Well hello!
How’s everybody doing today? We’re good here – in
fact we’re very good here – especially since we recently received some exciting
news. Before I give the final verdict, however, allow me to provide a few
details.
If you missed my blog post about “Megan and Joe and
their big announcement,” I suggest you read it now so that you know exactly what
I’m talking about. Here’s the link: http://katiekolbergmemmel.blogspot.com/2015/01/megan-joe-and-their-big-announcement.html
It’s been fun for Todd and me to have this exciting
new life adventure to process. We’ve been discussing scenarios of how he and I
might structure our visit to Connecticut this summer - to see the baby, and
spend a little time helping out any way we can. Sure, I can cook something, or wash
a few dishes or loads of laundry; but mostly, I’ll want to sit and hold the new
baby, rub that soft head on my cheek, talk with Megan, and listen to every last
detail of her birthing experience. Todd will probably want to go off to fix,
assemble, or build something – anything at all. We’re both hands-on, but in
very different ways. Hey – we all play a role, am I right?
I spoke with Megan, as well as Joe’s mom, and we’ve got
a date on the calendar for the baby shower. I’ve mailed the invitations, so now
it’s time to start purchasing crepe paper streamers and cut-outs of storks - and
planning the menu, of course. Nothing says, “Welcome Baby” like ham sandwiches,
chips, cakes and cookies. Together, both of our families hope to usher in this sweet
little one with plenty of soft onesies, t-shirts and sleepers, snuggly blankies
and bottles. Ah, how soon we forget the amount of gear that one must tote
during the infant and early toddler years.
Now that Megan is well into her second trimester,
she’s feeling pretty good. Yes, she’s tired much of the time, but that’s normal.
She’s experienced many of pregnancy’s expected milestones. She recently said,
“I’m as hungry as a teenage boy.” And as her baby bump expands, her pants are
feeling a little tighter. She’s begun to enjoy the feel of the baby’s tiny kicks,
and has even experienced her twenty-week ultrasound.
To be honest, I felt anxious about the ultrasound
too, but not just for the news it
might bring about the baby’s gender. Certainly, finding out whether it’s a boy
or a girl is quite wonderful; but I admit that the test also brought me a bit
of anxiety. I’ve written about this before, but I’ll say it again. As a mom, I
love my own kids more than I love myself – and I’ll openly admit that I’ve
already added my unborn grandchild to that love list as well. So as the date of
the ultrasound approached, I just hoped and prayed for a good outcome for the new
parents, and that the baby would look healthy and happy on its snapshot.
…and it does…!
Megan called after the test and she sounded relieved
and thrilled. She described how her morning had played out, how the tech had
measured and scanned, etc. and that all appeared to be in order.
“Yes, the baby resembles Skeletor, but that’s to be
expected right now,” she joked.
Tears (good ones) escaped from my eyes, and the inevitable
shakiness that always seems to find its way into my speech, was unmistakable
when I said, “I’m so happy for you and Joe!” Finally, we hung up so she could
call her dad and give him the good news too.
#
# #
Have I made you wait long enough? Now that you know everything
looks good, and that the baby appears to be happy and healthy, do you want to
know what I know?
Well… it’s a BOY!
And, although I’d say this if it was a girl too, we really
could not be happier.
Here’s to the happiest and healthiest of babies!
(Cheers!)
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, visit her website at www.katiekolbergmemmel.com
