Dear Minnow,
Oh my dear little minnow, you just can't catch a break can you baby? We had our nuro-translucency ultrasound on Tuesday to check for Downs Syndrome. The test was actually a lot of fun as you would not behave for the doctor so mommy got to watch you up on the screen for almost two hours! It was so wonderful to watch you swimming around, playing with your little toes, you even laid upside down and took a nap sucking your thumb! You already have such a wonderful personality minnow :-). I just couldn't stop smiling and giggling as I watched you. The screen came back looking normal but then the head doctor came in and looked at your pictures. He told me that you have a small, recessed jaw and that it really stands out to him. He said that this means you will have breathing problems when you are born and could mean you have a cleft pallet or a syndrome of some kind which could mean you will not make it. Our midwife is also pretty concerned, she is sending us to the hospital for more tests on Tuesday. Mommy is so scared little one. I know you are doing all you can minnow, I won't ask anymore of you. Mommy and Daddy will love you no matter what happens.
I love you with all my heart minnow,
Fish
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
The Name Game
Dear Minnow,
Naming a baby is a big decision. It's funny how the baby names I have had in my head have evolved over time. When I was in first grade we had to pick a pilgrim that had lived at Plymouth Rock to study and dress up as. I chose Oceanus, the first baby born on the Mayflower, I chose him simply because I liked the name. Then for years I thought I'd name my first daughter Oceaniana, then it became Oceanianaly (pronounced oci-anna-lee), then I decided I liked Gracie Anna, then Grace-Anne, then I realized how absurd all of those names were and stopped thinking about baby names all together. That is, until one high school sleepover when your Auntie Kailyn and your Auntie Gina decided that I was going to have 26 kids and started a list where people could pay to name my children (just an fyi, if you were number 26 your name would have to be Hoobastank, you'd have your Auntie Kai to thank for that.) Around that time my cousin on my father's side started having kids, and wouldn't you know they came up with the most vanilla names imaginable, James, Benjamin and Rachel...blah. So Gina and I started making a list of any names, weird, cool, pretty, that we heard in hopes that when we all had kids of our own we could look at the list and come up with something a little less white bread. The names I liked off the list were Weatherly, Torrent, Bowen, and Regan. In college I read the play Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas, I instantly fell in love with the name Gossamer after one of the characters. Your daddy does not like that name. I still love it. Then one night your dad and I were watching Bones, and I said I liked the name Temperance. He said he liked it too then said what about the characters last name, Brennan. I fell in love with that name. It has nothing to do with the character or the tv show I just like the name, I had always liked it for a boy but had never thought about it for a girl. So we agreed if your a girl your name will be Brennan Esther, Esther after a dear dear friend of mine, family really from Church who died the week before I met your dad. I have always thought that she sent him to me, to take care of me since she couldn't anymore. I love her and miss her very much. I hope your girl so that her husband Sunny will still be alive to meet you. Your father and I had decided on the name Easton if your a boy. I love that name! It reminds me of home and the ocean and life back on the island in New England, but your dad changed his mind and now likes Peyton-James more...I don't love that name it reminds me of Peyton Manning the football player, yuck! I have also thought about the name Merson if you are a boy, that is your Great Grandfather's last name, he had five daughters so the Merson name will end with him so I think it might be nice if it lived on in you. Here's hoping we can convince daddy to pick Easton or Merson :-). I love you minnow, sorry to babble on so much!
Love,
Fish
Naming a baby is a big decision. It's funny how the baby names I have had in my head have evolved over time. When I was in first grade we had to pick a pilgrim that had lived at Plymouth Rock to study and dress up as. I chose Oceanus, the first baby born on the Mayflower, I chose him simply because I liked the name. Then for years I thought I'd name my first daughter Oceaniana, then it became Oceanianaly (pronounced oci-anna-lee), then I decided I liked Gracie Anna, then Grace-Anne, then I realized how absurd all of those names were and stopped thinking about baby names all together. That is, until one high school sleepover when your Auntie Kailyn and your Auntie Gina decided that I was going to have 26 kids and started a list where people could pay to name my children (just an fyi, if you were number 26 your name would have to be Hoobastank, you'd have your Auntie Kai to thank for that.) Around that time my cousin on my father's side started having kids, and wouldn't you know they came up with the most vanilla names imaginable, James, Benjamin and Rachel...blah. So Gina and I started making a list of any names, weird, cool, pretty, that we heard in hopes that when we all had kids of our own we could look at the list and come up with something a little less white bread. The names I liked off the list were Weatherly, Torrent, Bowen, and Regan. In college I read the play Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas, I instantly fell in love with the name Gossamer after one of the characters. Your daddy does not like that name. I still love it. Then one night your dad and I were watching Bones, and I said I liked the name Temperance. He said he liked it too then said what about the characters last name, Brennan. I fell in love with that name. It has nothing to do with the character or the tv show I just like the name, I had always liked it for a boy but had never thought about it for a girl. So we agreed if your a girl your name will be Brennan Esther, Esther after a dear dear friend of mine, family really from Church who died the week before I met your dad. I have always thought that she sent him to me, to take care of me since she couldn't anymore. I love her and miss her very much. I hope your girl so that her husband Sunny will still be alive to meet you. Your father and I had decided on the name Easton if your a boy. I love that name! It reminds me of home and the ocean and life back on the island in New England, but your dad changed his mind and now likes Peyton-James more...I don't love that name it reminds me of Peyton Manning the football player, yuck! I have also thought about the name Merson if you are a boy, that is your Great Grandfather's last name, he had five daughters so the Merson name will end with him so I think it might be nice if it lived on in you. Here's hoping we can convince daddy to pick Easton or Merson :-). I love you minnow, sorry to babble on so much!
Love,
Fish
Friday, November 19, 2010
12 Weeks 1 Day
Welcome to the second trimester minnow!!
I am happy to say that things have improved since my last post. I started spotting again last night so I called Risa the midwife this morning and she was able to sneak us in for a check up this afternoon. There you were on the screen, nearly triple the size you were during your last ultrasound a month ago!! Risa says you are quite the mover, the whole time you were happily kicking away and waving your arms at us :-). I think your gonna be a dancer when you grow up, let's just hope you don't have your father's sense of rhythm! Risa said that during pregnancy the cervix becomes veiny and can sometimes get agitated and cause spotting for no real reason. She told me that unless I see dark red blood I'm fine, if I see dark red blood I need to call her immediately and in her words "get your ass to the hospital". She told me she knows that my last doctor did a lot of damage to my confidence and scared me a lot. Risa says that she's going to take care of me and that I just need to trust her. She said that with the ultrasound next week and a check up with her the following week she is hoping I will start to feel more comfortable and stable in the pregnancy. I am so thankful for her. God works in mysterious ways and I am so glad he put her healing presence in my life, well our lives :-). I still can't get over how big you have gotten minnow! I've gained three pounds in the past month and have quite the little round bump starting. I even bought my first pair of maternity pants yesterday lol. I will be sure to take some pictures this weekend. I love you my little minnow! Keep growing!
love,
Fish
I am happy to say that things have improved since my last post. I started spotting again last night so I called Risa the midwife this morning and she was able to sneak us in for a check up this afternoon. There you were on the screen, nearly triple the size you were during your last ultrasound a month ago!! Risa says you are quite the mover, the whole time you were happily kicking away and waving your arms at us :-). I think your gonna be a dancer when you grow up, let's just hope you don't have your father's sense of rhythm! Risa said that during pregnancy the cervix becomes veiny and can sometimes get agitated and cause spotting for no real reason. She told me that unless I see dark red blood I'm fine, if I see dark red blood I need to call her immediately and in her words "get your ass to the hospital". She told me she knows that my last doctor did a lot of damage to my confidence and scared me a lot. Risa says that she's going to take care of me and that I just need to trust her. She said that with the ultrasound next week and a check up with her the following week she is hoping I will start to feel more comfortable and stable in the pregnancy. I am so thankful for her. God works in mysterious ways and I am so glad he put her healing presence in my life, well our lives :-). I still can't get over how big you have gotten minnow! I've gained three pounds in the past month and have quite the little round bump starting. I even bought my first pair of maternity pants yesterday lol. I will be sure to take some pictures this weekend. I love you my little minnow! Keep growing!
love,
Fish
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Worried
Dear Minnow,
You've got mommy worried again little one. I started with just a little tiny bit of spotting again. Please keep growing minnow. Mommy and daddy want you to stay safe and sound for the next 6+ months, could you please hang on till June? Please try minnow, we love you so much already!
Love,
Fish
You've got mommy worried again little one. I started with just a little tiny bit of spotting again. Please keep growing minnow. Mommy and daddy want you to stay safe and sound for the next 6+ months, could you please hang on till June? Please try minnow, we love you so much already!
Love,
Fish
Sunday, November 14, 2010
A Nursery in Progress
Dear Minnow,
After a very busy week at work, daddy was ready for a nice relaxing weekend. Unfortunately for him mommy had different plans :-). I found a great deal on craigslist for the cutest nautical nursery bedding! The only downside? It was over an hour away in Germantown, Maryland! Needless to say, your mommy can't resist a good deal, and your daddy can't resist a chance to make your mommy smile :-). So after a lazy morning at home during which your father put man soap on my belly insisting he could turn you into a boy this way :-), no worries though, I washed my belly with girl soap afterward lol (...and yes mommy and daddy shower together sometimes, you'll just have to get over that fact) so anyways, off we drove to Germantown! The bedding set was even cuter than the pictures I had seen! I can't wait till your fast asleep in your little nautical nursery! After we picked up the set we went to downtown Bethesda to see the movie 127 hours (it was your daddy's pick). The movie was umm....interesting lol. Then we walked around Bethesda, it was such a beautiful early winter evening. Your 11 weeks old now my little minnow, keep growing strong! Mommy and daddy love you so much!
Love,
Fish
Ps. Your daddy really wants you to be a boy, maybe we could let him win this one ;-)
After a very busy week at work, daddy was ready for a nice relaxing weekend. Unfortunately for him mommy had different plans :-). I found a great deal on craigslist for the cutest nautical nursery bedding! The only downside? It was over an hour away in Germantown, Maryland! Needless to say, your mommy can't resist a good deal, and your daddy can't resist a chance to make your mommy smile :-). So after a lazy morning at home during which your father put man soap on my belly insisting he could turn you into a boy this way :-), no worries though, I washed my belly with girl soap afterward lol (...and yes mommy and daddy shower together sometimes, you'll just have to get over that fact) so anyways, off we drove to Germantown! The bedding set was even cuter than the pictures I had seen! I can't wait till your fast asleep in your little nautical nursery! After we picked up the set we went to downtown Bethesda to see the movie 127 hours (it was your daddy's pick). The movie was umm....interesting lol. Then we walked around Bethesda, it was such a beautiful early winter evening. Your 11 weeks old now my little minnow, keep growing strong! Mommy and daddy love you so much!
Love,
Fish
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Minnow takes DC
Dear Minnow,
Saturday your daddy took us out on the town for date night. He is very good at planning dates and making us feel special from time to time :-). Saturday we took the metro into DC to see Hair at the Kennedy Center! It was your first trip to the theatre, as an audience memeber at least. Truth be told, in just the time you have spent in my belly you have already spent more time in the theatre than most adults spend in their whole lifetime. We generally spend around 8 hours a day working at one theatre or another (between the high school, univeristy and the middle school).Anyways, back to our date with daddy, we rode the metro into the city and had a wonderful lunch on the roof top terrace at the Kennedy Center before the show. Mommy may have forgotten to tell daddy what the play was about (hippies, lots of hippies) and that the actors run out into the audience and dance and climb over seats...needless to say he was more than a little suprised when the actor playing Berger climbed through the audience in nothing but a loincloth (he had gotten us second row seats). The expression on his face was priceless! After the show we met your auntie Gina at her apartment to help her get ready for the military ball and then went to dinner at my favorite resturant, a tapas place called Julieo. Dinner was great, we ate tons! Then we picked up a few cupcakes at Red Velvet and heading home to snuggle on the couch and watch a movie. It was such a nice date night! Oh, your daddy bought you a present, a collection of the original Winnie the Pooh stories. He says it is the first thing he is going to read to you :-). That made mommy's heart melt, in the good way. I love you my little minnow, keep growing strong.
Love,
Fish
Saturday your daddy took us out on the town for date night. He is very good at planning dates and making us feel special from time to time :-). Saturday we took the metro into DC to see Hair at the Kennedy Center! It was your first trip to the theatre, as an audience memeber at least. Truth be told, in just the time you have spent in my belly you have already spent more time in the theatre than most adults spend in their whole lifetime. We generally spend around 8 hours a day working at one theatre or another (between the high school, univeristy and the middle school).Anyways, back to our date with daddy, we rode the metro into the city and had a wonderful lunch on the roof top terrace at the Kennedy Center before the show. Mommy may have forgotten to tell daddy what the play was about (hippies, lots of hippies) and that the actors run out into the audience and dance and climb over seats...needless to say he was more than a little suprised when the actor playing Berger climbed through the audience in nothing but a loincloth (he had gotten us second row seats). The expression on his face was priceless! After the show we met your auntie Gina at her apartment to help her get ready for the military ball and then went to dinner at my favorite resturant, a tapas place called Julieo. Dinner was great, we ate tons! Then we picked up a few cupcakes at Red Velvet and heading home to snuggle on the couch and watch a movie. It was such a nice date night! Oh, your daddy bought you a present, a collection of the original Winnie the Pooh stories. He says it is the first thing he is going to read to you :-). That made mommy's heart melt, in the good way. I love you my little minnow, keep growing strong.
Love,
Fish
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Say Cheese!
Dear Minnow,
Today was our first appointment with Risa, the midwife. She is amazing! She has bright blue streaks in her hair so of course mommy liked her right away :-). Risa was very funny and very understanding especially about how scared I was about our whole ER fiasco. Unfortunately, Risa works out of Fairfax Hospital which does not offer water births. I have always wanted to do a water birth but I think it's more important for us to be in hands we can trust, so the hospital with Risa it is :-). Daddy and I also got to see you on an ultrasound today and you waved at us!! It was so cute! Risa turned the screen and said watch this and after a few seconds you wiggled up and down and then waved your little right arm at us which made me giggle which of course made you wiggle even more! Your already quite the mover! Keep growing and wiggling my little minnow. Mommy loves you!
Love,
Fish
Today was our first appointment with Risa, the midwife. She is amazing! She has bright blue streaks in her hair so of course mommy liked her right away :-). Risa was very funny and very understanding especially about how scared I was about our whole ER fiasco. Unfortunately, Risa works out of Fairfax Hospital which does not offer water births. I have always wanted to do a water birth but I think it's more important for us to be in hands we can trust, so the hospital with Risa it is :-). Daddy and I also got to see you on an ultrasound today and you waved at us!! It was so cute! Risa turned the screen and said watch this and after a few seconds you wiggled up and down and then waved your little right arm at us which made me giggle which of course made you wiggle even more! Your already quite the mover! Keep growing and wiggling my little minnow. Mommy loves you!
Love,
Fish
Monday, November 1, 2010
An in Utero Halloween
Dear Minnow,
Yesterday was your first (well, kind of, sort of not really first) Halloween! It was quite a busy weekend! Friday daddy thought he would be nice and hire a cleaning service to come in and tidy up the house since I have been so sick and busy with school. It was a very nice idea...in theory. Unfortunately, the cleaning lady parked in our neighbor's spot and her truck was towed!! All three cleaning people were stuck at our house for 6 hours waiting for their manager to come pick them up!! It ended up being more stressful then helpful for mommy, but at least the carpets are vacuumed.Saturday night our friends Nic and Evan threw a Halloween party. It was a lot of fun! I am very proud to say that I kicked every one's butt at Dance Dance on wii, apparently we still have rhythm.
Sunday night your Great Aunt Nancy and Great Uncle Shane had their annual Halloween party. You and I went as a Who from Dr. Suess's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and your Aunt MK went as Little Cindy Lou Who. I promise to read you the story next Christmas.
Even the Grinch decided to give you a kiss :-). Tomorrow is our first appointment with the midwife and hopefully we will be able to hear your heartbeat! Mommy is a little nervous. Keep growing my little minnow. Mommy and the Grinch love you so much! :-)
Love,
Fish
Yesterday was your first (well, kind of, sort of not really first) Halloween! It was quite a busy weekend! Friday daddy thought he would be nice and hire a cleaning service to come in and tidy up the house since I have been so sick and busy with school. It was a very nice idea...in theory. Unfortunately, the cleaning lady parked in our neighbor's spot and her truck was towed!! All three cleaning people were stuck at our house for 6 hours waiting for their manager to come pick them up!! It ended up being more stressful then helpful for mommy, but at least the carpets are vacuumed.Saturday night our friends Nic and Evan threw a Halloween party. It was a lot of fun! I am very proud to say that I kicked every one's butt at Dance Dance on wii, apparently we still have rhythm.
Sunday night your Great Aunt Nancy and Great Uncle Shane had their annual Halloween party. You and I went as a Who from Dr. Suess's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and your Aunt MK went as Little Cindy Lou Who. I promise to read you the story next Christmas.
Love,
Fish
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