Dearest Stormageddon,
It's hard to believe how much is changing right now. I'm in the midst of teaching two summer classes and writing a lot for my dissertation. Your papa is really busy with work and finishing up little projects around the house--I can feel him getting excited and nervous about your arrival. We're trying to talk to your big brother more about you coming, but he's still such a mama's boy that he won't believe me when I say I can't pick him up anymore. YOU are changing right along with us. I can feel you kicking like crazy some times around 3 in the morning or around 7pm when I'm putting your brother to bed. I can feel my hip bones sliding out further and my skin and muscles stretching around my middle. I still don't think you like me eating very much. I've taken to chewing ginger gum, which helps a lot, and having really small snacks very often so that the nausea that always seems much worse on an empty stomach doesn't show up.
I know it may not be fair, but I do wonder constantly what kind of baby you'll be and whether you'll be a boy or a girl. The unfair part? I do comparisons in my head to your brother. I know you're different children and will have different personalities (or at least I hope so. Mama's not sure she could handle two Tristans!) but I do wonder HOW different you two will be. Will you get along? I know you won't at first--your brother won't like not being the center of attention. I only hope that, like my sister and I, you grow up to be friends or at least stand each other's company well :D
We love you and think about you a lot lately.
Love,
Mama
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Your nickname
Dearest Stormageddon,
Your parents are sort of nerds. Not just any nerds though--we're science fiction loving nerds who adore Dr. Who. Though we didn't grow up with the series in the 1980s (though mama still remembers hearing the intro music a few times when I was a kid), we did get "hooked" when it came back to TV in the 2000s. A time-traveling alien known as "the doctor" traverses the universe, helping other species, getting in trouble, and generally having fun with historical figures all while others are out to stop him--what's not to like?
During season 5, when the doctor takes on civilian life and a human flatmate, Craig, he ends up "saving the day" (again) and he helps the flatmate get a date with a girl he's been interested in for a long time. In series 6 in an episode set several years later, Craig is married to this girl and they've had a baby. The doctor talks to the baby (of course he can! He speaks thousands of languages) and the baby wants to inform Craig that he doesn't like his given name. "He prefers to be called Stormageddon, Lord of All!" the doctor explains.
I couldn't stop laughing at this idea. A baby who thought he was in charge and that his speech was more advanced? That's...well, when you've spent enough time around babies and know that they really believe the world revolves around them, it doesn't seem that preposterous. It is funny, however, to grown ups--and "stormageddon" seemed to be the perfect nickname for a baby whose gender was yet unknown. Any baby would believe they were stormageddon and at the center of everything.
Considering how much this pregnancy has turned my life upside down lately (sickness, exhaustion, and trying to finish a dissertation before you get here)? You are the perfect little storm. Mama would like to eat something that doesn't make her feel nauseous now though, if you don't mind!
Love,
Mama
Your parents are sort of nerds. Not just any nerds though--we're science fiction loving nerds who adore Dr. Who. Though we didn't grow up with the series in the 1980s (though mama still remembers hearing the intro music a few times when I was a kid), we did get "hooked" when it came back to TV in the 2000s. A time-traveling alien known as "the doctor" traverses the universe, helping other species, getting in trouble, and generally having fun with historical figures all while others are out to stop him--what's not to like?
During season 5, when the doctor takes on civilian life and a human flatmate, Craig, he ends up "saving the day" (again) and he helps the flatmate get a date with a girl he's been interested in for a long time. In series 6 in an episode set several years later, Craig is married to this girl and they've had a baby. The doctor talks to the baby (of course he can! He speaks thousands of languages) and the baby wants to inform Craig that he doesn't like his given name. "He prefers to be called Stormageddon, Lord of All!" the doctor explains.
I couldn't stop laughing at this idea. A baby who thought he was in charge and that his speech was more advanced? That's...well, when you've spent enough time around babies and know that they really believe the world revolves around them, it doesn't seem that preposterous. It is funny, however, to grown ups--and "stormageddon" seemed to be the perfect nickname for a baby whose gender was yet unknown. Any baby would believe they were stormageddon and at the center of everything.
Considering how much this pregnancy has turned my life upside down lately (sickness, exhaustion, and trying to finish a dissertation before you get here)? You are the perfect little storm. Mama would like to eat something that doesn't make her feel nauseous now though, if you don't mind!
Love,
Mama
13 Weeks
Dearest Stormageddon,
I'm sorry it took me this long to get started. I knew I wanted to do something for you similar to what I did for your brother, but...well, let's start at the beginning.
Your brother, Tristan, was a surprise. I'd been told three months before we found out we were pregnant with him that I might never be able to get pregnant thanks to an illness called Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). We weren't trying to have a baby at that point, but it made us a bit sad.
After that, when we realized we could get pregnant, it was all we could do not to tell everyone right away. In fact, by the time I was 6 weeks pregnant, I think everyone knew! I had just started a PhD program at UMSL three months before and so it was a lot to plan and prepare and try to stay in the program.
We did! Despite all of the reflux and jaundice and craziness we went through with your brother, I was able to stay in school and come very close to finishing. By the time Tristan was two and a half, I knew I really wanted another baby. Your dad took a bit more convincing that early on! I kept telling him that I could finish my dissertation and graduate from UMSL beforehand. It took awhile to get pregnant this time (6 months) after we starting trying, and I was very nervous. I knew the risk for miscarriage with PCOS was higher and, well, I didn't want to tell too many people about you until we knew that you'd more than likely be coming to join us.
I was scared to start writing you letters too early, either. What if I started talking to you, telling you stories, and thinking too much about your nursery only to have you leave our lives before we even knew if you were a boy or a girl?
We started telling everyone around mother's day, when I was 12 weeks pregnant. You were definitely beginning to make an appearance and everyone knew it :D
In some ways, you were harder to keep secret than Tristan would have been. Mama felt SICK a lot, and it started when she was only 4 weeks pregnant with you! We didn't even know about Tristan until I was 5 weeks along or so. he idea of "morning sickness" isn't exactly accurate. Breakfast wasn't appealing, but dinner was often something that sounded far worse. I felt like I always had a green sheen to my face :( I didn't really care though, as I thought if it meant you'd be healthier than your brother had been, then I'd happily take a much rougher pregnancy. I had to blame your brother a LOT though, to get out of evening events and keep people from knowing how sick mama felt. We told people often that Tristan was overly tired and needed to go home, which was also often true. Don't worry--I'm sure Tristan will return the favor in future and he'll blame YOU for things to get out of trouble :D
I'll explain your nickname later, but for now your mama (and papa) just wanted to get your story started on paper and let you know that we love you and are excited that you will join our family in November 2012.
Love,
Mama
I'm sorry it took me this long to get started. I knew I wanted to do something for you similar to what I did for your brother, but...well, let's start at the beginning.
Your brother, Tristan, was a surprise. I'd been told three months before we found out we were pregnant with him that I might never be able to get pregnant thanks to an illness called Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). We weren't trying to have a baby at that point, but it made us a bit sad.
After that, when we realized we could get pregnant, it was all we could do not to tell everyone right away. In fact, by the time I was 6 weeks pregnant, I think everyone knew! I had just started a PhD program at UMSL three months before and so it was a lot to plan and prepare and try to stay in the program.
We did! Despite all of the reflux and jaundice and craziness we went through with your brother, I was able to stay in school and come very close to finishing. By the time Tristan was two and a half, I knew I really wanted another baby. Your dad took a bit more convincing that early on! I kept telling him that I could finish my dissertation and graduate from UMSL beforehand. It took awhile to get pregnant this time (6 months) after we starting trying, and I was very nervous. I knew the risk for miscarriage with PCOS was higher and, well, I didn't want to tell too many people about you until we knew that you'd more than likely be coming to join us.
I was scared to start writing you letters too early, either. What if I started talking to you, telling you stories, and thinking too much about your nursery only to have you leave our lives before we even knew if you were a boy or a girl?
We started telling everyone around mother's day, when I was 12 weeks pregnant. You were definitely beginning to make an appearance and everyone knew it :D
In some ways, you were harder to keep secret than Tristan would have been. Mama felt SICK a lot, and it started when she was only 4 weeks pregnant with you! We didn't even know about Tristan until I was 5 weeks along or so. he idea of "morning sickness" isn't exactly accurate. Breakfast wasn't appealing, but dinner was often something that sounded far worse. I felt like I always had a green sheen to my face :( I didn't really care though, as I thought if it meant you'd be healthier than your brother had been, then I'd happily take a much rougher pregnancy. I had to blame your brother a LOT though, to get out of evening events and keep people from knowing how sick mama felt. We told people often that Tristan was overly tired and needed to go home, which was also often true. Don't worry--I'm sure Tristan will return the favor in future and he'll blame YOU for things to get out of trouble :D
I'll explain your nickname later, but for now your mama (and papa) just wanted to get your story started on paper and let you know that we love you and are excited that you will join our family in November 2012.
Love,
Mama
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