15+ weeks

Hi little one! I have skipped a few days in talking to you but you are definitely on my mind each minute. Recovery from our little surgery was easier than I thought it would be. Yeah, it was uncomfortable but not nearly as horrible as I imagined it would be. But, tonight, it is 3 am and I am up not feeling well. I have been so excited that I haven't had much nausea at all. I got sick on Sunday and feel like I am going to get sick now but other than that, the nausea has been very, very minor. I can handle getting sick once and awhile but I hated that ever-present nausea.

You are in the 15th week now and maybe 16th since you were a little bigger on the ultrasound. We listened for your heartbeat yesterday and you were hiding so it was hard to find you. You were behind my pulse so we almost missed you. I am counting down until I can *feel* you moving! That will be so exciting. I also can't wait until we see you again on 8/6.

We have a lot of birthdays to catch up on. Aunt Sheila's birthday was Monday so I have to tell you all about her. I will see how much cash she is offering up to make it nice :) Your cousin Tyler & Great Gramma Faiman's birthday is today. I have told you about Tyler in your swimming post so I don't have much to add on there. August is a big month for birthdays - off the top of my head, we have Brandi, your Uncle Zach and Gramma Debbie. There are more in there but it is late at night and my brain might not be working at full capacity :)

I am really, really busy at work this week so if you feel some stress, it is probably that! I enjoy being busy. On Tuesday, I ate breakfast and I swear that the next time I looked at the clock, your dad was getting home. So, not really stressed but just chaotic.

Well, sorry your mom is so boring today but that is all I have for you. I have been working on your blog book and am into July now. I would love to be current on it so it is almost close to being ready when you pop out :)

We made it!

Hi kiddo! We are home and resting. It was a long day when we had to be up at 4:30. I got to hear you on their monitor before and after the surgery. Your heart was beating perfect. I woke up around 8:30 and the surgery was all over. I am having some discomfort - less than I thought it would be but more than I would like :) I didn't get to talk to Dr. Bonehead but he made a comment to your dad that my cervix was starting to thin or soften or act weird. We got sewed up right on time to keep you in there. On one hand, I am so happy that it was starting to show a problem and we solved it - it gives me hope that this was our problem in all of our pregnancies but now we are good for you. On the other hand, it makes me sad that we could have possibly prevented our loss last year.

Two weeks until we get to see you again. If you are showing me you are a boy then, I will believe it then!

Tomorrow is our big day!

Hi Kiddo! Well, the day we have been counting down for is finally here! Only 12 hours or so and we will be sewing you in there nice and tight! I so cannot wait - for several reasons. 1) I need a day off work. 2) I can't wait to have the best sleep for an hour or two that I have had in ages. 3) I think it is going to give me some mental peace to know that you are sewn in there. While we have no proof that this will solve our problem, it is the only other step we can try to keep you cooking until you can be born full term.

I don't know what to tell you to expect in there! I think we will both be knocked asleep. I know I am anticipating quite a bit of pain tomorrow and over the weekend but you shouldn't have any - just know that my stress is recovery time from the surgery. Hopefully, I will bounce back just in time to go to work again on Monday. Yeah for me :)

We don't know if we are going to get to see you tomorrow or not. If we don't, we won't see you until our next appointment on August 6. However, you are now coming through loud and clear on our heart rate monitor - which brings a big old grin to my face!

14 weeks/Grampa Bob

Hi kiddo!
You are 14 weeks old today. I don't know if that is true - according to the last ultrasound, you would be 14w1d today. I always use Monday as our weekly birthday. Not much new to tell you about anything exciting. However, today is your Grampa Bob's birthday so, I have to tell you about him today. I was hoping maybe your dad would write this today but he said it would take him 2 years to write 3 lines. So, I will give you my perspective on your Grampa Bob.

Your Grampa Bob died last year while I was pregnant with your brothers. Ever since I met your dad, Grampa Bob was not in the best of health. He had several heart attacks and his lungs were starting to give out. When I was first getting to know your Grampa, he intimidated me quite a bit. He was gruff, talked loud and talked a lot :) I had a hard time understanding your dad's relationship with him because it was so unlike my relationship with my parents. They talked on the phone multiple times a day. That blew me away! But, after your Grampa was gone, it was kind of lonely. Somedays, I still think "Oh, Bob should be calling Mark pretty soon." What I learned about your Grampa is that even though he was gruff and a man set in the ways of his generation, underneath it all, he just loved his family. He just liked to talk to them on the phone. He just liked to watch TV with them. He just liked to be around them. Him and your Gramma didn't travel much or do a ton outside of the house and he was content with that - as long as he had someone to talk to. Or, if we are being honest with each other, someone to yell at. I don't think I will ever forget the screams of "Ruth" or "Andrew". He wasn't yelling at them but he would yell across the house to get their attention and ask them for something. He was so in love with your cousins and each time we were pregnant, he was just as in love with our babies as he was with them.

Sometimes, your Grampa made me really mad. He would tease me because he thought I was lazy and didn't do anything around the house. He didn't think I knew how to cook. While it wasn't nice of him, he had 2 reasons to think that. 1) Your dad was always telling him that he couldn't talk on the phone or come over because he was cleaning. To hear your dad talk, you would think I had him shackled in a shock collar and would buzz him if he wasn't cleaning the house 24/7. Anyone who saw our house would know that was a load of crap. :) 2) I didn't spend enough time around your grampa to tell him the truth. When your dad would go over his house, I would stay home. So, I couldn't debunk all those lies your dad was spreading about me :)

I hope that you have met your Grampa Bob and he is helping keep you healthy in there!! I am sharing a picture from our wedding with you. I made all the men in the family wear tuxes. Your grampa pitched me a fit for weeks before the wedding. He kept telling me he was going to show up in blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He really didn't have a choice - I was pretty adamant about the tux thing - but he ended up being a good sport!

You are so picking on me!

Hi kiddo...I think you are mocking me. I think you were plotting against me on the ultrasound and put your finger in a place to make you look like a boy to throw me off guard. Last night, I dreamt twice that you were a girl. In one dream, Dr. Bonebrake had just delivered you and he said "It's a girl." Then, later, I dreamt that you were older - like a teenager and your dad & I were talking about our daughter. At this point, I have no idea if you are a boy or a girl. It really doesn't matter to me but later on down the road, we would like to know so we can plan how to decorate your room and what the heck to name you.

Speaking of delivery, I watched a few videos yesterday on the internet of babies being delivered. Even at 34, I don't know that I had ever seen a birth. Even on TV, they blur out a lot of the picture. These internet videos did not. I also made your dad watch them - we need to desensitize him so he doesn't pass out when you are delivered. We learned a few very important things that I will share with you. 1) No doubt about it that we will have an epidural. I had a passing (very brief, less than a second) thought of trying it natural. We watched one natural and one epidural. We agreed unanimously that we will have an epidural. 2) I didn't care if we have a c-section - I figured that it would be planned, least painful and got me 2 extra weeks off work. But, after watching the videos, I would prefer not to have a c-section. The recovery looks much easier for natural birth than CSection.

That is about it from outside the womb!

Anniversary Special Edition

Hi Kiddo! 11 years for your mom and dad today! Last year was our big anniversary and we went to Alaska on a cruise. On our actual anniversary, your mom was sick being pregnant and we ended up staying home. This year, we actually left the house! Woohoo for us. We had tickets to Sheryl Crow. It was packed. There was no place to put our chairs so we stayed in the parking garage and watched it from the deck. We got to see 4 songs before we got kicked out. I wish I could tell you something fun like your dad was causing a big scene so we got ejected but really, you just can't stand there and watch the show. Neither one of us felt like dealing with the huge crowd so we left. That was it - that was our exciting Anniversary!

Dr. Appt.

Hi kiddo! We went to the doctor today. Your heartbeat was good and you were moving all around. The ultrasound tech said that you were measuring a little bit bigger than we thought - almost a week older! Every week gets us closer to a 2009 delivery and a tax write off :)

Well, kiddo, you threw me a curve ball today. Your dad saw it and the ultrasound tech she is 85% sure that you are a little boy. What? I have been calling you "she" or "her". I even did a pink scrapbook page for you with some of the blog postings!! I honestly don't care what gender you are - just stay in there cooking until you are full term and you can be a little boy or a little girl.

While we didn't have any boy names picked out, your dad and I settled on that one pretty quick. I think you will still be a kiddo to me until our next ultrasound but when we see you a bit bigger and definitely a boy, we will name you Alexander Lang Brigham. We can't agree on any other name. Your dad vetoed Nate, Micah and Drake. I liked Noah but it is too popular. Your dad's only contribution to the pot was Sebastian which I vetoed in each of our pregnancies. Xander was the only name we could agree on. We named one of your brothers Xander so we didn't want to name you that. But, Alexander seems different to us so we figure we are all good. Surprisingly, your dad didn't even fight on using my maiden as your middle name.

1 week from today, it is time for surgery and then we will see you again on August 6th. Tomorrow is your mom and dad's anniversary. I will share some scrapbook pages that I did for your brothers so you can learn about how we met and our relationship.