What's new?

Ok, enough with the delay in posting. Going back to work threw what little I had of a schedule out of whack, and I haven't had a chance to do much on the blog. Though fear not, trusty readers, for I am back, and wait until you see the latest pics.

However, before I get to that, a couple of news bits. First off, it looks like Lucas is probably out of harm's way with regards to jaundice. He went back to the doctor earlier this week and his levels were about the same as they were from last week. Supposedly, this is good since the doctor peoples only get anxious if the levels go back up. So Marilu is to continue feeding him every 3 hours (that girl has definitely learned to catnap) and we try to keep him in the window for sunlight during the day. He's definitely looking better now as that fake tan look has mostly disappeared and he's usually a nice baby pink.

The other news is that today is our 4th wedding anniversary! So for all of those who bet against us, pay up! Marilu and I went to a steak place near us (Al's Steak House, for those of you in Ottawa), and as per usual, I ate too much. Good thing I only got the 10 oz filet mignon and not the 16. Can you believe that? A 16 oz filet mignon?! I have seen the future and it is massive portions of meat.

Enough about that and on to the pictures...right after this. Since Lucas's birth, a lot of people have sent their congratulations via comments, emails, Facebook, and any number of other sources. I want to say that I haven't been ignoring you guys; it's just been a busy time. This weekend, I'm planning to put some time aside, and I'm writing back to each and every one of you. Never let it be said Big Daddy Deal (wow, that is literal now) was negligent when it came to his friends and family.

Ok, we FINALLY reach the pictures. If cuteness could kill, this one would wipe out at least a mid-sized city:


This one just kills me. If the sunglasses and mouth expression don't get you, the "Tax Deduction" shirt ought to at least elicit a chuckle (if you hadn't already figured it out, click the picture for a better view). Thanks to my best friend from high school (and soon-to-be Lucas's godfather) Jason for that purchase:


We've already seen MY mom with Lucas, so why not a picture with Marilu's mom, who arrived into Ottawa on Monday...or was it Tuesday?...it's all a blur lately.


Here I am with Lucas as we prepare for his very first stroller walk. Since then, we've been on three of them, and I'm starting to suspect the walk is basically just exercise for me. Each time, as soon as we start moving, Lucas has been out like a light. Good to see he's already lazy like his old man.


And finally, one we took today before Marilu and I headed out to our anniversary dinner, leaving the little screamer with Marilu's mom. Probably not one of his finest photos since he was gearing up for a yell, but damn if we ain't looking dead sexy.


As always, these and all of the other pics/videos I've taken of Lucas and company in the last 2 weeks can be found at our photo album website. Either click the link at the upper right part of this page or click here to go there.

Baths and Trips! Oh My!

Sunday was another day of firsts for Lucas as he had his first full bath at home as well as his first trip for the first birthday of Carter (Christine and Jay's son). Lucas did a pretty good job with the bath, keeping his crying to a minimum until the very end. In the never-ending display of humiliating goodness, here's a video of the monkey getting his back washed:

Lucas in the bath

His little towel afterwards wasn't quite as bad as the duck one from a few days back, but it's definitely of the cheek-pinching cute variety:



And of course, what would a trip be without a new blue outfit on?


Finally, never let it be said I wasn't the responsible dad:


By the way, I'd like to go on record as saying that changing diapers isn't quite the psychological torture that I once thought it might be. In fact, if you'd asked me 5-10 years ago my number one reason for not wanting kids, I believe "changing diapers" would be right up there with "too much responsibility" and "say what? I only act age 10 myself." Anyway, after a few nasty diaper changes under my belt, I can say that while it's not something I would want to change careers for (although it may be better than that job at the tool and dye factory in 1989), it's survivable. Although feel free to come ask me about diaper changing again, once he started eating solids and the smells and textures rise to a new level.

Home sweet home...again

We're home!!!

Although Lucas isn't completely out of the woods yet--we still need to keep an eye on him and have him checked out during the upcoming week--it appears the hospital days are over for him and his jaundice. Here's a picture of him in his new outfit right after we got home.


And since I can't resist putting up pictures of him that will be humiliating when he is about 14, here he is in his little rattle gloves.

Tonight's bilirubin news

Short and sweet since I'm ready to crash after a long day either at the hospital or driving to and from the hospital. Sheesh, between today and yesterday, I've spent roughly 5 hrs driving back and forth to the children's hospital. For someone who has a pathological aversion to driving, it makes my head hurt.

Anyway, here's the latest scoop...Lucas had his bilirubin blood test tonight at about 11 PM, and it was the same result as the afternoon test. That may not sound all that great, but in this case, it's good news. Typically, when they take infants off the light treatment, they spike a little and their bilirubins go up a bit. So, since his didn't go up at all, that's even better than the typical results.

He's got one more blood test in the morning around 8, and then hopefully he'll be coming home. Keep your fingers crossed since this is getting wearisome for all of us.

Almost over

I just got back from the hospital, and things are looking much better. Lucas's bilirubin count only dropped 2 pts after the 2:00 PM blood test, but the doctors said that's to be expected since the last drop was so large. They've actually gone so far as to take him off the lights and will check him again at 11 tonight. If all goes well, he'll be released first thing tomorrow morning.

The difference in his actions from yesterday morning to today is like night and day. Whereas yesterday he was barely moving, today he was flailing all over the place. He's also producing poop and pee at a rate that would make a manager at a waste disposal facility turn tail and run. It's definitely good to see him keep his eyes open through an entire feeding, not to mention its much less painful on Marilu since he doesn't need to re-latch every 20 seconds or so.

The only downside to getting rid of jaundice is now he's gonna lose that built-in tan. Man, he looked like he spent 5-6 hours a day out on the Southern California beaches. Soon he'll be able to bask in the radiant paleness that his parents' genes have provided him. Lucky little mutant.

Oh, if you didn't see it yet, I've updated the web albums with the last couple of days worth of pictures. Also of note is a direct link to those albums on the left side of this page, under Lucas's picture. That way, if you're tired of reading my mindless drivel, you can just go straight to the good stuff. In the meantime, here's a couple of pictures from earlier today, if you don't feel like searching through the albums.

For some reason, Lucas loved pulling the eye cover down over his face:


And this one was taken moments after taking the mask off so he could feed. Obviously, the little man is not amused.

Encouraging News

Marilu called me this morning to inform me that Lucas's bilirubin count is now down to 270. Last night's last count was around 327 so that's a nice big drop. Considering it was 415 before the light treatment started, we're definitely seeing some good progress. She says Lucas has also been more active today, and when she got a chance to breastfeed him he was alert and active throughout, rather than falling asleep continuously as he did before. The doctors are planning to keep him on the lights for one more day and night, but if his bilirubins continue to drop at the rate they are now, he should be coming home tomorrow. So it's definitely a much happier morning than yesterday.

I'm going to upload a bunch of pictures to the web albums later, once I get back from the hospital, but for now, here's a couple from last night. The first was a picture I got of him holding up his bottle later in the night, similar to the scene I described in the last entry.


The second picture would be Lucas's entry if there was ever a contest for most miserable baby ever. In light of recent good news, it's kind of amusing in a "aww, how pathetic" way, if that makes any sense at all.


UPDATE! While typing this entry up, Marilu called to let me know that the doctor told her that Lucas's progress has been so good that there's a chance he may even be coming home today. More on that when I know more.

Long Day

Well, this sure hasn't been one of the better days I've had in recent memory. We took Lucas to the children's hospital around 9 or so this morning and had them take blood to check his bilirubin level (congrats to those who recognized the 'midichlorian' Star Wars reference last post), which as I mentioned previously, is what helps indicate how bad a baby's jaundice is. After that, we headed home, expecting to hear from our family doctor by the end of the day since the hospital was forwarding the results to her.

Well, it's never good news when the doctor has left you a voice mail before you even get home asking you to call her ASAP. It turns out Lucas's bilirubin count was up to 375, a pretty massive increase over the 220 and 209 measurements from Monday. I called back and our doctor told us to head straight back to the hospital and go to the emergency room since he very likely needed some kind of treatment.

Marilu took it pretty hard as her emotions have been a roller coaster over this past week. I even had a moment where I just about lost it. I was buckling Lucas into his car seat and he looked up at me with his wide, innocent eyes, and I just felt so goddamn helpless. No matter how "common" jaundice or any other typical childhood ailment supposedly is, when it's your baby that's suffering, there's nothing common about it at all. You try to tell yourself, "It's no big deal. We'll go in and get him fixed right up," but in the back of your mind is that nagging thought that your child might be the 1 in 10000 whose symptom is part of a more deadly problem.

I knew I loved Lucas already, but it wasn't until that moment where I pretty much cried it out for about 20 seconds, just me and my little boy, that I realized just how deep my love for my child goes. Hell, I've had to stop writing twice over the last two paragaphs to wipe away tears. That little guy definitely has my heart.

Anyway, enough mushiness for now. We went back to the hospital, they measured his bilirubins again, and they were in the low 400s so Lucas has been admitted. At the moment, they have him in an incubator-looking thing with three different types of lights (think UV ones from a tanning bed) on him. This is the most common treatment for jaundice and we've been told by all the nurses and doctors that there isn't anything to worry about and that this will more than likely fix him up after a day or two of light treatment. Still, you can't help but have those nagging thoughts that I mentioned earlier. I know I have to be strong for Marilu since her hormones are still on overdrive in the aftermath of birth, and I'm doing my best, but it's just plain tough, especially when you throw in the complete lack of sleep.

Marilu is planning to stay overnight with Lucas, and I'll be heading back shortly, with plans to be there until late evening, probably midnight or so. I'll then return early morning, and we'll likely be there all day with him. I'd probably stay overnight but it's not a private room, and there's not really any room for two people, unfortunately.

I forgot to bring home the camera, since obviously my mind wasn't too focused earlier, but I did take a couple of photos that I'll try and upload tomorrow. We just barely missed the highlight of the visit on film (do we still refer to digital cameras as "film"?), but I'll describe it since it gave us a good laugh, something that was in short supply today.

Since Lucas can't breastfeed very easily, Marilu elected to pump some breastmilk earlier and we then fed it to him by bottle. I don't know if I've mentioned it previously, but Lucas loves to flail his arms around and almost always has them up by his head when he is lying down. Well, while I was holding the bottle at a 45 degree angle to his mouth (as he lay on his back), Lucas moved his hands in such a way that he was basically holding up the bottle himself. I let go and started laughing as it was hilarious to see this little 6 lb, 15 oz baby holding up a bottle that was a 1/3 of his size. We got a shot of it from the top, but unfortunately he shifted just as we went for the profile shot. Oh well, it was good for a smile then and now.

We should have the next batch of bilirubin counts around 11 PM tonight. I'll be back at the hospital so I won't be able to update until much later or even tomorrow, but please keep Lucas in your thoughts. As soon as I can, I'll post whatever news I can.

Medical Update

Today was Lucas's first visit to our family doctor. Overall, everything went well. In particular, his weight is starting to increase, which is always good news. His birth weight was 7 lbs, 3 oz, but by the time we'd left the hospital, it had dropped to 6 lbs, 9 oz. This is pretty common since babies have to get used to manually feeding and not just having everything served right to them (if one wants to imagine a thick veiny cord as a waitress). Anyway, his weight earlier tonight was back up to 6 lbs, 15 oz, so he's apparently getting the hang of the whole breast chomping thing.

His circumcision is still looking pretty nasty, but it's definitely better than it was the day the doctor went a-snipping. Man, that was an uncomfortable sight. I have no idea whatsoever how grown men can get that done as adults. *shudder*

The only health concern we currently have is that Lucas looks a little more jaundiced than he ought to be. This ties in with the fact that he's very lethargic when it comes to breastfeeding. Typically, he'll start feeding, and within a few minutes, he is almost asleep and has to be prodded to continue. The doctor wrote us up a referral to get his (some medical term that I've already forgotten...let's call them "midichlorians" for now) checked tomorrow in order to determine his "jaundice level." Worst case scenario, we might have to leave him at the hospital for the night, and they'll put him under the lights that magically cure jaundice or some such thing. Marilu and I are definitely not high on that idea since it means being away from our little mutant plus it may screw up his breastfeeding as they'll likely give him formula. Anyway, we'll know more in the morning since we're bringing him to the children's hospital to do the jaundice test.

Other than that, he's a healthy baby boy, who is spending all his free time sleeping, eating, and being gassy. Oh, that reminds me, I was able to finagle my way out of changing a poop-filled diaper until today, when I had the "privilege" of changing two of them. I'll admit it wasn't quite as bad as I expected, but I don't foresee a career change to "diaper changer" anytime in the near future.

Our future prize fighter

Here's the video version of yesterday's duck hoodie pic:

http://picasaweb.google.com/justdeal/Lucas06192007/photo#5078178335341720418

Photo Albums

I finally got around to uploading all of the Lucas pictures from the past few days to some Web photo albums using Google's own Picasa. If you haven't heard of this program, it's worth checking out since it gives you a lot of options for organizing pictures on your computer and pretty much one-click uploading of entire sets of photos to the Web. There may be better things out there, but Picasa is free and it does what I need easily. And no, I don't work for Google. :)

The other nice thing about Picasa's web upload tool is that it allowed me to bring over the videos as well. Thanks to those of you who suggested PhotoBucket though. If I ever run out of space, I may check that out as well.

Here's a link to what I think is probably one of the best videos of the bunch. Admittedly, I'm biased, but if you don't think what happens about halfway through is about the cutest thing you see today, then you have no soul. Check it out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/justdeal/Lucas06172007/photo#5078003873770155218

To see the rest of the scads of photos and videos I've taken over the last several days, check out any of the Lucas photo albums at http://picasaweb.google.com/justdeal/

If you have any problems viewing any of these links, please let me know. Enjoy!

Going Home

I already mentioned in the last post that we headed home yesterday afternoon, but now you're probably getting antsy for new photos. Well, your wish is my command!

Lucas' very first outfit


In the carseat, ready for the trip home from the hospital


Content with mommy in his first pair of PJs (that were a tad snug)


Not so thrilled with Daddy


Lucas with his first friend, Logan


Grammy Deal (hmm, I don't know if I like that better than grandma, mom) holding Lucas for the first time


Lucas did great during his first "shower" at home where we just washed his head


Marilu observed that this little duck hoodie makes Lucas look like the world's least intimidating boxer


With my mom around, we finally have someone to get more group shots of the 3 of us


Finally, the bassinet/change table/future play yard thingamajig that Lucas is currently sleeping in. This picture was taken about 20 minutes ago so it's toasty fresh.

Home Sweet Home

Well, we're finally home, and now the real fun begins, I suppose. I kind of wish our bed came with one of those little hospital buzzers that brings the nurses, but alas, we're no Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes...even if our baby is way damn cuter.

We're just settling in, after having a nice, healthy Quizno's dinner (sarcasm off), and Marilu is about to feed Lucas. For those of you who care (and I know there is at least one of you out there...Candace), Marilu is breastfeeding, so no bottles here, at least for a while. It's still a bit trying, but both mom and Lucas are getting better at it with each feeding.

Speaking of moms, mine flies in from Massachusetts tomorrow morning so that will be the next best thing to nurses. Heck, maybe even better, since she not only is the voice of experience, but she cooks too! Marilu's mom is still teaching school, but she'll be down next Monday so we should have plenty of help in the first month.

If I get a chance, I'll be back on later to post more pics. In the meantime, does anyone out there know a decent way to host videos on the Net? I have a couple of really cute videos I wanted to show on here, but they are 40-50 MB and Blogger won't let me upload them. The only thing I can think of is YouTube, but I'm not real keen on that since I want it a little more private. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas, give me a shout.

Monday afternoon pics

It looks like Marilu and Lucas may be in the hospital for one more night. Lucas is slightly jaundiced, which probably explains why he is sleepy (which also explains his weight loss) so they are going to re-evaluate him around dinner time to determine whether he'll stay there until tomorrow. Apparently, this is a pretty common thing for babies so it's nothing we're getting too worried about. Everything else about him is fine so far, so I don't see any reason for my natural hypochondria to surface anytime soon. The fact that he's breast feeding better today than he did yesterday is more good news.

Also, Lucas also got circumcised today. Ouch. I definitely wanted to get it done, but man, that was a painful sight the first time we changed him after the procedure. Once again, ouch.

So here's a couple more pics from this afternoon...

First off, Lucas' very first "bed"


On to the flowers Marilu's family ordered for her. They definitely helped brighten the room.


And finally, a nice shot of mom making goofy faces at baby.

One for the morning

I think the shirt pretty much says it all...

More Pictures

A bunch of pictures from the last 24 hours...

Lucas doesn't have any aunts (yet, until one gets married into one of our families) so Marilu's cousin Tanya has become "Auntie Tanya"




Check out how much hair this kid has already!




Oh, the horror of being a day old...




It's insane how many pictures it took to get a good one with his eyes open.




Finally, a couple with Marilu and I.

Some more photos

Quick entry here since I'm headed back to the hospital shortly. I had a relatively long sleep last night (compared to the night before), as I got home around 2:00, was in bed by 2:45 and then slept until a few minutes ago, at 8:40ish. Since Marilu wants me to get there pronto so she can take a shower, here's just a couple of pictures that were taken last night.

The news you've been waiting for...

It's a BOY!!!

After many trying and tiring hours, Lucas Mark Deal found his way into the world at 10:33 AM on June 16, 2007 (edit: whoops, not July...guess I was more tired than I thought during the first draft of this!). Even though he was 2 weeks early, he came in at a relatively good-sized 7 lbs, 3 ounces. Both mom and baby are currently doing well at the hospital, and I've come home for a brief break to update this blog and take a short nap on something other than a hospital chair. I'm sure I'll have more pictures and news later, but for now here's some pictures of Lucas and the proud parents after he and Marilu both cleaned up a bit.

Stop me if you've heard this one before

Off to the hospital...again.

What's in a name?

For those of you reading the comments to these blog entries, you may have seen this gem from the lovely Marissa a few entries down:

So I guess the question that will be on everyone's mind tomorrow & the next day will be (drum roll please...) "Marilu & Justin: Deal? or No Deal?"

I'll have you know that this isn't the first time a game show has crossed paths with a Deal baby. Way back when, my mom told me about the time she and my dad almost went on the game show "Let's Make a Deal." For those of you unfamiliar with the show, audience members would dress up in zany costumes to try and get called on stage to make a deal and win some money. Well, if I have the story right, my parents were going to cover themselves with pictures of me and carry a sign saying, "We made a Deal!" Thankfully, they thought better of it, and I don't have to live down the shameful memory, other than as a story of what could have been.

Speaking of shame, Marilu felt that if I were going to post less-than-flattering pictures of her from the final days of the pregnancy, it was only fair that I show my less gorgeous side (yeah, I know it's hard to believe there is a side of me that isn't Brad Pitt-like).

So without further adieu, a picture of me from about a week or two ago where I combed all my curly hair up for maximum volume. Keep in mind I haven't cut my hair since Decemeber, hence the poof.


My poor child. What an embarrassment I'm gonna be. :)

Fer crying out loud

Ok, no more predictions or guesses from me since I'm obviously no baby soothsayer. We're back home again, until about 10 PM this time, with the same deal as before. They added more of whatever goop it is they put inside to speed the process up, monitored her for about 2 1/2 hours, and then sent us on our way. Presumably, we'll continue this dance a couple more times until Marilu's water breaks on its own or the doctors just gets tired of waiting and manually take care of that process themselves. For now, we sit and wait. She'll probably nap this time and I'll kill time one way or another, probably in front of the TV.

The latest info

We went in to the hospital at 7:30 this morning so they could do some more prodding and monitoring of Marilu. It was pretty much already decided that she'd be induced today so that was more just going through the motions than anything else.

Eventually, they used some 6-hr gel for the induction (not sure if that's the right use of that word, but you get the idea) and then sent us on our way. We can now rest at home until 2:30 PM, at which point we return to the hospital, presumably for good, until the baby finally arrives. Mind you, if Marilu's water breaks or she starts getting strong contractions, we have to head back, but for now, we're just hanging out and waiting. Marilu is watching "So You Think You Can Dance?" and I plan on napping a bit.

I know I've said this before, but this is probably the last time you'll hear from me before I have big news (and pictures!). Though I'm sure the baby would be more than happy to prove me wrong once again. :)

Tale of a belly

Ok, I promised some belly shots from throughout Marilu's pregnancy so here goes. The first comes from Nov 25, or about a month and a half into it.


The next one is March 4 (5 months-ish)...


Almost 2 months later, on April 28, 2007


And this gem from June 8 shows how her silly 8-month (and change) stomach fares against one that has been lovingly nurtured with Guinness for over a decade and a half now.

And the plot changes yet again

This may come as a surprise, but the whole pregnancy thing isn't glamorous. Yeah, shocking, huh? In one of her less glamorous moments during the latter stages of the pregnancy, Marilu had to collect her urine for a 24-hour period so it could be analyzed for its protein level. Apparently, a high level of protein indicates that there is stress on her kidneys by something or another, and basically, this is not something that is desired by the medical staff. (The More You Know...)

So the resident obstetrician (I think I got that right...feel free to correct me if that's like the elbow doctor or some type of large flightless bird) called us around 8 or so to let us know that Marilu's Bucket O' Pee contained enough protein that it makes it wise to induce tomorrow morning. As I mentioned earlier, we were already planning to head that way for another blood pressure test; now it looks like our stay will be a wee bit longer.

This whole late pregnancy thing is starting to remind me of New England weather. If you don't like it, just wait 15 minutes and everything will be different. At this point, I guess we'll have a baby within the next 24-48 hours. If things change, y'all will be amongst the first to know. In the meantime, here's a picture of Marilu from today's stress test. Doesn't she look like she's having a blast?

Not just yet

So we're back from the hospital, and no baby yet. Apparently, the pills they had Marilu take yesterday afternoon and this morning worked and her blood pressure dropped quite a bit. Yesterday, it was 157/98 and today the two readings were something over 88 and then something over 77 (I guess the lower number is the important one?).

As a result, the doctor told us to head home. He wants her to stop taking the blood pressure pills and then we'll return in the morning (bright and early at 7:30) and have it checked again. I'm not sure I understand the logic, but if it's back up, that just means the pills are masking the high blood pressure. But isn't that the point of the pills to keep it down? Eh, I'm just a caveman, and I don't understand your fancy electronic equipment and medical jargon.

The long and short of it is that if her blood pressure goes back up, she'll likely be induced. If not, we wait a few more days. According to the doctor she sees each week, she'll probably be induced on Tuesday at the latest, regardless of what is going on with her arteries and veins. So odds are we'll have a baby this time next week.

I'm going to try and transfer some pics from her PC to mine later tonight so you can see some more belly shots and whatever else I can find. I even have some where we compare both of our bellies. I'm sure very few of you realize I'm in my 34th trimester.

Heading to the hospital

Heading off to the hospital now. If Marilu's blood pressure is under control, I'll probably post something tonight. If not, then the next time you hear from me, well, there may be lots of pictures. :)

Later!

The last belly shot (probably)

I eventually plan to show all the belly shots we've taken over the course of Marilu's pregnancy (not nearly enough, mind you), but for now, here's one we took this past weekend. With the induction possibly coming tomorrow night, this may be the last shot of the belly before it deflates a tad. Enjoy!

Boy Names

In a nutshell, we have no idea what we're gonna name the little mutant if it's a boy. We've gone through several different ideas since the beginning, but each one has fallen out of favor for one reason or another. Off the top of my head, here's a chronological list of some of the top ones:

• Alexander
• Marcus
• Jason
  
• Jeremy
• Ryan

The latest one that's sticking in Marilu's head is Lucas. I'm pretty much at the point where I almost hope it's a girl solely because I don't want to decide on a damn boy's name! However, I get the feeling it's gonna come down to one of those moments where we see the baby and come up with the name on the spot. If it's a boy, mind you, since Raya is locked in for the girl (as mentioned in a previous entry).

On an amusing note, I brainstormed a bunch of "great" boy names for our kid the other day, and wrote each one down in Notepad as I listed them off to Marilu. I don't think she was high on most of them. I can't imagine why. Check out the list for yourself. Who in their right mind wouldn't want a Paco of their very own?

• Paco Deal
• Wyatt Deal
• Toblerone Deal
• Lukas Deal
• Lucas Deal
• Adolph Deal
• Martin Luther Deal
• Markus Deal
• Marcus Deal
• Jason Deal
• Justin Deal Jr.
• Justin Deal II
• Justin Deal 2
• Lacuna Deal
• Mega Deal
• Lawrence Deal
• Barry Deal
• Levon Deal
• Tito Deal
• Tiki Deal
• Peerless Deal
• Peyton Deal
• Dale Deal
• Dean Deal
• Dick Deal
• Neal Deal
• Riel Deal
• Biggy Deal
• Osama Deal
• Bush Deal
• Salmon Deal
• Ryan Deal
• Alexander Deal
• Jacob Deal
• Tony Deal
• Harold Deal
• Heal Deal
• Guinness Deal
• Spaten Deal
• Wulfgar Deal
• Wolf Deal

I can just imagine the day our future boy reads this post and realizes he was a mere whim away from being named Salmon.

The end is in sight

Well, it looks like the big day may be coming sooner rather than later. As I probably already mentioned, Marilu was put on bedrest about a week and a half ago. This past Saturday, we had an appointment at the hospital where they checked her blood pressure and the baby's heart beat, and hers was still elevated but not horribly so.

So today, she went in for her weekly appointment, and her blood pressure had risen to 157/98 or something high like that. Back to the hospital for another stress test. When all was said and done, the doctor was trying to decide whether to induce her right then and there. She finally decided to let Marilu go, but she has to return tomorrow to have her blood pressure checked again. If it's still high, they'll probably induce her tomorrow night.

So obviously I'm a bit nervous. They say you're never ready, and although I probably wouldn't be any more ready on her official due date on the 29th, at least it was a little more time to put it off. But you do what you gotta do, and if it's going to be healthier for her to pop the little squirt out in the next couple of days, then so be it.

She is in pretty good spirits, although she too is nervous. Some of her teacher friends, Heidi and Nicole, are over right now, having brought over the gifts from a school shower she unfortunately missed today due to the complications. That's good since it's helping keep her mind off of things and both of them are mothers (Heidi about to have #2 in September).

I have a feeling tonight will be a fairly restless night for both of us, but at least the end is now most definitely in sight. If everything blows over tomorrow, I'll update tomorrow night. However, if Baby Deal decides to make his/her appearance, then I'll update next time I'm able to make it to the computer.

Wish us luck!

On the topic of names (the female version)

Much to my chagrin, Marilu decided against learning the sex of the baby during the ultrasound. I found this idea preposterous since I assumed everyone found that out early on, but it's actually not that uncommon up here. Since I'm not the one carrying the baby around for nine months, my opinion is decidedly less important, so we aren't going to know whether it's a boy or a girl until the moment it pops out.

As a result, we've had to come up with both a boy name and a girl name. The latter was easy; the former, eh, not so much.

The Girl Name
Several years ago, probably the mid-1990s, I was listening to a CD by the heavy metal band Slayer (some might even call them death or speed metal). At some point, I was flipping through the CD insert, and I noticed the names of the band members. The lead singer's name was Tom Araya, and it immediately occurred to me that Araya was a really cool name. I've always been fond of 'A' names for girls, and that one fit the bill. Of course, I was years away from getting married, let alone having a kid, so it was just something I filed away in the bank of my head.

Well, fast forward several years, and Marilu goes and gets herself pregnant (I may have had something to do with it). I'd already mentioned the name Araya in the past, and while she wasn't totally against it, I knew it wasn't her first choice. Her biggest worry, as a math teacher, was that people would pronounce it like the word "area".

After a bit of discussion, we finally thought, "What about dropping the first letter?" And thus, Raya, our choice for a female name, was born. Ever since we decided it, we've never looked back and neither of us have any regrets. In case you're wondering, the pronounciation will be RAY-uh, not RYE-uh. I could see some people getting it mixed up with Maya, but I think it's unique enough that people should be able to figure it out on their own.

Interestingly enough, only a few weeks after we decided on the name, we were watching the show Smallville, and young Clark Kent meets up with a Kryptonian named Raya (pronounced the Maya way). I thought that was kind of nifty.

Anyway, our goal was to pick something that was mostly unique but not completely off the wall (Apple, anyone?), and I think we succeeded. Tomorrow, I'll talk about the less decisive journey the boy's name has made.

The latest info

Ok, it's been way too long since I update, but now that we're within a month from the expected due date (June 29), I'm determined to spend the time chronicling the days leading to the birth. I hope to include some new pictures soon, and I would have tonight, but unfortunately, Marilu downloaded all the pics from the camera to her PC and then removed them from the camera. Since I don't have a portable USB drive (or whatever they are called) handy, and I have no idea how to connect 2 PCs to share info, I'll have to do it tomorrow, when I can find a drive.

Anyway, enough about the behind-the-scenes stuff. I wanted to give a quick update before going to bed. This past Monday (June , 2007), Marilu was put on bedrest by her doctor due to high blood pressure. Apparently, this is a very common thing so there's no reason to worry. In fact, the doctor said that if Marilu worked an office job, she could probably continue working. However, being a high school teacher is supposedly a little more stressful. Can't imagine why. :)

Not surprisingly, Marilu was disappointed since she wanted to reach June 15, which would have been the last day of exams for her classes. Isn't she dedicated? Myself, I stay home from work if I have the slightest of headaches. One of us apparently loves their job more than the other.

She was a little bored yesterday, but she kept herself busy today (perhaps a little too busy given her current condition) and was in a much better mood when she picked me up from work. I told her that if she wanted to be truly productive, she could sit in front of the computer and farm gold and other items for one of my characters in the computer game World of Warcraft, but I don't think she's THAT bored yet. Oh well, her loss.

Ok, it's 1 in the morning so I better run along. More tomorrow, including information on baby names!