Pregnancy

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Cast Your Final Official Vote for Whether It’s a Girl or a Boy! Team Holly or Team Logan?

Cast Your Final Official Vote for Whether It’s a Girl or a Boy! Team Holly or Team Logan?

On Wednesday morning at 8:00 AM, our family will be finding out whether we’re having a boy or a girl. I will reveal the results on Thursday; which is Thanksgiving.

By leaving your prediction in the form of a comment, your guess can be forever preserved. If you’re right, everyone will know it!

Before you make your prediction official, I’ll give you some things to consider…

I have said from the beginning that I think it’s a girl. I base this on the fact that my wife is carrying this baby much differently than our first.

This baby is positioned differently; plus my wife has symptoms she didn’t have last time; like nausea in the first trimester.

So I think it’s a girl. And most other people I’ve talked to believe that as well.

To that degree, that would make Logan the underdog, as so many people, like me, have been long assuming it’s a girl.

But… my wife thinks it’s a boy.

And now, I admit, that has got me second-guessing this.

As it stands, I am the final Shell man in my family to pass on the name; other than my son, Jack.  My dad has 3 sisters and just one brother, who himself had 3 girls.

So it would make sense that we would have another boy. It would help strengthen the chances of the Shell name living on beyond just my son; in case that matters.

Plus, people say if the mother is carrying the baby low, then it’s a boy; but if it’s high, it’s a girl. But I’m confused on what a “low” or “high” baby looks like…

Here’s your chance. Vote for either Team Holly or Team Logan, then came back to Family Friendly Daddy Blog on Thursday morning (Thanksgiving) to find out if your prediction was correct.

Who’s right? Me- the dad, who thinks it’s a girl?

Or my wife, the mommy, who thinks it’s a boy?

Team Holly and Team Logan. This is the final countdown!

6 Comments Posted on parenting, Pregnancy, Spirituality, Uncategorized

Dear Holly or Logan: Your Biblical Middle Name

18 weeks.

Dear Holly or Logan: Your Biblical Middle Name

Dear Holly or Logan,

We are just 6 days away from finding out, and 7 days away from announcing to the world, whether you are a boy or a girl.

Over this past weekend while we were in Destin for your brother Jack’s 5th birthday, Mommy and I finalized what your middle name will be.

Either way, your middle name will be Biblically based.

If you are Holly, your middle name will be Joy. Originally it was going to be Jane. I personally love the name Jane so much. However, Mommy pointed out that “Holly Jane” sounds a bit like “Mary Jane.” We didn’t want your named to be synonymous with marijuana.

However, if we ever have a 3rd child, and she was a girl too, the plan is for her first name to be Jane. I just love that name.

So Mommy chose Joy instead, for your middle name. Your middle name will serve as a reminder that in life, we must choose joy.

The Bible is full of reminders of the importance of “choosing joy” in the Lord despite what happens in life. One example is this verse, 1 Thessalonians 16-18:

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

If you are Logan, your middle name will be Jeremiah. This is a name I had originally picked for your first name, but Mommy and I decided we wanted you to have a shorter first name.

While I was in college at Liberty University, one of the guys in the dorm room next to me was named Jeremiah. He is the only person I have ever known with that name, but I really like it.

The Biblical reference there is in the verse, Jeremiah 29:11, which is this:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,” plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Just this morning your brother Jack was watching an episode of VeggieTales on Netflix called “It’s a Meaningful Life,” in which the theme was that we are not here by accident; that God has a special plan for each one of us.

The name Jeremiah will serve as a reminder that you are special in the eyes of God, as he has a special plan for you; as He does all of us.

So now we will wait about a week to find out what your middle name is; but more importantly, whether you are a boy or a girl.

Love,

Daddy

3 Comments Posted on Nostalgia, parenting, People, Pregnancy, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: A Dad’s Letter To His Son On His 5th Birthday

5 years old!

Dear Jack: A Dad’s Letter To His Son On His 5th Birthday

Dear Jack,

Good morning. You are officially 5 years old today!

I’m so glad you are. The older you get, the closer our relationship grows.

The way I look at it is sort of like a good road trip. You have to appreciate the journey as much as the destination. As you and I both grow older and mature together as individual human beings, we also are able to know each other better as well.

Dear Jack: A Dad’s Letter To His Son On His 5th Birthday

Just today you were asking me about the first time you spoke “real words” to me and I understood them; and you understood me back.

You’re old enough now to where years have actually passed since those days of helping you learn to talk; back when many of your first words I taught you were vehicles we saw on the way to and from daycare each day.

“Jeep!”

“Mustang!”

“Dump truck!”

The older you get, the more I am able to appreciate our relationship and our time together.

Five years ago I was clueless on how to be a parent. I had to figure it all out together with Mommy.

These days, the guessing games and the related frustrations are gone. I know you now.

Granted, you’ve got a baby brother or sister on the way in April. This is your final birthday as an “only child”. And as for me, I’ll be thrown back into the mode of changing diapers and preparing bottles.

Imagine how much you will change, for the better, when you are Mommy and Daddy’s much needed helper!

I remember how surprised I was back when you were a newborn, having parents who are both of Italian heritage (and Mexican on my side), ended up with blonde hair and blue eyes.

And I also remember several people said your hair would get darker and your eyes would change color.

But you’re 5 now, and your eyes are still blue and you pretty much still kind of have blonde hair. You’ve made it this far still looking this way!

It still amazes me.

Happy 5th Birthday, Jack. I’ve got plenty more letters to write you and we’ve got plenty more growing up to do together.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: A Dad’s Letter To His Son On His 5th Birthday

Dear Jack: A Dad’s Letter to His Son on His 2nd Birthday

Dear Jack: A Dad’s Letter to His Son on His 3rd Birthday

Dear Jack: A Dad’s Letter to His Son on His 4th Birthday

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Dear Holly or Logan: Just in Case You’re Actually a Boy…

Week 16.

Dear Holly or Logan: Just in Case You’re Actually a Boy…

Dear Holly or Logan,

I explained a few weeks ago the reasons why I’m convinced that you are a girl. That part won’t be a mystery much longer. Actually, a month from right now is when we’ll be finding out.

But I suppose I should write this letter to you today, just in the rare chance you’re actually a boy; as these next few weeks serve as the final moments for me to consider what it would be like to have another son.

This week Mommy sent me to Brilliant Sky to pick up a Christmas gift for your brother Jack. As I was walking in the toy store, I couldn’t help but notice a huge banner in the window.

It was promoting the newest character on the island of Sodor, which means he is a friend of Thomas the Train.

And of all possible names he could have, his name, is Logan.

Mommy and I decided that if you actually are a boy, it’s a given that we will buy the Logan train for you.

Last Christmas, we got your brother Jack the Jack character from Thomas the Train.

But I don’t think there’s a Holly character.

https://familyfriendlydaddyblog.com/2015/10/15/dear-holly-or-logan-why-i-think-you-are-a-girl/

It’s actually a great challenge for me to mediate on the concept of you being a boy. One thing I can imagine is this: You will instantly adopt a massive Thomas the Train collection from your brother Jack, if you are a boy.

And an even greater Hot Wheels collection!

This is the week in which I officially can tell by looking at Mommy that he absolutely, without a doubt, pregnant.

What gives it away is her stomach. It’s obvious there is a baby inside there, and that baby is you.

Just a week ago it wasn’t noticeable, but now, it’s all right there. Mommy’s pregnancy with you looks different than how she looked with your brother Jack.

That’s because, I believe, he is a boy and you… are a girl.

Love,

Daddy

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Signs of Life from the Womb: Family Friendly (Mommy) Blog

Guest Blogger: Jill Shell

Let me just start by saying, pregnancy truly is an amazing thing.  The act of taking cells, that individually by themselves would just be cells and combining them to make another human life, is undeniably a miraculous thing.  But along with the beauty of the creation of life, comes the sometimes unforgiving and relentless attacks and changes to the body, mind and life of the new mommy.

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Now, I don’t want to complain, but you know that since I just started a sentence with those words, that I am about to complain, right?

What is with the nausea, the hunger, the tossing and turning at night, the pains that start turning up in random places in your body, the clothes that don’t fit right, the leg cramps, and some of the other strange occurrences that you barely want to share with your closest friends?

It seems appropriate that you should expect to endure one or two of those things, but how you get chosen to experience all of those is beyond me.

Forgive me because I know I do not have the worst of it and each pregnancy is different for every woman.  And despite their annoyances, I do consider it a good sign that these signs are present because often times in pregnancy you fear the worst and sometimes these little nuances can be the confirmation you need to know that all is okay.

Again, I don’t mean to sound like the Debbie Downer of pregnancy, but it’s just a reminder of the labor of love that we get to experience (and let’s give some credit to our significant others, family members and friends who support us through it all) as we take this journey.

On a slightly heavier note, this little blog entry here is just a forum to share these light-hearted thoughts (and maybe, just maybe, get a little empathy from those around me).  I recently read in a magazine that 1 in 8 couples struggle with infertility and I know far too many people who have been affected by this news.  I can only imagine what they must go through, and I certainly do not take that lightly.

Okay, sorry, I can’t end on a heavy note.  Want to hear a funny story?  Okay, so do I.  Please add a comment with your funny story and make us all laugh.