No bébé yet!

Now that the holidays are (almost) over, I can return to regular blog posts! My recent absence from the web doesn't mean that Croissant showed up early--it has all to do with the fact that Christmas shopping, cooking, card-sending, and quality time with family and friends has taken precedence over spending time on the computer. Oh, and since I'm 37 weeks pregnant, keep in mind that the OB appointments, various baby prep classes, visits to prospective day care providers, and tasks to get Croissant's room ready seem never-ending! Add in a nasty cold that has left me snotty and lethargic, that good old pregnancy insomnia, my job at the library, and the fact that my hubby Ed and I just organized and cleaned the house for our annual open house/board game party to which 40+ people were invited, and, well, you all understand why I haven't posted lately.

Remind me not to be this pregnant during the holidays ever again!

But I can say that now the pregnancy and the incipient Croissant feel very, very real. He kicks vigorously every night--less so during the day, or maybe I stay busy enough not to notice--and my tummy continues to expand. Now that Ed has painted the nursery and we have a lot of the gear we'll need (thanks to showers and the fact that many of our generous friends have finished procreating and given us their kids' hand-me-downs), we're physically ready for him (if not quite mentally). We've also read lots of books and interrogated friends and family about what we can probably expect; we took every class that the hospital offers except "How to Prepare Your Pet for Your Baby" (and frankly, if we had even a goldfish, we probably would have signed up for that one!).

My parents have purchased their plane tickets to come visit and help out in February. (They live in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which is a 20-hour drive from us here near Boulder, Colorado, so we won't be able to get together regularly.) My younger brother is also planning a visit in March to come meet his new nephew. And since Ed's family lives so near us, we know they'll give us a lot of support! My parents-in-law have even offered to take care of the baby one day a week, which means he won't have to spend much time in day care when I go back to work part-time at the library. So things are falling into place for us!

(Stay tuned for a post about helping Ed's parents learn enough French to be able to speak both languages with Croissant!)

I'm due January 23, if I haven't mentioned that before here. As Ed and I hear stories about other women due around then who have started having contractions, already gone into labor, or had emergency C-sections, we realize that Croissant could show up any day now. We've both started leaving work with the knowledge in the back of our minds that we might not be there the following day, so we're getting good at tying up loose ends. (Of course, he might take his sweet time and not want to come out until after my parents have arrived!)

Curious about what we will name him? So are we! After months of agonizing, we've reduced the potential first names down to four: Arthur, Griffin, Milo, and Roland. My grandmother is extremely concerned about this and asks me several times a week if we've "solved our little problem." But we figure we'll know when we see him. (My mother-in-law had a good suggestion: Go to the back door and holler his potential full names into the yard and see what sounds most natural, i.e. "Roland Brooks X, you get back in here right now!")

Here are the criteria we used to narrow the field: No name that I immediately associate with a former student (good-bye, Nathaniel) or boyfriend (good-bye, Steve); no name with unpleasant connotations for either of us, for that matter (good-bye, Pierre, one of Ed's former bosses) (and the "Cedric" I liked so much was out because one of my mom's former students named Cedric turned out to be a murderer); no name that has been among the top 100 boys' names in the past few years (so long, Daniel); no one-syllable first name that would sound too brief with his one-syllable last name (good-bye, George); nothing that has obvious make-fun-of-me-on-the-playground possibilities (good-bye, Lysander); no names that already belong to someone famous or infamous; his name has to have a standard spelling (we're thinking "Milo," not "Mylau") and not be too esoteric (Leander) or ethnic (arrividerci, Mateo); his name should be reasonably pronounceable à la française when I speak French to him (au revoir, Finnigan) but not be too French for northern Colorado (not a chance, Gauthier) (although Griffin and Milo don't really have French equivalents, a lot of our other choices did, like Oliver-Olivier and Peter-Pierre); and none of my family's punny suggestions.

Whew! What an important decision!

(If he were a girl, it would be easy: we decided on "Anne-Claire" months ago.)

Happy holidays from the three of us. May the New Year bring you joy and many marvelous adventures!