Almost Ready for His Closeup

Now that we found out we'll be bringing home a little baby boy- we were ready to start preparing for Kubs. 

We've registered. You think this is easy stuff but there are books written about all the do's and don'ts of registering. Figuring out where to begin was a little overwhelming! Lucky for me, Jay was up to the task of sorting through Consumer Reports and starting a list. He even bought me a book to help! And after one intense baby weekend- we were registered. 

If you're interested you can find us at Target, Amazon, and Great Beginnings (http://www.greatbeginningsonline.com/) all under Jeremy Lawson and/or Sandra Lawson. 

(I know it's cheating since I haven't actually changed my name yet, BUT I did have a date with the Social Security Office to get that sorted out when Sandy got in the way!)

We didn't register for a lot of clothes and toys, mostly because those are things people love to choose on their own and I'm sure if you pick out a toy or clothing we'll both OooOOo and AaaaAaaa and Kubs will surely enjoy them! 

Registry weekend also included cribs. My mom and dad went shopping with us. We picked out a lovely crib set (it's this ash brown color) and a glider. The crib set was a gift from my parents and we are so thankful to have them near by for support and advice! Of course, baby furniture takes 10-14 weeks to ship... so we've got some time!

You'd think after registries and cribs you'd be done, right? Nope! The only car Jay and I own is a sporty 2-door Scion- wonderful for those sunny days but not so much fun with a car seat in the back. So, last Friday we bought a new car, fully equipped with 4 doors- make way for Kubs's new ride: 

Our new 2013 Subaru Impreza

We have a month of busy times ahead of us- baby showers, holiday giving at work, family visits, more baby showers and of course the holidays!! So we'll try and keep the updates coming, but feel free to email or call if the updates become too few and far between. 

Last, but not least, Kubs must know that his mom will be bombarding him with all kinds of pictures when he's born because he's a stubborn one when it comes to sonagrams! The good news is that we have a healthy growing baby- whose new due date is Jan. 28, 2013. The 'eh' news is that he still isn't a ham. 

Here's the best picture we got at our last ultrasound, which is a little hard to make out. Maureen was the one who cleared this picture for me. Kubs's face is head on. His nose is toward the bottom middle if that helps and his hands are folded under his chin: 

Kubs: 27 weeks and 4 days

Keep the emails, calls, and prayers coming! Saturday officially makes the start of our third (and last trimester!!). Pretty soon, we'll be bringing Kubs home and we just cannot wait! 

Don't Paint the Walls... Keep all Receipts!

So this is the moment you all have been waiting for... but I won't get to it just yet! We have to let the suspense build a little! 

We've received some more lovely and thoughtful presents showcased below: 

Lovely first book from Emily, and Baby's first Robe and Towel from  mom and dad

Little Mono (monkey) and sleeping outfit from Julie

Thank you for all the kind words and support! Every time I open my email or get a comment on Facebook it makes me smile! and Baby kicks too! 

Now onto the meat and potatoes. Before I continue- make your guesses! Boy or girl??

We were originally supposed to find out last Friday, but our doctor was on call and was busy delivering babies (imagine the nerve!) so we waited until Tuesday. 

Our doctor was running a good hour late, and we were on pins and needles. The doctor made us promise that we wouldn't paint the walls and that we'd keep all receipts just in case. 

Of course, once it all started we were all systems go! Baby played a little hard to get and moved all over but we were able to measure most everything. And even though we didn't get any good pictures to share, or get to see baby's face we are happy to announce: 

that we will be bringing home a lovely baby boy in January! 

We have another ultrasound scheduled for Halloween so hopefully our little boy will be less shy by then. We've picked out a name. Our little bundle of joy will be Kabir Isaac Lawson. Kabir from a well known Indian poet whose name means "great one" and Isaac which means "he who laughs." So our little man will be "the great laughing one" and as my boss put it "laughing poetically!" 

We'll start working on our registries and get that information out soon, with more pictures of us, even though we know everyone just wants to see our baby bump! Our friends and family baby shower will be Sunday, Nov. 4th in Rockville, MD. We'll be sending evites and invites soon too! Both of our offices will be throwing showers too! 

Our California family is always near and dear and while we won't be able to make it to California before baby arrives, we hope to visit after baby is born. You are welcome to join in festivities either by mailing cards or gifts, we can video chat or talk on the phone, or you can come out to visit us. Most importantly you can keep doing what you have been doing: sending us plenty of love, support and prayers! 

Hugs and kisses and lots of well wishes! 

Baptism Class

So we've decided to have Baby Lawson baptized. I suppose we had decided that long before Baby Lawson was even an idea, but I have gone back and forth about baptism. 

I think a lot of it has to do with beliefs that are taught that I don't personally think align with what it means to be Catholic. As an adult, I've learned to temper everything that I am told to do/believe with what my conscience tells me is right. But how do I do that with a child while not appearing to always have some exception to the rule?

Our parish has every couple go through baptism class for their first child. So we decided this would be the beginning of our discernment process. Class was held on two Sundays for 5 hours total.

Going to this class didn't start on the best foot. We were sent an information packet about Baptism, including the guidelines for picking Godparents. Oh did every one hear my piece about Godparents!! First, you can't have two Godparents of the same gender. Period. What if I didn't have a man or woman in my life that had the faith and character traits I wanted as a role model for a child? Nope, if it's two people of the same gender, no can do! I completely understand that one Godparent has to be a confirmed Catholic. No qualms there. But why does the other Godparent have to be a baptized Christian? That completely eliminates any one in our family who isn't baptized or who isn't Christian, regardless of if the person is a faith filled person who would guide a child morally. And what guarantee is it that someone who is baptized is a good person?

Ok, I could go on but enough ranting. There were good parts to all of this. At one point in the class we were asked "What do you seek of the Church?" I answered that I was looking for "unconditional love, acceptance, and support through our child's discerning faith journey which begins with baptism." I thought I had done really well! And then Jay answered and made it so clear to me that we were making the right decision. He said "you want to make your child always feel supported and through baptism we are able to give our child the broadest and deepest family."

The broadest and deepest family. This is a family that transcends pure genetic ties. One that has a spiritual connection beyond the Church walls. One filled with love and joy over the blessing and growth of a new little one. A family that will show our child how loved s/he is, how accepted s/he is, and that s/he is beautiful just because s/he exists. And through this broad, deep family, our child will be surrounded with so much goodness. S/he will be able to discern for his/herself and stand up for what s/he believes in. We don't have to worry, because we are surrounded by an amazing family that our child is already blessed to be a part of. 

The knitting group at our Church, sealed this idea for me. They came by and had knitted each couple a lovely blanket pictured below. They did this not to pass judgement, but so that each child would be wrapped in the warm blessings of their prayers. Our blanket is beautiful and pictured below with our stuffed monkey Phillipe. 

Thank you for being a part of our lovely, broadest and deepest family! We can't wait to share more with you!!

Also, I know you are all dying to find out if we're having a boy or a girl and what his/her name will be. I know we are!! Our appointment where we find out the sex of the baby is Friday, Sept. 28. BUT Jay and I will be having reveal cupcakes at work on Monday, Oct. 1. Soooo there won't be a blog post until Oct. 1 in the evening. And if you are dying to know and can't wait, text or email me and we'd be happy to share!! 

When You're Pregnant... Life Pours!

Being pregnant has some perks- pregnant parking, yummy delicious food, all the extra attention, looking forward to a lovely little baby and so much more. 

But it has it's crap-tastic moments too! Here's a few of both from the last couple o' weeks:

• I got bronchitis! In the summer, while preggo, in the middle of an important work week, while Jay was traveling. So that translated to no days off, sounding like a XXX phone operator who may have smoked too long in her life and then like a prepubescent boy, having to run out for most things and do most of the errands, and terribly missing Jay! I was lucky that mom, dad, Tony and Andrew were there to help and listen to me being the biggest baby on earth and making all the silly things I wanted to eat!

• Following getting better, I caught a lovely summer cold. Looks like there will be plenty of Kleenex and prepubescent voice in my future :) 

• At 20 weeks (halfway there!!) I look like I'm pregnant now! I went from being chubby to actually having a baby belly (skipped the baby bump of course) There's a picture below- feast your eyes on my belly! 

• Because I've started to look pregnant, my pants don't fit and well leggings aren't an everyday option. So, I thought I'd be smart and buy maternity full panel jeans because I'd get the longest use from them- obviously! What I failed to realize is that my tummy is not big enough to hold up the full panel jeans, so for now I walk around pulling up my jeans. It's quite the rocking look :) 

• We've had 2 doctors' appointment around when the bronchitis was first diagnosed and one today. Our first doctor was a little "I'm the best doctor" and the visit was pretty normal. Our second visit, which included the power going out, was much more entertaining. Our doctor regaled us with server, WiFi and sunshine stories.  We didn't get an ultrasound either time, but we did hear baby's heart again. I don't think I'll ever tire of hearing that wonderful sound! My belly is measuring perfectly.  At 155 beats per minute Baby's heart is healthy and mommy is healthy too! 

• Drum roll please :::da da da da dum::: we'll be finding out if we have a Baby Boy or a Baby Girl on Sept. 28, 2012 at 2:25 p.m. EST. So cast your votes now, and wait until you're told if you're an aunt or an uncle ;) 

• To that end, we have baby names picked out! But those will be our secret until we find out if Baby is a girl or boy. But trust us, you'll love either name! 

• Pregnant belly means that Baby is getting bigger and stronger. I just started feeling little baby kick! Baby seems to like kicking the most at night time, which makes all the sense in the world given that I'm Baby's mom. 

Other than those updates, we're just excitedly waiting to meeting Baby. We've made a few grown up decisions which has been fun. But for the most part I love telling people I'm pregnant and that our lovely little one will be here in the New Year! 

Until next time- hugs and kisses and super wishes from Jay + Sandra = 3!

Tidbits and Firsts

Tidbits: 
Sandra donated her hair in celebration of baby. She're rocking a sweet summer bob! Baby and mom are both healthy! Wonderful heart rates, eating well, taking aerobic swim classes, and such. Sandra has very little morning sickness, and is mostly just tired. We're 14 weeks and 4 days along. 

Pregnancy has a lot of firsts. Here are a few of them with some pictures :) 

First meltdown: 
Sandra definitely started crying over Krispy Kreme doughnuts (or the lack there of) after Jeremy, Tony and Andrew all made fun of her for wanting some! (no bias here of course!) For safety, Sandra's meltdown was not photo documented :) 

First Toy: 
Of course the day we found out we were pregnant, Sandra had to get something for new Baby Lawson! So we had lunch and went to Target. Oh are baby aisles overwhelming! After about two aisles, Sandra said "Just pick a rattle and let's go, I can't handle this now!" So, Baby Lawson has a spur of the moment froggy rattle to call his/her own

First Cards: 

The emails have been pouring in as we started telling people. Everyone we love is sharing in our excitement and offering so much support! Two special people sent us our first baby cards- thank you! My pregnancy brain and sleepiness has made me a bad friend- I owe people phone calls, I have a backlog of cards to write, and so much more! Thank you for understanding, being patient, and sending us so much love!

First Gift: 

Jeremy gave Baby Lawson and Sandra our first gift. Besides the plenty of time to nap, picking up after me, and cooking dinner with Tony, Jeremy also bought me my first pregnancy book. Who knew my literature loving hubby would've have gotten me a book? 

and finally...

First Picture: 

We've had 3 pictures total, all while our baby looked like a little bean. Here they are: 

Baby at 6 weeks

Baby's first "text" at 7 weeks- our sonogram tech was super excited for us! 

Baby at 8 week 

We heard baby's first heartbeat at our 8 week check up, and again at our 13 week check up- it is by far the most beautiful sound we have ever heard! 

Ready...Set....GO!

Ready:
With a diagnosis in hand and a plan, we patiently waited for Aunt Flo. While waiting, Sandra interviewed for a full time Program Manager job at the City of Gaithersburg. Good news comes in twos- not only did she get the job, but we were ready to get set! 

Set: 
We had our prescriptions for Clomid, HCG shot and Prometrium all filled. Started taking the Clomid and waited some more. After the Clomid, we had ultrasound after ultrasound, looking for a follicle that was the right size. May 7, 2012 we had 1 follicle that was big enough- all engines were GO! 

GO!:
May 9, 2012 Jay did his drop off, and then we had our first Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). It's a super nerdy procedure with all kinds of accuracy. Sandra, of course, geeked out on all the science. Before and after the procedure, Sandra had to take two different medications. The procedure itself was quick and only mildly crampy. 

We were due to take a pregnancy test on May 24, 2012, but we were in California celebrating Andrew's high school graduation (Go Bells!). We also indulged in a few In-N-Out burgers which made the wait a little better. Even though Sandra was now technically "late" we were advised not to take an OTC pregnancy test since the medicines Sandra was taking could give a false positive. Our test was schedule for May 30, 2012 the morning after we flew in. 

Maryland welcomed us with thunderstorms, which delayed our flight by hours and we didn't home until 1 a.m. We were so exhausted! Which made a 7:30 a.m. appointment almost unbearable! But we got up and did our blood test, then came home and slept! 

At noonish, our nurse, Paige, called. She woke us up and asked how Sandra was doing. Sandra responded with "We're good just tired from our delayed flights last night" Without skipping a beat, Paige responded "Well, you're also tired because you are pregnant!" Sandra immediately started crying.  Paige went on to tell us that when they do a pregnancy blood test they look for Human Chronic Gonadatropin (HCG) levels of at least 100 to prove pregnancy. We tested at a level of 2100! So naturally Sandra told our nurse that means we're super pregnant! 

We had to go in on June 1, 2012 to test our HCG levels, which doubled and confirmed that Sandra was pregnant! 

So long story short- There's a bun in my oven!! 

In the Beginning

Happily married, first anniversary done, and hopes for a baby in sight! That was July 2010. That began a journey of many trials, many errors, lots of tears, and a deep rooted disdain for pregnancy tests. Many missed cycles, different medicines, and a year an a half later the gynecologist referred us to Shady Grove Fertility. 

The days up to our first appointment were long. We spent a lot of our evenings researching adoption options, and what our insurance covers (which was nothing outside of diagnosis) and talking and planning out what we wanted to do. On January 30, 2012 we met our doctor- Dr. Sagoskin and our nurse Paige. They explained as much as they could to us, were supportive, gave us loads of information, and an arsenal of tests to take. Our next appointment was scheduled for March 21, 2012.


Tests and Results: We spent months taking tests. A bunch of tests. Most of the tests were on Sandra, Jay only had one- no points will be awarded for guessing which one. What did we learn from all of these tests? The results are as follows:

1. Sandra has a beautiful uterus. Nurse's words, not ours. Well, they're ours now too. So there are no issues there.
2. Sandra's hormone levels are normal.
3. Jay's sperm count/shape/motility are all normal. 

March 21, 2012- So what's going on? The doctors says that Sandra's brain and ovaries are not communicating well, and as a result, Sandra's eggs are are being formed but not released. So more than two dozen are still there, sitting on the ovaries, giving the appearance of cysts. This is called PCOS, or poly-cystic ovary syndrome. It's fairly common. 

So what's the plan? The doctor is recommending another round of medication that Sandra has already used with ultrasounds, and one other medicine, along with an IUI, which is short for Inter-Uterine Insemination. It is less invasive and less expensive than an IVF, which is good because it's equally uncovered by our insurance. It will still require some money and several doctor's visits. The only risk is of twins, which is at 7%. We will be able to swing the cost of these procedures (there will be up to 4 attempts). This will however put a nasty dent in our Faberge egg collection.

And then we waited for the start of a cycle.