Update from daddy

Hi everyone, thought I (Brian) would give you all an update and relieve Cheryl of her blogging duties for the day. So I've been able to crash Cheryl's temporary abode for a couple of nights now, and while it's not as comfortable as our bed at home, it still is better than our weeknights apart. We are now at 25 weeks, which is still not enough to be in the comfort zone, but another week closer to a healthy delivery. Every additional day/week/month is important, so we're hopeful that the next month and a half will go by fast and uneventfully. Cheryl's contractions are being closely monitored, and it seems that the medication is sufficiently keeping her contractions at bay - a factor tht is important in keeping her cervix intact. Cheryl's belly has grown a lot in the last few weeks, and while the buudha belly protruded straight forward before, the belly is now expanding width-wise as well. We think that our little girl has caught up in growth with her brother, and she's been making her presence well known in Cheryl's belly - something we used to only blame on her wiggleworm brother. But the routine monitoring shows strong vitals with both babies, so we're hopeful that they will have plenty of strength and size even if they decide to come a little early. Cheryl is taking all of this very well. It's hard to know how a pregnancy will impact your lives/marriage, but Cheryl has been incredibly strong through all of it. I braced myself for much worse than I got (the hormone alter-ego, etc.), and I attribute most of it to Cheryl's humility. We've shared a couple of scary experiences in getting this far through the pregnancy, and yet it's hard not to recognize how lucky we are to have this chance to become parents. But she's seen the realities of these scary moments for expectant parents on a daily basis, but still she's taken our setbacks in stride, which makes it much easier for me. For a first-timer, there's only so much that you can surmise about your experience through the insight of other parents. You know you'll worry, but you don't appreciate how early that sets in, and the breadth and paradox of irrational yet real fears for your kids. It changes your perspective on things before they even get here. I appreciate that none of this can be read in a book or related through words; you just have to live it. So with that, it's a lot easier to recognize the "order" of things in the universe. We've seen some extraordinary stories with our friends' children, and Cheryl and I ourselves are extraordinary medical cases! I have to send a huge thanks to our families for helping us through this process! And to our friends, thanks for helping us keep it together as well! Sorry this is so long-winded, which should lend some authenticity as to the author of this post! Love, Brian (and Cheryl)