Anxiously Awaiting

Well, in less then 24 hours, my wife and I will be in the hospital having our fourth child.  To say that I am not nervous and anxious and scared all at the same time would be a blatant lie.  You would think that by the fourth child we would be old pro's at this, but truth be told, every pregnancy has been different and this one is falling right in line.  It's just a natural part of life to wonder what could, would, and should happen.

Trei started out the same as every child we've had, SURPRISE!  Then everything was different.  Little man decided from the beginning to keep his head up.  Normally that would be a good thing, but not with a baby.  The child being breach was new and scarey.  We hadn't had to deal with that yet.  Then SuperMom was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  Again, a scarey new experience.  Thank God for the internet to provide us with all the information of what could happen because of this.  Sometimes I wonder how we made it as children since our parents didn't have all this "good" info.  Oh yeah, less stress.  Time passed though and so did the worrying.  Little man fell right into position with weeks to spare and the diabetes was more of a hiccup then anything else.  The inconvience of daily sugar tests took care of that concern.  Now, as we have entered our 39th week, the concerns come back.  SuperMom has had a lot of contractions over the last several weeks.  Nothing regular, but painful for her and very uncomfortable.  With all this action, you would think we would be closer to her body being primed for labor, but progress is slow.  We have planned to be induced on Wednesday so that we don't have to worry about Trei being too big to be delivered naturally. (Another concern brought on by the diabetes.) We also have a host of other "good" reasons, but it is still nerve racking worrying and just plain not knowing.  So, we are all anxiously waiting the birth of our little boy.

Anything worth having is worth waiting for and we all know it will be alright in the end.  I will update as soon as little man makes his appearance, but for now, the show must go on. 

You Called Your Wife What?

I would venture to say that my wife and I have one of the best relationships in the world.  We haven't always been as strong as we are today, but who can really say that.  Our relationship has grown leaps and bounds over the last  8 years and a lot of it has to do with our trust and comfort level with each other.  It's really funny how comfortable we have become, especially now that we are on our fourth child together.  The next part is going to show you how comfortable we are together and how much fun too.

A few months ago, my wife and I went and visited the in-laws.  Now, most of the time, the full size bed is more then enough for us, but with her being pregnant with #4, it was a little tight.  Not too mention very uncomfortable.  We barely slept any of the nights we were there.  The first night, she had lots of trouble rolling over and she would make funny grunting noises.  The next day I told her she sounded like a hippopotamus rolling over.  Now most of you are probably wondering how in the world I survived that one.  Well, that speaks to the relationship my wife and I have.  Now it's a joke and I call her pregopotamus because of her BIG pregnant belly.  I mean seriously, it's #4 and she's HUGE!  What husband in his right mind calls his wife pregopotamus and actually gets away with it?  This guy!  Because my wife and I just have a relationship that is that good.  I think she is beautiful, pregnant belly and all and she knows it.  I love her dearly and hope she enjoys being called pregopotamus for the next 3 months because then, she'll never have to hear it again.  I know that I am the luckiest guy in the world not only to have survived her new nickname, but to have her in my life at all.

I love you babe! 

New Baby, New Worries

You would think after having three beautiful, happy, healthy girls that the wife and I would be old pros at this pregnancy thing, but alas, we still have more to learn.  We can pull the heartbeat out of the air and read a ultrasound as good as a tech, but is still so much to know, especially with a new one. 

 On our most recent doctor's appointment, the nurse mentioned that my wife's Rubella antibodies were off.  My first response when my wife mentioned that was, Rubella?  Apparently, my wife is not immune and her antibodies were off.  So, the research began.  Nasty little virus this Rubella is and it can do some major damage to the unborn baby.  Great, something new to be concerned about.  Not to mention that since the wife is now 35 (I was being nice, she just corrected me, she's 36), they asked if we wanted amniocentesis.  So, another thing to think about.

With all this little uncertainties, we started second guessing our decision not to have genetics testing.  We started second guessing our thoughts on vaccines and medicines.  We started second guessing everything.  So, as good parents, we tried to become educated and the best place was to ask the Doctor, duh!  So, my wife called and the doctor said there was absolutely nothing to worry about and that everything was fine.  Whew!  False alarm, back to normal.

Long story short, always trust your instincts. You know you better then anyone else and if you take the time to educate yourself and listen to your heart, it will all be fine.  What do you think?

Shirt and Shoes Required

So, we came home from our road trip to the In-Law's this weekend for Punky Doodles birthday.  It was a typical road trip, full of the kids fighting, Daddy sleeping, and Mommy driving.  Along the way, Mommy had to use the restroom.  This should sound familiar to all you DADDS out there.  News Flash: A Pregnant Woman Needs to Use the Restroom!  As we pull into the front row parking space, Random Girl rouses to and reads  the first sign on the glass at the gas station,  "No Loitering."  After a brief explanation, she reads the next one, "Shirt and Shoes Required.  What does that mean Mommy?"  After, again, another brief explanation, Random Girl responds with "What about pants?"  The hysterics begin.

This brings me to my point, my daughter is six years old, seven in February.  I know I am like every parent out there and thinks that their child is a genius, but all signs point to yes.  During her parent teacher conference last month, the teacher told my wife that she was well above the learning level of the class, she has already passed the final test of the year with flying colors, and is the only one in the class reading at a fourth grade reading level.  She's a genius right? 

Well, never the less, our elementary school here is sub-par to say the least and we don't know what to do.  My sister has suggested that we look into a charter school, but I can't find a whole lot of information on  the two we have locally.  All I want is the best for my children and she is not being challenged where she is now.  Any suggestions on what we should do?  Any experiences I can learn from?  What other options are there out there besides your traditional private and public schools?

And Here Comes Another One

Today we had our first ultrasound since we confirmed pregnancy two weeks ago. It was so exciting and stirred up so many memories of the pregnancy of our other three children. The ultrasounds, the kicks, listening to the heartbeat, all just memories of a new life. It's hard to believe we are going to be a family of four and so very exciting. It seems like yesterday my oldest was born and she will turn seven this February. I took some time to look through some old pictures of my children growing up and it made my heart swell with pride at how much they are growing up. My Punky Doodles will turn two in three days. How time does fly by. Hopefully this pregnancy will go as smooth as the previous ones and sometime towards the end of May, we will be blessed with our newest edition. Cross your fingers we get that boy. We'll find that out in about eight more weeks. All that really matters though is that Mom and the baby are healthy. Everything else after that is gravy...