3rd Trimester Archives - The 40YrOldDad The 40YrOldDad

December 12

MY DIY CO-SLEEPER

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 0-6 months, 3rd Trimester, Gadgets, The Baby Years
97 Comments

12
DEC

After Mumma’s Caesarian with little Alice, it’s six weeks of recovery with no driving, no lifting anything heavier than the baby (lucky it wasn’t me or I’d have a hard time going to the bathroom, if I wasn’t allowed to lift anything heavier than a baby) 😉, and definitely no hanky-panky.

Which is why my eyebrows flew off my head when Mumma mentioned a threesome. What she actually meant was three of us sharing the bed, due to the fact that Alice is a brilliant sleeper during the day, but at night, just wants to be held. Kind of like my lonely single years during the late 90’s.

But co-sleeping with the baby in the bed can lead to all kinds of issues such as overheating or a risk of waking up with a baby pancake in between you (ie: my personal greatest fear), not to mention being a highly effective cock-blocker, and is somewhat frowned upon by the SIDS people.

So we decided to put the baby basinet beside the bed instead. Problem with that is it’s a good Danny Devito size taller than our bed, meaning Mumma has to use her tummy muscles to get up out of bed and reach up and over into the basinet to pick Alice up, which is against all the rules for a healthy recovery. (more…)
November 10

ONE SLEEP TO GO

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 3rd Trimester, In the Womb, The Baby Years
6 Comments

10
NOV

Only one sleep to go until…

40YrOldDad Version 2.0

Our final day of ‘treesome’.

Wow, can it really be true? I feel like we’ve both been so busy; Mumma with work and me with going back to Uni, that the time has suddenly crept up behind us and before we knew it, we’re staring right down the barrel of baby #2 about to enter our lives. It seems crazy. Are we crazy? I think we are (or at the very least, a teensy bit delirious).

And the fact that I’ve been a dad for 2 and a half years now should give me a quiet sense of confidence, but the truth is, washing little girls clothes in the washing machine freaked me out a bit. And when we were shopping in Target, we strolled past the girl section where Mumma kindly pointed out the little bras and knickers hanging on the racks, and indicated that’s something we’ll have to get used to one day.

Holy crap!

Never-ever-ever in my whole thought process of being a new dad to a little girl did the thought ever cross my mind that one day we’d have to go bra shopping!

What-da-f#*k, Mumma? You’re weirding me out!

(more…)
September 4

THE NIGHT I CRIED AT MY DAUGHTER’S WEDDING

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 3rd Trimester, D-scoveries, In the Womb
2 Comments

4
SEP

Mumma and I snuggled on the couch in a rare opportune moment of synchronised ‘free-time’ from our busy schedules. Indy was safely snoozing in bed so we had a few hours to kill, and we took in a movie with Kevin Costner who had ‘3 Days to Kill’.

Kevin Costner plays an ex-CIA agent who missed out on seeing his daughter grow up, and when he finally retired to spend more time with his family and get to know his daughter again, he’s forced back into one last case. Turns out he’s also dying of an inoperable brain tumour, and the CIA operative who coerced him back in, has an experimental drug that keeps him alive that he needs to keep topping up. The whole movie takes place over a 6 month period, which, if you remember the title of the film, makes perfect sense, right? — NOT!!

Which is one of several things that made this movie just…gawd awful. The only good thing about it, was Kevin Costner. It was as if he knew he was in a really awful film and knew the dialogue was really terrible, and the direction appalling, so just refused to say anything ‘corny’ or ‘on-the-nose’ like every other character did, and just did his own thing. The reason I bring all this up is because even though it was probably one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, something unbelievably unexpected happened, right in the middle of watching it.

There’s a scene in which Kevin Costner reconnects with his estranged daughter and teaches her to dance in preparation for her prom. A father and his daughter slow two-stepping together and then it happened… (more…)
July 6

PAINTING THE BABY’S WOMB: REVEALED

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 3rd Trimester, In the Womb, The Baby Years
6 Comments

6
JUL

For those of you who’ve been tuning in, if you remember about 7 weeks ago during Week 34, a friend organised a lovely face-paint artist to come and create a mural on the largest blank space we had available at home…my wife’s pregnant belly.

And because our schnitzel’s actual name is depicted in the design, we had to protect his identity by blurring it out. Unfortunately, nobody was even close with their guesses as to the what the actual design was.

However, all will be revealed…

Next Week!

I kid, I kid!!

Seriously, it gives me great honour to present to you, (now that he’s finally come out of his womb…ah, room)…the wonderful uncensored belly mural featuring our new son… (more…)
July 5

INDY-PENDENCE DAY!

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 0-6 months, 3rd Trimester, In the Womb, The Baby Years
4 Comments

5
JUL

It is with enormous pride and unbridled love and appreciation that we FINALLY present to the world, our miraculous SON…

Indy Wayan Bechtold

Born today, July 5th @ 7:26pm

Weighing 8lbs13oz or 4kg bang on the knocker…(thanks McPuddingPop, you were way off!)

Both mother and baby are doing very well. Daddy needs a spatula to peel himself off the ceiling.

Thank you so much to all our family, friends and strangers all around the world who have been touched by our story and flooded us with love, support and best wishes along every step of this incredible journey. And an extra special thank you to the amazing hospital and midwife staff for helping to bring little Indy into our world and into our hearts.

I feel like he has been one of the most anticipated arrivals on the planet, and I can hardly believe he’s here!

My biggest thank you of all, goes out to the most amazing woman I’ve ever met in my entire life. Your continued love, strength, passion, thoughtfulness, guidance, support and belief in me and our desire to be the Love of the Century, inspires me every day. How did I get so lucky as to wake up every morning to that gorgeous heart-shaped smile and soft beautiful eyes. You are the spark that ignites my heart that makes me feel like the most special man on the entire planet. I just wish I could remember your name… (more…)
July 5

LOST VS SCHNITZEL

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 3rd Trimester, In the Womb, Thoughts
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5
JUL

D-Day+11…(and counting).

Well, you wouldn’t read about it, except…you already are.

The final conclusion to the ongoing schnitzel saga…is being strung out longer than the final episode of LOST.

I mean, come on…we all want to know…

What’s in that damn hatch?

Who’s behind all this?

What in the hell is going on??!!

Even with a tiny Jack Shephard and John Locke on board to lend a hand, we’re still none the wiser.

It’s just like the end of each LOST episode. At last…we’re finally getting the answers we’re looking for. And that answer is…

Revealed next episode…NOOOOOOO!!!

And just so everyone’s up to speed… (more…)
July 4

BREAK IN TRANSMISSION

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 3rd Trimester, In the Womb
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4
JUL

D-Day+10…(no more counting…please?).

We apologise for this unexpected break in transmission BUT…

We’re off to see the Wizard…

We will return to your regular scheduled program once we get this little bubba out…
July 3

NO ROOM AT THE INN

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 3rd Trimester, In the Womb, Thoughts
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3
JUL

D-Day+9…(and counting).

All geared up and nowhere to go. Clearly, the hospital maternity ward and our little schnitzel know nothing about the musings of one John ‘Hannibal’ Smith (aka the leader of TV’s smash 80’s action series, The A-Team), and his infamous mantra…

“I love it when a plan comes together.”

Because so far, nothing is going to plan. Despite already being 9 days overdue, we thought we finally had the ball rolling when we were booked in for an induction today at 2pm. Early this morning, we got a call that we had to be bumped back to 6pm. Okay…no biggie. Then, a couple hours before heading in, we get another call informing us of a sudden emergency birthing priority (that’s code for: We don’t want to miss the next epiosde of “Offspring”), and to which, also means…

“There’s no room at the Inn.”

It’s a familiar story that goes waaaay back, (I think it was an episode of The Brady Bunch). A “young” (ahem) pregnant couple turned away at their moment of need. My wife says it’s because of the emergency, but I suspect it’s because they didn’t believe she was a virgin. That, and the Three Wise Guys (re: Stooges) DVD under my arm, did us no favors (what am I supposed to watch while all this is going on?). And the donkey we rode up on, did nothing to sweeten the deal or motion our case further. Not quite sure who the bigger “ass” was in the end…(no need to comment, my love). (more…)
July 2

MARCHING ORDERS

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 3rd Trimester, In the Womb, Thoughts
2 Comments

2
JUL

D-Day+8…(and counting).

After yesterday’s Inside Scoop, we fully expected to be holding a little schnitzel in our arms by now, but he obviously has more important things on his mind. Like driving us out of our minds with all this waiting…waiting…waiting. It’s pretty exhausting and we haven’t even started yet!

But after a quick meeting with the Plumbing Doctor today…

Not only did we get a 10% discount off checking her faucets and replacing all our washers, but we’ve also been given the AOK to come into the hospital tomorrow and finally get things underway.

The plan is, to head in during the afternoon. Face a couple of procedural steps that need to be monitored overnight and then…all things going to plan (good luck), we should be meeting our little bloke on Wednesday. Hospital regulations mean I have to leave my love alone in the capable midwives hands overnight, while I head home and spend my evening alone, nervously chewing the furniture and wearing a track in the carpet, hoping everything goes to plan.

(more…)
July 1

INTERNAL AFFAIRS

AUTHOR: 40YrOldDad // CATEGORY: 3rd Trimester, In the Womb, Thoughts
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1
JUL

So, we just got back from the CTG Monitoring and we’re…all good.

Schnitzel aced the exam (to be expected), but it was a little unsettling to watch. If you examine the pics below, you’ll see my lovely wife looks like she was in fact being interrogated by the KGB (perhaps my thoughts CAN manifest into reality?…Better watch what I think about in future).

Either that, or she looks like a contestant on a sadistic medical game show version of Spicks and Specks. Only every time she presses the buzzer, Adam Hills gives her an electric shock! But just so her mother doesn’t have a cardiac arrest thinking she’s the subject of some kind of euthanasia experiment, all this machine does is monitor the baby’s heart rate, and every time momma feels the baby move, she presses the buzzer…(and administers a tiny electrical shock…NO…a handful of feeding pellets drops from the ceiling…NO…she receives a telegram from a Czech Republican man in Prague that simply reads…CUT IT OUT). (more…)