Six Browns » Pregnancy

My One Regret

sandi — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 09:33:18 +0000

I have many regrets, and I’m sure everyone does. The stupid things you do, you regret… if you have any sense, and if you don’t regret them, maybe you’re stupid. ~Katharine Hepburn

In my life I have but one regret. It centers around a very special little girl that I never met. Because of my body, she was not given a fair chance at life. My body failed her. This I don’t regret, it is out of my control and I can’t regret things I can’t control.

I do however regret never eating pumpkin pie when pregnant with her. I had an overwhelming craving for it almost everyday, but since I was pregnant with her in the summer I figured I would wait until fall to eat pumpkin pie. Fall came but Elizabeth wasn’t with us anymore.

I wish I had taken the time to make a pumpkin pie in the middle of summer. I wish I had eaten a piece everyday.

I have no other regrets in life. All other things in my life have made me who I am. I have learned from all my mistakes. And even this regret I learned a very valuable lessons from: Life is fleeting, take time to do the things you will do today! Make time for the little things and celebrate each day as a miracle and blessing.

Elizabeth Irene I love you more than anyone can imagine. Today you would have been six years old! I cannot imagine what you would have been like but I know I would have enjoyed it.

All Clear!

sandi — Thu, 05 May 2005 04:00:34 +0000

Today I had my 2 week check up. I am healing up nicely and able to resume all normal activities. The girls were so happy to have me able to pick them up again. I am so glad to be able to get back into the grove of things. I do not like to be a burden on people and it has been far to long that I have been.

I sure hope they are just as happy tomorrow when it is just mean old Mommy again. They have had such a sweet time with Daddy, Grammy and Grandma. I am sure they are not looking forward to going back to our normal routine. No more walks to QuikTrip with Daddy in the morning. No more getting Grammy to give them candy. No more getting Grandma to push them in the swings for hours. I will update how the transition went. Hopefully it will be good.

Back From the Hospital

bbrown — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 01:11:54 +0000

I am back from the hospital. I am at the beginning stages of preeclampsia. I am going to the Dr. tomorrow and we will most likely discuss the delivery of Little Bit. I have to take it easy tonight and try to lie down and if the condition worsens call the Dr. Hopefully everything will go smoothly tonight.

Only 19 days

sandi — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 19:17:46 +0000

It seems unreal that in at least 19 days we will be meeting our next daughter. It seems like only yesterday we were finding out that she would be coming. Honestly 19 days is the outside realm. In all reality she may be coming any day! Bill and I are eagerly awaiting her arrival. I am not sure the other Girls are but I know they will love her when she gets here.

Appointment Update

sandi — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 02:25:59 +0000

Today I am 37 weeks. I had my appointment and found out that I am 2 cm dialated still and 60-70% effaced. My cousin ensures me that this is some progress but, in the same breath she said she was happy it was going slow. I guess I will make it to the May 5th due date. Seems as though my babies want to get out before it is time but once they get the go ahead to come out they stay put. Kind of ironic but certainly not funny. At least not to me.

Still Pregnant :)

sandi — Sat, 09 Apr 2005 03:35:41 +0000

For all of those who have yet to call and ask. Yes, I am still pregnant. I have been having contractions but nothing substantial or in a pattern. My cousin Michelle, who is training to be a midwife, will be present at the birth to offer support. She is going out of town for the weekend to celebrate her anniversary with her husband and has asked that I not go into labor until she returns home on Sunday night. We shall see what the little lady has in store for us. I do not think that it is this close but of course I could be wrong. I think that she will probably hold on for quite some time, that is if she is anything like her sister Annie.

Great Dr. Appt!

sandi — Thu, 07 Apr 2005 04:05:04 +0000

I went to the Dr. today and was pleased as punch when he told me that I could go off of bedrest. Thanks to the loving support of my family, Mom, Sister Teresa, and Bill I have made it to the crucial 36 week mark. Little Bit is free to come now if she wants. I am dialated to almost 2 cm and I am 50% effaced. This is kinda big news since on Sunday I was not effaced at all. The Dr. believes that if she were to come before next Wed. she would be able to fit through my pelvis. Next week we will have to look into her size further. With a small pelvis and wanting to try the VBAC it is important that she be large enough to do well outside the womb but small enough that she can fit through.

Here is hoping that she makes her grand entrance sometime soon!!! We are ready to meet you Little Bit!

Preterm Labor

sandi — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 01:55:06 +0000

Today I had to go to the hospital because I was having contractions every 10 minutes and they would not stop, even if I was lying down. The on-call Dr. suggested that we go to Good Sam because if the conditions were favorable she would most likely be born. I was quite freaked out at that thought. That is not to say that we are not ready for her. It is just to say that we are not exactly ready for her. The Dr. checked me out and I was only dialated to 1 cm so they just kept me on monitoring. They decided to give me a shot of terbutaline to stop the contractions. I am at home now on strict bed rest. I am not sure how long I will be able to keep this up since it is pretty hard to be on complete bedrest with two 17 month olds. I have an appointment with the Dr. on Wed. We will have to see what he has to say about this.

Names

sandi — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 19:09:59 +0000

We have narrowed the names down and the baby you see below will either be named
Beatrix Irene or Eliza Christine

We are so excited to meet her. I know she is excited too because she is always trying to Karate kick her way out!

Little Bit in 3D

bbrown — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 05:40:25 +0000

I think Sandi mentioned that we went to Geddes Imaging to have Little Bit’s picture taken. Here’s one of many:

[UPDATE: Oops, I guess she didn't. We took Little Bit to the same place that we took Annie and Kimberly. That's her looking all three dimensional.]

updates

sandi — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 02:51:24 +0000

I had my regular appointment for Little Bit on Wed. It was a nice appt. She is looking good. As far as the VBAC goes I will have to deliver at Good Samaritan Hospital. This hospital is pretty far from our house downtown. It is one of the best regional hospitals for high-risk deliveries. If Little Bit is a scheduled c-section she will be born in Scottsdale Memorial Hospital. (Same place Annie was born). So I guess we need to go on a tour of Good Sam just in case.

The Girls are doing very well. Kimberly is becoming increasing vocal. We are trying to compile a list of words she can say for an entry. Annie is a typical twin—she does not speak much. Kimberly tends to speak for her.

We got a new family vehicle on Tuesday night. We are now the proud owners of a 2005 Toyota Sienna. I never really thought that I would be a mini-van driver. But when faced with the convienience of a mini van it is hard to resist. It is the 8 passenger model with 14 cup holders. I know what you are thinking: when are we ever going to use 14 cup holders? I have no idea. But if a situation comes up, we will.

Not Doolittle

bbrown — Sat, 29 Jan 2005 04:13:14 +0000

Today we added another possible name to the mix: Eliza.

Update on Little Bit

sandi — Sat, 15 Jan 2005 03:25:32 +0000

We had a wonderful dr. visit on Wed. Little bit is doing very well. She is a little baby, but that may work to our advantage as to her being born vaginally. The previous concerns about her having Downs Syndrome seem to be fading in the mist! Although nothing is for sure until she is born and evaluated.

If I go into natural labor Little Bit will be born anytime before May 5th, 2005. If she has not been born by that date I will most likely have to have another C-section and will give birth on May 5th. Bill and the Dr. are both stoked about the 5-5-5 birthdate. I am less so since that means I will be in the hospital for Mother’s Day. But as long as it is for the best with Little Bit.

The names have changed a little. We have gotten rid of some names and added others. The current names are as follows:

Beatrix Noelle (Trixie)
Nina ——-
Millie ——-

Looking Good

sandi — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 18:24:05 +0000

We had a wonderful ultrasound today. The little girl looked good. She weighed in at a little over a pound. She is a Little Bit for sure. We are very happy to know for sure that she is a girl. We are excited to meet her. OF course that will not be until May 5, 2005, but we can wait. She needs time to grow and become a big girl.

She measured appropriately so we are pretty confident that she does not have downs syndrome. However, you never know until the baby is born.

So it is official we will be choosing either:
Beatrix Noelle (Trixie)
Matilda —— (Mattie)
Katherine —- (Kittie)
Mildred ——– (Millie)

We also may use Irene as a middle name! So much is still up in the air and probably will not be resolved until we meet her.

Dr. appt.

sandi — Thu, 16 Dec 2004 02:33:18 +0000

Today we had another appointment for Little Bit. He/she is doing well. Our AFP showed a high risk for Downs Syndrome. We will be having another ultrasound at the end of the month to check for growth. We refuse to have a amnio since it would not change the outcome. I am sure all will be well with our Little Bit. Bill and I are confident that everything will be great!

The girls have been loving their time with Grammy while Mommy and Daddy go to the appointments. They have such a great time playing with her.

Color Me Skeptical

bbrown — Tue, 30 Nov 2004 03:54:02 +0000

Sandi left out one of the other possibilities: that it’s a crazy old wive’s tale that has absolutely no causal connection with the gender of our baby. I guess that’s not as fun at a party. I don’t know how a lady’s necklace can predict the sex of a baby by being suspended above either the husband or the wife’s hand—is this called baby divining?—but I suppose it’s going to be right 50% of the time.

Coolest Thing So Far

bbrown — Mon, 11 Oct 2004 01:29:32 +0000

Sandi pointed out that I neglected to mention the coolest thing—to my mind—about Little Bit. Sandi’s officially due May 9th, but we’re going to schedule the C-section a week early at our doctor’s suggestion. We induced Annie a week before her gestational due date to no ill effect, so we’ll definitely do the same again.

Our doctor pointed out that that meant that our child could enter the world on May 5th. I tell this to people and the reaction is usually tepid at best. Some people realize that it’s Cinco de Mayo, but most give me a blank stare. As Emmett Brown once said, “You’re not thinking fourth dimensionally!”

They forget that the next May 5th isn’t until next year. Thus, May 5th 2005 is normally written 5/5/05. I call it our gift to the baby.

What’re You Going to Call It?

bbrown — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 21:41:04 +0000

We don’t know the sex of the baby yet, but that hasn’t stopped us from conjuring up names to call the kid (whose code name, incidentally, is “Little Bit”):

Boys

Frederick
Timothy
Stuart (“Hey Stu-Ball!”)
Benjamin

Girls

Beatrix
Katherine

[NOTE FOR THE CURIOUS: Annie's code name was "Junior," Kimberly's was "Señorita," and Elizabeth's was "Sunshine."]

Frequently Asked Question

bbrown — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 21:34:43 +0000

One question that we get asked by people comfortable enough to ask us such things is why we continue to call our family blog “PregoBlog” even though it’s been over eleven months since we were pregnant. It’s a good question and I normally answer that we like the continuity: it would be odd to see “http://www.bbrown.info/blogs/prego” in the address bar and see a title of “Brown Family Blog.”

Now I’ve got a new answer: we’re nine weeks pregnant! In true Brown fashion, we’ve known about the baby from about five weeks. We’ve held back the news from our reading public since we’ve got one baby from five pregnancies—it’s no fun making miscarriage posts. Since we’ve had two ultrasounds and Sandi’s vomiting daily (sometimes twice!), we feel like this is as strong a pregnancy as Annie’s.

Regular readers may recall that I registered the domain “fourbrowns.com” to house our future (and still undeveloped, sadly) family web site. Oops, that’s going to be worth zilch in seven or eight months. Think again, Chester! I speculatively registered “fivebrowns.com” months ago.

So, in addition to our regularly scheduled family news, we’ll also be bringing you updates about the upcoming addition to our family.

Bad News

bbrown — Mon, 02 Aug 2004 00:46:09 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I made a vague announcement about some exciting news. We weren’t planning on making anything specific until we had our new domain set up—sort of a housewarming for FiveBrowns.com.

That’s right, not FourBrowns.com. FiveBrowns.

Unfortunately, we are back to FourBrowns.com. We found out that the embryo we were growing in Sandi that we dubbed “Small Fry” didn’t make it. As near as Sandi’s gynecologist could tell, Small Fry was between six and seven weeks old.

We’re still dealing with the issues that this unplanned, spontaneous conception created. Regular readers (and friends) might know that Sandi is infertile because of PCOS and that Annie was the product of the latest developments in infertility pharmaceuticals.

We definitely weren’t trying to expand our family and we had never really decided whether our two wonderful children were the end of the procreation road for us. We’re still torn about whether to try to conceive again. It’s not as obvious a choice at it appeared at first blush.