Hi sweetie. It has been about two months now that we have known you would be coming into our lives. Even in that short time, you have begun to make a difference to our family. I did an at-home pregnancy test on April 9, 1999 and the result was positive. To be honest, your dad and I were rather surprised. I had another test done at the Doctor’s office on Monday the 12th of April and the nurse confirmed what we already knew to be true. You were five weeks old (gestational age) then. She said that you should make your arrival around the 12th of December, but I am banking on the fact that you are going to be late and will come closer to Christmas. That’s what usually happens with most pregnancies, and I don’t want to get my hopes up and have them dashed when you are two weeks overdue.
Almost immediately after finding out about you, the morning sickness began. Except that it did not confine itself to the morning. (Your father seemed to think that it was all in my head, but that was definitely not true.) I was usually nauseated most of the day at work and tried to eat as often as possible. Not much seemed to help, although ginger ale usually calmed my stomach for awhile. I thought people would begin to suspect, since I was eating and going to the bathroom quite frequently. One blessing is that I have not yet thrown up. One co-worker said she got four cavities just from that alone!
We had quite a scare around eight weeks. I began to bleed. It wasn’t all that much but being new to this whole experience, both your dad and I were concerned. We tried to call Ask-a-Nurse and Baby Your Baby, but it was about 9:00 pm and no one answered. We finally went to bed and hoped that things would subside by the morning. It did, but I was still upset. I remember being close to tears as I drove to work the next morning. Once there, I finally called my doctor’s nurse, Joy. She said I really should be home lying down. I left work immediately and spent the rest of the day and most of the weekend on the couch. It was then that I really knew that I wanted you to be a part of our lives.
We announced you to our families on Mother’s Day, May 9th. We sent all of our parents—you have three sets—a small package with a pair of booties and a note that said,
Rose are red
Violets are blue
Please return these by Christmas
‘Cuz that’s when I’m due.
You were a BIG hit. You will be the 6th grandchild for my parents and the umpteenth great grandchild, but for Chris’ family you are the first grandchild and great grandchild.
I decided not to tell anyone your actual due date and just say Christmas. Most people want to know the actual date, but I think I will begin telling them the 24th. I am just trying to be realistic and cut down on the calls on the 12th, 13th, 14th, etc. that wonder, politely of course, just when I am going to have that baby!
Grandpa Kline opened his package and called first. We figured he would be the first to call because the mother’s to whom the other packages were addressed would wait till after church (around 4 pm) and after Sunday dinner to open their gifts. He was so excited for us and is already making great plans for you. My parents called next. They seemed to think they already knew so that kind of ruined the surprise of it all, but they are no less thrilled. Chris’ mom was probably doing cartwheels she was so excited. You will be one loved and spoiled little child.
By this time (about 9 to 10 weeks) I was also beginning to feel so much better during the day. I still became nauseated at times, but nothing like before. I have learned that there are certain foods that I cannot eat. It isn’t because they taste bad, it seems as though their texture triggers a gag response. Bananas and yogurt were the only two for awhile, but I tried to eat a somewhat overripe pear the other day and there was that feeling again.
I went to my first doctor’s appointment on June 1st. Doctor Woodmansee had been away for a two-week holiday and had just returned so he was really backed up. I had to wait about an hour. This was my first time meeting him. I didn’t know whom to choose, since I had never needed an obstetrician before, but Susan, my sister, recommended him. He delivered her last two boys I think. Anyway, I liked him when I finally got to meet him. I am in good health although he wants to keep my weight gain under control. And you do make me hungry! He said “no desserts” but fortunately I haven’t craved many. The most exciting part of the visit that day was being able to hear the steady, rhythmic “swoosh, swoosh, swoosh” of your heartbeat. It was wonderful and you are real.
I don’t have much difficulty with sleeping, that is, except for the first week after we found out about you. I probably had to go to the bathroom five times a night. But now, I usually only get up about once a night. My stomach is beginning to grow which makes sleeping on my stomach uncomfortable—it puts too much pressure on my bladder. Unfortunately that is my favorite way to fall asleep.
I caught a cold last Thursday, June 10th. That was not fun at all. I wasn’t sure what I could take for medication, and I didn’t want to cause you any harm. Joy, Dr. Woodmansee’s nurse, said I could take Tylenol and Sudafed, but they weren’t all that helpful. I stayed home from work both Friday and Monday. I am still kind of stuffy and have a bit of a cough, but I feel so much better than last weekend.
So much of what your father and I do in our life together is based on faith. We have faith that the Lord will help us to be good parents, we have faith that the Lord will provide a way for me to stay home with you after you are born, and we have faith that you are meant to be a part of our lives. We hope to teach you much of faith.
Right now we are contemplating and feeling impressed to buy a new home. We purchased a two-bedroom townhouse in Provo, Utah last May (1998), but when you arrive we will quickly outgrow it. We feel impressed that we are to buy a three-bedroom townhouse in the same development we are presently in—Park Ridge—and that again requires that we rely on faith to find a way. It would mean, since I wouldn’t be working, that your dad would have to work full-time and prolong his schooling. A big sacrifice on his part. He was just accepted into the Masters of Information Systems program at BYU and had hoped to be graduated in December 2000. It looks as though our plans will change. He has applied at a company called Novell and hopes for positive results. He and our next-door neighbor, Erik Blomquist, are planning to start their own computer consulting business that they would do on the side. They are both very sharp when it comes to computers and would do very well if they can get into the right niche.
I so much want to be able to stay home with you. But I also wonder, how will it all work out minus the income I make right now as I am the primary wage earner? We are having faith that being a mom is the Lord’s will for me. It is what I have wanted to do all of my life, and I don’t want to leave your mothering to someone else. That doesn’t mean I won’t miss working, meeting new people in the workplace, and using my skills—but you are infinitely more important. I hope that you will always know that.
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