Belly Laughs

I have never been more thankful for some things in my life. I read the book Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy a few weeks ago. While it had some language in it...I literally laughed out loud for most of the book. Hilarious. She said that everyone makes pregnancy out to be a beautiful thing (and it really is), there are also some really weird and not so pleasant things that go on that no one tells you about. Which is also true. If you are pregnant, I recommend reading it for a good laugh. If you are waiting on your little miracle, I have the book and will let you borrow it once yours is on it's way. :)

Here is a list of my own things that I have noticed saying or thinking since I've been pregnant. More so, within the last few weeks when I feel like a big whale.

1. Never have I been so happy to find clean granny panties....I had to buy some when we had our sibling pictures taken for mom because stupid me wore black undies under a pink dress. And while they swallowed me then, I am DIGGING for those things now. Praying they make it through the laundry quickly.

2. I make a beeline for the handicap bathroom. If it's open, that baby is my first choice...there's more room in there!

3. If it looks like my pants are painted on, I just throw a dress on and it becomes a tunic with leggings.

4. I'm thinking there needs to be "pregnant sinks." It's bad when all you want to do is wash your hands but in order to do that, you have to bend your knees and then reach for the soap and to turn on the water. Either make it a shorter sink or cut out an indention for the bellies to fit!

5. Don't tell a pregnant lady, "you'll never make it til April" What does that mean? That I'm huge? On the other hand, don't say, "oh, you're tiny still to be due in April" Um, no...I'm not tiny. I've worked hard for this baby and I want you to be able to see it! Bottom line? If you're going to ask when a pregnant girl is due, leave your opinion to yourself on her size. :)

32 weeks

Baby Brasen-

You only have just a few short weeks and you will be here. I cannot believe how fast time has gone, yet how long it has taken us to get you here! At your last appointment, you weighed 4 lbs, 8 oz. Doctor said you looked perfect and are so sweet. We agree! You are likely over 17 inches now (according to my app on my phone!) You continue to grow and should gain about half a pound a week until you are born. You are now mostly just on the move. Not many kicks anymore. It really feels like you are just trying to stretch out or get comfy in there. Occasionally you don't like the position I'm in and kick your way out of it. That's always fun. :) You already have a way of getting your point across!

What's mommy up to? Well, I have been stretching and getting ready for you to come. Due to the cold weather lately, I haven't been walking much so I bought a video. Daddy laughs at me trying to keep up with the "other pregnant women" in the video. I am wearing mostly maternity clothes with the exception of a few things like long dresses and baggy shirts/tunics. I am getting up during the night about 3-4 times to use the restroom and each time I lay back down I guzzle more water because I am so thirsty!

What's daddy up to? He has been reading the birthing book I asked him to read. And he's made a special note in his phone named "Brasen's Arrival Day" with tips from the book to help me during labor. He has been working in your room, helping Papa put together your baby bed, and painting all the trim. He says if he catches you with a crayon in there, he will bust your hiney. :)

We have a busy few weeks ahead of us, which will make it go by that much faster. I hope you are kind and make your arrival in a timely manner! We are all waiting patiently for you!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

4D

Well, at this very moment, sweet baby Brasen has the hiccups. :)

We went last week for our 4D ultrasound. It was neat, and we got to see lots of facial features, but not much fluid was around his face so it was hard to get some good pictures. I'm not sure we will pay for that again in the future since it really depends on the cooperation of the baby! Here are a couple of images from our session

What a sweet little face. Can't wait to see him. We also found out at that ultrasound that his weight (based on the measurement of his femur) was 4 lbs, 6 oz. He kept his hand by his face the whole time and Kyle kept saying what a good quarterback he will be with his arm up like that. But when we found out how much the little stinker weighs, Kyle said, "Well, maybe I should have been hoping for a linebacker instead of a quarterback..." He still has 9 weeks to grow! I am hoping he will decide to meet us a little early (not too early, just a week or two!).

The nursery is sort of at a standstill...all is painted with the exception of the doors. The bed is completed; dad is just waiting on the hardware to come in to put it together. The changing table and night stand are done (with the exception of drawer pulls!). The bedding and curtain are currently being made. The wall decorations are almost all bought, but none put up yet. It will all come together. 

At all of my checkups, everything has looked good so far. I have already gained 32 pounds...and I can feel it. Mostly in my feet when I get up in the mornings, and my back. I am having to wear Kyle's tshirts to sleep in. He is thrilled, haha. He has had the flu the last few days and today is my first day back at home. I steered clear while he was running fever so I didn't get it. When I came home today, everything was sanitized, and all the sheets, pillows, and comforter were washed. What a good hubby I have.

Last weekend we had maternity pictures made by Jennifer Goodman. She did an excellent job. She is also going to do Brasen's newborn pics. Go here to check out her website. 

I suppose I need to be productive and go pay some bills. :)

Faces of Grace

One of my very best friends from OT school just had her first baby on December 30. I am so excited that our babies will be close in age. I know they won't be as close as we are but just having someone to share stories with will be fun!

Grace Elliot is a little cutie, with big puffy cheeks that you just want to kiss over and over. She has many little faces and her lips and eyebrows have a little mind of their own with lots of expressions. The whole family is doing well and her Aunt Alana is super excited she is here. :)

 (Get ready for some more "friend's babies" posts, because there are a few of us who will be having babies very shortly!)

7 months

Baby Brasen-

This week you are 28 weeks old. Mommy and daddy are confused sometimes with the "math" of a pregnancy :) 40 weeks is full term, yet it's 10 months. And a typical pregnancy is 9 months. So we don't really know how many "months" we are. We just know we have a few more weeks before we can meet you and we are so excited! You are about 16 inches and weigh about 2.9 pounds. At your last ultrasound you weighed 2 pounds, 4 ounces which is a little ahead of your tiny peers the same age. We have a 4D ultrasound scheduled for the end of the month, and then we go to the doctor every other week to check on you.

Mommy has gained quite a few pounds for you to only weigh nearly 3 pounds. But that's ok. We'll get out that jogging stroller as soon as we can! My blood pressure has been almost picture perfect every visit, around 108/72. Doctor says that is great! You are such an active little one. At times, I feel like you are in karate class. My belly will jump around and I can feel and see your arm or leg move across.  You like to keep me up at night with your tumbling skills. I can't wait to see you and be able to see those movements in person.

Your room is coming along slowly but surely. It has taken a village to get ready for you but everyone is happy to help (or seems to be!). Daddy says you have more shoes and clothes than him already (I do agree that you have more shoes...clothes...not yet!). Right now your things are taking up space in his deer room but he doesn't seem to mind too much. I went to visit Whitney and Grace and while I was gone, daddy texted me that he was in your closet looking at all of your things. :) You have a great daddy who already loves you so much. He asks about you all day, making sure you are still as active as you usually are. Which is typically a YES every time!

We are so thankful for you and often wonder what we would be doing if you were already here. For now, we'll nap when we can, sleep in when we can, and be lazy as much as we can. We know when you get here you will be the boss of the house but we are ok with that. I continue to pray for your development. Although I read almost daily what is going on with you inside of me, I know that God is knitting you together each day and even as we speak. I pray he blesses you beyond measure. I pray for you to love Him above all else. And I thank Him every day he chose us to be your parents.

Can't wait to meet you, sweet baby.

Mommy and Daddy

Our Life in 2012

2012 has gone by so fast for us. With a roller coaster of emotions all year long, we are forever grateful for the good and the bad, and the blessings that come in ways we don't always understand.

January started out with a big hopeful with our first IVF attempt (don't worry, I'm not going through every month!). After it failed and we were basically told we may never have kids on our own, the much needed break came. Although devastated, we were aware that all things work together for those that love God according to his purpose. And although we knew this, it was quite hard to swallow.

March was a fun-filled vacation with my family :) 8 people in an 8 passenger Yukon is the best idea ever! We had some laughs and some fights and went through about 3 boxes of Kleenex!

April came and a trip to Haiti forever changed my life for the better. A little bit of my heart will forever be there with the children in the orphanage and the people of Mariani. Such sweet, innocent faces and looking for hope in whoever will give them a glimpse of it.

June we decided to go for a second opinion with fertility in Oklahoma City. Dr. Kallenberger and his staff are truly a blessing in our lives. The hope they gave us, the attention that was given to us, and the professionalism of their clinic was far beyond what we could have expected. I remember him saying, "It's not a matter of IF you get pregnant, it's when and how." I guess God led us through the bad to bring us to the good.

July was the IVF procedure and although scared to death to get the same results as last time, we went ahead with full confidence. And we had 5 perfect little embryos. We found out shortly after that we would be expecting our miracle baby in April 2013. Baby or babies??!! Just one :)

October is when we found out we were having a boy. I searched and searched for a name that fit. We came up with "Brasen" which means "God's gift." I didn't want to change the spelling or anything from when I found it because it was perfect to me.

December Kyle had a much needed surgery to remove cysts (everything is ok). He is still on the mend and hopefully will have a full recovery and the cysts won't return!

We are looking forward to a great year and we cannot wait to meet our baby boy in just a couple of months! I know some of you are going through times in your life that are not so great. Remember that God has a plan for your life and He always knows best. Our job is to follow after Him and seek Him in all we do and He will always take care of us.

Happy New Year!

Help

Tragedy has struck and we are all left wondering the same question: Why?

How someone can take the life of an innocent child (or anyone for that matter)- whether it be one or 27 is incomprehensible.

There is fund set up to assist families in need by the United Way of Western Connecticut. You can read more about where the funds go here. It's set up through the Newtown Savings Bank.

Kyle's cousin has set up a page where you can directly donate using paypal. Each week the donations will be forwarded on to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund (set up by the United Way mentioned earlier). This is just an easy way for those of us that do not live near to feel like we are helping out. If you feel uncomfortable donating something over the internet, or do not have a paypal account and would like to help, please get with me. I have the physical address to the support fund. Go here if you would like to make your donation online.

Even just a dollar would go a long ways. Most of all, lets keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21