Name

Hi Baby Joey,
You sure are moving up a storm in there.  A couple of times, I even jumped because you were so violent.  But, that is only a couple of times a day.  Most of the time, you are peacefully sleeping.  Every time I feel you move, I stop and say "Hi Baby Joey!"  I try to cherish each movement as I know that you are the last baby that is going to be cooking in there.

I thought it was important for you to know how your name came about and have photos of each of the people who you were named after.  Here is the page for your book.

4 months

Hi Baby Joey!
I am having trouble sleeping tonight - my brain wasn't shutting down because I was thinking about work stuff.  I think it was the first time since you have been in their cooking that I was actually prepping work stuff in my head.  So, I was calculating in my head how many times we could take a sleeping pill between now and when you get here.  It hit me....today marks the day that we are exactly 4 months away from when you should be here.  Since Bonebrake won't let us go more than 39 weeks, that is June 23.  4 months exactly from today, little munchkin.  When I say that is 17 weeks from tomorrow, it sounds like a long time but when I think 4 months, it sounds like a short time.  I know, it all sounds irrational is what it sounds like.

I am not sure we are ready for you yet!  We haven't really figured out your sleeping arrangements.  We haven't gone through and pulled out your clothes and diapers.  We haven't gotten the cars ready for your car seat.  We haven't gotten your bottles or my pump all ready to go.  I think we have sort of been slacking on your arrival because we know you are covered.  Daddy is an expert at the car seat by now, we know that you will be in Gramma Debi D's bassinet for awhile, and we know that everything is in the house that we need.  I am kind of waiting on clothes until spring so I can pack up Elijah's winter clothes and pull your clothes out.

I think I might panic more when we hit the 3 month mark or especially the 2 month mark.  Everything better be ready by the 1 month mark because there is no guarantee that you won't come early.  I won't say I panicked thinking about it tonight but how about we say I was a tad alarmed  :)

Well buddy, hopefully, we will get some sleep in a few minutes.  I took our sleeping pill, did a load of dishes and think it will kick in shortly.  As always, thank you for being good to me, thanks for kicking up a storm so I know you are doing ok and thanks in advance for staying in there cooking until mid-June!

PS - it is midnight so I can officially say "HAPPY 22 WEEKS", munchkin  :)

21 weeks

Hi Joey!
We had your big appointment today and you seem to be practically perfect!  I have been really anxious lately - from the contractions/cramping to the fear that something was going to be wrong.  But, all my fears were erased when we got a clean bill of health for you.  Although you still did not pose for any pictures, we got to see you for a long time while they did your full body scan!

1) You are still a Joey - you were shy in hiding your parts but you did show them a couple of times to let us know you were still a boy!
2) You are 15 oz now.
3) You are only 3 days bigger than you should be.  That is really good for us old diabetics!
4) You were in a really weird position.  You were "sitting" on your legs like you were praying - we could see them folded up underneath you.
5) We are cleared for another 4 weeks - that means you are super healthy because he doesn't need to see us.
6) The odds of us not having a c-section are very, very slim.  Unless I spontaneously go into labor on my own, we will be cutting you out.
7) The odds of me spending quality time with you in the OR are also very slim.  Because we have to worry about the diabetes, they need to get you admitted and check your sugars so you have to be taken away from me relatively quickly.

You move up a storm these days and you move all over the place.  From top to bottom, I feel you wiggling around and the sensations are starting to get stronger.  Even during the ultrasound, you were moving all over.  Daddy said that he doesn't remember Elijah being that active - I said you have his ADD already  :)

Thank you for still not making me sick, for being so healthy and moving up a storm so I know you are ok in there.  I hope that during our next appointment, we can get a 3d photo of you to see what you look like  :)

I leave you with a scrapbook page for your book.

Happy Valentine's Day Joey!

Hey buddy!
I hope you are doing OK in there!  We will see you in 3 days and get reassured that you are growing great and we have no issues.  I can tell you that you are kicking my butt.  You are not making me sick (Thank you so much) but you definitely let me know when I have hit my limits.  If I walk too much or play too hard, you will shoot me some cramps and reminders to tone it down a bit.  I have a feeling that by the end of the pregnancy, I will be a bump on a log  :)

Your daddy, brother and I had a great Valentine's tonight.  You would kick me periodically to remind me that you are in there celebrating too.  I just can't wait to share it with you next year.  I was so happy to spend the night with my 2.5 boys and begin making Valentine's traditions.  Next year, our family will be complete and we can incorporate you into our traditions.  I can hardly wait.

I had daddy take a photo of me so we could see how I was progressing with the pregnancy.  I am hoping that you are not 20 lbs.  Heavens knows I am 3 times larger than I was with Elijah!

Baby Elijah at 20 weeks on the left.  Baby Joey at 20 weeks on the right!!

What a scare

Hey Baby Joey -
Were you bored in there and decided to give your mommy & daddy a heart attack?  Need to be a little ornery since you never cause me any morning sickness?  On Saturday morning, I was up at 5 to go to the bathroom and I couldn't get back to sleep.  At 6, I started getting contractions and they were coming back-to-back.  You were going crazy moving.  I called the dr. answering service but we don't like the dr. on call so I didn't leave a message.  They lasted about 90 minutes before they stopped.  I figured if they kept up or if I felt any sort of movement on my cerclage, we wouldn't have a choice but to go to the hospital.  The rest of the day, daddy let me be lazy in bed while he watched your brother.  There was still a lot of stuff going on in there but no more contractions.  For the first time since we got your cerclage, I did a mental countdown to 24 weeks and we have quite a few weeks to go.

I think that I caused it by overdoing it.  On Friday night, I ran about a block because I left my wallet in the car.  I think that was a bit too much for you to handle!  Needless to say, I am going to be taking it easy for the rest of the time.  I tried to call the dr to see if we could get in this week but he is all booked up so we will have to wait until next Thursday.

We did get big news on Friday!  When we were pregnant with Elijah, we found out that he was going to have a new BFF born right after him.  Now, baby Jake is here and they are finally learning to play together.  Turns out, you are going to have a BFF born right after you too!  In September, a new Lang baby will enter the family & you will be able to have a BFF right out of the gate  :)  Our cousin Brandi is going to be a mommy!  Both your daddy & I are so excited for her and she is hoping that she created a little ballerina  :)

Well buddy, let's calm down a bit in there and keep cooking for a lot longer!  No more anxiety attacks are needed!  We are hitting that phase where I can't sleep so I will be crabby enough without worrying about you making an early entrance.

19 weeks

Hi Joey!
You are just a smidge shy of 1/2 way there!  In some ways, it feels like you have only been cooking for a few weeks and in others, I am like "WHEN IS HE GOING TO BE HERE?"  I guess getting to that half way point makes me antsy for you to be here.

You are moving up a storm but not rough enough so daddy can feel you yet.  You seem to be on a routine - there are certain times of day that you move around.  Around 10 am and around 7:30 pm seem to be pretty predictable.

We were supposed to go to the doctor today but I canceled the appointment.  At the time, I was worried about the weather but we haven't had any issues where we needed to go to the dr.  So, we will see you for our big scan in 2 weeks - the 17th.

Last weekend, I went shopping with your Auntie Val and Great Gramma.  You got your first husker outfit - a little jersey with matching adidas pants.  You also got a new Auntie shirt that says "My Auntie is awesome."  Your little stockpile is growing as we find things on clearance.  Your daddy also got you 2 pairs of Chiefs pajamas  :)

Well, buddy, not much else to share.  Thank you for continuing to be so nice to me - still not sick.  Thank you for moving around so much so I know you are growing good.  Now, we just wait so daddy can feel it too.