daveho.com

Yep, that’s right. There’s another one on the way!

I know what you’re thinking: “But DaveHo! What about the plan? Sean gets past one year, then you and the missus work on getting him a younger brother/sister!”

Um, yeah, about that…

Believe me, I did not expect this to happen now either. Particularly with the amount of work that went into getting the first one. But like life, you make your plans, then fate says, “Heh, tough luck, bub!”

So how did I find out? When she walked down the stairs with the boy sporting a t-shirt reading “Big Brother in Training”. Subtle, but effective. She then showed surprise that I didn’t guess at this sooner, once again giving me (and most men) far more credit in the realm on observation. We used this technique to inform the family as well when they were here for a visit (fittingly for Sean’s first birthday celebration!).

We’re about 12 weeks into this process: wanted to get to this milestone before “going official” as we wanted to make sure. Let’s address some questions:

Q: Is it a boy or a girl?

A: Yes.

Q: D’oh! I meant, Do you want to know if its a boy or a girl?

A: Oh, OK. We are going to find out this time. We were going to wait and see for Sean to allow for some element of surprise (which we discovered we didn’t need when he arrived 4 weeks early). This time, however, we have a house full of baby clothes and finding out what it is would help in the filtering process for said clothes.

Q: So what do you want? Another boy, or a girl?

A: I don’t think the wife has a real preference (she totes the “healthy child with all fingers and toes” company line), and I would be happy with another son. But I do believe I would want a little girl. As one of three boys in the household growing up, with a heavily male-dominated extended family, I think I would want a girl to move me out of my comfort zone. For me, raising a boy will be instinctual; but raising a girl, that would be a challenge!

Q: So when do we meet this new addition?

A: Our expected due date is January 8th, 2008. I don’t put much credence into due dates (see above).

Q: So how does this fit into your job plans?

A: Well since Cathy was planning to leave her job in December, it times well. She can take her time off to relax until her delivery, then have time off after to be with the child. She has some plans for working after that. As for me, I’ll be sticking with my job until such time that I have to leave it.

Q: Are you going to move?

A: Moving out of the city was always part of the deal when having kids. If anything the new arrival may speed this process. But this is still a complicated situation so I won’t get into it too much here…Q: Oooh, sorry.

A: Nah, no prob.

Q: Ya got any names picked?

A: I hate to report that there will be no “Baby Name Bracket” this time, since that little adventure gave us plenty of opportunities for mulling names. As decided from that experience, our main choices are Aidan for a boy, and Julia for a girl (official status pending).

Q: So how’s the wife? Smooth sailing, like last time?

A: Not as much. The usual suspects of early pregnancy are hitting her more than they did with Sean. More queasiness, morning sickness, fatigue – stuff she didn’t deal with as much during Sean’s time on the inside.

So just like that, we’re getting ourselves ready for a whole new ballgame. It might be twice the work, but there will be twice the rewards!