Sayin' Howdy!

This blurriness would be our first glimpse of the new Little D. Things are always much clearer on a moving ultra-sound screen than they are in still captures of the video, but if you use your imagination you can almost make out a baby. Or a sea monkey. We're beyond thrilled to we welcoming this new addition. Already this baby is telling us, "Hey! I'm not my big sister!" We "got" Maddie very easily, and including the great diabetes roundup, this one took us almost a year. I had a few moments of mild pukiness with Maddie, always in the morning. This one sends my stomach to the floor any time of day, and I get an almost garanteed session of the gonna-hurlies every evening right when I'm supposed to be eating dinner. And get that salad away from me. Ew. *Still vomit-free since '95 though!* Still, if this kiddo's big sister taught me one thing, it's that no matter what it is, it won't last forever. By contrast, one lovely perk of this lovely child was that the ultraound was so easy! We were used to Maddie ultrasounds. You lay on the table forever and enjoy the view while the tech pokes, finally the tech calls in another tech, who may call in a doctor because they can't find the spine or something ridiculous that was there last week, and the whole thing takes close to an hour. I would have loved to see Little D longer, but it was kind of refreshing that the whole thing took about 5 minutes. "Heartbeat? Sure, I'll show you my heartbeat! I'm doing great, thanks for checking, bye!" So in that right this one seems to be an easier-going kid. Maddie never stopped dancing, regardless of your adgenda, and has pretty much kept that up through 2 1/2 years old.

This pregnancy is going to be even higher-maintenance than Maddie's was, as we're starting the whole diabetic thing right from the start, instead of half-way through. We're suppoed to have at least montly growth scans, the regular level 1 and level 2 ultrasounds, appointments at the ATU with the perinatologist, non-stress tests (which actually are quite relaxing once they strap the giant heart monitor to your stomach and buzz the baby awake so she'll kick the crap out of you for the machine's records...but at that point it's just nice to lay down), and the usual OB appointments. It's like Christmas when you get to see the little wiggler up on the screen...but it's going to be tricky scheduling them when I go back to the whole teaching full-time thing. The ATU, where I'll go for most of this enjoyment, has terrible hours - generally daytime only, and narrow daytime at that. Apparently I was supposed to have up and quit my job once I found out I was pregnant, because that's what good mommies do. The rest of us selfish chicks have to burn every sick and personal day we can find to go to dozens of appointments. And because guilt runs in my veins, I'm also worried about it cutting into my Maddie time. I don't take kindly to stuff that cuts into my Maddie time. Yes, I realize that a new baby will do just that at first, but does it have to start so soon? The poor kid kissed her paci goodbye, she's being gently (not so gently) pressured to give up diapers, and we're booting her out of her room! (Ok, she's getting a beautiful new, bigger bedroom, but the story could totally be twisted the other way someday if she wants to make this sibling feel guilty.) Now Mommy has to be at the doctor's several times a month instead of hanging out with her after school? Poopies. And not in the potty, either. I hate to sound like I'm complaining about getting extra chances to see Little D - it's awe-inspiring and such fun, too. "Hello kiddo!" Especially now that we know what that little one on the screen grows up into.

Well, we hope you enjoyed our first of (let's face it) many pictures of our newest family member. We feel so blessed already. We carried those ultrasound pictures out of the office like a trophy after (sort of) getting to see our younger child for the first time.