Miracles do happen

After finding out about my cervix that was once again not doing it's job (keeping the baby safely inside), we were inundated with help. I've been able to focus on being a professional incubator, while friends swooped in to help with Asher. To keep me laying down and totally inactive, these amazing friends have even been serving me breakfast and lunch(sounds great, but it's a little weird when you feel fine). Fantastic dinners have been showing up at our door as well, which has been a huge relief to Corey who is studying for the Bar Exam, as well as making sure we are all doing OK. I'm hoping Corey isn't paying too much attention to the superiority of all the good food, lest the bar be raised to high for me post baby. Uh-oh. We have been taken care of, served and loved without ever asking and I am astounded by it all. We are so thankful for all the kindness and help we're receiving! And Asher's never had so much fun. He kisses my cheek and excitedly waves good-bye.
Earlier in the week, we had a very nerve wracking, much anticipated follow-up appointment to the shocker last week. I'd been very strict (again, thanks to all the help) to stay down all week. Just before the ultrasound, the nurse practitioner who was seeing us did say that sometimes you can get a little length back although not always, which was a shock to us since we thought that was an impossibility and that it could only get worse. She checked me out, and she and the tech assisting her could not believe what they were seeing, and double checked to be sure before giving us the news. I gained back 1.8 cm in that week, and I could tell by their reactions that this was not a normal occurrence (I think they used the words "Whoa!!" and "Super Cervix"). Corey and I were stunned and thrilled. I was told to keep doing exactly what I'm doing, and that they'd check again in a week. By the time we made it to the car (for me via wheelchair, Corey thinks he's a rickshaw driver) we were both near tears from the news. If nothing else, we've been given a huge dose of hope and faith, and enough time for Beckett to grow a little more. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all the support, thoughts, fasting and prayers we've received, and I am certain that what we saw at the appointment this week was nothing short of a miracle.

A few of the ultrasound images from a few weeks back. I still think it's amazing what technology can show us. The ultrasound techs at the last few visits have told us he has chubby cheeks and a bunch of hair. We'll see!

Baby News

Baby boy Reitz now has a name! Well, at least a first one. We've decided to name him Beckett. Corey and Asher wore me down weeks ago, calling him by name every chance they got. I have issues with picking a name too quick, knowing that the name we pick is one that will be his for the rest of his life! It was just about the only one we had both liked, but, again, the finality of it was too much too fast for me, so it took a while. Asher actually calls him "Baby Bucket, " which still makes me laugh.

About 2 weeks ago we had some great news about our baby and my pregnancy. Our little guy was measuring in the 80th percentile for growth and everything looked great as far as he was concerned. They also checked out how the cerclage was holding up, and it looked even better than expected, which put me at ease and increased my optimism tenfold. We were much less worried over the holidays because of our fantastic checkup. We also have a few fantastic 3-D/4-D images they sent us home with (I'll post those later). He is such a little cutie already!

A few days ago, I had another appointment with the perinatologists to see how things were going (it's been 2 weeks since our last stellar visit). Again, baby looks great. We did get some pretty bad news though. My cerclage is still in place, but this time I've lost over 2 centimeters, and if I lose another 1/2 centimeter in length, then I'll be hospitalized. My days of sitting around trying to take it easy are over and I've been put on bedrest for real. The immediate goal is 30 weeks and I'm doing my best to get there first. For my appointments, they've even insisted on my riding in a wheelchair to and from the office. We knew this sort of scenerio could be a possibility, but things had been going so smoothly that we had pretty much discounted that it would.

So, we are mentally preparing ourselves for what may come much sooner than expected. We are so excited to meet our Beckett, but we would much rather wait until he's had more time to be ready to meet us. Every day counts, and we are praying that we have many more ahead of us before he arrives.

Asher turns 3!

I can't believe our little guy is already 3 years old! He is such a joy in our lives every single day and what a smart kid with a great sense of humor he's turning out to be. Since this year was all about the trains, we went ahead and continued the trend and had a Thomas the Tank Engine party with family. Corey had a lot of fun at the party store and bought tons of Thomas paraphernalia, which is really a little comical since Asher was the only kid besides Kylie. Next year we might have to do the half-birthday-party-with-friends in the summer thing. Ash enjoyed it all though which is really the all that matters anyways. Our biggest surprise was how much he loved the party blowers (those things you blow on and they unfurl before you). It took forever for him to open up presents because he had to pause between each one and take a 'blowing break'. At one point he actually said, "No more presents!" as he pushed them away and started blowing again. After every blow he'd burst out laughing. Next year maybe that's all we need to get him. What kid wants a cheap party favor in lieu of more presents? Go figure.

It also took him forever to eat. I kept asking him if he was done and he'd say "not yet." He ate all of his huge piece of train cake and a bunch of chips and queso (oddly, one of his favorite things). There was no taking it from him until he said so. Period.

The party ended with a nail-biting game of "Pin the 1 on Thomas," which Corey insisted that everybody try. He was very strict and double covered everyone's eyes to keep them from seeing. No cheating!

The fam. Both sets of grandparents were there! Asher has now fully realized he has two grandpas and grandmas. That was a little confusing at first! He talked about it for a couple of days.

The infamous party blowers.

Adam and Aaron joining in. At least we didn't make them wear hats this year.

Tearing open one of the many presents from G-ma/pa Reitz.

Checking out his new ride from G-pa/ma Pettit.

Corey thought Ash looked like a Dr. Seuss character riding this with all the balloons trailing him(that Thomas one was as big as he was). He didn't stop for quite a while, and he was singing the whole time.

Happy Birthday buddy! We love you so much!