Give a Little Gift

I was born 8 weeks early. I have spent my entire pregnancy praying my baby would not be premature. I have a friend, Janet, and her husband, Mike, who weren't as lucky as I have been.  They don't know I'm writing this post, and I really hope they don't mind. I'll show it to them when we're done here...

Janet and Mike are a sweet couple, smart, and funny. I enjoy their company.  I met them through a friend a few years ago.  

Janet and Mike got pregnant with twins after being married over a decade.  They delivered their babies early, 16 weeks early.  Which means their twins Jaina and Cade were born at 24 weeks. Sweet baby Jaina fought hard for a few days, but is now waiting in heaven for her family.  Cade spent about 4 months in the NICU surrounded by nurses and doctors who cared for him expertly.

I cannot imagine travelling back and forth every day like Janet and Mike.
I cannot imagine the pain of bringing Cade home without his sister.

Cade 4mo old and home!

Why am I telling you this story and showing you an adorable baby photo?  Janet is participating in the March Of Dimes walk and is raising money in honor of her beautiful son Cade, and in memory of her precious daughter Jaina. I'm hoping that by being a friend of TheCatholicLovebirds and all that we love, you might consider donating to this fight.  There are so many babies born early, March of Dimes is doing everything they can to prevent this. When it can't be prevented March of Dimes does what they can to support these babies and their families.  Think of all your friends, how many have been affected by miscarriage, early births, premature or preterm births, birth defects?  Then click the link below and donate.  Donate in honor of the babies that fight to become adults.   Could you give a dollar? One dollar isn't much of a sacrifice really when you think of it... You've probably got that much between the couch cushions.

I've committed to donate a dollar amount equivalent to the weeks at which Lucy is born. What will you commit to?  Pickel Family MOD page

MOD mission statement

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Baby update: Successful ultrasound

"The ultrasound can't detect everything," the doctor said. "We can only tell you that the baby appears healthy based on what we see."

That's a slight paraphrase, but it's what Dr. Beardface told us Thursday morning when we went in for another ultrasound. Our little gummy bear Lucy is a little over 22 weeks old, and to try to keep things simple, only has two "vents" on the umbilical cord. Normally a baby has three: two to deliver nutrients, and one to remove waste. However, since the cord only has one cashier open to take food orders, the doctor wanted an ultrasound to make sure the baby was growing the way it should.

Does that sound normal and uncomplicated to you? Good...cause to Allicia and I, it was a cause to panic! Just a few days ago, we were told the baby was fine. And now they want to do another ultrasound? Did they think of something that could be wrong? Most of my mind knew that everything would be fine, but that one percent was panicking (ok, more like 33 percent) and praying that our baby would be fine.

You can't take this for granted, especially after so many of our friends have experienced miscarriages.

I suppose the worry now is just practice for when the kid is running around without a bubble surrounding her. Oh, and we got further confirmation that the baby is a girl.

Which is fine with me. I think I'd be upset if it was a boy now, what with all the wonderful clothing we've already received for Lucy.

Thank everyone for their prayers.

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It just got real

Sorry for the delayed posting. Been a hectic few weeks due to a new shift change at work (now working 11:30 to 8, as working into the evening gives me an extra dollar an hour).

But I did want to write quickly and let everyone know that after visiting the doctor, we are having a girl (Lucy Hartley Faber)! Yes, I was hoping for a boy. Since my sister has two boys, we would have gotten more hand-me-down items, and when our kids get to high school, an older brother would be added security when it comes to my daughter bringing home some boy who just wanted to get into her pants.

I'm not going to go King Henry VIII on my wife for not giving me a male heir, but part of me was a little disappointed.

For about 45 seconds. Then I started thinking about how amazing it would be to have a daughter, and since that Ultrasound, I'm counting down days in my head until our daughter is born.

Ironically, the ultrasound showed something I'll appreciate later on in life. The nurse was unable to actually see the baby's reproductive organs on the screen, instead pointing out three little white lines. These lines are apparently what is used to determine gender.

And it was then that my wife made an outstanding observation. "The one time you want your daughter to spread her legs, she doesn't do it!" Yes, our daughter being uncooperative during the ultrasound (delaying the gender reveal by 30 min or so), was frustrating, but I'm sure when she hits high school, I'll be thankful that she's already made the right decision to keep those private parts hidden from the world.

Before the gender was revealed, we knew we were having a baby. But finding out if the baby would be a boy or girl just seemed to make it more real. Instead of us having a baby being some abstract idea that would get here on Feb. 29, 2012, it got real. As if a candle was lit inside my brain, it dawned on me that I'm going to become a father.

I'm going to have a daughter.

God help us all.

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