God willing, Baby Alex will be here in mid-June.  We’ve made it through the extremely exhausting, nausea inducing first trimester and are looking forward to the next 6 months.  We are not planning on finding out the sex of the baby, so take your best guess at whether Baby Alex will be a boy or a girl.

11/5/09 - had our first prenatal appointment and everything went well

11/30/09- had our NT scan and baby looked perfect.  All test results were negative for chromosomal abnormalities.  We are so relieved.  What a change baby has made in 4 weeks.

12/10/09- 13 weeks down and 27 more to go.  Felt baby’s movement for the first time.  Here’s a pic of my baby bump.

12/30/09- Went for my 16 week appointment and everything went well.  Baby Alex is definitely a mover like Roarke.  He/she loves to punch and kick when I’m trying to sleep.  Only 11 more days until our full anatomy scan with the maternal fetal specialist.  We still aren’t finding out the sex of the baby.  We just want to concentrate on having a healthy baby.  So it will be a surprise for all of us in June.

12/31/09- 16 weeks down and 24 more to go.  Wow, time is flying by.  3 weeks has made a big difference.  This must be one big baby!

1/6/10- I’ve been having a lot of braxton hicks contractions lately.  I’m really hoping I don’t have to go on bed rest again.  Roarke and Rick need me to be okay.  I’ve been trying to take it easy but it’s hard when your house looks like a tornado hit.  I feel like such a bum but I have to do what I must to keep Alex in there for 23 more weeks.

1/7/10- I just received the cutest little onesies.  They both say Alex on the front but one is pink and the other blue.  Which one will baby Alex wear home?

1/11/10- Just got back from our anatomy scan and Alex looks great.  He/she is really coming along.  I can’t wait to meet Alex in June.  So stay put Alex and stop causing all those contractions.

1/20/10- I’m getting just a little anxious at this Friday rolls around.  It’s another milestone for us.  I will be 19 weeks and 4 days.  This is when we discovered that Olivia’s heart beat had stopped.  I wish that I could go through this pregnancy without worrying about things like that, but losing a child scars you for life. 

So far Alex is perfect and is moving a ton.  I pray that he/she is a keeper that we get to bring him/her home in about 20 weeks.

1/23/10- We are halfway there!!!  Can’t wait till Alex gets here.

Here’s my 20 week belly pic.  It seems like I’ve gotten smaller even though I gained about 5 pounds since my last picture.

2/1/10- Alex is moving ALOT!!  He/she is already on a schedule and wakes up about every 3 hours to punch mommy’s bladder.

2/16/10- Week 23 and I’m already nesting.  I can’t wait till we get moved so I can start on the nursery.  I decided to make the nursery bedding since I couldn’t find any good gender neutral stuff online.  Alex and I have a check up tomorrow.  Wish us luck!

2/17/10- Doctor’s appointment went great today.  Alex is looking quite chunky already and was extremely active, kicking away at my bladder.  He/she looks exactly like Roarke.

I actually lost 2 pounds since last visit.  That’s a surprise since I’ve been eating lots of chocolate lately.

2/24/10- I swear it feels like 2 or 3 babies are in there fighting.  Alex is even more active than Roarke was and I didn’t think that was possible.  I guess I better prepare myself to have 2 super hyper kids.

3/17/10- Had my 27 week appointment today.  Alex is looking well and was kicking me the whole time the doctor was doing the ultrasound.  He/she is transverse (laying sideways) with the feet up near the head.  Alex is measuring ahead by 4 days and had a heart rate of 146.  Still haven’t caved on finding out the sex but I’m willing to bet that Alex will be all boy.  Just like Roarke, Alex is causing mommy to have lots of contractions but fortunately they are not productive ones.  And just like Roarke, Alex is causing tons of heartburn.  So he/she better have a head full of hair. LOL

I’m so glad the 3rd trimester is here.  We are almost there.  It’s been a long journey.  13 weeks and counting.

4/7/10- 30 week appointment today.  I can’t believe we are down to less than 10 weeks.  As Alex gets stronger and more vigilant about stretching out, the time is not going fast enough.  Otherwise, Alex is looking good.  He/she is measuring ahead by over a week and has long legs.  Baby is finally head down.  Yeah!!!  Let’s hope he/she stays that way.

4/21/10- 32 weeks down and 8 more to go.  Alex is still very active and loves to do complete flips even though there is no room in there.  I swear the baby is going to come through my skin at times.  The only times Alex seems to relax are when I listen to my Hypnobirthing CD.  It’s so relaxing that we both fall asleep.

I’m working diligently on the nursery and hope to have everything done by late May.  Rick is slacking on setting up the furniture.  Go figure.

4/28/10- Well the nursery is almost complete.  Yeah!!  Just in time because I’ve been feeling like complete crap the last 4 or 5 days.  I have absolutely no energy and it feels like the 1st trimester all over again.  Less than 7 weeks to go.  I’m honestly not sure if I will make it to June at this rate.

5/5/10- Just had my 34 week appointment today.  Alex looks so chunky.  His/her cheeks have really filled out.  Baby is still head down and is starting to drop.  Yeah!!  Alex’s legs are measuring ahead by almost 2 weeks so he/she should be very long legged just like mommy.

I’m still feeling a bit off and now have added cramping and backache to the long list of complaints.  I’m really not sure if Alex is going to hold off till June so I’m trying to be prepared.

5/19/10- 36 weeks down, 4 more to go.  Alex is getting plumper by the minute.  My doctor estimated that he/she weighs about 6 lbs, 1 oz.  And I still have 4 more weeks to go.  I definitely think Alex will be bigger that Roarke was.  I hope all my hypnobirthing techniques prepare me for a big baby.

5/26/10- 37 week appointment went well.  Alex is just getting bigger and bigger.  He/she has the chunkiest little cheeks.

6/2/10- Alex is still doing great.  Can’t believe we have less than 2 weeks to go (hopefully).  Baby still hasn’t dropped and looks really snug in there. 

6/4/10-  Well, we thought today was the day but Alex decided he/she wanted to cook a little longer.  The contractions got to about 2-3 minutes apart but it wasn’t meant to be today.  I’m a little sad but it will happen eventually.  Why can’t it be now?

6/8/10- I’m so exhausted.  I think I’ve done everything possible to get Alex out with no luck.  I’m short-tempered, moody, and just plain tired.  Contractions are about every 4 minutes today.  My OB appointment is tomorrow.  Hopefully I’ve made some progress since Friday but I’m not counting on it.

6/9/10- Well Alex is in for the long haul.  No progress since Friday.  My doctor says that because Alex still has lots of fluid surrounding him/her that baby is just content and will take its sweet time descending.  That’s just what I wanted to hear.

6/18/10- Alex will be evicted on Tuesday.  He/she is getting close to 9 pounds, can you believe that?  Though I think the measurements are off, it kind of scares you to think of birthing a baby that big naturally.  Otherwise Alex is doing very well.  Baby was sucking on its fingers and just chilling, oblivious to everything going on.

I’ve tried everything the last couple of days to start labor naturally without success.  My fortune cookie today said “Prepare for the unexpected”.  So I’m preparing for Alex to make some grand entrance while being fashionably late.  It has to be a girl!

6/20/10- It’s father’s day and Alex chose today to make HIS entrance into the world.  It’s a boy and we couldn’t be happier!!  Alex Brody Rasberry arrived at 4:10 pm weighing only 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long.  He has tons of wavy black hair and dark gray eyes.  He looks exactly like Roarke did. 

My water broke around 1:45 am but I decided to try to go back to sleep and head for the hospital later.  We got up around 7:30, had breakfast, and Rick opened his father’s day presents since we figured it would be the best time.  My contractions were getting stronger but I could still walk around and carry on a conversation.  We headed towards the hospital and dropped off Roarke at my mom’s house on our way. 

We arrived at Baylor around 9:30 a.m. and got checked in.  They said they needed to check me to see if my water had actually broken.  I guess because I was so calm they didn’t believe me that I had been in labor for almost 8 hours at that point.  Once we got settled into our room, I started on my hypnobirthing techniques as I planned for a natural and intervention free birth.  After checking me, they told me I was 4 cm at the time.  I was allowed to get up and walk around, sit on the birthing ball, and just kind of hang out until things got going.  Rick and I took a few laps around the hallways until he decided he was too tired to continue (big baby).  I could tell the contractions were becoming more intense but I could still talk and even laugh through them.

Around 12:30 the contractions really picked up and were coming every 2 minutes.  They were extremely intense but I made myself breathe and focus.  I was still able to walk between contractions and sit on the birthing ball which really helped with relieving back pain.

This lasted for 2 hours before my contractions went into overdrive and were 1 minute apart.  By this time I was 8 cm but Alex still hadn’t really descended into the canal.  A this point, I had to lay in bed on my side because it felt like my legs would buckle if I stood.  Rick stood by and looked like he was about to lose it watching me in pain.  I’m pretty sure he was wondering how could I do this to myself.  But I pretty much had no choice.  Something inside of me needed that pain to wash away all the hurt, anger, and loss I felt over losing Olivia.  Somehow the pain cleansed away all the negativity and prepared my heart and mind to accept the joy I was about to receive.

I tried to focus and use the hypnobirthing techniques but the contractions were too intense so I just tried to breathe through them.  I was shaking and releasing some pretty loud moans sounds like a wild animal giving birth. I wonder what people walking in the hallway were thinking when they heard me.

By 4 o’clock I was at my breaking point and decided I couldn’t do this any longer.  I called in the nurse and told her I quit, give me drugs STAT!  She reassured me that if I felt like quitting then it was probably time to push.  Sure enough I fully dilated and Alex was finally ready to make his/her entrance.  Everyone rushed to get things set up.  Once they told me it was okay to push when I felt ready, I nearly cried because I knew within minutes I would be holding my baby.  It took 3 pushes and Alex was placed screaming in my arms.  Alex was so tiny and fragile looking.  You kind of forget that they start out so small.  I vaguely remember Rick shouting “it’s a boy” because by this point I was deeply smitten with this beautiful, little boy who looked exactly like his big brother. It was such a blessing to be holding my son and knowing that he was okay.  Rick cut the cord and we both just stared at Alex.  I didn’t think I would ever be able to let him go.  There are no words to describe the intense love that I have for him already.  There was a tug at my heart as I thought of Olivia.  I still longed for her but I knew that she wouldn’t want me to be sad at that moment.  And how could I be with such a beautiful little boy in my arms.  Our little rainbow baby Alex.

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