M Big Sis promoHearing your little baby’s heartbeat is such a wonderful sound. Knowing that baby is doing well inside is so comforting. Wayne and I like this reassurance before we tell the world we are expecting.

Let me clarify, we did share with our immediate families we were expecting number 2 right away. There was no way we could keep this news from them. As it turned out, almost all of them guessed what was going on before we had a chance to officially tell them. They know us way too well for secrets!

Now that we know baby is doing great it’s time to let the rest of our family and friends in on our little secret. After the doctor’s appointment, Madeline was having an extra cute day. I took some pictures of her analyzing the ultrasound pictures- her brother or sister’s very first photos! She wasn’t all that impressed. She took one look and threw the pictures on the ground. She had no interested in the ultrasound pictures after that. Hopefully, this isn’t a sign of things to come!

We let Madeline share her Big Sister Promotion news in picture form. We sent an email to family and friends and let Madeline do the rest. Of course, people were excited for us. There’s nothing like telling those you love that a baby is on his/her way!

[twitter_follow username=”CatherineCares” language=”en”]

[fblike style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]

[fbshare type=”button” width=”100″]

We had our first OB appointment for this pregnancy. We were excited to hear our baby’s heartbeat -or maybe babies’ heartbeats. Wayne had it in his head, and it was starting to creep into mine, that we were having twins. They do run in the family. So the question was, how many heartbeats were we going to hear?

Madeline came with us to the appointment. We thought it would be a fun family event we would remember forever. Madeline made sure of that!

I was lying on the examination table with gel and the ultrasound wand on my belly looking at the monitor. Madeline was sitting on Wayne’s lap. I could see she was fidgeting. She was behaving almost nervous or worried. I told Wayne I thought she might be concerned by something. As soon as I spoke up, she began to cry and reached for me. She was having a complete meltdown. Turns out, she was worried about what the doctor was doing to me. It didn’t even occur to us to explain to her what was about to happen to mommy. She is only 15 months old. We aren’t used to having to explain everything yet. She was so upset Wayne gave her to me. I held her across my chest and she had a death grip around my neck. The doctor continued the search for our baby’s (babies’) heartbeat(s) while Madeline calmed down.

Despite the unexpected ruckus, we heard it. Our precious baby’s heartbeat- 152 beats per minute. The twin theory was just that a theory. Madeline became quite curious about that sweet sound when she heard it. She looked toward the monitor. Maybe she recognized it from her days in the womb? Regardless, Wayne and I both let out deep breaths. Our baby’s heart tones were strong. Things were looking and sounding great. What a relief!

[twitter_follow username=”CatherineCares” language=”en”]

[fblike style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]

[fbshare type=”button” width=”100″]

Last night Wayne and I were sitting on our back patio enjoying some wine by the fire pit after a long work week. Our 15 month old daughter, Madeline, was asleep. I sipped my wine. It just didn’t taste that great to me which was strange. I am a fan of red wine. The last time an alcoholic beverage didn’t taste great I was pregnant. Could it be? No. Well, maybe. Now I was curious. I remembered I had a pregnancy test in the closet. Trying to remain calm, I said goodnight to Wayne and wondered inside. I located the test and took it. Then I waited. I was prepared for a “long” wait, but that wasn’t the case. PREGNANT appeared on the test quite quickly. I had two emotions- pure joy and a little bit of anxiety. Can I handle a second baby? How will I function on little sleep caring for an infant and a toddler? Will this baby be Madeline’s sister or brother? Madeline adores babies, but how will the transition go when this baby is here to stay? How can I love this baby as much as I love our sweet Madeline? When am I due? Probably around February- oh my gosh, they will be exactly two years apart! How fantastic! Oh my, I will have two kids two and younger. Other people do this and survive, right? How is Wayne going to take this news?

I wondered back outside with a goofy grin on my face and wide eyes while my mind was working overtime. Wayne looked up and joked, “What, you aren’t pregnant, are you?”How in the world did he know? I hadn’t let on about my suspicions. I just shook my head YES – still grinning – and showed him the test. Wayne’s eyes got huge. He smiled, leaned back in his chair, sipped his wine and shook his head in disbelief. He, too, was excited about another bambino on the way. Being Mr. Analytical his mind quickly shifted to logistics: Can we afford a second child? Where are we going to put our second baby in our two bedroom home? Can we afford to move? I could see his wheels turning. I rushed over to him and hugged him. We decided just to be excited for now. We could figure out the logistics later. We were having another baby!

[twitter_follow username=”CatherineCares” language=”en”]

[fblike style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]

[fbshare type=”button” width=”100″]