Names...

We are really trying hard to find a "cool" name...so guess what my husband is doing right now? Yup, it's blog worthy: he's looking up Texas County names....need I say more! This poor child...

It's a....

BABY BOY!!

Okay, let's back up to our 12 week, 3 day early scan. April 6, 2009. We head to the specialist with the fancy-smancy machines. The nurse can't get over how great of a profile image we are getting! I'm happy about that--already a little ham for the camera! Mommy likes this! She moves the probe all around, during which time she continues to say "Boys have a line that defines the penis, and girls have very defined clitoris at this stage. So I'm looking for a defined clitoris or a line....it's amazing how the clitoris shows up in a scan like this..." Seriously lady, you say clitoris one more time my husband is going to come out of his skin--he's already squirming and wanting to use the excuse that he has to pee to get out of this room....and then, in mid clitoral talk, she says "UH! But there's a penis!" "You have a boy!"






At this point in the scan, I'm super excited! I have ALWAYS wanted two boys! Always. But the strange this is, whether it was from Jackson talking about it so much, or the fact that I was FINALLY drawn to girls' clothes and cute bows and PINK, I really thought this one might be a girl. Honestly, I did not care one way or another. I just really wanted to get to hold this one--boy or girl. I didn't get to do that with the last one, so anything breathing and crying and bloody was going to make me happy! But in my mind I'm thinking "No, you're wrong. It's a girl."

So the doctor comes in and says to the nurse, "Don't tell me what you saw, I want to see for myself, and we'll see if we're right!" About 2 seconds later, he yells, "Now that's a penis!" I'm like, "WTF?!" I don't see anything! THEN, the best part, "And your son has an errection!" (I know what you are thinking--what the hell kind of operation is this?! Clitoris and penis and errection talk?! I LOVE this doctor, and at $500 a pop as a specialist, I think the man can say whatever he wants!) Oh, this child is going to love hearing this story when he's older!

So we leave there, excited, both of us. Adam really wanted a girl, but when they said boy, he was pretty proud! A pitcher and a catcher!? Fabulous! I was ecstatic, but a little pissed that Dr. Rowe proved my instincts were wrong. Seriously. I was pretty baffled about it...but we didn't tell anyone..for a while...and certainly not my family or Adam's family...we wanted to keep it a secret in case they were wrong...because I still thought they were...even at $500 a pop, he was wrong!

Unfortunately, Grandma Patty could not make it to the ultrasound because of it being the end of school, so Stacey asked is she could join us. She's never seen such a thing. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she had taken the whole day off from work! So, we made it a girls' (and Jackson) day and headed to Sephora for makeup and makeovers--it's so nice to get your makeup done!

After we were all done up, we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch...where I also bought a peppermint to make sure this baby was moving during the scan. At 1:30, we headed to Dr. Rowe's. Adam met us there around 2:00 for the appoinment....










And sure enough, IT'S A BOY! A very large boy! He measures about 4 days early and 1/2 oz bigger than most babies at this stage. He has HUGE FEET, and a package that is bigger than Jackson's was at this stage...sorry Jack. And huge hands with LONG fingers--like his momma! The tech claimed that he could be a GYN someday with hands like that! HA! I would not complain!


When the tech said "It's a boy! You're having a baby brother!" Jackson's response...."No, I want a baby sister..." he was a little sad. That is, until we explained how he could have his little brother pitch the ball to him and he could hit it back to him, and we would get more trains so that baby brother would have his own to play with....More trains? And more baseballs? And more trucks? "I'm having a BOY. A baby brudder!" He was pretty happy then! :) HA!





We spent the money for the DVD...not sure how to post that one yet, but I'm working on it...

Dr. Rowe came in for about 5 minutes to confirm that everything looked great. The numbers from my bloodwork were very normal and the babies heart looked fabulous, the brain is great, the lips are great...and "Yup! There's that penis again!" Then, all of a sudden, this baby boy stretched his arms above his head, yawned, and slammed his hand back down to grab his penis! No joke! We DIED! And Dr Rowe's response: "Did you see that? Let me play it back for you in slow motion. He's a true boy and will be doing that for the next 80 years or so!"

So, I'm excited! Adam's THRILLED! And Jackson? He's still getting used to the idea, but he's happy! Although, no one is allowed to hold this baby still except Momma when she's feeding him. Jackson is still changing all the diapers--even the poopy ones!!

Now, we just need some names....we're working on it! And a color scheme for the nursery, nursery furniture, bedding....we are a little behind with this one! It's still sinking in that I'm almost half way through this pregnancy...it doesn't seem real!

Baby Movements

This baby is moving around like CRAZY! And, surprisingly, I am one of those moms who felt her baby move at 12 weeks. Yup. 12 weeks. Flutters, jabs, kicks, pushing, wiggling...I felt it. Mostly at night when I was laying down to go to sleep--during the day, I've been too busy to really even remember that I'm pregnant, let alone FEEL pregnant. I recall at our early scan the ultrasound tech pushing on my stomach with that cold probe and I said "Wow, this baby is moving!" "You can feel that?" "Every wiggle." I just really think with your 2nd or 3rd or 4th you are just more in tune with your body.

So today this baby has been super active! I think it's just excited for us to find out TOMORROW what it is! :) We go at 2:00pm...and again, if you wanna know before next Monday, email me: ramie@ramiebabcock.com

Today I spent working--it's never going to end, I swear. Just when I'm getting ahead on finishing weddings, last minute seniors jump in with emails and questions and orders...and on Friday, I shot PROM, so I've been uploading prom pics most of the day...I'm going to get done. I HAVE to get done. My ass is growing as I type this from sitting in this chair ALL DAY...

But on a brighter note, my Uncle Bruce from Tennessee came to town for a speaking gig and we got to spend a couple of hours with him, eating my Mom's fabulous fajitas, and enjoying the back patio in this WONDERFUL weather...

And now, I'm tired. I seem to be tired all the time these days...hmmm. I'm starting a new workout program in the morning--I'm officially having to switch to baby workout mode. I have 3 new videos, and I'll tell you all about them tomorrow. For now, I'm going to go chat with my hubby before he falls asleep--then I'm going to steal the remote and unwind as I fall asleep!

More weddings to finish in the morning!! The the doctor, then more weddings...lovely cycle, huh?!

My New Toy

Adam got me a flipping awesome new little video camera for bloggers...it's called a FLIP HD. Basically, it's the size of a phone and you can just whip it out and turn it on in 3 secs to start recording--perfect for little conversations in the car that so crack me up! But the best part is that it has a USB built in--no plugs, no cords, no chargers, no discs...just the FLIP. You plug it directly into your computer and upload--that simple! It holds 120 minutes of clips! Holy cow!!

So Adam gave me this loveliness over dinner in Austin a couple of weekends ago. I got him a nice blue Fossil watch--mine was kinda boring, but he really likes it! My bestie Lindsay was with us, and she fell victim to some of these videos too--sorry girl!

That night, we went to see the bats. One of the most discusting things I've seen (I hate bats) but facinating at the same time. Apparently, 1.5 million bats live under the Congress bridge, and every night at sunset, they head out for food--flying as far as Mexico and back in one night--consumer 25,000-30,000 bugs...yuck...I seriously was afraid they were going to poop on us. Uhhg! But, now I can say I've seen them!

The next day, we hit South Congress Cafe for breakfast...yum! Hands down, my favorite place to eat! When the host asked me if I needed a booster seat, Jackson yelled "No! I'm a big boy now! I growed up!" to the host! It was pretty funny! I tried to get a re-inactment...Jackson sometimes gets to excited he can't get his words out! It cracks me up!!



More videos to come, but I'm back to working now that my images are done uploading to Lightroom...

Doctor's Appointment

We headed to the doctor's today for regular checkup. My mom and Jackson went too, and Jack was excited because he was going "to hear my baby's heartbeat?!" He's so aware of what's going on, it's unreal to me. And, he's very happy and excited. Thankfully!

Everything was great with baby. Heartbeat was 152-155. And apparently, I've only gained 4 lbs. That, according to my doctor's scales. I think she's wrong. My scales say 7 lbs...so let's just go with her number!

Although it's only 4-7 pounds, I feel so puffy right now. I had them check, and with Jackson at this point, I was up 12...again, I think they are wrong, b/c I swear it was more than that! By this time, my belly AND ass were huge...oh well! Live and learn!

Today, I'm exhausted. I woke up groggy and physically drained--after a FULL night's sleep! I haven't been nausea in a while, but today, off and on. I took an hour nap this afternoon (Thank you Mom for taking Jackson so I could rest!) and then did a quick engagement shoot, then dinner, now almost bed.

I don't have much else. I'm so tired, but I felt that everyone needed an update! Sorry for my lack of blogging and words...maybe tomorrow!! I'm working very hard to get all my work done by this weekend so I can take some time off--I promise wedding images from 2 weddings will be done by Sunday!! YAY!! So if you are waiting, just know, I'm working (when I'm not taking a nap! HA!!)

FYI: We find out on MONDAY what this baby is!! YAY!! BUT, we aren't telling Adam's family until Memorial Weekend when we see everyone, so if you want to know before that, email me and I'll put you on the list. Otherwise, you'll have to wait til the next week to find out!! Oh, and we're getting a DVD of this one, so I'm hoping to be able to post some video of it! I LOVE technology!!

16 weeks...

PREGNANT!!

That's right! We're having another baby and Jackson Scott could NOT be more excited! Have you been wondering where we've been? Don't worry, I'm going to fill you all in...it's going to be a LONG post!! So, if you have work to do, go do it now and come back when you have some time!


We are sooo excited! Although, this pregnancy has been far from easy. We are taking it one day at a time and we know that everyday that we are pregnant is a blessing...even though I feel like shit all the time and am crabby and have a short fuse and no patience...it's a blessing. :)

So, I'm going to start at the beginning...16 weeks, 3 days ago (4 whole months)...

We started trying for another baby the beginning of January. We were officially approved to try again, and suprisingly, we were both ready. For the longest time, after this summer, I had said I was only having one child. I was done. I was completely happy with my son and very blessed to have him, and I did not want to go through all of that again. But January came, and I had baby fever again. By the end of January, we were pregnant!

Feb 5, 2009
I was going to take the test alone and surprise Adam with a cute present like I did with Jackson and Baby #2, but I thought "he's never gotten to see the stick turn, I should let him experience that too." So I waited til he got home...at 11:00 at night...Jackson woke up when Daddy walked in the door, so we made it a family affair...and the stick showed 2 lines. Adam saw it first and he yelled "We're pregnant!" My first reaction? "No way! We can get pregnant?!" Those were the first words out of my mouth! I couldn't believe it! I was SHOCKED! More shocked than with Jackson or Baby #2! And then, I just started jumping--yes, jumping--right there in the middle of my master bath. Jumping! Jackson had NO IDEA what the hell was going on, until we said "You're going to be a big brother!" And his first words? "I'm gonna have a baby sister?!" HUH?! No darling, just b/c the lines are pink doesn't mean it's a girl....

One week later, Jackson informs me that there are 2 babies in there. 2 baby sisters....I have it documented in my belly book...keep this in mind...

I called Dr. Taylor and went in for blood work. Our 1st appointment was not til the end of February, but I needed to get my hormone levels checked in case I needed to be on Progesterone again, like my last 2 pregnancies...which I did...

Feb 20, 2009--Friday
First appointment with Dr. Taylor! Jackson went along. We had a "secret!" At this point, we were only 5 weeks. Just a simple check up since I had already had my blood work done, so Adam did not go to this one. Jackson stayed with Memaw that night, and apparently told Memaw and Aunt Tacey that "Mommy is sick, she went to the doctor today." And my mother, being a super sleuth, asked Jackson "Did you ride on an elevator?" and he told her "Yes." (my OB is the only doctor I have with an elevator--bingo.) So Adam and I dodged questions and comments all weekend. We had an ultrasound scheduled for Monday...

Feb 23, 2009--Monday
Ultrasound! I was prepared to not see a heartbeat. Seriously. Adam saw it first, then the tech, then me. I was told to be more positive....we'll see. Baby looked good. We were in and out in about 15 minutes.

Feb 24, 2009--Tuesday
Softball game! Dr. Taylor told me I could be as active as I was with Jackson. I could continue playing softball, but no sliding, and no collisions (let me tell you, I was super cautious--I promise) I didn't run unless I needed to. Our games are not strenuous. We had a double header that night--one game and BLD and one a Gilruth. We were in the 3rd inning of our 2nd game, and I thought I had to go to the bathroom. I got a hit, ran to first. Adam got a hit and I had to run all the way home b/c he got a triple....but the time I made it home, I thought I had peed myself a little--sounds bad, but it's the truth! I ran to the bathroom before we took the field again. Luckily, another girl went to the bathroom with me. I got there just in time.....honestly, the scene was exactly the same as after they game me the meds to induce my miscarriage the night before my surgery. I'd only seen that amount of blood one other time in my life, and it was a like deja vu....I just sat there. I had no emotion. In my mind I thought "Ahhhh...not again." I told the other girl to go get Adam and to bring his phone....apparently when she told him I needed him, he knew...I called the doctor on call and she said I had likely miscarried again, but to go see Dr. Taylor in the morning. This was not spotting, this was not a couple of drops of blood....this was bad. We had not told our families yet, but I knew I'd have to tell my parents b/c I was likely to be in the hospital the next day. We got home from the game and I sat them down. "Well, we're pregnant!" My mom was so excited! But, I didn't let her react--"Sit down. We think we just lost the baby tonight." Again, we didn't really react. We just went through the motions.

Feb 25, 2009--Wednesday
7:00am we were at Dr. Taylor's office--they don't open til 8:00am. Marcia, the secretary, was there and the door was unlocked. She looked up, and she knew. "How much bleeding?" Alot. "Brown or red?" Bright red. "I'm calling Dr. Taylor and the Ultrasound tech." We were there 25 minutes. Have I mentioned that I love my doctor? Had the ultrasound first--and there was a HEARTBEAT! I've never cried at an ultrasound, and I was very teary. Relieved. Dr. Taylor told me that 1 in 5 women bleed in their 1st trimester. WTF?! I read that, but come on?! Seriously?! I was put on bed rest for 2 weeks. BED REST! With a 2 YEAR OLD! It was hard, very hard...

Even with all the pending drama, I still had time to write a few things down: I was TIRED. ALL THE TIME. EXHAUSTED. Bed by 8:00, sleeping until 9:30 or 10:00 the next day, down for a nap again around 3:00-5:00pm. Luckily, Jackson did not oppose to snuggling and watching cartoons all morning while mommy rested next to him! I didn't get nauseated til I was 6 weeks pregnant. Even then, I tried to hide it. Jackson had the flu the week of our doctor's appointment. Remember our flu? I was sick that week too, but for other reasons! Once the nausea started, I had crazy food cravings....carbs. Carbs and more carbs. I lived on Easy Mac. Seriously. And orange juice. And fruit. Lots of fruit. Oh, and ice water--the big ones from Sonic with TONS of ice to chomp on. Just water in the beginning. So 1st trimester: ice, water, mac & cheese, fruit....Aversions? Ask Adam about my reaction to the smell of deer sausage--not pretty! And apparently with this pregnancy, I have an insanely hightened sense of hearing and smell. Hearing: I swear Jackson and Adam are so LOUD! Smells: I can smell anything and everything 10xs more than before--I'm like hound dog right now (so this means go easy on the perfume around me, it makes me throw up!) Morning Sickness: With Jackson, I was nauseas 24/7 and I would gag alot. 2nd time around, I was nauseas and threw up about once a day. This time: throwing up 3-4 times a day, all hours of the day. In the beginning, I had night sickness. I would get sick before I went to bed and would be nauseas in the middle of the night to the point it would wake me up....now, it's in the morning when I'm in the shower or brushing my teeth. Full on throwing up. But, as of 14 weeks, I hadn't gained any weight, and that was probably part of it!


Mar 11, 2009
Felt kinda funny all morning. In the afternoon, I went to the bathroom, and the same this that happened at the ball park happened at home. This time, I remembered Dr. Taylor asking me if I saved any--"no, gross"--but I had some clotting when I wiped, so I grabbed ziplock (I know, kinda gross, but for those of you without kiddos now, and god forbid this happen to you, you'll be a little more prepared than I was....sorry. I called Mom, she came right over and took me straight to Dr. Taylor's. Count them 3 ultrasounds in less than a month--thank GOD for good insurance! I went in, again, fully expecting to see nothing. This brought on scolding from Dr. Taylor and her nurse that I needed to be more positive! And, we were ALL relieved to see that heartbeat again--my mom especially! Then she yelled at me to be more positive, and so did the ultrasound tech....so I'm POSITIVE! OKAY?! HAPPY FREAKING POSITIVE!! And POSITIVE that I was going to be on bed rest again--Ding Ding Ding! 8 more days of bed rest!

In the meantime, my mother and my grandmother became my angels. They cleaned my house, cooked us dinner, did all my laundry (the piles that had stacked up in the 5 weeks that no one knew we were pregnant, they did in one afternoon while I laid in bed watching soaps...oh, and ironing. I think my grandmother stood there for 6 hours ironing) I could never have made it through those weeks without both of them--I love you guys!!

At this point, Jackson is very vocal about EVERYTHING--"Momma going to have a baby sister--2 baby sisters! I'm going to take them to the park!"

Me: "Jackson, what if we have a baby boy?"
Jack: "No, thems girls."
Me: "If it's a boy, will you share your trains with him?"
Jack: "No, shes gonna have her own dolls to play with."

Out shopping, he notices all the girl stuff and says "That pink twimming suit would look nice on my baby sister--you should buy dat for her." "Will my baby sister wear bows? I yike dees." "You see dat dress momma? Are you gonna get dat for her?" Seriously, we could have issues if this is a boy....

We opted this time to have the 1st trimester screening done that scans for Downs and other defects. We met with our specialist for this test, and knowing that they would do an EARLY anatomy scan at that appointment, we were prepared to find out what it was. Keep in mind, the test is 80%. That was at 12 weeks. So we've known for a month what this baby could POSSIBLY be, but that's for another post. We find out for sure in a couple of weeks....
We ended up with a total of 22 images from this ultrasound, but I'm going to save those for later too...



Over spring break, Grandma Patty and Grandpa Doug came to stay with us. Jackson told them the good news by showing them the ultrasound picture and telling them "this is my baby sister!" We made it hard on them, b/c at that point, the only people who knew were them and my parents, my grandma (b/c I knew we couldn't keep Jackson from telling her) and my sister (oh, and the softball team, b/c obviously they wouldn't let me play anymore...) so they had to keep a secret for a LONG time! We didn't tell the rest of the family til Easter (which was when we were originally planning on making a BIG announcement to everyone (my parents, Adam's parents, in-laws, grandparents) but with all the issues, we told some people early...

So now, everyone knows! Funny thing is, one of my best friends and fellow mommy, Melissa, is pregnant too and we are due one day apart! This is her 3rd! We'll be at Clear Lake Regional together! HA!

Oh yeah! Remember when Jackson told me there was two babies in there? I thought he was nuts, but more and more people are telling me that I could have miscarried one. We will not know this for sure until we actually give birth...weird, huh?! It gave me chills....How could he have known that...

I know I'm forgetting some stuff, but we could not be more thrilled! If I had it my way, we would not have told anyone until this baby was laying in the crib next to us, but I'm starting to show--actually, I "popped" out in about 3 days. For real! We had an appointment on a Monday and I had not gained anything at point (12 weeks). By Tuesday night, as I was getting out of the shower, Adam said to me, " I think you are getting a little pooch!" "Uh, no, maybe I ate too much Mexican food, but didn't you hear her? I haven't gained any weight, asshole!" Wednesday, I had a hard time getting my jeans buttoned. Seriously. They fit everywhere but right at my belly button. Uhhhh....mom tells me to get out my maternity stuff and I succomb to stretchy pants again at 14 weeks.


We went to Wichita for a friends wedding (more about that fabulous wedding later!) and I swear that my stomach grew bigger every night we were there. When I came home from that trip, Adam was SHOCKED to see my belly! We called the rest of this family that night to fill them in on the news b/c we KNEW I could not hide this bump at the upcoming wedding/family reunion that took place this past weekend!

It's now 12:15am....I am so tired! I have so much more to tell you all, but for now, I'm putting my pregnant butt to bed!

I PROMISE to get back to blogging! Jackson is doing so much right now....and I have a cool new video gift from my hubby to show you all! We've had numerous weddings in the past 16 weeks, a trip to Wichita, a 4 year anniversary, a trip to Austin, and my brother-in-laws wedding, all to blog! I'm going to get to that tomorrow!!

Thank you for being patient (kinda) with me in my absense, and please keep us in your prayers!! More to come....