Big Brother

Because it's never official until it hits the internet...Miles is going to be a big brother!

Baby Kahl, the Sequel, is due April 10. We are so pleased (and terrified) to welcome a new member to the family! And now updates on:

The Babe - Baby is doing so well! We've seen his/her picture twice already, once at 8 weeks and again at 11 weeks. He/she was wiggling all over the place already - it never ceases to amaze me how quickly the little bean can become a little person. Heartbeat has been great - in the 150s and 160s. We opted for the earlier first trimester "quadmarker" screening, and the baby did fabulously. Here's my favorite pic from the last ultrasound:





The Mom - Things are much better lately. Just like I experienced with Miles, I never barfed...just felt like I wanted to about 16 hours a day for 3-4 weeks. Luckily, that has mostly passed, and I'm feeling a renewed sense of energy. I passed my 8-week gestational diabetes test, so I've been savoring sweets in moderation until I take another test at 28 weeks. Other than the usual pains here and there, I've been able to sleep relatively well. With Miles, I had strange bits of insomnia, but there's been nothing like that with this baby so far. Does that just mean I'm more exhausted as the parent of a 2-year old, or is there hope that this baby will let me sleep better at night once he/she arrives?

The Dad - Daddy is cool, calm, and collected about taking on the challenge of another little person, but is nevertheless excited about the new arrival. While I tend to freak out a bit about how difficult things are going to be, he's great at reminding me that less-prepared people have managed to raise throngs of children throughout history. He had to take a little bit of the pregnancy pains for the team recently by getting his blood drawn. (Boo hoo.) No, the blood test was not to determine paternity! ;-) The genetic science of the whole thing really put a strain on my mental capacities to understand, but here's the quick lowdown. Jason probably has the "M" antigen in his genetic code (what the test is seeking to find), which I do not have. Miles probably inherited the M from Jason. My blood and Miles' blood likely mixed during childbirth, and my body saw that "M" as a foreign body, so I started making antibodies against it. If the new baby has the "M" (50/50 chance), my antibody may work against it, which could cause some complications. This is all very rare - only a 1 in 15,000 chance that the antibody would be activated in the first place (compared to a 1 in 30 or so chance of getting gestational diabetes, for example). From what little I can find, it's also very rare that complications will develop. In any case, the docs will be keeping a close eye on me and the baby, which means extra ultrasounds (hurray!) and blood tests (boo!).

The Big Brother - Miles acts so proud that he's going to be a big brother! Of course, he doesn't understand most of it yet, but we see glimpses of recognition every once in a while. The other day, he said out of the blue, "My baby brother is coming to my house!" His answer changes, but he seems to be leaning more toward baby brother vs. baby sister lately. We'll be finding that out again, either November 8 or November 22. We're hoping to bring Miles with us to see the baby on the big screen. Occasionally, he'll ask to see my belly. He had some fun tickling the baby the other day. It'll be really fun to see how he reacts as my belly gets bigger!

And now, here are some long overdue pictures of the big brother:

When the helicopter came to visit his school:








Little monkeys jumpin' on the bed with friend Janelle:

So happy to be a Big Brother!