Moscow Mules last weekend".

“None of that is inaccurate. The Moscow Mules were on our minds, but I wasn’t too worried. I didn’t even know about all of the negative tests, now I have to wonder what she would have done if I wasn’t home…”

What can you tell us about the pregnancy itself? 

I loved being pregnant and seriously do miss it! In the beginning, however, I was a nervous wreck and constantly in fear that it was either all a dream or that I would miscarry. That nervous feeling continued on past the first ultrasound, past hearing the first heart beat, and in to the first few weeks of feeling kicks. It just didn't feel real and I couldn't wrap my mind around it. This, hilariously caused a bit of a role reversal for us. Since it didn't quite feel real, I refused to plan too far ahead or really do any prep. Brian, on the other hand, was researching and wanting to order baby gear. 
Overall I had a great pregnancy! I think a combination of luck and overly positive attitude went a long way for me. I hardly had any morning sickness, even though I had plenty of food aversions (no raw veggies) and very few cravings. I was comfortable for my whole pregnancy and up until the last week could still run up a flight of stairs. There were even times where I'd forget I was pregnant until I'd feel a kick; I just felt that good!  I never reached the "get this thing out of me" stage but did develop a pretty sweet waddle by the last few weeks!

“I can’t help but point out that she left out that all she did for the first 3 months was sleep. She didn’t have the worst morning sickness, but she wasn’t doing cartwheels around the house either. She actually did do pretty damn well for the rest of the pregnancy though. I loved the fact that she was constantly craving meat. Totally worked for me.”

Can you describe the delivery? 

It must have been a combination of the hormones and the adrenaline, but every time someone asks about labor and delivery, I reply with "It wasn't that bad!".  I know I'm tough with a very high pain tolerance, and I do remember the contractions being uncomfortable and even quite painful at the end, but it was much more of a mental game for me. I was determined to have an active, non-medicated birth with no intervention and I was very proud, and lucky to be able to do just that. I don't ever recall getting to a point where I thought I needed pain management to continue and as long as Brian continued to put insane amounts of pressure on my hips I  never had to dig into the list of mental tactics I was saving for when I wanted to give up. I very much lived in the moment (something I'm terrible at doing normally). A few things that clearly stand out in my memory about labor are: the look on Brian’s  face a little after Midnight when I told him I was starting to have contractions (shock, excitement, and oh shit I just finished off a bottle of wine and shouldn't drive); the nurses' shock when they found out I was easily far enough in my labor to warrant staying at the hospital (we arrived about 4 AM); the dancing we did between contractions; that Da Butt would kick hard every time before the next  contraction would start and I would shoot Brian the look of "here we go again"; the evil look I shot Brian in the last few minutes of pushing when he reminded me that I only had 15 minutes left to push the baby out if I wanted to make estimated delivery time I listed earlier; and the pure look of joy on both of our faces when Elizabeth was born! We did have a little hiccup at the end with a postpartum hemorrhage, but I was blissfully in mama heaven with my little girl in my arms and really don't remember much of that at all.

“I’m calling bullshit on about 90% of this paragraph. She yelled quite a bit and swore. I could hear her down the hall while I was using the bathroom. Luckily, the floor was pretty empty and there was another woman yelling “FUCK” at the top of her lungs, so that did kind of put it in perspective for me. The hemorrhage by the way was absolutely terrifying for me. I work with blood every day and I could tell pretty quickly that it wasn’t good. Thank god that the bleeding was able to be controlled and my wife was none the wiser for it.”

What do you think is the best thing about being a parent so far?

 Honestly, I don't know where to begin! I'm loving every minute of being a Mom; it's everything I thought it would be and more than I could have ever imagined at the same time! I find myself so extremely proud of Elizabeth every time she does something new and want to see her grow and learn; yet at the same time, I want time to slow down and for her to stay little forever.  But it's not only her; I love the changes that have happened to us as parents! Sure our bed isn't always made like it used to be, and the dishes aren't done every night, but we love family time and couple time much more! Even if couple time is giving backrubs and falling asleep on the couch together nearly every weeknight. Seeing Brian become a Dad has been a blast as well!

“Becoming a parent had me terrified in general, but having my wife so ready to rock kind of kept me in line. I had to get my head in the game. Now, I truly can’t imagine myself any other way.”

What do you think is the hardest thing about being a parent so far?

 We have been lucky enough to have a pretty easy time so far. Again, it may be the hormones or Mommy goggles which have made me forget the harder parts of the first few weeks, but so far I'm loving every minute of it! The hardest thing for me right now seems to be letting things go (like making the bed and folding laundry) and remembering that she'll only be this little for a little bit.

“I am calling bullshit again, she seems to let all of the house shit fall to the wayside pretty easily. I do my best to pick up the slack though because she is right. We only get a short time with her as a little lady so dishes and laundry can wait. I happen to be a night owl though so it is pretty easy to make time when my lovely ladies are in bed. The hardest part for me is related though, I wish I didn’t have to work anymore so that I could be at home with my Ewok more.”

Do you have anything else to add?

 Nothing for now, but give me a day or two and I'm sure I'll be up feeding Eliza in the middle of the night and I'll remember something I wanted to say.

“Ah…I have been meaning to do a blog post about this. My wife insists on calling Elizabeth “Eliza”. I prefer Liz. It has become quite an area of contention around our house.  I might have to do a post about that still anyways just so you dear reader, can get the full story and decide for yourself.”

As always, I thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed this different post from Fatterhood. If you enjoyed it, perhaps I can look at doing a few more like it in the future. I am sure that my wife could do her very own blog based on just my antics. Don't forget to check out Fatterhood on Facebook, and until next time...PROST!