The Announcement

Today is Manny's birthday! Happy 37th, honey. Unfortunately it wasn't very happy for him because he was S.I.C.K. He stayed home from work yesterday and today. It kind of worked out nicely for me that he was home today because the boys are also sick (terrible coughs, fevers, and body aches) and I had a doctor's appointment this morning. I was wondering how I would avoid spreading their germs to everyone in the office.

I was so nervous about the ultrasound. With this spotting I've been having, I was absolutely convinced that they would look and not find a baby. But thankfully, all is well. Baby is measuring 7 weeks + 1 day. And the heart rate was perfectly on target (I think 144 bpm). It was one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time, that little flashing, beating heart. Amazing! Honestly, I don't remember being this astonished when seeing my boys'. But I never was so nervous with those pregnancies either.

But here's something funny & slightly bothersome... my Dr. informed me that since I fall within the category of "advanced maternal age" (AKA, an OLD MOM. I'll be near my 37th birthday when the baby is born) I can have some additional tests run. I won't have any of the tests done, but I'm not loving this new label. It makes me feel old!

So, with the relief that everything is fine I felt like it's a good time for us to tell the boys the news.
Tonight we sat them down on the couch and told them we have a big surprise for them. Manny took a video while I sat beside them and told them. "Guys, remember how I went to the doctor today? Well, she told me that we're going to have a baby. The doctor took a special picture inside my tummy so you can see the baby." And I showed them the ultrasound picture.

I had to repeat myself a few times because they both sat there kind of shocked for a second. Elijah was the first to react. He was so happy! He kept saying "I can't believe you're going to have a baby!"  Next we asked what their guess was, is it going to be a boy or a girl? Elijah says girl without hesitation. Zeke says boy, but he might change his mind. Elijah wants a little sister so bad! Zeke doesn't really understand, but he's happy too because we're happy. I love Elijah's curiosity and excitement about this. He hasn't stopped asking questions. He keeps putting his hands on my belly and asking if I can feel the baby yet. He made me promise to tell him the moment I feel anything. Every few minutes he says "I just can't believe you're going to have a baby!"  It's sweet because I can tell he's thinking about it a lot. He has already asked to be in the room when the baby is born. This is yet to be determined.