Thank you...

...for all of your sweet congratulations and offers of prayer! I will take 'em! Anyone who has ever lost a child in utero knows that you can't help but worry a little (or a lot) until you know that things are going well. As I was saying to Kristen in her post sharing the wonderful details about the new little man in her life, none of us is given a guarantee. We can either choose to be worried and fearful or we can choose hopefulness and joy. I admit that once I am past these first few months, I will breathe a lot easier, but I am choosing to be hopeful right now. It is so much more pleasant than the alternative.

The funniest distraction so far has been my big kids' reaction. I should explain a little first. The last time I was pregnant, my oldest was only 6 and the girls were 4 and 3. Now, 6 years old is plenty old enough to remember things, but being a boy, if it didn't have wheels, he wasn't paying much attention to it. So, they really have no recollections of me being pregnant. They remember BigBoy as a baby and remember playing little games with him, but they don't remember much before that.

Now that they are 12, 10 and 9, they are paying close attention to everything! They ask me how I'm feeling, if they can get me anything and if I can feel the baby yet. Their biggest fascination is with the idea of cravings. They can't wait for me to get some! I can't open the refrigerator door to get a glass of water without someone asking me, "Have the cravings started?" I'm not sure where they are getting their Pregnancy 101 information from, but this subject is on their radar in a big way.

You might have also noticed that over on the sidebar, I added Baby Izzy to my dance card.  The children have taken to calling the baby "Izzy" thanks to Husband's suggestion. The first positive pregnancy test (yes, there was more than one!) showed up on the traditional feast of St. Isidore the Farmer so I suggested calling the baby Izzy in his honor. We have a habit of making up nicknames for babies until we know who they really are and this baby is no exception. Husband said, "Yeah...Izzy a boy? Izzy a girl? We don't know yet!" and it stuck.

It is such a delight to see them so curious and excited. This is all very new for me. I've never had a baby and had big kids to help. Oh sure, they could fetch diapers and wet wipes when BigBoy was little, but they couldn't REALLY help. Now, life is so different and I am just trying to enjoy every minute of this whole new world.