A Peek at Labor and Delivery...

Well - It's official! Not only is Brookie apparently training to become the world's most famous soccer player, but she is SO active that she had me in the hospital yesterday!

It all started Monday night... This baby was rolling, swimming, jumping, skipping, karate chopping, and any other type of movement that you can think of inside of my belly! I know she's still so small, but the power in this girl's kicks is unbelievable! It was so bad that I actually complained to Zig that I wished she would just "calm down for a little while!" He had a conversation with her through my belly and told her to "take it easy on Mommy," but by the time the evening was over, my stomach was actually sore! I chalked it up as aches and pains and got a good night's sleep.

When I woke up on Tuesday morning, I was still really sore - but now it was more like cramps and back pains. It kinda felt like my period was on it's way...sore stomach, lots of pressure, and pain through my back. Even though the ultrasound tech at Womb with a View told me to expect back pain because my placenta is in the rear of my uterus, the pains in my stomach started to worry me.
I called Zig and told him what I was feeling and we both just decided that I should stay aware of what I was feeling and call the doctor if it got any worse.

Well, by about 11:00 yesterday morning, the soreness changed to sharp pains in my stomach and the back pain intensified drastically. I called into Dr. Grill's office and told them that although I was sure it was nothing, it had me worried - what should I do? They sent me home! I was told to go home, lay on my left side, and drink lots of fluids. If the pain wasn't gone in one hour, I was to call them back.
After two hours of laying down, 3 glasses of water, and a quick nap, the pain hadn't gotten any better, so I called back into the office. They sent me immediately to Labor and Delivery at the hospital! They were worried that it might be pre-term labor and they took every precaution necessary to make sure I was alright.

Zig came right home from work and drove me to the hospital, where they took us right to a delivery suite and got me and Brookie hooked up to monitors. After 2 hours of tests, they were convinced that I was NOT having contractions and that Brooke was fine. They explained that since I am already having back pain, and that she is as active as she is, that what I'm feeling is called Round Ligament pain. I've read a lot about this in my time on Baby Center, but I never expected it to hurt as much as it did!
The bad news - after Dr. Grill examined me and found that my cervix was still completely closed (YAY!) - he told me that I will probably experience this pain for the majority of the pregnancy! Great!! With the position of my placenta and her moving so much all the time - I'm basically in for a long few months!

Dr. Grill's suggestion - take the rest of the year off! I told him to 'Go Fly a Kite!'
Then, he tried suggesting that I take at least a week off to let my body get used to the aches and pains... But that didn't work for me either!

I woke up this morning feeling fine! All of the rest from yesterday was enough to get me through today. Dr. Grill said that each day will be different. There will some days that I feel fine and other days that I can hardly get out of bed... He gave me a doctor's excuse to take time off as I see fit - and my bosses at school have been great about it. They told me to "listen to my body" and take as much time as I needed to take care of myself and the baby.

My plan is to leave sub plans every day - just incase I wake up the next morning in pain. I don't want to miss any more time than I absolutely have to and I certainly don't want my kids to finish the school year without me... But I'll take each new day as it comes and hope for very little aches and pains.

The only PLUS to this scary experience - getting our first peek at Labor and Delivery! Zig and I both commented on how nice it was and how welcoming and comfortable it will be when we return there to actually bring Brookie into the world! It almost takes some of the fear out of going to the hospital to have a baby! Now we know what to expect...we just hope to NOT SEE IT AGAIN until September!

So, as the little THUMPER continues to kick away right this second, I'm reminded that I'll soon have my hands full with this little one - and that, even though I'm very anxious to see her, I'd like her to wait just a few more months to make her appearance into the world!

The Circle of Life...

Hi All,

The last few days have felt like a whirlwind in the Wray household.

I mentioned in my last post that Zig's Dad was taken to the hospital to continue his battle with Pancreatic Cancer. Zig spent every night last week by his bedside, just trying to make him comfortable and spend every last second with him that he could.

Sadly, on Friday night, with Zig holding his hand and me holding on to Zig, Shanty took his last breaths and ended his fight. As hard as it was to watch him suffer, his passing has been somewhat of a relief for the family. Zig's words for him as he passed were "No more needles, no more doctors, no more probing - no more pain." How true that really is...

It's comforting to know that our family has yet another angel to watch over these babies that will soon enter the world. Scub and Stephanie's little one, Zoe Joy and Brooke will always know that Pappy is their very own angel who watches over them from Heaven. I'm thankful for the time that he had on earth to enjoy his children and granddaughter - and the time that I got to know him as well.

The next few days will be filled with family and friends - trying to do everything they can to comfort Zig and his family. I pray that God will give him and Scub the strength to get through these next few days as they prepare to say goodbye...

Keep Zig and his family in your prayers...

Shanty knew that he had two grandbabies on the way - Zig was even able to show him Brooke's ultrasound pictures last week before he died. He knew...and he already loved her...

We know that Pappy is in Heaven taking care of our first angel and that he'll continue to watch over us and the little ones that he'll love so dearly...

Rest in peace Shanty - We'll see you soon!

It's a...

What an amazing weekend we had!

There was so much anticipation for May 4, 2008 at 3:30 pm (our ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby) and it truly felt like the day would never come! But honestly, it wasn't without a little stress and even more anxiety that our news finally arrived!

Zig and I did everything we could to make this weekend go by more quickly so that Sunday afternoon would roll around in NO TIME! So, Saturday, we filled out day with yard work! It was probably more than I should have been doing, but we traveled to Belleville to pick up 4 scoops of black mulch, spent all afternoon spreading it around the landscaping that we love so much - and it looked gorgeous! My legs were so sore from getting up and down in the yard, and I ruined a shirt of Zig's from the dark black mulch! We were incredibly pleased with the way the yard looked - and excited to get more mulch to finish the rest of the yard!

My mom came for a visit Saturday afternoon (after the work was done!!) while Zig went and helped the boys at the firehouse take care of some things.

My mom and I went through some baby things that ANOTHER class of my sixth graders had gotten for me at my SECOND BABY SHOWER! I'm telling you...never underestimate the power of 12 year-olds! They fooled me for a second time as they lured me into a classroom that was covered with blue and pink decorations, lots of food, baby games, and teddy bears for this critter! They were so cute - and I was able to fill the entire back tail gate of the Patriot with baby gifts! My mom helped me organize the gifts...so needless to say, after two sixth grade baby showers, the nursery is already full of the cutest baby things! Just love these kids...

Saturday evening, we had a great 'adult night' with Brandon and Amanda! The four of us went out to the Bel-Vue and had a great time catching up! It had been WAY too long since we'd gotten together! After supper, the boys played baseball at my house while Manda and I went to her Mom's to get the kids! It had been so long since Halle and Max had seen me, that they weren't quite sure they remembered me! It didn't take long though, until they warmed up! And I'm so glad they did! They are such great kids and we love spending time with them! We went back to their house, got the kids ready for bed, settled down, then we all played a game of cards! We always make the most 'creative' wagers for whether the boys or the girls will win - and this weekend was the first time in a long while that Manda and I lost... We won't discuss our losses any further!

Sunday morning, I awoke to my incredible husband cooking me pancakes! He knows that pancakes are my favorite breakfast and he was trying to surprise me with breakfast in bed! He was bummed when I woke up and caught him preparing my plate - so it ended up being 'breakfast on the couch!' - which I loved just as much!

Zig passed the time until leaving for our ultrasound by mowing the grass, while I ran to the grocery store and the bank! I ran into Gram Joyce at the store and ended up running late! Those that know me, know that I HATE being late! I'm always WAY AHEAD of schedule - which I'm sure will change as soon as this baby comes! We were rushing around to leave our house by 1:30 to pick up Nana (my Mom), get gas, stop and get lunch, and just some extra time for me to get myself ready! We didn't leave our house until 1:45, and when we got to Nana's, I realized that I had forgotten my envelope that had our 'proof of prenatal care' for the ultrasound! SOOOO - with me panicking because I just KNEW we were going to be late - we ran back to Burnham, stopped for gas, grabbed McDonald's, and were on our way to Lemoyne!

After a brief moment of not knowing where we were, and calling Aunt Meggie and Grammy Kathy who were already there and waiting for us, we arrived at Womb With a View! Hooray!

The facility was so nice and our ultrasound tech couldn't have been more wonderful! We were the only people there, so all of the attention was on us! (Which is the way it should be for this little one!)

The ultrasound room was beautiful! Zig had a special chair right beside the table where I was - Nana and Aunt Meggie had a comfy couch to sit on, and Grammy Kathy and John sat on comfy chairs at the end of my bed. On each wall, was a flat screen TV that showed the entire ultrasound and all of the pictures of the baby! It was so cool!

Most of the ultrasound was done in 2D - which meant that we were seeing skeleton-like pictures of the baby at first. Then, when she would find a good still shot of the baby, she would blow it up into 3D for us! We could actually see the face, hands, feet, umbilical cord, and see it move! I could also feel it moving as we watched! Crazy!

After just being in awe over seeing an actual baby - unlike the 'peanut' we saw at our last ultrasound - the tech started to search for the gender! She told us that the baby was in the breech position with it's legs pointing down and directly on my bladder. Hence - my need to pee every minute of the day! She also told us that my placenta (which is normally placed around the side or front of the uterus) is towards my back. This means that I will feel the baby move much more than others might. It doesn't have anything to kick through before I feel it in my stomach! How cool! The downside to this is that I will probably experience a lot of back pain and probably back labor...but totally worth it for this little baby!

So the moment came when we were looking at the baby as if we were changing a diaper... The legs were straight up and we could see the little butt! As contrary as the baby was being - covering the crotch with a hand, keeping the legs tight together - it finally showed it's stuff!

When the tech looked at me and said, "I'm 99.99999% sure that you're having a girl!," I think I gasped for breath and looked right at Zig! Nana, Grammy Kathy and Aunt Meggie were all in shock as we all thought it was going to be a boy! John felt sure about it being a girl so he was instantly celebrating! The tech showed us where to look on the screen as she typed in the words "It's a girl!" right on top of the picture!

Everything on the ultrasound after that point was referred to as HER hand, HER foot, HER little face - so strange, but it made this whole pregnancy seem even more real! I am so incredibly blessed!

When we were finished with the ultrasound, we had a whole page of pictures of her to look at - and we headed out to the parking lot to celebrate! Aunt Meggie headed straight for her Jeep where she pulled out a little pink gift bag! Only my sister would do something so thoughtful! She had a BLUE bag and a PINK bag filled with gifts - just in case! Inside the bag were the most adorable pink and purple outfits! That's when it hit me... Zig and I are going to have a daughter!

On our way to do some shopping, we made lots of important phone calls! My dad was first on the list, then Zig's Dad - but we learned that he wasn't doing very well and was on his way to the hospital. We went from the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows... But Shanny got to hear that he's having another granddaughter! He was admitted in to the hospital on Sunday night and is still there today... We hope and pray that he will be alright, and that this battle with cancer isn't over yet!

Calls were made to Amanda (who screamed so loud I think my ear drum broke!) and Stacie who has known from the very beginning that it would be a girl! I sent mass text messages to other family and friends and spent much of the afternoon responding to all of the congrats messages from them!

Straight to Babies R Us we went! We picked out the crib and changing table, got them ordered, and scheduled a time for them to be picked up and brought home to the baby's room! I looked at bedding sets but couldn't make up my mind as to what I wanted, so we held off on buying anything like that. However, we did leave there with 8 newborn outfits, (all pink and purple, of course!) blankets, burpies, and (my personal favorite) pink bibs that say "I Love Daddy." Every little pink outfit I grabbed was just a reminder that we will be bringing home a little girl...and little GIRL as part of our family! I just can't believe it!! I couldn't be happier!

By the time we got home on Sunday night, Zig headed straight to the hospital, and I took Nana back home. I had a few moments to myself to think about the events of the day. I hung all of the little pink and purple outfits in the closet, I folded the blankets and bibs and put them away... I started to imagine bringing a little girl home with us from the hospital and loving her more each second! I know that Zig's life as the father of a little girl will be changed forever, but knowing how much my life is going to change is a welcomed challenge!

A little girl...

Puberty, menstrual periods, boyfriends, attitude, make-up, hair styles, clothing battles, talking on the phone, cheerleading???, prom dresses, wedding day, life as a woman...

Our little girl...

Brooke Mackenzie Wray!