Sleeping in Laughter

A month ago today, Nana Pigeon passed away. She was a woman who lived her life in laughter as often as possible. While I was home for a few days to attend the services, there were several gatherings at my aunt's house where the whole family would get together and hang out to prepare and go through old photographs and talk about all the old stories and memories we had of her. Inevitably, we'd all end up laughing remembering all the good times and funny stories.



And throughout those few days, I had to stay aware that at this point in my pregnancy, my energy level was much lower than normal, and my tolerance for noise and overwhleming stimulation that my family exudes may not be the same as it usually is. I made sure to take time and go to the other room and sit for a few minutes in the quiet, with Cooper, who was always hiding from the noise as best he could. It was during one of these "breaks" that I became aware of a very strong memory of my own from when I was really little. It was that very familiar sense of being put to bed for the night or for a nap while the rest of the family was still hanging out and of hearing the distant laughter rising and falling the way the cheering at a sports event does in rhythm with what is happening at the time. It was just far enough away to be pleasant and not distracting and I can remember how soothing it was to fall asleep to that sound of laughter.



I sat in that room, cuddled up with Cooper on the floor and let myself dwell on that sound again and really appreciate the happiness and security and love surrounding it. And, it brought me to tears (emotional pregnant lady shines through) thinking about how my kids are going to have that sound to fall asleep to. They are going to get it when we come home to visit the family, and they will get it when we have our friends over, who are our family away from home, and they'll get it when we spend time with Bev's family because although there are less of them, they are so similar to us in their appreciation of laughter and family. It was a wonderful enough thought that I wanted to share it and to remind people to never take for granted the laughter that we share. We are all lucky to have each other in our lives. And, while our babies are all sleeping in laughter, we can rest assured that those we have lost are still immersed in that laughter as well.



(I know I said that the next post would have the ultrasound picture, but I had to throw one more in here before I left for vacation. Next one...I promise.)

Movements

So, for the past week or so I've been randomly getting that weird feeling you get in your stomach when you go over the top of a roller coaster hill, just as it starts to drop. I wasn't quite sure what it was, but the more it has happened, the more I'm realizing that its actually this little baby in there moving around and basically tickling me from the inside. What a bizarre feeling. It just happened again while writing this. So much fun.

We had a midwive appt. yesterday and got to hear the heartbeat for the third time. This time, while she was looking for the spot to get the best signal from the heart, we heard several loud thumps coming from the monitor. With each one the midwife said "ooh, that's a kick" or "whoa, there's another one". So, apparently this kid is very active right now. The heartbeat was still strong (139bpm) and sounded a bit farther away than before, so I think the baby has shifted positions and its legs and arms are now toward my belly button. Its just so cool that its moving around. Apparently it will still be several weeks before people can feel the movements on the outside, so you'll all have to wait. I get to enjoy this for myself for a bit.

We're off to Costa Rica on Tuesday, and by the time we get back, it will be ultrasound day. The next post I write will have a cool photo of this little one inside of me hopefully. We'll try to bring some warmth and sun home with us as well. See everyone soon.

The original babies caught snuggling

BUSTED...They each try very hard to pretend that the other one doesn't exist when we're around, but now we know what happens when we're not around. These two snuggle-bugs were totally caught cuddling together in the spare bed, lazing around in the sun. Unbelievable.

So, I have this cool ticker tool now to count down the days until my due date, so I figured now is a good time to actually post the fact that I'm pregnant and start believing that its real. (see sidebar). We are about the size of an orange this week. Our Little Baby Pigeon (LBP) now has fingers and toes and functional joints in the arms and legs. Also, LBP now has the ability to suck its thumb if it chooses to. The circulatory system is pretty much fully formed and the heartbeat was 156 at our last appointment. For a scary second there in the appointment we actually heard what sounded a lot like 2 heartbeats. I thought Bev was going to pass out. Turns out we can actually hear the heart beating and the valves opening and closing, so its 2 different sounds that come through the monitor.

Ultrasound is March 30th, so I'll be able to post some pictures of LBP at that point.

the tank

So, this is what we woke up to on our porch the morning of the first frozen insemination attempt. Its crazy, and it looks just like a spaceship. All the stickers make it even more intense looking. Cooper was so afraid of it he nearly skipped his morning walk just to avoid walking around it. Very funny. He's going to have so much to get used to. The best part is that inside this 3 foot tall tank, is safely stored 1 vial about the size of half a crayon.

My favorite part of the whole experience was walking through the doctor's office carrying this tank between the 2 of us and watching the looks on people's faces in the hallways and the elevator. They must have assumed we were transporting a new heart for a transplant or something. It was fascinating to watch their expressions.