Guess who's coming to the hospital with my wife when she gives birth? (Hint: this is in the Lounge.)

[bbernardini]

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[GenDem]

1. How cute

a little stowaway:)

[SeattleGirl]

2. Awwww.

That's so cute!

[QMPMom]

3. Cute! We smuggled in our puppy once to see my mother

when she was in the hospital. We were laughing so hard it's a wonder we didn't get caught.

[bbernardini]

4. Kick!

[bbernardini]

5. One of my coworkers thought this was "gross."

Of course, she hates animals.

[tigereye]

6. are you briniging your band to play soothing music?

(note, the relaxation sounds tape I took when I had my son did zip and at one point I wanted to throw it!)

;)

[bbernardini]

7. I don't think we know any soothing music.

:) We're going to bring my iPod speakers and an iPod. We got a bunch of those "Rockabye Baby" CDs which reinterpret the works of groups like Tool, Radiohead, The Cure, Pink Floyd, etc., as lullabies.

[tigereye]

12. you are serious?

he-he.

There was a big article a few weeks ago in the Sunday NYT about gen x and y-ers obsession with bringing rock to the toddler and youth set,in a variety of forms. But I have to say, as an old school punk and parent, I prefer raising the kids with the real things like Capt. Beefheart, Robyn Hitchcock, Fred Frith, The Pogues, Tuvan throat singing and the Ramones!

best of luck to both of you!

[bbernardini]

13. Well, there's a Ramones album for kids now.

"Brats On The Beat," I believe. Pretty amusing.

[tigereye]

14. no, I just don't get why music loving folk wouldn't want their kids

(well, maybe not the infants, but you never know) to simply listen to the real thing, not infantilized versions of same.

seems like a big marketing ploy to me. (as an infant my kid seemed to like bluegrass)

[AngryAmish]

8. Isn't it really dangerous to have a cat around a pregnant woman?

[xmas74]

9. For most women, no.

The disease that cats are known to carry and could hurt a baby (can't think of it off the top of my head) most women already came into contact w/ as children. (My midwife said that most came into contact w/ it before the age of five. She also said that if you ever played in a public sandbox it was almost guaranteed that you had already had it.)

I was told that if I was worried about it they could test for it. If I hadn't had it yet then I would have to be careful, mostly when cleaning the litterbox.

(edit-links

http://ehso.com/ehshome/pets_toxopl.htm

and blurb-

"Toxoplasmosis: Don't Blame the Cat

Most obstetricians have a standard warning about pregnant women and kitty's litter box, telling them to avoid all contact with the box-and sometimes even all contact with cats-for fear of exposure to toxoplasmosis (an infection that can cause miscarriages and harm a fetus). But a new article in The Archives of Internal Medicine says those fears are exaggerated. "Casual contact with a cat is not going to expose you" to toxoplasmosis, says Dr. Jeffrey Kravetz of the Yale School of Medicine, one of the authors of the article.

About 3,000 women in America do transmit toxoplasmosis each year to their fetuses, but the cause is much more likely to be contact with contaminated meat or digging in infected soil. According to the article, about 8 percent of beef and 20 percent of pork carries the toxoplasmosis microbe. In fact, it's common enough that many adults have already been exposed to toxoplasmosis and developed an immunity. Your doctor can test for this immunity if you are pregnant, to help put your mind at ease.

Kravetz says indoor cats are unlikely to carry the infection, and older outdoor cats are less likely to transmit the disease than young cats. Pregnant women with cats should change the litter often, and wear gloves when they do, but should also take precautions when handling raw meat and digging in the garden. "
http://www.catsplay.com/thedailycat/2002-10-14/news/2002-10-14.html)

[bbernardini]

10. I've always been in charge of the litter boxes.

Heck, at least one of them sleeps with her every night (often under the covers).

[xmas74]

11. Chances are she had it as a small child.

If you're cleaning the litterbox, she's not toiling in the garden (not to worry this time of year), you wash all fruit and veggies and cook all meat to a proper temp there will be nothing to worry about. (Yep, it comes from alot more than a cat!)

[Patiod]

15. Great pictures! A good luck with the new bernardini!!!

Keep us posted!

[xchrom]

16. the cat Knows.

and no good kitty really wants to be left out.