Announcements

Since hearing your heart beat (the neatest thing my ears have ever processed) and sharing the news with our parents, we have also been able to tell an entire wedding of our friends (Sam & Tiff's wed), as well as some of our brothers.

The tie for the best reaction is between Jackie and Steve Rasmusson and your uncle Kevin. Jackie and Steve hugged and screamed and hugged again seven plus more times. There were tears and more hugs! It's the most fun to tell people who have not witnessed your mother not drinking wine; therefore, known something was up. Your uncle Kevin, who you may have noticed travels less to the sentimental side than your other bros, he said, "when I meet that little baby, my heart will explode!" and I'm sure it will, as it will with all of your other uncles, grandparents, friends.

What do you want to be called?

… chimed my mother as she hugged my mother in law.

We waited ten difficult weeks to share your existence with our parents. The thought of sharing earlier and you not being there, we thought may crush them nearly to the extent it would have crushed us.

Apparently they “all knew” and it was “so obvious”. You see, Zygote, your mom enjoys red wine very much so, and for two months I was not partaking in one of my favorite past times… I guess it was pretty obvious.

Anyway, we had to share right away as there was company coming later that we didn’t want to dilute the brevity of our news. I made the quick announcement, there were some tears, but mostly hugs on hugs on hugs all night long.

I am so looking forward to all the talks to be had with your grandparents over your arrival, to you growing and my stomach stretching, to all the changes that are to come for both of us.

I’m so grateful to be your mother. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, my life long dream. There are four other people in this world now that will love you beyond a love I can conceive, a love they already know because they have been parents, yet a new love I imagine, the love a grandparent has for their grandchild.

Great, you got me crying at work again. One of these days, we’ll get a computer that works at home, and I won’t be messaging you all the live long day.

Like a Hummingbird

Yesterday was the day I had been waiting for since those lovely two lines showed my hormone levels two months ago. Being terrified that something had happened to you, or that my body was just making up this pregnancy, I wasn't sure if you were really in there… until yesterday.

Your father and I met with our nurse-midwife, Amy. It was a great appointment filled with questions and giddy laughter. My two months of nerves were quickly eased by the high-tech stethoscope that could detect you way down in there. It was a speedy 165bpm. Erik said you sounded like a hummingbird (**female name). I just loved hearing yours on top of my pokey beat. You are so small, and your tiny heart is working so hard. It makes me want to give you every advantage possible! 

Thank you for being in there, for making such progress (you’re a kumquat at 10.5 weeks), and for already filling me with so much joy and love. I can wait to meet you, I can wait for you to incubate to your full potential. 

Baby Friends from the Beginning

Hey there baby Zygote of ours!

How’s it going in there? I hear that you’re starting to get hands, their like the size of most my freckles, but that’s still pretty mind-blowing!

I just wanted to share with you that you are not alone in this world, like really really not alone. You will always have your dad and I, your grandparents, uncles (aunts eventually), and friends - my friends and your friends.

Today, one of my nearest and dearest alerted me that she is also with zygote! M zygote will be just about a month behind you. N zygote will be a month and a half before you, and G zygote is almost here, so about 8 months before you. And who knows which of my friends will surprise us with the same, most delightful news in the near future.

Moral of the story is, you are already surrounded by love, in places you won’t know for a long time. I wish that when you are my age, you have great friends (that is my top 3 grandest wish for you) that are in similar stages of life. It’s so fun to share boyfriends/girlfriends, engagements, weddings and babies with your people. I wish you this joy. It is soul-filling.

(less than two weeks till I hear your heartbeat and I am WISHING time away more quickly than ever before)

Kahlil Gibran On Children

Your children are not your children.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,

but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children

as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might

that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

so He loves also the bow that is stable.

- Gibran 

Craversions

Zyg, you’ve put me in quite the pickle (food pun intended). On one hand, I want to feed you all the best lentils, kimchi and veggies; on the otherhand, you want none of it - all you want are sweets/all I want are sweets!

The aversions (as are far more apparent than cravings) began yesterday. Your father had taken everything (apples) with him to the BWCA. I had prepared all sorts of healthy, savory foods for the week, most of which will just sit in the fridge.

This left me with raspberries and ice cream to eat. When life gives you raspberries and ice cream, you make a fruit shake! It was delicious, and naughty and provided none of the support I want to give you.

Today was a little better - aussie bites, tomatoes, red peppers and lentils. It’s not easy to meal prep for you when I don’t know what you will crave at the next turn. My only goal, get enough nutrition in you to get you to the nine month hurdle. Wish me luck/start craving veggies please!

Regardless of the goofiness that you already possess, I appreciate your presence. I love the aversions. I love the burps, the unquenchable thirst, how you’ve thrown my emotions and my PH for a whirl. I love them, because it tells me you are here/there/still needy. Please don’t stop needing my nutrients until after Mother’s Day (due date) or shortly before ;)

Your First Flight

Dear Zygote,

This weekend you went on an epic adventure to Nashville, Tennessee - your first and only flight. Your dad and I agreed that we much preferred you inside my belly to outside during the actual commuting. We highly doubt you will be doing much sky hopping with us for the first MANY years.

We had a blast surprising our buddy, Matt Murphy for his 30th birthday. Melissa went to all lengths to make is such a special weekend for he and us. We went boating (I drove the van out there and the boat on the lake), to a music fest, honkeytonks, and to the biggest best southern family style meal ever! You. Ate. Well!

Basically, I wanted you to know that you were on a flight with us, we had a blast, and your auntie and uncles (Matt, Mel, Linds & Mike) are beyond stoked to meet you. They could not stop raving!