It's a boy!! Or will be....

The last scan on Friday has revealed that I am having a son. Gill has seen his willy and everything! A new level of voyeurism has been achieved it would seem. I am dead chuffed as I didn't really want to have to play with dolls and girlie stuff. No offence, but it just isn't me. Besides, boys toys are infinitely better than anything girls have and I wouldn't want my daughter growing up to be a tomboy because of my insistence on giving her boy toys. So now at least we know what colour to buy and I've been pricing up scale-extrics just in case. Gill also picked up a blood monitor to test her blood sugars ready for the next step of injecting and they will probably induce the birth after 36/38 weeks as the baby is growing fast and that's what they normally do with gestational diabetics.
According to his size, he is the equivalent of 24 weeks old but he's supposed to be 20/21. In the top picture it actually seems as if he is looking at you. Bit spooky that. The midwife had a job getting him to turn around (I told her he might be shy) but she got there in the end. It wasn't one of those vague images of what sex he is, it was pretty damn clear! Gill was a bit down about it being a boy as she wanted a girl and, to be honest, we had already chosen a name for her. Now we have to think properly of a boys name. Gill likes Ben, Jake or Oliver. I like Noah, Urien and Mohammed!!! It looks like Ben is the favourite at the moment. Incidentally, all this fuss about how the muslims considered it an insult to call a teddy mohammed (lower case m used on purpose) has caused Sooty to cancel his tour of Jamaica.! Geddit?

Nearly Christmas again!

Yes, the usual where has the year gone scenario is approaching and I am pleased to say that I am all set for the big day. I love Christmas which is why I always use a capital letter. I hope they will do it again next year. The sprog will be about seven months old by then and playing with it's first scalextric and beating me before we go on to the mecchanno or lego depending on which one is spelt correctly. Next year is set to be a very interesting one indeed. The latest up date on the mother is that there is a very good chance that she will be diabetic after the birth as she has gestational diabetes at the moment at an earlier stage of her pregnancy than they would like to see it. This means that she will have to start injecting insulin to try and avoid the baby reaching 15 pounds in weight and having health problems. It also means that she is unlikely to have a natural birth which is worrying as recent research has indicated that caesarian births are nowhere near as good as the real thing and are likely to complicate the health in later life (or something). So there is a lot to think about and consider for the future. I never realised that becoming a parent could be so complicated or exciting all at the same time. But, no doubt, everything will turn out to be okay and I shall worry for no reason at all. Luckily, I don't have any hair to turn grey!

Travelling

Here is a picture of the inside of Whitby Abbey, up in the north east. It is famous for being the landing place of Count Dracula which is really all I know about the place. I find this disappointing! I travelled a long way and paid a sum of money to get inside the place and never made the effort to learn about it. This is very sad and has made me realise how important it is to actually fully take notice of everywhere you visit. God knows if I will ever make it there again. I took some good photos as well with no information to back them up. Needless to say, a lesson has been learned. I am popping down south for a long weekend soon and I will certainly make more of an effort when I get there to actually learn something about wherever I go. But how many of us do this? Go and visit a place and come away none the wiser about it, only moaning about how much it cost or whether it was raining and cold. I'm sure I'm not the only one. And I won't allow it to happen again! What would my kid think?!?

Another scan

Here are two black and whites of the results of a night of passion with Gill. Pretty good, eh? He or she moved around quite a lot during the scan and wouldn't really stay still to get a really good shot, like it was doing aerobics or something. But at least I managed to spot it a bit better this time. There is only one in there which is a relief as I'm a twin and so is Gill's mother and I have to confess that I was a little concerned that I would have to be thinking of two names instead of one. We still don't know what the sex is but the next scan is due on christmas eve and we hope that they will be able to tell us then. Should be nice before christmas. I am struggling with names at the moment. It is important to get the right one as the little tyke will be stuck with that handle for the rest of it's life. I'm welsh and part of me would like a welsh name but some of the would be difficult to pronounce (eg Llyr, Llifon etc) especially if I stay living in England. All suggestions greatly appreciated. I quite like the name Bethany if it's a girl as Bethan is a common name in Wales and it's still got that english feel to it. I've got plenty of time to think about it though as it isn't due to make an appearance until May.

Making improvements.

Here is a more relaxing and scenic picture of a rock and the sea just to prove that I'm not just into the gory stuff. I am actually having fun trying to work out how to get all of these little bits onto the page and it is working so far. I haven't destroyed the network! All I need now is for some one to read it!

More things

Had some more dates through for scans that I have been told to attend or else! I think the main reason for my being there is to pay for the pictures because I know nothing about the scans and find it even harder to see anything remotely resembling a baby in them. However, I have been assured that it does get easier as the baby takes shape. I'm actually looking forward to discovering what sex it will be so that I can either practice my football or improve my shopping techniques accordingly. As long as it is healthy. That's the main thing. Even if it's got two heads, as long as it's healthy it will be fine. As long as it's a boy. I don't know if I would be able to handle a daughter, especially when she gets to 16. I was 16 once and know what it's like and it's scary to think that she will be exposed to people like me and my hormones as they were at that age!

As you can see, the above picture has absolutely nothing to do with babies. It was taken at Chester Zoo recently and it was one of those moments that was too good to be true and one of the first pictures taken with my new digital SLR. Now that I know how to get them on to my blog, I hope to put some more on display.

Baby Scan

There it is! My baby, somewhere there in the middle. You do have to use your imagination a little bit, but if you've ever seen one before you won't have too much trouble spotting it. Not sure who it takes after though.

oops

Well, as with all my past attempts at keeping a diary, I have missed a few days. I'm a busy man, you see.
All is well with the next generation of me. Gill went to see the midwife who filled in some forms and took some blood samples and did the things that they do and then she went to see her consultant gynaecologist who was quite happy with everything, even to the point of being impressed with the size of the baby at this stage. He also wants her to try and have a natural birth and can't see any problems so far but he will have a better idea after the 20 week scan has been done.
So every day takes me closer to being a dad. But even so, I can't seem to get too excited in case things go wrong. I'll be a lot happier after the birth but then I shall no doubt start worrying about the kid's future etc. I've always considered myself an optimist and quite laid back and now I am the complete opposite with regards to parenthood. Is that normal? Is that how everybody feels? This is without doubt the most significant thing I have ever done in my entire life. It's understandable, I suppose, that I am inwardly panicking. Panicking always makes me seem to act cooler and more detached than normal. Fortunately, I don't have any hair to go grey!
I haven't stopped smoking yet but Gill is still going strong without her ciggies which is very impressive considering how much she used to smoke. I only hope that she will continue even after the birth. I have cut down a lot though. I've only got one pouch of baccy left and then I can stop properly.
Need to get back to Gill's knitting now.

Full of nits

I know this will seem weird, being a bloke and all, but I am teaching my girlfriend to knit. My mum taught me and my two brothers to knit when we were young as something to do on those cold winter nights when we were stuck indoors with nothing to do. Back then there were no computers or playstations to muck about with so I suppose knitting was the obvious choice as far as my mother was concerned. I'm sure there was an element of rebelling against the system by getting us in touch with our feminine side at an early age as well as the possibility that instead of three boys she would have liked to have had a girl. I'm glad she didn't take up cross stitch until we were much, much older.
However, the knitting serves two purposes. It means that Gill will be able to make clothes and blankets and booties for the baby and it will keep her hands and mind occupied while she tries to stop smoking as well as keeping her quiet so that I can do the things that I want to do. So that's three purposes actually. Anyway, with a bit of luck the first blanket should be finished before it starts to get warm again. All she is doing is knitting squares which she can stitch together which is how I started. The only trouble is that I can't remember how to cast off but I'm confident that I will remember when the time comes. If not, I can always ask my mum.

I have managed to convince Gill to give up smoking! She has had a prescription for nicorette chewing gums (must be mint flavoured it said) and she is going to start tomorrow. She has done this obviously for the benefit of the bump which means that I will have to make an effort and stop as well. But maybe not tomorrow. We recently brought 3400 fags back with us from Ibiza which would have lasted us several months and it looks like we will have to sell them now 'cos I ain't giving them away! Typical! Glad I didn't buy a Zippo lighter as that has a lifetime guarantee.
It's funny that new life is heading my way, given that my job as a funeral directors assistant means that I deal with the complete opposite every day. I have only been doing this job for about 3 months. Before this, I was a General Manager of a bingo hall. Not a lot of difference really apart from the smell. It used to be much worse in the bingo. And even after spending 11 years in the bingo industry I still cannot fathom why on earth anybody plays it. At least it paid my wages for a bit for which I will be eternally grateful.
Must remember to wash the ashtrays before I go to bed and hide the rest of the cigs. And maybe be a bit more pleasant in the morning before coffee.

Please be gentle, it's my first time!

Helloooo.

My name is Mark and this is the first time I have ever blogged. A friend of mine is a regular blogger and, having lost touch a little, I have managed to keep up with what's going on in her life. I thought this would be a good idea for me so that maybe friends could keep up with what's going on in my life without me having to bore them personally. At least this way they can turn it off when they've had enough without offending me and I won't go on and on and on and on and risk copping a slap!

I am also going to be a Daddy in 7 months time all being well. My fiancee, Gill, is going through a high risk pregnancy so it will be a scary and exciting next few months. It will be my first child. I'm 39 years old, Gill is 37 -she won't mind me telling you- and she has been trying for 15 years to have kiddies. We have been going out for about 14 months and I have managed to do what IVF and other fertility treatments have failed to do. Needless to say, I'm pretty chuffed with myself! There is still a way to go though but this is my way of telling the world how happy I am and inviting friends as well as strangers a bit more into my life.

I also want to be a novellist (seeing as I'm already a great lover!) so what better way than to do this? I also need to stop smoking so that I can be around for my kid for as long as possible so this will give me something to do instead of inhaling cancer. And I will be spending more time in, (hence the title of the blog) so what better way than this to pass the time in between daddying!