Dinner Time

My Day With The Birth Mom

Well, I picked up Birth mom at 830AM to take her to her OB appointment. She had been up all night at a hospital because she had developed some sort of an abscess on the roof of her mouth. When I drove up, she had no make up on and had her hair pulled back in a pony tail. She looked exhausted.
She gave me the whole story but said she did not want to cancel because she knows how important this appointment is.
We got to the hospital (general hospital because she is not covered by any insurance) and took a number. We were lucky to have #9. As we tried to find two seats that were together in the waiting area we heard "#6, #6, Seis, Seis". We looked at each other and said "oh goodie, we should not have to wait too long".
Once our number was called, you sit with one of the administrators and they take down all your information, then you go back to the waiting room and wait for a nurse to call you. The administrator we had, was not friendly. As a matter of fact, none of them except for one was friendly to the patients. As we were waiting for the nurse to call us (it had been probably an hour and a half already), I was standing near the counter. I was watching as most of the administrators were talking with each other and laughing while the one closest to me was talking on the phone in a very low voice as to hide that she was obviously on a personal phone call.
The gal on the phone said to me, "Could you take a seat!!!". I said "No, I've been sitting all day, I'll just stand here...but don't worry, I'm not listening to your personal phone call", and then just smiled at her.
Then about 15 minutes later (she is still on the phone) an elderly lady approached the counter and one of the administrators came over to her. The elderly woman seemed confused about a form and asked for help. She was extremely passive and timid. The administrator, rolled her eyes and said "I told you to wait for the doctor...Don't you know that?!!!!!
I could not help myself, I looked at her and said, "you know what I know? Your rude!...All of you here behind this counter except for one, are rude". The office became quiet and I looked back at the birth mom and she had her eyes open wide. Just at that point, a nurse stepped out of the double doors and called the birth-mother's name. I got our stuff and went inside with her. I told the doctors about the staff out there and she said, "I know, we get many complaints". It was just left at that.
The appointment was quite interesting which consisted of a physical and an ultra sound. I heard the heartbeat of little Emily which was sooooo cool. They then took us to get a sonogram so we could see the baby.....also VERY VERY COOL. The nurses and doctors were AWESOME and really made me feel apart of the whole process.

We finally got out of the hospital about 2:00pm. I took the birth-mom grocery shopping. We bought fresh veggies and fruit, soups, chicken...pretty much anything she wanted. She was very reluctant to pick things out and I had to stop her and say, "look, don't be shy with me, we have a history together and an expanding family, keep that in mind". She just smiled and continued on to pick out some food.
She was not up to clothes shopping because she was super tired. I took her home and helped her unpack the stuff.
I told her I will text her each morning to make sure she takes her prenatal vitamins.

We anticipate her due date to be December 10th. One day earlier than my partner's birthday. I have the sonogram picture and I look at it at least twice a day.

It's a Girl?...Well 75% chance!

I'd like you to meet Emily. Her expected debut date is December 10th. The doctor told us based on the position of the baby, she believes her to be a girl. We are going back for another sonogram on July 7th to be absolutely sure.

I heard little Emily's heart beat and was even actually able to see her move her arms and legs. It was one of the most amazing experiences to see this little gal moving around in there.

Yes We Are, No We're Not, Ohhh.. YES WE ARE!

Another installment of Fatherhood Fridays. I can't believe this week has come and gone so quickly. I suggest you take a little Internet trip to www.dad-blogs.com and check out what it's all about. It's a truly fun experience with fun and knowledgeable Dads and Moms.

The birth mom never had her abortion. She is 3 months pregnant with our son Andrew's potential brother or sister. I took her to a prenatal appointment today. It was tough! She has no medical insurance and I can not get her added on mine. So we spent most the day getting her set up with emergency insurance through welfare services and then we went to a doctor. Since this was her first real visit, they gave us tons of paperwork to complete, took a lot of blood samples and also a urine sample.

She has an OB appointment set up for June 16th at 9am (gotta take off work again) and then her Ultrasound on July 7th.

She had visited a doctor at another hospital about a week ago regarding her pregnancy and the doctor told her she could hold this baby full term provided she keeps her iron levels up. She has been very good at taking her iron pills.

After the long day of hospitals and welfare offices, we went out for a nice lunch. She is showing just a little at this point.

When I pick her up for her June 16th appointment, I'm going to surprise her and take her shopping for clothes after wards.

I asked her how come she did not suspect she was pregnant when she missed her first period and she told me she is still having her period and that in all her pregnancies (6)she has had her period up until her six month. Can this happen?..I was so surprised by this.

So we are back on the journey of having another baby. I can't believe it. I got to start thinking of names...again...

Happy Friday all

Graduation

Well, our Jim (my partner's little brother)has graduated. It was a windy cold day in San Francisco the day of his graduation. It was held outside at a football field on San Francisco State Campus.

I was worried that Andrew would not want to sit still through the ceremony, but we were lucky that the professors kept their speeches relatively short. Jim looked fantastic in his cap and gown.












He came up to the bleachers to greet us (many of his family members attended) and he presented his brother (my partner) with a sash that is meant for parents of children that are graduating. I was so proud and I began to take a picture.











However, while I was taking a picture, Jim also presented me with on as well. I can't tell you how touched I was to get one too. I wore it proudly during the ceremony. I also got very teary eyed.












Since the economy is not all that great specifically in the job market, Jim has decided to continue on to get his masters degree.
After the ceremony we all went back to the house and ate, and ate, and ate. I even had a couple of Heineken's :D

Bilingual

My son Andrew has been grasping words quickly. He does not have full pronunciation of words but you are able to recognize the word. Our family is speaking both English and Tagalog to him.
We visit the Philippines ever year and since my partner's family is Filipino, we thought it would be a good idea. It's not as useful to know Tagalog than lets say Spanish, but I think the introduction to more than one language (no matter what it is), makes learning languages in general easier.
Many children of other countries speak more than one language, some more than two languages. Our children, grow up (for the most part) speaking English. I say this with a bit of hesitance because even our English is far from perfect.
I can hear Andrew say Tagalog words and English words and I think it's awesome. I hear stories that it can actually delay speech in children when you are teaching them more than one language. I think the only real delay for Andrew is his pronunciation. There is one word he can say perfectly, and it's CUP. Yeah, that's right, CUP. I think he knows he says it very well because when I point to things, he gives his best effort to say the word. (Ball) "bo", (bath) "ba, ba", (Shoes) "CHHHZK"...but when I say CUP, he screams...."CUP". He pronounces the c and the p with so much emphasis and it's so much louder than the other words he says.
I had taken him to the grocery store two nights ago. They have a Starbucks inside the store. He saw cups and screamed "CUP" all throughout the store to the top of his lungs. I got a few interesting looks and a couple of jumps from people we were behind.
In Tagalog to say "I don't want" you would say Ayaw ko, but with slang ayoko (eye-yo-ko). I could have sworn when I asked Andrew if he was ready to eat, as he shook his head he said "ayaw". That is just tooo cool to hear.

Are teaching your child other languages? Do you purposely buy toys that speak various languages?

Our Jim is Graduating College!

14 years ago, my partner's little brother stepped off his first plane ride. He had just arrived in San Francisco from the Philippines. It was very important for my partner to make sure his family was taken care of.
We all greeted him and off we went into the car.
At first, Jim was quiet but after he got to know you he would open up. His english was not great, but he understood a lot.
We wanted to give him a better life than what he would have had in the Philippines.


Jim, now 24, has grown into a smart, mature young man. He is a great son and brother and most especially a great Uncle to Andrew. Our son Andrew loves his Uncle Jim and get's so excited when he comes home. Andrew follows him all over the house.
For all those reasons above, we are so very proud of Jim but we are mostly proud because this month he is graduating San Francisco State with his B.A. I know that this happens every day for many kids...but he will be the first in my partner's family to graduate from a 4 year college.
Family from all over will be coming in next week for Jim's graduation.

This week, I dedicate FF to my partner's kid brother. We are so very proud of you and so very excited for your future.
I know there will be a time when Jim is going to want to leave his nest and start his own life. I hope it's not too soon. I don't think I'm ready for that. I think it will be harder on me than my partner.
Congratulations Jim! We love you and I personally thank you for giving us a test run so we know what to expect when Andrew becomes a teen. I hope we didn't make too many mistakes with you. (insert smiley face here). Also, don't be upset I used the above pic of you. It was one of my favorite school pics of you.