A little late...but Happy Birthday Alex!!

We had the family over on Sunday to celebrate Alex's 7th birthday. I made him a LEGO Atlantis underwater birthday cake. He was happy with it! He was happy for two reasons, he told me. The first because now he was more than half way to being a teenager. (Made me kind of miss the birthday where he cried because he was getting older and never wanted to leave home, lol!)
The second because he got a raise on his allowance on his birthday. They get their age in dollars every two weeks - or half their age a week, depending on how you want to look at it. I just find it easier to pay them when Rob gets paid.

So, now I have a seven year old boy and I couldn't be prouder! I adore this kid, which I know every mom says, but he is just such a kind-hearted boy and a treat to be around. His aunt gave him two books for his birthday and he jumped up and down like he had just been told he was going to Disney. He is always so gracious and considering how spoiled he is, he takes little for granted.

I know I did a birth story for Izzy and would like to try and piece together the fragments of my memories from Alex's birth. I am in between computers right now and when I regain access to my photos I'll post one of the not so teeny, tiny boy as a newborn.

To say that finding out we were expecting Alex was a surprise would be an understatement. Eight years ago I sat in a doctor's office being told how difficult it would be for me to get pregnant and that I needed to go home and decide when we were going to start pursuing aggressive options. I was 27, so it wasn't a dire situation but there wasn't a lot of time to lose. My doctor didn't want me coming back at 35 feeling like I had really missed the boat.

I went home, had a good cry and Rob and I decided we would do what we needed to do when the time came. Some fertility treatments, perhaps look into adoption if that didn't work. At any rate, we were still going to wait another year or two before we proceeded with any plan.

Several weeks later I was talking to my pharmacist, talking about my PCOS and why the birth control wasn't regulating my period as it had done in the past. She told me to grab a pregnancy test so I could officially rule it out when I went back to the doctor. Sure thing!!

When I got home that night I told a distracted husband that I was taking a pregnancy test, hardy-har-har, and that if he heard a scream and a thud he should come check on me. Well, a few minutes later there was more of a yelp and a whole lot of "Oh My Gods" going on. Rob came running towards me having totally forgotten (or not even heard) what I had said to him and only registered what I was saying when I started waving the pee stick in his face. I totally freaked out. I couldn't have been less prepared for that possibility.

I was up all night googling possible reasons a pregnancy test would come back positive because I couldn't possibly be pregnant. As soon as the stores were open, I was at the front door with a full bladder to purchase another couple boxes of tests. All of which told me the same thing. I was pregnant!

It was a Friday morning in August, which I remember because I begged to see my doctor that afternoon and my blood work wouldn't come back quickly because it was the weekend. She did immediately book an ultrasound just to see what was going on. On my way to that Friday afternoon appointment I remember telling Rob that I would call if she heard a heartbeat, thinking what a great joke that was. If only I had known...

So I was pregnant and had no idea how far along I was. We had the ultrasound booked a week after discovery. Well, not only was there an audible heartbeat but the screen showed us a very well developed baby - around 18 weeks along. We were dumbfounded! Into the second trimester without even knowing I was pregnant. Heck, I was pregnant the day the doctor told me I may never even have kids!

He was the easiest pregnancy. Never gave me a problem until the end when he didn't want to come out. Since this post has gotten so long I will leave his birth day for another post. It is nice remembering. Feels like a million years ago though.