did someone say sex?

A popular question when people find out we are expecting is: Are you going to find out the sex of the baby ahead of time? For the longest time, before we ever thought about having a baby, it just seemed like a no-brainer to me that we would find out beforehand, so that we could have everything bought ahead of time, and be color- coordinated, etc. But a few years ago when i asked a friend of mine whose wife was having a baby the same question, he gave me an answer that the more it sunk in, the more it resonated with me. He said, “John, there are so few real surprises in life that i cant imagine ruining the best one.” Id like to say that it hit me right at that moment what a profound answer that was, but it really didnt sink in until days or even weeks afterward. The more i thought about it, it suddenly became a no-brainer again. Why on earth would i want to know ahead of time? So that i know what color of clothes to buy? In a world where stores are putting out their Christmas stock the week after halloween, it feels refreshing to know that we wont know the sex of our baby until we have it, until we are holding it in our arms. And if our new baby has to spend the first few months of its life wearing plaid because no one knew what color to buy, thats a risk we are willing to take.

and knowing is half the battle.

Here are some random facts that youre almost certain not to care about unless you are pregnant:

1. In 1970 the average age for a first-time mother was about 21, but in today’s world the age is 25-29.

2. The average weight gain for expecting mothers in the U.S. was around 30 pounds during their pregnancy.

3. The number of multiple births has increased by more than 400 percent, yes, that’s right, 400 percent over the last 20 years.

4. Boy babies outnumber girl babies, this ratio has stayed the same over the last 6 decades.

5. Tuesday is the most popular day for babies making their arrival in the world, with Saturday being the least busiest day of the week.

parenting: not as hard as you think!

And just about the time you become overwhelmed with uncertainty about being a parent, and start second guessing your ability to raise a child, you see something like this, and suddenly you dont feel so bad. Does Hot Topic have a baby registry? I almost waited to post this on Halloween, but i think that takes away from the realism of this picture. That, and i have a feeling it wasnt taken on Halloween.

 

music, baby!

Theres an interesting article over at WebMD about music and infants. Apparently there was a study that showed playing the nocturnes of Chopin helped restless babies sleep. This would help explain how Chopin has managed to keep the top spot on the Billboard 100 since the 19th century, the 2nd longest run in history after Pink Floyds “Dark Side of the Moon.” But seriously, who is doing these studies, and how is it that in 129 years of recorded sound  the only music they mention  is Chopin? Nothing against Frederic, but throw me a bone here, could we maybe try Wilco or Radiohead the next time we run this experiment? After all, Radiohead put out a CD called “Kid A“, surely we could at least give them a shot.