Why Nemo?

Ever since our implant surgery, we have called our baby 'Nemo'.

http://hero.wikia.com/wiki/Nemo

Bret came up with this nickname. After our egg collection & fertilization, we had three viable embryos. Our first IVF implantation, we put two eggs in. We thought, if they both implant we will have twins & it's a better chance to put two in instead of just one at a time. When we watched the embryos being sent into my uterus on the screen, my RE mentioned they are sandwiched in there like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. So That's what Bret started calling them during our time of waiting to see if they implanted. Unfortunately , they did not implant.

So we were left with only one embryo. Just like in the movie, "Finding Nemo" there was just one baby left. Bret decided this was the perfect nickname for our (hopefully) growing embryo. We continued to call the baby Nemo as we were told the embryo implanted correctly & was growing at a healthy rate. Even at 20 weeks, we still call our baby Nemo. Now it fits even better with Nemo being our baby BOY!

We are very lucky that our Nemo has grown at a healthy rate throughout my pregnancy. I hope he continues this trend for the second half, birth, & thereafter.

We love our little Nemo!

It's A Boy!

We found out on Tuesday, July 28th that Nemo is a BOY!

When we got to our Dr's office, we even happened to park in the correct spot before we knew the gender! What a coincidence :)

We had our ultrasound first to find out the gender & check out Nemo's development. Bret & I were shocked when we saw the ultrasound, he looks like a baby now! Last time, he looked more like a gummy bear than a baby. We were able to watch him move around for almost a half hour as the nurse checked for gender, looked at his heart & kidneys, measured his head, and looked over his spine. Everything is looks healthy & Nemo is growing right on schedule. 

I was in shock when she said 'It's a boy!' I obviously knew we were going to find out, but just hearing it made it all the more real that we are going to be parents!

We went to Target after the appt to find some cute 'boy' onesies. Bret detoured to the Hot Wheels aisle and spend a good 15 minutes finding the perfect cars to be Nemo's first of what I'm sure will be a vast collection. I told him that trucks, cars, & Legos are going to be back in his life. Bret's eyes LIT UP at that realization! He is so excited to be a dad & he will have so much fun getting to be a little boy again!

We waited two days (because of Bret's work schedule) to get together with family to reveal the gender. My amazingly talented friend Lacy made a cake for us to use as a gender reveal cake. 

Side note- she is also the first person I talked to about infertility. It was about one year ago that I cried my eyes out for help to her. What a difference 365 days can make!

The cake she made was beautiful (& delicious!). My parents, Bret's parents, the Rodriguezs (via FaceTime), & the Kleekamps were all present for the reveal. Bret & I cut into the cake to reveal the BLUE cake inside. What followed was shouts of joys & excitement! 

I snuck away to chat quick with my sister while Bret talked with everyone in the room. She had predicted boy & was excited to be right. Her oldest daughter, Mila (2.5y/o) was sitting with her. Mila said 'He's MY boy!' with a big smile on her face *heart melting* Then said 'I love my cousin! *heart is now a puddle* I cannot wait to see them in October & again in December!

The rest of us in Kansas ate dinner & chatted about the little boy who will be joining out family this winter. I'm so happy to have such amazing family around me!

This boy life will be very different for me, but I think I'm up for the challenge. I've been told by some boy mamas that is no love like a boy's love for his mama. I cannot wait for that! In the meantime, I have found comfort & humor in posts like this:  '10 Things I Wish I'd Known About Raising A Boy'

http://www.today.com/parents/10-things-i-wish-id-known-about-raising-boy-1D79911267?cid=sm_fbn