The Heartbeats…
Jessica and I rented a doppler unit that will allow us to hear the baby’s heartbeat. It looks like this one. We’ve had it for a couple of weeks or so, and our first attempts at using it ended with frustration because we couldn’t locate the heartbeat. So we tried it again on Tuesday night, and I finally found the heartbeat, but the frustration was still there because I had to listen to Jessica’s incessant complaining that I was either not doing it right, or that I wasn’t in the right area to find the heartbeat (even though I had watched the doctor do the same thing with a similar machine, and she had put the wand right where I had mine). Anyway, Jessica counted the heartbeat and calculated it to be 164 beats per minute. This is of course a pretty fast heartbeat, and the old wives tale says “The faster the heartbeat, the more likely the baby is a girl, and the slower the heartbeat, the more likely it’s a boy.”
We’re not wishing for one gender over the other, but as I said in a previous post, we’ve had a girl’s name picked out for years, so no big deal. But Jessica is still stressing over a boy’s name. We’ve come up with a few names, but nothing for sure, yet.
The Heartaches…
The reality of becoming a parent has been settling in a lot lately. As this occurs more each day, I think of my mother a lot. I know she would be so happy right now. I think about the time last year when Jessica was pregnant for a very short time, and mother told every person in the hospital that she was going to be a granny again. Even though we warned her that Jessica could miscarry, she told everybody anyway. I couldn’t get over how excited she was. I mean I knew she would be excited, but she was going around telling anybody who’d listen, including every doctor and nurse she saw. When Jessica miscarried, mother took it as hard as Jessica and I did.
All these thoughts usually end up with me wondering why God took mother from us before she ever got the chance to know my children, or my children got to know her. That has always meant a lot to me because I’d seen how she loved all of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Now I’ll never see that happen and I feel like I’ve been cheated. However, I know God is never wrong, so I know these things didn’t happen by chance, but by the will of God.
Kev, Your mother would have loved your children just as much as she did all the rest and we all know that.Kayla is so excited about being there when the baby is born. She and I went to Tennessee last weekend and she was looking for outfits for baby RED as she says. She just reminds me so much of your mother, it’s scary sometimes. So, you take care of Jess and we love you both
Just read your post. When will there be pictures to see if the baby is a boy or girl? I am so excited for you guys Love Aunt Dolores
Mel,
I’ve always thought Kayla is a lot like Mother, too! There are a lot of times when I think about how each of us kids has some of Mother’s traits in all of us. Jeff reminds me of what a hard-head Mother was. Marcus reminds me of what a big kid mother was, as Marcus picks on you, Kayla and Jordan in the same way as Mother did Pops and all of us. I think my inheritance from Mother’s personality is the big sense of humor and the love of music, and Stephanie has Mother’s short temper and the uncanny ability to be late to everything. When I think about all that I feel like Mother is still with us. Then when I look at all the grandkids I can completely see Mother with us. “The kids” have a lot of Mother in them, too, but I have to say that Kayla is definitely the most like her.
We love all of you, too!
Aunt Dolores,
Jessica said she’s going to try to hold out on finding out whether it’s a boy or a girl until the day the baby is born. I somehow doubt that she’ll wait that long, but we’ll see. In the meantime, her mom is busy buying everything yellow, orange, and green that she can find for the baby.
Kevin
Kevin and Jessica, You and little “RED” are still in my prayers. My bet is Jessica won’t be able to hold out on knowing the sex! You must know that your Mom is watching down and smiling for you all and will be one more angel for “Red”. Love you all, Anne