Megan, Joe, and their BIG announcement...

Megan, Joe, and Macie - January 17, 2015

 



So ummm… I have a bit of a confession to make. Our family has been keeping quite a secret for about seven weeks now – since Thanksgiving Day, actually.

I’ll come right out with the news, and then fill you in on all of the details. (Drum roll please) Our daughter, Megan, and her husband, Joe, are expecting a baby. Yes, it’s true. Our daughter’s going to be a mama. Her due date is in July. So… if you’ve done the math, this development is going to make Todd and me grandparents! Grampa Todd and Gramma Katie – can you even believe it???

Future Grandparents

To say we’re excited is an understatement. From the moment we heard the news we wanted to begin sharing with everyone; but it’s always good to see how things go for a bit, make sure all is well. The good news is that all seems to be going very well.   

What happened was this… During the week of Thanksgiving, I received a text message from Megan. It said that we should watch for an envelope to come in the mail, but if it was okay, just hold off opening it until we could talk. I didn’t think too much about it – we often ship things to each other, especially on holiday weeks, so I promised we wouldn’t open it. The envelope did arrive, and it was ‘squishy.’ I could tell it wasn’t a card or book or anything. We made a plan to Skype on Thanksgiving morning, when Todd and Joe would both be home.

A vague thought occurred to me. Could she be pregnant? Naaahhh… Probably not. She hasn’t said anything to make me think that – although she did recently ‘change doctors’ and ask me for an updated family medical history. Hmmm… I did not mention my suspicion to Todd, just in case I was very very wrong.

A vague thought occurred to Todd. Could she be pregnant? Naaahhh… Probably not. She hasn’t said anything to make us think that – although she did recently ‘change doctors’ and asked Kate for an updated family medical history. Hmmm… He did not mention his suspicions to me – just in case he was very very wrong.

During the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, we skyped with the kids. As our television displayed huge balloons floating above NYC, we were told to open the envelope. Todd turned to me and whispered, “I’m going to write my idea down, see if I’m right…” He picked up his pencil and wrote a single word on his nearby box of Swedish Fish candy…

We opened our package, and inside was a beautiful card, along with a tiny baby outfit, with turkeys stamped all over it. On the sleeper’s backside was a little puffy turkey, complete with fanned-out feathers. “Mom and Dad, we’re having a baby – You’re going to be grandparents.”  

The little turkey outfit :) 

Todd and I both felt so happy – sitting together on that special holiday morning, being able to see the excitement on the kids’ faces as they gave us the good news, all of us sharing the tears of joy that only accompany wonderful news such as this. Todd finally revealed that he’d written the word, “Pregnant” before they divulged their news, just so that we’d believe him if that was indeed the news.

Megan said they’d been to the doctor, and that things looked normal. She often felt tired, and a little nauseous, but so far, so good. It was funny because she suddenly seemed so different to me. With the simple delivery of their news, so much had changed. This was my child – preparing to have a child. I felt protective, wanted her to get plenty of rest, eat well, not lift anything heavy or accidentally slip on a snowy sidewalk. I’m sure it’s just the beginning of lots of feelings for all of us.

Megan and me - April, 2013

Since it was so early in the pregnancy, they asked us to keep their secret a secret, especially since they were coming home to Waukesha for Christmas. They wanted to see people in person, and give them the good news face-to-face. Of course we agreed to silence, but I’m not gonna lie - it’s been tough. As you know, I talk a great deal, and had to really guard myself against letting anything slip. But nothing did.

The exception to the silence was that each of the kids called their siblings, and gave the good news via telephone. Megan said that Tony and Lesleigh sounded very excited for them and asked lots of questions. Most of all, Tony encouraged them to name the baby “Anthony,” and if a girl, “Antoinette.”  …a simple request… (shrugs) ;) 

My fav four in NYC after the MABF competition - June, 2014

I must admit that our silence paid off because it was a true joy on Christmas morning to watch Megan and Joe tell my 92-year-old dad the good news, and to see his reaction. It was also fun to witness the hugs and hear the many well-wishes from aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

I’ve been planning this blog post for ooohhh, about seven weeks now, promising I wouldn’t do anything until the kids were ready to make their announcement “Facebook Official.”

And so, here we are at about thirteen weeks (but who’s counting???) With the kids living in Connecticut, we’re looking at logistics of how things might play out. Can we figure out a time for them to come back here for a baby shower? Will we travel there immediately post baby, or wait a bit? What makes the best sense? We don’t need to have every answer right now, but we’re thinking about it all, as you can imagine.

And that little turkey outfit? It’s been on a hanger in our living room since the day we found out. It makes us smile when we see it, makes us feel closer to the situation, helps to bridge the many miles between us.

As the weeks and months tick by, I’m sure there’ll be a lot more I’ll write about all of this; but for today, I ask this… Please keep Megan, Joe, and their little “Baby S” in your most positive thoughts and deepest prayers. Oh, and maybe, since this is new for us all, just throw our whole family into that mix, just for good measure!

As always, thanks for reading…

Until we blog again,

Katie Kolberg Memmel is the author of “Five Fingers, Ten Toes – A Mother’s Story of Raising a Child Born with a Limb Difference.” For more information about the book and the author, visit her website at www.katiekolbergmemmel.com