The Name Wars - Let the Games Begin

I have a little problem. Jonathan wants to name our baby Bruce. 

Before I continue with my thoughts on this matter, let me just say that I think Bruce is a fine name for a grandfather, father, uncle, cousin, neighbor, dog, cat, or horse. But a baby? NO WAY.

This all started about three weeks ago when we were discussing baby names, as we often do these days, and out of nowhere Jonathan eagerly said, "How about Bruce?!"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't think so, buddy."

A few days later he was flipping through the baby book and just happened to land on the page with the name Bruce.

"It's a sign. Now we have to do it," he said.

"Nope. Sorry."

"Why not? It's strong, manly, and cool-sounding. Just wait until he's playing sports in high school - it will sound so awesome to hear the crowd go, 'Bruuuuuuuuuce'."

"Yeah," I replied, "but what if he's a nerd in high school, like me? He would get teased relentlessly!"

"He won't be a nerd. He'll be cool like me. Bruce Rouse. C'mon! It's awesome!" Jonathan couldn't stop giggling.

I told him there is no way we are naming our baby Bruce, and yet he won't let it go. He genuinely likes the name and keeps trying to convince me that it will grow on me. Baby Bruce? I'm sorry, but I just can't do it. Am I being unreasonable?

I must find a way out of this. I have five months to come up with a boy name that Jonathan won't be able to refuse. If not, it's going to be Bruce, Bruce, Bo Boose, Bananafana Fo Foose, Me Mi Mo Moose, Bru-uce! Yikes!

Happiness...

According to http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/week-16.aspx, at 16 weeks the bones in our baby's ears should be in place by now which means he or she is able to hear us talk and sing as well as hear the music we play aloud.  

"Dog Days are Over" has been one of my favorite "rock out by myself in the car and I don't care who sees me" songs since I first heard it a few weeks before I was pregnant. I honestly don't know what the song is about, but I love it! It's one of those feel-good tunes that makes my heart happy. I listen to it all the time and never get tired of it. Jonathan knows how much I love it and recently showed me this priceless video. Maybe our baby will be calmed by this song like the adorable baby in the video. But with my luck, he/she will take after Jonathan and favor heavy metal like this little guy. Only time will tell!

(Note: Watch both videos in their entirety...they're worth it.)

Update on Poppa Tom: He was finally released from the ICU on Sunday. It's a Christmas miracle for sure!

It's a...Surprise!

To find out, or not to find out: that is the question. The number one question we've received since announcing our news is whether or not we're going to find out the sex of the baby. And from the beginning - actually for as long as I can remember - I've wanted it to be a surprise. And luckily, Jonathan agrees with me for once!

I know, I know, we're crazy for not wanting to know if our little Sugar Weenie is a Sugar or a Weenie (no puns intended). But if you know me at all, you know that I love surprises. And this is one surprise I definitely do not want spoiled.

If we wanted to find out, we could do so at our next ultrasound on January 19. By then, Jonathan might have learned in school how to read an ultrasound, so there's a chance he may catch a glimpse even though we're going to tell the ultrasound tech that we don't want to know. I'll just have to pray that Jonathan isn't able to tell because there is no way he'll be able to keep it to himself for another 22 weeks.

Jonathan says he wants a boy first, but I think he secretly wants a girl (how sweet would that be?!). I honestly have no preference, although I've had two dreams in which it was a boy. A friend suggested that I try the Chinese gender predictor, an ancient birth chart which supposedly predicts the sex of your baby with 93% accuracy. According to its calculations, we're having a boy.

More than anything, we just want a healthy baby.

Update on Poppa Tom: He's getting better, slowly but surely. Again, thank you for your continued prayers!

Food, Glorious Food

Let's talk food. I loooove food right now. Especially cheese. Jonathan makes me macaroni and cheese in the middle of the night sometimes and IT. IS. AWESOME. And mayonnaise. Real Hellman's mayonnaise is my new must-have. I could eat it by the spoonful (I don't...yet. But I could.) Gross? Not to me. Not to Sugar Weenie. We love it!

Craving of the week: RUNZA. For the non-Nebraska natives out there, a Runza is sort of like a gourmet hot pocket made of fresh, warm homemade bread, stuffed with a delightfully delicious mixture of ground beef, cabbage, and a top secret seasoning. I always get my runzas with cheese. To me, there's just no other way to eat a runza. Dipped in ketchup, it is by far one of the most incredible fast-food concoctions ever invented in the great state of Nebraska. Even before I was pregnant, I missed and craved them terribly. But now, I would pay big bucks for a bite of a cheese runza. Mmmmmm....

 

Debut of the Baby Bump

The time has come to reveal my new and improved belly, courtesty of Sugar Weenie. He/She is now the size of a sweet little lemon and has therefore become too big for me to hide him/her any longer. Thus begins the transformation!

Note: This picture is slightly misleading due to the fact that I had just eaten dinner. Real baby + food baby = a larger than normal belly.




14 weeks

 Update on Poppa Tom: He's still in the ICU. Thank you for your prayers!!!

Grandpas are Great

I'm beginning to wonder if this baby has special powers. First the incident with the deli man, now this.

The day before Thanksgiving, Grandma Mary called to tell us that my grandpa - Poppa Tom - was in the hospital. He was very sick and the doctors weren't sure what was wrong with him. By Thanksgiving morning, he had been admitted to the ICU. My family rushed through the beautiful Thanksgiving dinner my mom had prepared, and then my mom, Jonathan and I decided to make the two hour drive to Norfolk to see how Poppa was doing and hopefully tell him about the baby.

When we arrived at the hospital, we were greeted by three of my mom's sisters - Joan, Janet, and Jackie - and her brother, Marty. As we walked towards Poppa's room, my aunt Jackie pulled me aside and warned me that Poppa didn't really look like himself and that it might be hard to see him that way. I of course started crying right then and there (it's true what they say about how you cry at the drop of a hat when you're pregnant). Not knowing about the baby yet, my aunts and uncle seemed a bit shocked that I was so upset before even seeing my grandpa. Jackie jokingly apologized for saying anything, and we all got a little laugh out of it.

My mom and I went into Poppa's room to see him, but he was asleep. His blood pressure had been extremely low all day, and the nurses said he needed his rest. After listening to my grandma talk about his condition for a few mintues, I started to get emotional again and left his room. Jonathan met up with me down the hall and said one of those things that might have sounded like a good idea in his head, but as soon as it came out, it was 100% the wrong thing to say. With his hand on my shoulder he said, "I'm sorry, you're not going to get to tell him, are you?" I completely lost it then. I literally couldn't stop crying. Jonathan said he was sorry again and hugged me until I calmed down. I'm sure by this point everyone was wondering why in the world I was so upset.

A few minutes later, someone said that Poppa had woken up. His blood pressure had gone up 10 points and we could go in to talk to him if we wanted to. My aunts warned us that Poppa hadn't been very coherent when they talked to him earlier and that he might not make much sense if he did say anything. My mom and I went into his room together.

I suddenly got nervous, not wanting to lose my composure in front of him but knowing it was pretty much inevitable. I walked to the other side of the bed, tried to smile, and said, " Hi Poppa," my voice slightly quivering. He looked at me and mumbled something I couldn't understand.

I glanced at my mom and she whispered to me, "Tell him."

I shook my head and mouthed, "I can't."

"It's ok. Tell him."

I looked at him again and as I tried to calm myself down enough to tell him, he looked right at me and said, "You're going to have a baby."

"What?! Yes!" I was stunned! Half giggling, half crying, I asked, "How did you know?"

He said, "I could tell by the smile on your face."

I just burst out laughing. I couldn't believe what had just happened. I went on to tell him that the baby - his first great-grandchild - was due in June. He said something in return, but he was no longer speaking coherently. It didn't matter though. For about 30 seconds, he was awake and aware and we were able to share one of the most precious moments of my life and possibly his.

My mom witnessed the whole thing, as did Jonathan and Grandma Mary, who were standing in the doorway. My grandma was absolutely thrilled and couldn't stop smiling. My aunts and uncle came up to me one by one, asking me if it was true and hugging me and laughing and saying, "No wonder you've been crying since you got here!"

Poppa fell asleep shortly afterwards. I suppose all that celebrating wore him out. He's still in the ICU. Please pray for him. I'd really like him to meet his first great-grandbaby. They have a pretty special bond already.

Sugar Weenie Rouse

A few days after "meeting" our little one we thought we should probably name the little nugget, as Jonathan liked to call it. He came up with all sorts of silly suggestions, none of which I particularly liked. I thought Baby was a sweet name, but of course Jonathan thought that was boring. Somehow we came up with the name Sugar Weenie (meaning sweet and tiny). I suggested Sugar; he suggested Weenie. We know it's a little strange...but in a cute way, right?

Sugar Weenie Rouse at about 10 weeks