Well… Alex is now one… he’s no longer zero… yay! He’s definitely not an infant any more. The walking really has transformed him. That said, it’s time to retire the FAQ portion of Alex’s page. It was mostly written before he was born, oh so long ago (yes, I’m getting nostalgic, shut up). I’m posting it here for posterity (yes, to all the wise-asses out there, it’ll still be in my source control (svn) history, yes, I know how to access it, don’t teach your grandma how to suck eggs).
FAQ
When?
Dina’s due June 17th. Play along at home with the Guess The Date Pool.
Update: 2006-06-20: Alex decided that he wanted to say hi to the world 3 days later than expected.
Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?
Not yet. We plan on finding out eventually.
It’s a boy.
Were you trying? Was this planned?
Yes, we were trying / it was planned. Mind you, I question whether you can truly call something ‘planned’ if it didn’t involve thermometers, calendars, spreadsheets, wiki pages, Microsoft Project, etc. Notably, Nick didn’t read a single article like this one.
Do you have a name?
Yes.
For a boy, “Alessandro”. For a girl, “Alessandria”.
Alessandro.
Alex for short.
You can figure out why on your own.
We haven’t settled on a middle name yet. His middle name is “Niccolo”.
Ah! So that’s why Dina hasn’t been drinking lately.
That’s not a question.
Is that why Dina hasn’t been drinking / has been sick / has been tired / has been burping a lot lately?
Yes.
Is that why you’re in a better mood lately?
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: It’s a combination of factors. So, yes.
<snigger /> Are you sure it’s yours?
Haha. Yes.
Is that why Dina’s suddenly wearing sensible shoes?
Partly. She started wearing sensible shoes around summer time. She’s keeping it up because she’s trying to take care of herself.
Why “Worst Kept Secret Ever”?
We’ve been hinting like there’s no tomorrow. OK. I’ve been hinting like there’s no tomorrow, in person, in email, and in blog entries. Dina has maintained her standard chagrined-amused attitude towards my hinting. Besides, when have you ever seen Dina not drink for this long?
You excited?
Very!
Update: 2007-06-23: Still excited, but in a more tired, sleep-deprived way.
You ready?
You crazy?
Update: 2007-06-23: Apparently, we were. And we weren’t.
Anything we can do to help?
Hmmm… good question. We don’t know. Suggest away…
You’re staying in the same place?
For now. I think we want to experience Cambridge with a baby for a while. We have a big bedroom for the first little while, then we have the back bedroom.
Update: 2007-06-23: We’re moving downstairs so Alex can finally get his own room.
How’s Dina feeling?
Hmmm… you can ask her, but I think a succinct answer is “you name it”.
How are you feeling?
Glad you asked. Very excited. Quite scared. Oddly sorry for Alex (he or she’ll have me as a father after all). I have the ominous feeling that I’ll be learning at a faster pace than I have in recent memory.
Update: 2007-06-23: Nostalgic. He’s changed so much in such a short time.
How’s Alex feeling?
Don’t know. But we think OK. Ultrasounds have been good. Hearing the heartbeat was one of the highlights of my life to date.
2006-01-19: He was moving quite a lot today.
Update: 2007-06-23: He’s doing well. People he meets tend to say he’s cute, small, walking, and curious.
What do you plan to do when the baby arrives?
In short? No clue. In general? Take care of it the best we can. Work-wise? No clue. Maybe move to Canada where parental leave is up to 12 months per couple (note to people who don’t get my sense of humour, that last sentence was a joke).
How long have you known?
Since October.
You didn’t tell people right away?
One generally doesn’t. Something like 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriages. One normally waits until the end of the first trimester when the risk is much reduced.
Are you gonna cut back on a lot of stuff that you’re doing?
Yes. We’re already cutting back on dancing. Some of the pregnancy books we’re reading note that people tend to lose contact with people on the periphery of their social circle, people who don’t like kids, and people who should have been ditched a while ago. Hopefully if you’re reading this, you don’t fall into any of those.
Is Dina gong to continue being president of Tech Squares?
Yes.
You going to have a normal delivery in a hospital or somewhere else with a midwife, or one of those really weird ones where the baby is born in a tub?
Hospital. We believe in the power of modern science and medicine.
Are you going to have the baby in Montreal?
No.
I don’t quite understand why we keep getting asked this question. People, please think this through. Driving 6 hours to Montreal after Dina’s water breaks seems like a Bad Idea ™. A plane ticket would be prohibitively expensive at the last minute plus airlines normally won’t allow women in their late 3rd trimester to fly. Yes, we could travel up a bit earlier, but to what benefit?
We live in Boston. Our home is in Boston. We’d like to have the baby where we feel comfortable. Montreal isn’t home anymore.
For the Canadians asking this, having a baby is not expensive when you have health insurance. I think the whole pregnancy is going to cost us @ACTION(“gasp”)@ in the low 2-figures, i.e., about $10, in medical bills. At the time we paid it, this amounted to about $12 Canadian dollars.
Registry?
- Babies’R'Us [dead link removed].
- Magic Beans [dead link removed].