The Business of Being Born

For this child I prayed,

and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him.

1 Samuel 1:27

 

March 29th - I was 37 weeks and officially full term. There's something about hitting that mark in your pregnancy that gets everyone excited about the baby's arrival again. It's so close, so real, and for momma, so ready to be done with it all.



Me at 38 weeks
on my last day of work

Now originally back in the second trimester when my doctor had said we should induce around week 38 or 39 due to my high blood pressure, Kevin and I were like, "No, no, no, no, no...she needs to 'bake' longer!" Little did I know at that time, what 36, 37, 38, and 39 weeks pregnant actually felt like. So when we scheduled my induction for April 12th, I was SO excited. And RELIEVED...relieved to actually know when my baby girl was going to be here. Now, if you've ever met me, you know I'm a planner - an over-the-top, down to the nitty-gritty details, type A planner - and to this end, my plan was to work through week 38 and make my last day April 5th because this was the day my two teaching units would be complete and the English IV AP/DC research papers were officially due. That way, I would still have a week to grade the 97 research papers and enter six weeks grades before I delivered. Everyone who heard my plan just kind of laughed at me and told me that the baby had its own schedule. To which I laughed and said, if I could get 150 students to follow a syllabus, so could my kid!

 

Well, we made it through April 5th with no sign of being near delivering, so I spent my last week before being induced completing my last bit of "nesting" chores. Every day, there was a new place to go or a new household task to tackle. I think I completed more items on my checklist in those last few days than I had in a month, even though I was huffing and puffing through it all. I was determined that to have no loose ends, or at least to go into labor on my terms with my mind at ease that I had accomplished what I wanted.



39 Weeks - My last preggo picture and
our last picture as a family of two!

April 11th - The day before D-Day finally arrived, and I had a schedule of things I wanted to get done before I had to check into the hospital that night at 10 pm: go to my OB appointment, get one last manicure and pedicure, finish inputting six weeks grades, and pack my bag for the hospital. At my OB appointment, we had our last ultrasound, which estimated the baby to be 7lbs., 7 oz. The tech told us once again that our baby had tons of hair (Who can see hair on an ultrasound? I can barely figure out what part of the baby we're looking at!), and Dr. Lin did one last check and told me I was maybe dilated 1 cm and to expect a long night and day of delivery ahead of us. So, we headed out of the doctor's office and on our merry way with more items to get checked off my list. Except as we were driving along, I started to feel a little bit hot and my ears started to get a little muffled...and then the next thing I knew, Kevin's yelling my name trying to wake me up in the passenger seat of the car because I had passed out. He, of course, was freaking out, but luckily, we were only like 5 minutes away from the hospital, so the OB had him take me straight to Labor and Delivery to get checked out. I tried to convince him everything was okay since I have a history of fainting every once in a while when hormone or blood pressure levels go awry, but he was having none of it. Once we got there and I was hooked up to the monitors, they couldn't find anything wrong or give any reason why I has passed out. In hindsight, Kevin and I think it might have been a result of the morning's internal exam and it triggering my body into labor. Seeing that I was already there, a bed was available, and my doctor thought my labor was going to take forever, the nurses offered me a chance to stay and get everything started instead of coming back that night, but I wasn't ready to stay. I didn't have grades done or a bag packed, and I didn't want Kevin leaving me there to go get our stuff. So, we got the "all clear," checked out, grabbed some lunch at Spring Creek, skipped the planned mani/pedi, and headed home. For me, it was really comforting to get to go home and get everything settled, so that when we headed back to the hospital that night I wasn't worried about things at school or things at home. Before we headed out to the hospital, my parents came over and picked up Lizzy and snapped a few last photographs of us.



Checked in
and ready!

10 PM -  Time to check in to labor and delivery! The induction plan was to complete a round or two of Cytotec to thin my cervix and then in the morning, a round of Pitocin to start contractions. When I checked in, I was still only 1 cm dilated, so everyone kept telling me to be ready for the long haul. Of course, my least favorite part of the hospital stay came at the beginning: the IV. I can't express in words how much I hate IVs. I've now had 9 IVs in my lifetime and only 2 of them have gone well. It's not that I have bad veins; it's just the sheer pain of the procedure. Apparently, I must have a really low pain tolerance in my hands. I mean, just watching someone having their hand hurt on the television makes me cringe and turn away. Luckily, our nurse Ashlynn was super cool with getting me the anesthesiologist to do it so that I could have my hand numbed with lidocaine. To me, that was a good start to the night! After that, I was hooked up to all my monitors - baby's heart rate, contractions, and blood pressure - and then, I was told to try and get some sleep before they started the first medication at midnight. It wasn't the most comfortable of setups, but I tried my best to get comfy. Kevin, on the other hand, had no problem stretching out on the couch-like bed and drifting off to sleep.

April 12, 12 AM - It was time to start the meds to get this show on the road! Unfortunately, it also meant that I could have only ice chips until Emma was born, so I chugged my last glass of water while I still could and made an awkward trip to the bathroom while hooked up to all my monitors. Once the Cytotec was administered, I had to lay still and on my back for an hour, which doesn't sound too bad, except for that massive bump on top that was weighing down on me. Our night nurse, Ashlynn, told me to get some sleep and that they'd be monitoring me from the nurses' station. Well, that was easier said than done because in 15 minutes she was back because Emma had gone off the monitor, and it needed to be readjusted. Then, five minutes later the blood pressure cuff inflated to take a reading, and it felt like my arm was going to be squeezed off. And then, Emma moved off the monitor again...she hated things being on her in the womb, even when they did ultrasounds earlier in the pregnancy. Finally, everything seemed to get situated for awhile, and I was able to just lay there a bit.

12:30 AM - Ashlynn came in to check on me (and adjust Emma's monitor yet again) and asked how I was doing. Seeing as I had never been in labor before, I asked her if I was having any contractions because I was having this weird tense feeling in my back and some downward pressure every so often. She chuckled and said yes that they were happening every so often and asked if I needed any pain meds. At that point, I was doing okay, just feeling funky, so I didn't take any.

3 AM - Between 12:30 and 3 AM, my nurse was in and out to check vitals, adjust monitors, and such. I tried to sleep, but it wasn't really working, mainly because the contractions were becoming more frequent and intense. Mind you, I hadn't even been given the Pitocin yet, which was the medicine that was supposed to start the contractions. Finally, I felt that I was pretty much constantly uncomfortable, so I decided I would give a pain shot a whirl. So I picked up the phone to call my nurse, which freaked Kevin out because he had been sound asleep while I had been lying in bed having contractions and all of a sudden, I was calling the nurse. In my mind, I figured that while I could still breathe through them on my own, there was no real reason to wake him. So Ashlynn came and gave me a nice shot in my IV, and within 30 seconds, I was feeling good...loopy, but good. The shot was enough to make me drowsy so I could finally fall asleep. After checking me out, I was still only 1 cm dilated, despite the contractions. So, I was going to need another round of Cytotec. But Ashlynn also told us that with my contractions being like they were we had to wait on the second dose of Cytotec, and that they'd try again at 5 AM.

5 AM - Well, the time came, and I was still just 1 cm dilated (boo!), so we got another round of Cytotec, which meant another hour of lying still on my back. My contractions were coming in intervals ranging from 1-3 minutes. The pain medicine was starting to wear off a little, but we were okay.

6 AM - Ashlynn came and checked after the hour wait, and we decided we needed to discuss my pain management options. I wasn't in enough pain that I thought I should get my epidural at that point, but Ashlynn told us that the anesthesiologist was schedule for a C-section at 7:30. If I had got another IV pain shot, it might wear off before the anesthesiologist was out of surgery, and I wouldn't be able to have a 3rd shot to tie me over. So, I went with the epidural, and they told me the doctor would be there in about 30 minutes to get it started.

7 AM - An hour later, the anesthesiologist hadn't shown up, and I was starting to get antsy, to say the least. What if he hadn't gotten the message? I wasn't going to do this au natural! 7 AM was also time for shift change, so we said goodbye and thanks to Ashlynn and welcomed Ladonna, our day nurse. She wanted to get me ready for the epidural, so we made my last trip to the bathroom (because once you get an epidural, you get a catheter, in case you didn't know), and as I was getting back into bed and situated my OB came in on her morning rounds to check on me. Ladonna told her that while I was in the bathroom and she was checking my bedding, it looked like my water had maybe already started breaking. So Dr. Lin went ahead and finished the job, seeing that I was contracting regularly and now 2 cm dilated. However, I don't think Dr. Lin was convinced at that point that I was anywhere close to being ready, and she left telling me she'd most likely see me later that evening to deliver.

7:45 AM - The anesthesiologist FINALLY showed up to start my epidural before he had to go into his scheduled C-section (some 30 minute wait!). By then, I was ready for it and in fact, was feeling quite a bit of pain mixed with frustration (getting an IV was still worse though). Kevin, the one person who usually helps me through these things, wasn't allowed to be in the room while they did the epidural, so he went to get breakfast and left me with Ladonna. Now, the epidural itself really didn't hurt. BUT, it was a little scary because I heard these noises and felt pricks and pokes all while I had to be semi-hunched over leaning on a nurse I barely knew. Plus, they were telling me to be calm and breathe while I was having contractions that were taking my breath away and making my eyes water. But it got done and they got me in place, and once that epidural was working, it was heaven. But also weirdness - my legs were pretty much numb. When Kevin came back from breakfast, he had fun poking them or moving them and asking me what I could feel.

Me under all my blankets
(even a heated one)
to combat the shivers

8 AM - Once I was settled back down, Ladonna checked me again since it had been an hour since I had my water broken and my contractions were still coming every 2-3 minutes. Now, I was 3-4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Kevin decided that he should probably text people and let them know I was progressing. At this point too, it was decided that I didn't need the Pitocin at all because I was doing fine on my own. Sometime within the hour too, Ladonna started me on oxygen to help keep any stress down for me and Emma. Also, one of the side of effects of all the fluid they were pushing through me in the IV with the epidural was that I was terribly cold, to the point that I just shivered constantly, especially if uncovered.

Dad watching my contractions
and Emma's heartbeat

10 AM -  By this time, my family had shown up and visited me in L&D. When checked, I was now 7-8 cm dilated! In fact, my contractions were coming too frequently, like every 1-2 minutes. So to avoid stressing out Emma any more, I got a shot to slow the contractions. For my part, I couldn't tell how fast or when they were coming due to the epidural, but at that point, we were told I was progressing pretty quickly. I was more worried about how I was supposed to push when I couldn't really feel anything. But Ladonna reassured me that I'd know what to do when the time came. Kevin's parents made it to the hospital just in time to say hello before the nurses wanted to start shooing people out.

Waiting for Emma

12 PM - With everyone settled in the waiting room, Ladonna told us it was time to start pushing. She told Kevin and I that we were going to do some "practice" pushes first, just to see what would happen. So we'd wait for a contraction to start, and then I would complete three 10 second push cycles. Now, I was still on the oxygen, which was annoying to have on my face while pushing; plus, the oxygen was completely drying me out and I was super thirsty. So a push cycle went something like this: Ladonna said a contraction started, I took off the oxygen mask, pushed for 10 seconds three times, Kevin gave me some ice, and then I put the oxygen mask back on. Sometimes I asked for ice in between pushes or they made me put the mask back on - either way it was a three person operation! By 12:45, Ladonna decided she should call for Dr. Lin, knowing that it would take some time to get her over there. As we progressed, Ladonna and Kevin would see more and more of Emma's head - to which they confirmed that the ultrasound tech was right and the baby had a head full of dark hair. That freaked us out for a moment (what if they put in the wrong eggs?!?!) until I remembered that Kevin had dark hair when he was born. We continued pushing off and on and working Emma down the birth canal. In all honesty, it wasn't painful (thank you epidural!), just a weird feeling of continual pressure. Different nurses came in and out and were getting the room all setup with different tables and instruments for Emma's arrival. 


Weight: 7 lbs., 5 oz.
Length: 19 inches

Looking back, it did not feel like I was working on pushing for almost two hours. My nurse Ladonna made it such a calm and controlled process that time really just flew by. By the time Dr. Lin got there, we were completely ready. In fact, once she got suited up - she pushed things into high gear. When she asked Kevin if he wanted to cut the cord, he was like, "Well...," so she just flat out told him he was going to do it! Then she looked at me and said we weren't waiting for any more contractions cause that baby was right there, and I needed to push it out. Three more big pushes later, and at 1:40 pm, Emma Lynn Banes was born!

Kevin cut the cord, and my first question was, "Is it really a girl?" To which they laughed and confirmed it was as they took her over to get her warmed up and cleaned off (I didn't want a fresh out of the womb baby on me - I have a strong aversion to viscousy fluids). Kevin snapped pictures, while I finished my part of the labor process with Dr. Lin commenting on how surprised she was that I made such progress so fast. And then, I got to meet my daughter - my perfect, much prayed for, and already loved beyond belief daughter.

Our first family photo!

 

Of course, everyone was super excited to see her, but we spent the first two hours just together as a little family, bonding and just in awe of this little blessing sent to us from God.  When I look back at all the things we had to go through to get her here, all the years of heartache and tears, the good times mixed with the bad ones, I can see that God had a purpose and plan for Kevin and I in becoming parents, and now, I can't wait to see what our future has in store for all three of us!

Click here to see more pictures of Emma!



Making Room for Baby!

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. 

It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. 

~Elizabeth Stone

So when Kevin and I started down the path to parenthood, we knew to expect changes to our lives. Prepping for Emma's arrival has definitely affected us physically, intellectually, and emotionally!

Well obviously, growing a tiny human inside of me has made for some interesting physical changes to say the least. Not that I have anything to really compare it to, but this pregnancy hasn't been too hard. I haven't had any scares. No major swelling til after Spring Break hit - I could even wear my wedding ring up until two weeks before delivery. Now, I will say bending and moving has definitely become more challenging. For example, I had been walking around the classroom giving editing advise on research paper changes and about a fourth of the way through my students, I was so tired...and then it occurred to me, why am I doing all the moving and shaking here? It was WAY easier to have 150 students bring their laptops to me instead of trying to bend over and look at 150 laptops over the course of the day.

There's been changes to our routines at home too. Poor Kevin had to finally start helping me tie my tennis shoes! I tried to wear slip-ons when I could, but they made the swelling worse, so tennis shoes were the way to go when I had to be on my feet for a good part of the day. Even Lizzy has been affected as she has gradually lost her snuggle spot with me on the couch. It's not that I didn't want to snuggle with Lizzy - there was just literally no room on the couch for her next to me when lying down. The poor thing would do her normal pawing at the blanket, and I'd let her under but she couldn't find a spot to fit.

Just to give you an idea about how things have been growing, here are some baby bump snapshots:


30 Weeks

32 Weeks

35 Weeks

37 Weeks

Additionally, we've had to make some changes to our house to start to accommodate Emma's arrival. We (and by we, I mean Kevin under my supervision) finally finished her room upstairs. Kevin did an awesome job painting, putting together furniture, hanging pictures and drapes! Then, there was the purging of the cabinets and closets. That was a task in itself because when we bought this house we wanted to make sure we had "room to grow" as a family. Unfortunately, when we moved in we unpacked and treated things more like "look at all this room we have to EXPAND." So needless to say, we had acquired quite a bunch of junk that needed to be sorted through, tossed, and/or rehoused so that we had room for bottles, blankets, burp clothes, and all sorts of baby related items. My mom and mother-in-law were a HUGE help to me in getting this done, and it definitely soothed my nesting anxieties.

Here's a look at Emma's completed room:

So with everything mostly ready, we're just counting down the days 

until Emma actually shows up!

Showers of Love

Ten delicate fingers
And ten plump little toes,
Two big eyes and a
Cute button nose.

 

Soft tufts of hair
As fine as angel floss,
Warm and fragrant, and
Soft as new moss.

 

Chubby little legs with
Little dumpling feet,
Tiny arms that one day
Will give hugs so sweet.

 

There's nothing like a baby
To prove the reality of love,
Just hold one in your arms and know
It's a gift from heaven above.

 

Well, February and March were crazy busy! With school in full spring swing, our weeks were not only filled to the brim, but so have been our weekends! We've been extremely blessed to have multiple showers in honor of little Miss Emma's arrival. So here's a quick recap of all the shower fun!

 

Student Shower at Cy-Lakes

My students have been pretty much obsessed with my pregnancy ever since they found out back in October. I think on some level they all think this child is their sibling. So with lots of whispering during class and tweeting back and forth, they decided to put together a little shower for me one day after school. They decorated the LGI, played the "Don't Say Baby" game, ate some yummy treats, and watched us open presents. It was really special to have my "kids" help me celebrate Emma's upcoming birth.

 

 

 

Click here to see more pictures from the Student Shower

 

  

Banes-Gaas Family Shower

At the end of February, the wonderful ladies of both of Kevin's side of the family came together to through us a shower at my mother-in-law's house. They went all out with the girly decorations because even though this is my mother-in-law's 3rd grandchild - it's her first granddaughter. Plus, most of the children on that side of the family are boys, so it was exciting for everyone to get a chance to have fun with pink, purple, bows, and dresses! We had lots of yummy food, including homemade cupcakes made by Kevin's Aunt Carol. They were all specialty filled cupcakes, like vanilla with strawberry filling and red velvet with cream cheese filling. We played games, opened presents, and just had an all-around good time celebrating the impending arrival of little Emma!

 

 

Click here to see more pictures from the Banes-Gaas Shower

 

 

Aunts & Ladies of BCBC Shower

The next weekend we were blessed by another shower; this time it was hosted by my aunts and some wonderful ladies from Bear Creek Baptist, my home church growing up. This shower was held at my house since both of my aunts live out of town, but it was neat because everyone got to go up and see Emma's nursery. There were lots of special touches added to this shower - most of the decorations came from things either I used or my mom used when we were babies, which was my Aunt Susan's idea. It was pretty cool to see all the stuff from when I was a baby, and how much everything has changed! My aunt Julie made little dress packets full of games for us to play - she's so crafty like that! Plus, at this shower Emma got LOTS of handmade gifts like my cousin April's Aggie hat and booties, lots of crocheted blankets, and even a crocheted bug stacker from the always talented Ms. Linda Church. It was truly a special time to get to celebrate with all of the women who were there for me growing up!

 

 

 

 

Click here to see more pictures from the Aunts & Ladies of BCBC Shower

 

 

Teacher Shower at Cy-Lakes

Our last "official" shower was thrown by the teachers I work with at Cy-Lakes High School the week before Spring Break. This shower had a book theme to it, and everyone was asked to bring a book to help build Emma's library. Of course, with most of us being English teachers, they were all over this, and we got an awesome selection of books. Some of my favorites was picked out by our librarian, Janice. While browsing on Pinterest, I had come across this BabyLit series that takes classic works of literature and makes them into board books for kids. For example, Pride and Prejudice is a counting book and Wuthering Heights is all about weather. Well completely unbeknownst to Janice, she picked out the exact books without even knowing I had my eye on them! It was great to just hang out with my fellow teachers and talk about something other than school. Plus, last year was the year of baby boys, so everyone was super excited to buy cutesy girl items too! I'm definitely blessed to work with some very awesome people who have been taking good care of me while at work!

 

 

Click here to see more pictures from the Teacher Shower

 

 

All in all, everyone is super excited that little Emma is on her way, and so are we! We are blessed to be surrounded by people who care about us whether they be family, friends, co-workers, students, or our parents. Emma's got tons of people praying and looking out for her already, which truly touches our hearts.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

There'll be much mistltoeing

And hearts will be glowing

When loved ones are near

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

 

Christmas really is one of my favorite times of the year. The decorations, the songs, the family time, the occasional Texas cold front - it all puts you in the mood to be ready to celebrate the season of our Savior's birth. Of course, this year the Christmas season had us thinking a lot about our own little one's birth coming up in the new year.

 

I've felt really blessed lately because of the great love and care shown by my husband Kevin. This year I was worried that the Christmas holidays might be spoiled because I was SUPER sick with a sinus infection the last week of school. Now, over the years I have developed a pretty hardy immune system from being a teacher. So if I'm sick, I'm really sick, and when I'm really sick, I need really good drugs to make me better. The only problem this time was I was pregnant at the same time as being super sick. So no super drugs for mommy. In fact, all I got was a simple prescription for amoxicillin, which was fine except for the fact that with all the stuff stuck up in my sinuses it felt like someone had shoved cotton up my nose and then decided to sit an elephant on my face. The pressure was horrible. Claritin D - my good old standby and safe to use - did nothing. Sleeping on a thousand pillows did nothing. Drinking lots and lots of fluids did nothing made me pee even more than my pregnancy normal. It was BAD. Poor Kevin, he just didn't know what to do to make me feel better. He made/bought me tons of spicy food, drew hot baths, and even slept on the couch one night because his snoring was keeping me awake (I think I had gotten him sick too). But the ultimate moment of sacrifice on Kevin's part came one night after dinner. He had suggested that I take a warm shower to try to open up my sinuses since it helped in the morning. Unfortunately about 15 minutes into said shower, the worst happened - I got sick. Twice. All I could do is stand there and cry. Poor guy came in to see what was wrong, only to find me cowering in the corner sobbing uncontrollably. I think I was crying more because I knew he'd have to clean up after me yet again than because I felt so bad. He got me out of the shower, let me cry some more on the side of the tub, got me dressed and settled in bed - and then tackled the shower. Talk about unconditional love. He's truly been a blessing to me while being pregnant. He may not be a man of many words, but he is a man with a servant's heart.






Our "little" Christmas



But things did get better - thanks to my husband's care (and the neti pot), so we were able to enjoy a nice set of Christmases with all of our families. As we looked at our tree Christmas morning, we talked about how this was our last "little" Christmas as a family of two (three, if you count Lizzy). We have had several blessed experiences this holiday season:

• Our families have continued to shower us with their prayers and gifts as they have helped us start to get ready for Baby Emma. Even Emma had presents under their trees this year.

Emma's Christmas gifts from our families

• Our friends the Tauriellas gave up one of their child-free days to help us begin registering. Registering is a daunting task, by the way. We spent three hours at Babies R Us and still didn't get everything scanned. But without them, I think we would have been completely lost!
• We got to have another successful ultrasound of Baby Emma. We had to go back and check her heart because last time it was too small to get good pictures of. At first, we didn't think she was going to cooperate - she was hard asleep with her back and butt to us. The tech had to wiggle and jiggle my belly quite a bit to get her to finally wake up, roll over, and get her picture taken. When she did roll over though, we got to see the cutest yawning face ever. Both of our moms commented that she must have been warm and snuggled down hard (like her mother when she sleeps).




That's a yawn - not a scream face.

• We've gotten to start on the baby's room! We have her bedding, ordered furniture, and began working on paint and trim. Working on the room makes it feel a little bit more real because there's something concrete that we're doing for our child. My brothers Stephen and Philip have been a big help to Kevin getting all of our stuff done. Here's a small sneak peek:

• When she's not sleeping, Emma's a child on the move. A lot. I've been feeling her movements since Thanksgiving, but Kevin had only felt her move twice up until Christmas. Every time she was moving and he went to feel it, she would stop. I think he was starting to take it personally. Now, that's not a problem! Kevin laughs every time she kicks his hand away. She's also managed to kick me right on the belly button - ow! - and at our last OB appointment, she kicked the Doppler away while they were trying to listen to her heartbeat. The nurse told me she must have been excited for the Aggies' bowl game that night. 

Mommy at 25 weeks

All in all, it's been a pretty awesome holiday season, and with the new year now underway, we can't wait to see what blessings come our way in 2013!

And just in case you haven't seen it,
one our favorite AllState "Mayhem" Commericals: Labor

Making it to the Halfway Point

What are little boys made of?

What are little boys made of?

 

Slugs and snails

And puppy-dogs' tails,

That's what little boys are made of.

 

What are little girls made of?

What are little girls made of?

 

Sugar and spice

And everything nice,

That's what little girls are made of.

 



Me at 15 weeks

For 20 weeks now, we've been growing and waiting. Waiting and growing. For 20 weeks, all our family and friends have been itching to know a central question - boy or girl. In fact, Kevin's mom, who's so excited, couldn't wait, and so she just went ahead and bought us some gender neutral clothes...lol. And for 20 weeks, 150 students have asked what feels like a gazillion times a day if we know what the baby is, or if I have any crazy food cravings, or if I'd thought of any names (cause their name is available), or if I've felt the baby move, or if....you get the picture. The way they act, you'd think it was their little brother or sister coming into the world!

Now when people ask Kevin and I what we want - our answers are always the same. Me - a happy and healthy baby; we've waited too long to care. And while Kevin will agree, he really wants a girl. If you've never met any of the extended Banes bunch - it's all boys. A virtual smorgasbord of testosterone. On the Banes side, Kevin has no aunts, 6 male cousins and 2 girl ones, and just an older brother. Among the cousin's kids, boys definitely outnumber the girls. Plus, do you know how hard it is to come up with a boy's name that's not already being used, or as a teacher, that you don't have an aversion to?



Mom made me put the
fake bump on cause
I kept complaining
that the clothes
were too big!

So for 20 weeks, we've kept ourselves busy. We've had work, Saturdays spent either at an Aggie football game in College Station or watching it on TV, chores around the house, and just life in general. Since I've taken on National Honor Society this year at school, it hasn't been too hard. The hard part was actually having a weekend to go out and find some maternity clothes. I made it in regular clothes to about 15 weeks, but after that it was just more of a comfort issue than a bursting out of my pants one. My mom, bless her heart, spent a whole Saturday with me going around to different stores trying to find something that'd work for school and wasn't going to break the bank. Now, if you've never had the opportunity to wear maternity pants - you are missing out. Honestly, I don't know why I waited to so long! On the comfort scale, pregnancy pants fall between wearing pants with elastic and wearing no pants at all - they're that good.

It's been a good 20 weeks - no over-the-top crazy sickness, the hubs and the kiddos at school take care of anything I need - just some smooth sailing. We had been scheduled to do our 2nd trimester ultrasound the Tuesday after Thanksgiving - so that's what we had been telling people; we'd know boy or girl after Thanksgiving. But then, at one of my checkups (they've been watching my blood pressure), after going over my list of medications with her again, she checked my anxiety meds in her magic book and discovered it was a Class D and could potentially cause harm if taken in the first trimester. Well, talk about too little, too late. None of the doctors I had seen thus far had caught it, so all we could do now is go get a Level 2 ultrasound, which could tell us if there was any harm. Do you know what it's like to have anxiety about anxiety medicine? My OB tried to reassure me though that this was not my fault, and that the studies just said there was possibly a link. That did nothing to help - I'm a worst case scenario type thinker. So for two weeks while we waited for our appointment, my brain was full of "what-ifs."

 

Our scan was scheduled for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We hadn't told anyone about it or the reason why we were going - we just didn't want to get everyone worried if it turned out to be nothing. Plus, I think it was just something that Kevin and I wanted to face on our own. Our child, our thing to worry about. So, we checked in at Katy Memorial Hermann, and I got my little medical bracelet, and we were on our way! The ultrasound tech was super nice and made sure to tell us about everything she was seeing on the screen. Of course, if she hadn't, we'd have never known what we were looking at. It's still a mystery to me how they know exactly what they're seeing, and I just see blobs. When you do a Level 2 ultrasound, they measure all the baby's parts. Length of femur, circumference of head, size of internal organs - it's really detailed. She had asked us very early on if we wanted to know what the sex of the baby was, and of course, we said yes! She made no promises because the baby was being a bit squirmy, but she'd definitely try. I just remember looking at all the different images and just being amazed about how something so tiny, yet so awesome was growing inside of me. We also just had to have a giggle because the baby just looked like a mini-Skeletor to us because at this point in its growth, there's no cute baby fat to plump it up. Then all of a sudden, she got her shot to see the gender, and asked one more time if we wanted to know. YES, we both said together, and she told us, congratulations on your baby girl! I, of course, immediately teared up, and just cried through the rest of the ultrasound. That was our little girl on the screen. Our precious daughter. Kevin, of course, couldn't grin any larger, and was just itching to tell me "I told you so." But more than anything, what we wanted to know was if she was okay, and she was! Everything was there and measuring on schedule. When we met with the geneticist afterwards, she told us that after her research into the drug, the chance for any problems wasn't any higher than what the normal population would have experienced anyways, so we shouldn't worry. It was definitely a relief!

Left & Right Hand

Spine

Profile Shot

 

My Mom

Kevin's mom

So as we giddily giggled our way out of the hospital, we were now stuck with another problem: how and when to tell our parents! We knew a whole week before we had told them we would know, so we wanted to do it in some kind of surprising way. We weren't spending the Thanksgiving holidays with both families, but we wanted them both to find out at the same time - so I came up with a puzzle for them to solve. I emailed it to my brother Stephen, with the explicit instructions that he was to put it in an envelope and give it to my mother at 3 PM on Thanksgiving Day. Of course, he wanted to know what it was all about, but we wouldn't tell him. Thirty minutes later he was texting us back that he had figured it out...twerp! LOL. We were spending Thanksgiving in Caldwell with Kevin's family, so we took the puzzle with us and gave it to his mom at 3 pm to work on. Kevin and I just squirmed as we watched his mother work so hard to figure it out. Thirty to forty-five minutes later, their reactions were priceless! My mom was texting me, and his mom was doing the happy dance! They were both super excited to meet their granddaughter, little miss Emma Lynn Banes. Her name is special to us. Her first name is for both my great grandmothers - Emma Graf and Emmie Wright. Both of whom were extraordinary women of faith and family. Her middle name is my middle name, my mother's middle name, and my mother-in-law's middle name. It's kind of tradition in my family to share middle names with parents, and Kevin and I liked carry that idea on.

 

 

Our Thanksgiving puzzle

 

So now as we enter the second half of our pregnancy, we've got a lot still to do! Nursery bedding's been picked out and ordered. The room has to be painted. We've got to register! So much to do, and so much to look forward to. 

 

In the end, boy or girl - it's definitely everything nice! 

Me at 20 Weeks