Nathaniel Kee Wong

 And on March 7, 2014 at 5:39pm Nathaniel Kee Wong came into the world.
My mom, sister, and brother had come down Thursday afternoon so they could be here to meet Nathaniel (who at the time still did not have a name).  It was planned for me to be at the hospital early Friday morning to be induced.  But Nathaniel had other plans.  :)
We went out to dinner that Thursday night at Cheddars with my family.  While at dinner I started noticing my contractions were getting a bit closer but still not close enough to warrant heading to the hospital. I began to wonder if I could make it until Friday morning. We finished up dinner and headed back to the house.  At around 11pm everyone crawled into bed for the night.  And an hour later, I was waking everyone up!  Nathaniel had decided it was time.  We called the hospital and and my doctor called me as we were leaving, "I knew it. I knew you would come in before the morning." He had been saying that all week. Haha!
They got me into a room and hooked up to all the monitors.  But contractions and pain were minimal so we monitored baby until later that morning when the doctor came in and broke my water.  Then it was time for the epidural.  I was worried it wouldn't take because of the scoliosis.  The anesthesiologist got it in without any problems but the first medicine wasn't helping completely, so they injected another medicine into the epidural line and that one seemed to do the trick.  But by the time Nathaniel was finally on his way, the meds were wearing off and baby was too close to get more meds! Yikes.
I ended up having to get an episiotomy because all my pushing just wasn't doing the trick. 

This picture was taken just 5 days prior to his due date.

Nathaniel Kee Wong 6lbs 3oz, 18.5in long

Mom and dad holding our precious baby boy.

We're home!
We were at the hospital early Friday morning and returned home Sunday evening, on March 9, 2014. 

Let me apologize on the lateness of this post.  Here it is 7 months later and our little man is sitting up and saying "dada!"

Ta-da!!    He is the best baby ever!  He's eating pureed foods, he's tasted chicken, loves tortillas and breadsticks, he army crawls in circles, can roll from belly to back, and is just now sleeping in his own room! Hard to believe that in 5 short months he'll be 1 year old! 

Now he's around 17lbs and 26in long! He's growing too fast!

Here's a comparison collage to catch everyone up: 

The sorrow may last through the night, but JOY comes in the morning!

On October 15th we lit our candle for our precious Olive baby.  We lost her at 8 weeks and 2 days on September 17th, 2012.  Our first doctor told us on September 11th (my grandmother's birthday) that she was gone and refused to give us a second set of blood work so we could know ourselves for sure.
Our second and current doctor granted us the blood work we wanted and confirmed our worst nightmare on my birthday, Sept. 17th.  Worst month of my life.
This September 2013, we mourned, but we also celebrated.  On National Infant and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Day, we lit Olive's candle.  We prayed for Olive, we prayed for all the other babies and children taken too soon and their parents.  We cried.  But we also CELEBRATED.
Though the sorrow may last through the night, the JOY always comes in the morning.  And might I also suggest that JOY comes in the MOURNING.  We mourned the loss of our first child. We had great friends who helped us through that time and JOY came from the mourning.  I find great JOY in my friendships that have formed as a result.  I find great JOY in the bond that our loss formed in my husband and I. And though I would never wish to go through a miscarriage again or even relive Olive's pregnancy, we walked through something that made us stronger.  We formed lasting friendships with other couples, we have a story... a testimony to tell of God's great LOVE. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have Olive in my arms right now, but I can't know GOD'S PLAN. I do trust that He has one and that He knows what is best for my husband and I.

Fast forward to the MORNING.  Here we are at 1+ years later and 23 weeks pregnant with Olive's sibling. The sorrow may last through the night, the JOY always comes in the morning. We are thrilled but at the same time anxious.  Though I've heard so many say that at least you know in your womb your child is safe, but I feel just the opposite.  As much as I can try to eat well and do the right things, I feel I have no control over what goes on in my own body.  I CAN'T WAIT to see my son and hold him in my arms and know without a doubt that he is safe and that when he cries, I can COMFORT him. 

At this point in the pregnancy, I'm beginning to feel our baby move and kick and stretch... With every movement I fall more and more in LOVE. The days that he is very active, I'm head over heels.  The days he spends napping, I'm most anxious and every kick is a reassuring SMILE. I love his movements, I love reading about each week and what that week means for my baby. This week he's the size of a pomegranate. I love pomegranates. Best fruit ever. I'll probably go to the grocery store and hold one to my belly this week. The brilliant red color and perfect shape of the pomegranate is beautiful to me. How much more BEAUTIFUL is the miracle of a child from week 1 to week 39? Through the rough 1st trimester, the blessed 2nd trimester, and the weary 3rd trimester, the JOY certainly comes in the MORNING. 

And yes, our baby is a bouncing baby boy! We found out at 19 weeks. And I had a gender reveal in my office.