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What happens when a Tummy Monster stops being in a tummy and starts being real? Welcome to The X Spot. Go here to read all about how Alexander Beckett Howell came into being and where he goes from there. Of course, that site will be under construction for a bit (hard to make a new website AND care for Mom and newborn), so to mollify his adoring public, here are some pictures from the Monster's first day of life. A truly happy new years to all!

Stef, just prior to going to hospital.

Oh, hai. I'm a baybee.

Proof of Xander's largess (8 lbs, 6 oz).
Please note full (misshapen) head of hair.

= happyprideloveexhaustion

Goodnight, my minions.

Sox Sweep Rox In Series

I'm sorry the Monster missed it, but it was still awesome. Is it too late to add "Lowell", "Jacoby", "Lester" or "Beckett" as a possible middle name for the Monster? Alexander Beckett Howell isn't actually too bad, IMHO.

Kicky McGee

So for a while, Stef was telling me she could feel the Monster kick around in her belly. Every once in a while she'd grab my hand and excitedly put it on her belly, amazed that I could not feel him at all. He apparently moves more (or, at least) Stef can feel him move around more) when (i) Stef is being less active, and/or (ii) post Breyer's chocolate ice cream binge (a now daily occurrence for Stef), so quite often a fair part of the night would be her going "oh!" and grabbing my hand, me shaking my head, and her looking disappointed and bewildered.

And then, a few days ago, the Monster grew up enough so that I could feel him kick. And kick. And kick. And kick. And kick. Basically what I'm saying is: the Monster's an active little guy.

It's a surreal experience that is hard to put into words, feeling your first child move around inside your wife like some kind of parasitic alien creature. I can only imagine it freaks Stef out slightly more than me, if only because she feels it all the time. It also makes me proud for some reason, and very excited. I mean, feeling the Monster kick pretty much makes him that much more of a reality.

Another Monster Friend: Cousin Special Edition

Hunter James Sicard, a.k.a. "Ribs", born September 12, 2007, at 9:47 PM; weighing in at 7 lbs, 3 oz and measuring 20 inches. The Monster has a cousin, and our family is now plus one. Happy (Jewish) New Year, indeed.

Boy Oh Boy

This morning, Stefanie and I visited Rhode Island Hospital's Women & Infants Prenatal Diagnostics Center ("conveniently" located as far from the spot we parked and through as much construction as possible for a building in the same complex), so that we could get a good look at the Monster. I mean, it's one thing to read about how big the Monster should hypothetically be, and another thing entirely to, you know, see it for yourselves. After a long walk and some quick "genetic counseling" (which basically consists of a young MD collecting a somewhat lackadaisical family medical history) Stefanie's belly was slimed, and pictures of the Monster were taken by Ultrasound (Level II, in case you're curious). What you see above is a still from our apparently hyper-active fetus. The technician called the Monster a "smart alec", because he kept moving away from the camera, dancing the placenta cha-cha and sucking his thumbs the whole time.

Yeah, that's right. He. His. The Monster has boy parts. And while news of the Monster's gender doesn't make us happy or unhappy in and of itself, it does, as Stef said, "make the whole pregnancy-thing more concrete in our heads."

In related news, 67% of you got our first poll totally wrong. You're terrible at this. See if you can do better with the next poll. See next post for further details.

News that did make us happy when we got it this morning was that the Monster was, as far as the technician and the OB doing an echo-cardiagram could tell, perfectly healthy and within all tolerances for size and shape. It also looks like the due date is what we thought it was. And that's all the news for now.

BREAKING NEWS: Grandparents Spoil Baby, Parents

For my 30th birthday, the Tummy Monster's paternal grandparents came up to visit us and share the love. We had a very hectic but very nice weekend, wherein much spoiling was done of both parents and the Monster, and much yummy food was consumed (restaurants visited included: the Waterman Grille, Box Seats (a.k.a. Huge Portions), the amazing Mill's Tavern (with both sets of grandparents, and many fine gifts), Blaze, and Roba!Dolce for a perfectly sweet ending to the trip).

In addition to the consumption of good eats, we were able to do lots of productive and entertaining stuff with my parents. For example, on Saturday morning we packed up the kitchen and then drove to Smithfield to showed off the new townhouse. We also stopped by the huge nearby shopping mall. While driving around the Crossing we just happened to find a maternity store which we just happened to walk into, where Stef just happened to find an entire wardrobe's worth of clothes she liked - and which my folks were more than happy enough to buy so that the Monster stays warm and stylish. We also saw Stardust, which was a very good movie. On Sunday, we went to IKEA and Jordan's furniture and saw many, many, many dining room sets. Although none of them really grabbed our fancy, we did figure out some things we were/weren't looking for. We also visited Baby Furniture Warehouse and found a crib and a dresser/hutch (more on this later), which Stef's parents had previously given us money for.

On that note, we want to take a moment and publicly thank both sets of grandparents for their generosity. Obviously, we would not be in the position we're in without all of the support (financial, emotional and otherwise) we've received from them, and which, of course, we hope to continue to receive. In this day and age you really can't buy a place and start a family on your own, and we want to make sure that my parents and Stef's parents really know how much we love and appreciate all that they have given us.

The Venerable Nanny

This past weekend, the Monster got to "meet" Nanny, its great grandmother from Florida, who was up in Boston for a few weeks of vacation and senior-oriented education. Nanny was "trilled and delighted" to see Stef, who at least has a little bump, even if she isn't as far along as other friends we got to visit while up in Boston (cough*Sharona*cough). And, of course, Nanny took the whole family out to dinner at Stefanie's on Newbury, because the first rule of this family is that food=love!

Gimme Shelter

This here is a little scale model of the townhouse Stef and I just bought. I made the model in Google's free Sketchup program (which I really, really wish existed back when I was an industrial designer). Photos of the place can be found here. We're super-excited about moving, as anyone who has seen our 480 square foot apartment can imagine. Our closing date is August 23rd, and if you want to help move we're getting a U-Haul on the 25th. The Monster will now have its own room!

Reunited, and it feels so good!

About two-and-a-half months after their first prenatal meeting, Ribs (a.k.a. Hunter) and the Tummy Monster got to hang out again at Fran's baby shower, which Stef (with the occasional help from her Mom, her sister and her loving husband) somehow organized in the throes of first trimester illness. Being contained within their mothers' stomachs and only a few months apart in age, the Monster and Ribs had a lot in common and got along fairly well, for not being able to talk, see, hear or otherwise communicate or comprehend anything.

Another Monster Friend

CONGRATULATIONS to Ken and Annie on the birth of their baby girl Charlotte Mae (a.k.a. "Maisie")!

Another Monster Friend

CONGRATULATIONS to Heather and Steve on the birth of their baby boy, Jace Owen!!! He took a long time coming, but it was totally worth it! More info and photos here.

Another Monster Friend

CONGRATULATIONS to Randy and Bethany (and big sister/photographer Kylie) on the birth of their baby girl, Sophie Sutton!!! More info and pictures here.

Another Monster Friend

CONGRATULATIONS to Sabrina (Stef's cousin) and Ed on the birth of their baby girl, Ariel Lynn!!!

Whew! It's been quite a day so far.

Monster's First Friend

CONGRATULATIONS to Lance and Cheryl on the birth of their baby boy, Reed Jeremy! More info and photos here.

Doctor VIsit: 02 (The Beat Goes On!)

There are absolutely no words that I could use to describe the pride and joy I felt this afternoon hearing the Monster's heartbeat. Sure, it was really weird being at someone else's doctor's appointment, and, yes, I was a little freaked out watching another person look at my wife's naked parts. But all that sort of melted away at the very first wet-sounding thump coming out of Stef's tummy. Seriously, though, if I'm this messed up about an internal, automatic, uncontrollable bodily function, how emotional am I gonna' be when the kid poops for the first time?

Oh, and and big, fat "Hello!" to everyone who has decided to drop by our unborn child's blog. We're very glad we can finally discuss everything out in the open-like with y'all. Of course, the Monster will now probably be all we talk about for the next few years, but at least it's better than law stuff, right?

Dropping The Bomb

Here's how we let the cat out of the bag (finally): First, Stef told AJ and Fran that she may not be able to keep up or eat out too much... because she was pregnant. They were very excited for us and we all agreed that it's pretty cool that the Monster will be about the same age as Ribs (a.k.a. Hunter). Fran and Stef commisteratted/gushed about their shared experiences, while AJ and I played Nintendo. It was all very 21st Century Norman Rockwellian. Meanwhile, Auntie Kate called, and we decided to tell her, too, since we weren't going to see her in a few weeks and it was very unlikely Stef's family could keep it a secret from her for that long. She was happy, but feeling a bit left out, I think. I am sure she'll get over it after she smells her first diaper.

As for the Parentals, both sets were extremely happy. We had held back with some Mother's Day gifts... children's books related to being grandmothers, knowing that we were going to break the news during our vacation to everyone in person. I don't think anyone was particularly surprised (I mean, we've been married for four years now), but it's one thing to think you might be a grandparent, and another to actually find out that you will be a grandparent. Congratulations to everyone (mostly us!), and welcome to Tummy Monster's blog. We hope this keeps you well informed.

Happy Anniversary, Us!

Dear Monster,

Yesterday, your Mom and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. It was really nice to share gifts, to go out to a nice dinner, and to just relax together. Even though we've only had a couple of anniversaries, I'd have to say that this one was probably our best yet . . . although that's mostly 'cause we're so super-excited about you!

Anyway, as it was our anniversary I got to thinking about how fast the past four years have gone by. Really, it's been a blur, and that's mostly a good thing, but sometimes you need nights like the one we had last night.

What's crazy is that, ignoring the fact that you can't even comprehend the concept of "time" yet, you'd probably think that four years was forever. I mean, four years is about 200 weeks older than you are now (or, alternatively, 26 times longer than you've been in existence)! Anyway, my point was that time goes by fast, especially when you're in love like your Mom and I are. I'm sure after you're born time is going to seem like it goes even faster. Nevertheless, I hope, for all our sakes, that we're able to slow down a little and just enjoy it like your Mom and I did last night.

Your Dad-to-be

Doctor Visit: 01

Stef would write something here, but she's tired, and sick to her stomach, and not in the mood. And I'd write something more meaningful here, but I didn't actually go to this appointment (sorry, Monster).

Basically, from what I gather, it consisted of Stef peeing in a cup and the doctor applying a standard pregnancy test simply to confirm that we are indeed pregnant. Don't get me wrong, I think this is fabulous news. It's just that it's not really "new" to us. Stef did pick up some literature and get some free vitamins, though, and I think we're both excited she's found an Ob/Gyn she's comfortable with.

Feeding The Monster

So, the first hurdle towards finding a place to live and raise the monster has been surpassed. To wit: I have been offered a full-time Associate position with my first-choice Rhode Island firm, Reavis Cianciolo. If the number they give me (which I expect sometime next week) is reasonable and economically feasible, I will accept their offer. And then we won't have to worry so much about how we're going to feed and clothe the Monster.

Pee On A Stick

About 6:30 am on Sunday, lying in the guest bed of our good friends in Pittsburgh, Eileen and Jim, Stef turned to me and asked, "when we get home tonight, could we pick up a pregnancy test?" I had known it was a possibility that she might be pregnant (after all, we had been trying for a while now, and we were both tracking her cycle at this point). However, up to that point I had no actual indication (positive or negative) as to whether or not it was probable. Stef's round-about confirmation of that more-likely-than-not probability certainly made the 10.5 hour ride home -- despite the traffic, a restless night, and a nagging cough -- much more bearable.

When we got back to Providence around 7 pm, we immediately hit the CVS. However, Stefanie being a stickler for following the rules (and being much more patient than I am), we waited until the following morning before she did the pee-on-a-stick ritual. Two minutes later (those test results come back so fast!) we noticed a faint blue line, and we became ecstatic. Although, to be honest, by that time my fledgling cough had become a full-fledged Spring Carnival mystery sickness, and my ecstasy was limited to a weak smile. I assure you though, had I been able to jump and shout, I certainly would have done so.

And, of course, Stefanie didn't trust the results, so she peed on another stick the following morning. Happily, that line came out much more blue (see above photo), and our adventures in Tummy Monster-land began.