My Sister-In-Law’s water ruptured last night. She is 25 weeks 4 days pregnant with my little niece.
The MD told her to wait until this morning to come in, and when they did it was confirmed that she has lost much of her amniotic fluid.

They first sent her to Bloomington Hospital, then sent her via ambulance to St. Vincent’s in Indy so that she is close to Riley Children’s Hospital.

As far as I know they are keeping her on antibiotics and hospital bedrest for as long as possible.

Please pray (or however you practice faith/spiritualism) that our little niece can stay in the womb as long as possible and that she is strong.

Age: 3 Months

Physical Output:
Smiles all the time
Progressed from batting at toys to grabbing and pulling
Will hold toys while seated
Can almost sit up by herself, needs little support
Loves to stand with support
‘Allegedly’ rolled over – unconfirmed by momma or daddy – confirmed by momma and daddy on Friday!

Verbal Output:
began with ‘uuuuuuuh’
progressed to long and loud oohs and ahs
will sing with momma
now has character like squeals of delight

Sleep Progression:
began at 1 – 2 hours between feedings
now will sleep up to 10 hours in the evening

Edible Input:
eats 4 – 6 ozs at a time…usually 4, but has eaten 6 when exceptionally hungry

Diaper Size: 1

Length: over 23.5 inches
Weight: probably about 12.5 lbs(I was way off on the 15 pounds!) – true amount unknown until 4 month dr visit
Net Operating Income: incalcuable

I am so blessed.
When I was five years old I met C. Since then, well…she is my girl.
I don’t think I have any other relationship like her…it is unconditional Love….not just love….it is unconditional totally awesomeness….I mean I feel so freaking blessed that there is someone I can talk to about anything and it doesn’t matter what I say – they understand and I am cool…now before we get this wrong – my parents think I am WAY COOL….but C understands me…she and I…we are of the same vein…we are one…we didn’t plan it, but we totally think the other person rocks…

C and I went to see Brandi Carlile tonight. I saw that she was coming into town and I had to go. I told her and she agreed to come, even though she doesn’t even listen to you.

so, tonight nadie watched the zerker…
i almost backed out of it because i couldn’t stand being away from the zerker…and nadie was going to take her and pick her up, but I couldn’t NOT see her in the evening, so I picked the Zerker up, fed her and nadie came home and her…
and i went to a concert
it was awesome
it was brandi carlile
and i loved it
totally my music
but the wierdest thing….
for the past two weeks i have had a song in my head
i know for a fact that during my monday devel meeting i typed the words to ‘creep’ out on my blackberry during my notes….i really couldn’t tell you why…i wasn’t feeling outcasted…and i do love that song…but i even thought my need to expell the lyrics was wierd…i remember wanting to type it last week…and i was singing it this morning…i am pretty sure i can get the guy in the office next to me to vouch for me here….

and then she sang it….and i was totally weirded out…it was fracking awesome…i really do feel like i was intuiting that she was going to perform it….i really had no fracking idea and was blown away

Another wierd thing…this past saturday a random thought about a girl that I went to school with came into my head. Specifically it I thought about her and her sister (who was older than us but really popular). I was not really great friends with her, but she popped into my head, along with her sister and their relationship for some random reason. Where am I going with this??? When I came back to my seat at the conference the group of people asked me if I was a ‘INSERT MAIDEN NAME’…they were from my hometown (an hour and a half away)…and they recognized me. I looked over and the girl’s sister was in the group of people. It was fracking crazy. Then C told me that she and her sister (C’s sister) talked about the same sisters within the past month – these are people we barely have any connection to and don’t really affect our lives. It is like we both had a premonition that we would be seeing that girl’s sister at the concert….

it made me glad that i went…because i felt like i was supposed to go…i needed some C time…

Lori@Weebles Wobble says, ‘Perfect Moment Monday is more about noticing a perfect moment than about creating one. Perfect moments can be momentous or ordinary or somewhere in between.’

Check out what other people are sharing at her blog, and maybe share your own!

Here is a perfect moment for this rainy and cold Monday.
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Children mentioned.

Our dogs are so sweet. They really do want to please us in every thing they do. Still, I know they need to feel valued and loved. They are really very great with the Zerker, they steer clear except to smell her. Er, well, sometimes Gus (the mini-aussie)will give her a quick lick. Also, I know Starbuck (the golden) has begun to recognize baby crying on television shows. He has wanted a kid for several years, and he always gives us this look when he sees them – like ‘Can I have one of those, please?’

I don’t think he has yet realized that the Zerker will be his best friend sooner than he knows it.

I am going to be honest here. I know they need more attention. We haven’t been the best dog owners since the Zerker came along… and I am pretty sure we will get better at it…being able to care for the baby and the dogs and cats at the same time. Right now, though, they are probably not as content as they were before. They don’t show it, of course, always uber excited to see us and ready to play.

This weekend I went and bought a brand new batch of tennis balls. I sat with the Zerker on the couch and tossed the ball across the room. For a little while Nadie held the zerker and she just watched the dogs go back and forth. She smiled and looked interested in their athleticism.

And that was a perfect moment…giving the good boys some TLC and knowing they were having a fantastic time….

Nadie, the Zerker and I will be walking in this years Indy Race for the Cure. If you feel compelled, we would SOOOO love it if you could donate a few bucks for the cause…

It is that time again. Go see what everyone else is sharing!

Children mentioned and pictured.

There is a little observatory that is not too far from my home. It isn’t really used for research anymore because the lights of the city take away from its effectiveness. Still, that isn’t the reason I think it is so cool.

The observatory was funded by Dr. Goethe Link. He was an amateur astronomist. I guess he spent a lot of time at the observatory. So while he did all that sky watching his wife, Helen, was collecting and cultivating different types of daffodils. She was a botanist and former Vice-President of the American Daffodil Society. Who knew a whole society exists for daffodils???? Do they let Jonquil lovers into their group?

Anyways, back in the 80′s the NYT did a story on her.

A path through the woods by the observatory leads to a field where her spoils continue to thrive. It is a bit of beauty and wonder in this messy world.
Daffodils are probably my favorite flower.
Today I took the Zerker there took pictures in her Easter dress.
It was beautiful.

‘For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.’

William Wordsworth

Check out Mama Kat to see what other’s have to say.

In what ways are you turning into your mother?

Banging toes…
That is the first thing that comes to my mind…I am like my mother right now because there have been several times over the past year where I have banged my toe against a swing or toy or book or anything and pretty much think that I broke it. Right now my baby toe on my right foot is sore. I am sure I rammed against something a few days ago.

What does this have to do with my mother? Ever since I can remember my mom has had issues with keeping her toes in tact. Perhaps it was hard to keep toys out from under foot when she was taking care of nine kids. I can’t count on my hands how many times she injured one of her ten little Indians….

I am sure there are other ways that I am like my mother. I hope I have her sense of humor, but I can’t tell a joke like she can.

I wish I was as fertile as she was in her prime. She spent pretty much 16 years of her life being pregnant – with a few months in between. And with all of that experience I don’t remember any time during my pregnancy when I felt like she was giving unwanted advice. Actually, I came to her with the questions…so no assvice even from the lady who had the background to give it.

I hope I am as good of a momma to my little girl as she was. I hope I dedicate my time to whatever the Zerker digs like she did for me.

And when I am done, I don’t mind a few injured toes.

A year ago today my body began the cycle that produced my darling Zerker. We were heading into the unknown of our first medicated fertility cycle. What I feared would end up being just another April Fool’s joke on me, ended up being the beginning of the best year of my life so far…

I am so excited to see how the rest of the years unfold!

And I am her fool….

In case I forget anything that happened over the past year I wanted to take a few quick notes….

• Being pregnant with the Zerker was a breeze.
• After the first month of scary RE-ness thinking that I was miscarrying or that she was ectopic, there was not a lot of issues.
• I didn’t have much nausea.
• I WAS tired a lot.
• I generally felt OK until 30 weeks when my back broke down on me, but after I stopped working out I was fine.
• 37+weeks was not that big of a deal as far as being uncomfortable.
• I totally missed being able to roll over in bed and get up and down with ease.
• There was no need for all that worry about my water breaking – when it happens I will know – it smells different.
• Feeling her inside of me was amazing. Kicking – rolling – being goofy.
• Maybe next time (if I do have another kid) I won’t be so worried and will be able to enjoy being pregnant more.
• Not being able to drink alcohol was not so bad. After a few months the thought of a beer or a glass of wine sounded disgusting. Now I don’t even like drinking so much, and I am glad of that.

• Labor was not so bad. Not nearly as scary as I made it out to be. OK the part where they called for all the nurses on the floor to come and did an emergency insertion of the fetal monitor on her head was scary. The rest of it – not so much.
• Epidurals are nice.
• C-sections are OK and after 20 hours of labor – they are welcome.
• She is SOOOO worth it.