Some Great Advice

TH has a friend back in Ukraine. Misha and TH were best buds growing up and have somehow managed to sporadically keep in touch through the years and miles. So when we started unlocking our secret and telling the world our exciting news, Misha was one of the first emails TH sent.

Being a dad himself, Misha's response was priceless--a dad giving a dad-to-be some great advice.

Please note: this is copied exactly as Misha wrote it, and this is best read with a thick Russian accent.

I want to congratulate you with so good new. It's a real pride to be a father. And - yes - i have some advices))

Advice #1 - it's harder to be a mother, than a father. So you have to be twice more careful and tolerant to your wife. She's waiting for you to be a rail (or crutch - in the worst case:)

Advice #2 - don't be afraid)))) the child would piss on you, vomit on you, you'll have to clean his or her shit. Yeah - it's very specific part of being father )))

Advice #3 - The hardest time - is the night. Vladik did wake up for 4 times through one night. And many times i even didn't notice - because i sleep veeeeeeery good)) So it's an important moment - to help your lovely wife. Frequently baby wants to eat - so you take it from bed and bring to the tit (sorry, breast:).

Advice #4 - share duties. Take more of everyday duties - 'cause your wife will "dive deep in baby".

Well, i seea that i made advices "how to be a good husband" instead of "how to be a good father". [Your wife] will be so happy if you'll follow that recomendations!

You're right, Misha! I will be sooo happy if TH follows those recommendations!

In other news, TH and I visited our parents and grandparents over the weekend. We showed them Cosmo's ultrasound video (each set got a different viewing, so we got to see Cosmo five times this weekend...I LOVED it!). It was amazing to watch their reactions, especially my and TH's grandparents'. They had nothing even remotely similar to that when they were having kids, so the awe and delight on their faces was priceless.

I also got asked by every. single. grandparent whether we preferred Cosmo to be a boy or a girl. What kind of a question is that?? Not only do we not prefer either sex, we are thrilled with both possible outcomes. It's a win-win situation! I found it interesting that it was a question the older generation found perfectly acceptable.

And, for the record, two of the three grandma's we visited are on record with their predictions: a baby boy. I still have no guess myself--I don't have any "feelings" one way or another. I did have a dream that it was a girl...does that count?

Either way, we'll take our first shot at finding out in a week and a half! I already miss you sooo much, Cosmo, and I can't WAIT to see you again.

14 weeks.