It started with a simple, but sincere comment made to a dear friend Erin...I'm going to marry that girl. I guess it was a little far fetched at the moment seeing as how I'd never even met her. There was something about her smile. Yeah, it was definitely her smile. It almost didn't happen due to her stubbornness and denying my initial attempts at asking her on a date. After several failed attempts it finally happened and that was the beginning. I don't think we could have spent more time together in the first couple of months. That is of course until January came around and it was time for her to graduate. We tried not to become too concerned about it at first, but we soon found that being apart wasn't going to be an option. After demanding that we would just move to south Alabama and live on a beach I packed my bags and landed in Erie, Pa. Of course it was going to be just an internship at first, but then there was a job offer. And along with that was the thought of having to leave the woman I love again. That just wasn't an option. That is how I ended up living next to a fresh water beach...up north. On the bright side, It is a large body of water, and I guess the shore is lined with sandy dunes. So I traded one beach for another type for the woman I love. Well now I'm in Erie, Pa hundreds of miles away from Alabama and we get the biggest little surprise of our young lives. It's a boy!! My first born child is going to be a boy. A man can't ask for more than that, right. I suppose my first reaction should have been one of shock and concern, but to tell you the truth I couldn't help but to be excited deep down. Excited to have a little buddy following me around the house. Someone to play ball with and watch the Auburn tigers play football. Well that was my first reaction. Then the feelings of...holy crap I'm having a baby set in. I think Jenny and i have gone through every emotion possible and have come full circle to pure happiness. We really couldn't ask for more out of life. We have each found the person we were meant to spend the rest of our lives with. We have a beautiful home, wonderful pets, great careers, and a beautiful baby boy on the way. We couldn't be happier!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
William Smith Grimshawe
William Smith Grimshawe, the name chosen for our little bundle of joy! After Brandon and I found out we were expecting and survived the initial shock of the suprising news, we were hard at work chosing the perfect name. William was chosen after Brandon's step father Dr. William Shadburn, a huge role model and father figure to him. Smith is Brandon's mother's maiden name, also Brandon's middle name and an important one to be carried on to our first born son. No other name would have more meaning than the one we've chosen and we are so excited to see him!
During our few first doctor visits for Will, we had some scary news. First a hematoma on my uterus that needed to be monitored. Four weeks of limited lifting and exercise restrictions later the hematoma was resolved and life was back to normal. The second scare was news that Will's femurs were measuring shorter than normal for his gestational age and that a small spot was found in his heart. Both findings flagged the doctor as a possible link to down's syndrome and to be cautious we elected to have blood screening performed to proove otherwise. Seven days of praying and worrying later, we learned our chance of Will having down's syndrome was very very low! A huge sigh of relief ! Will's measurements would at this point just be monitored at each appointment for growth. Now we were able to joke a bit about him having my midget like height. At our 5 month visit we did however find out Will's femurs were in the normal range for his gestational age, so his growth spurt did catch up. 3-D images at this visit also allowed us to see his precious face for the first time as a baby and not a like something resembling a marine mammal. All smiles from both of us, our prayers had definitely been heard and answered. A healthy beautiful baby boy was soon to be gracing our lives. There was one other small glich during the past 6 months of pregnancy. A night in the emergency room with a broken right middle finger!! Not thinking like a pregnant mom and more like a worried veterinarian, I seperated our dogs fighting and my finger lost the battle. Good news is no harm was done to baby Will, he was active and kicking during the wait in the emergency room and all the testing was normal! My finger however had to be splinted and we are still healing today. It could have been much worse, so again we were blessed to have the outcome we did. Our next doctor's appointment is this Friday. I have my Glucocla test for gestational diabetes. This is something that runs in my family so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I HATE NEEDLES!! Thats the abbreviated version of my 6 months of pregnancy to catch you all up to date.
During our few first doctor visits for Will, we had some scary news. First a hematoma on my uterus that needed to be monitored. Four weeks of limited lifting and exercise restrictions later the hematoma was resolved and life was back to normal. The second scare was news that Will's femurs were measuring shorter than normal for his gestational age and that a small spot was found in his heart. Both findings flagged the doctor as a possible link to down's syndrome and to be cautious we elected to have blood screening performed to proove otherwise. Seven days of praying and worrying later, we learned our chance of Will having down's syndrome was very very low! A huge sigh of relief ! Will's measurements would at this point just be monitored at each appointment for growth. Now we were able to joke a bit about him having my midget like height. At our 5 month visit we did however find out Will's femurs were in the normal range for his gestational age, so his growth spurt did catch up. 3-D images at this visit also allowed us to see his precious face for the first time as a baby and not a like something resembling a marine mammal. All smiles from both of us, our prayers had definitely been heard and answered. A healthy beautiful baby boy was soon to be gracing our lives. There was one other small glich during the past 6 months of pregnancy. A night in the emergency room with a broken right middle finger!! Not thinking like a pregnant mom and more like a worried veterinarian, I seperated our dogs fighting and my finger lost the battle. Good news is no harm was done to baby Will, he was active and kicking during the wait in the emergency room and all the testing was normal! My finger however had to be splinted and we are still healing today. It could have been much worse, so again we were blessed to have the outcome we did. Our next doctor's appointment is this Friday. I have my Glucocla test for gestational diabetes. This is something that runs in my family so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I HATE NEEDLES!! Thats the abbreviated version of my 6 months of pregnancy to catch you all up to date.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Here goes nothing
This is my first attempt at creating my own blog site after much encouragement from my soon to be sister in law Christen...I hope this works!
The Brandon and Jenny Story from the beginning:
Brandon and I met while attending Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine during our clinical year. A dear friend, Erin Brown secretly put a bug in my ear about Brandon's interest in becoming more than just friends at school. It was told to me that Brandon was a good southern boy raised by a nice southern family and that I should definitely date him. It was a slow start at first, but after a few group meetings at our favorite Auburn sites, sweet dancing at Sky bar, alpha psi house parties, auburn football tailgating, and a trip to Lake Martin....I was convinced, Brandon was "the one." He was in fact everything Erin had mentioned and so much more. So Brandon and I dated through the remainder of our time at vet school enjoying every bit of having an interest in learning together. In January, my time in Auburn had been up and it was time for me to return home to Erie, PA. Way up north of the mason dixon line to a good old southern boy. It wasn't long thereafter that Brandon was traveling 16 hours, U-haul trailer packed, Duke by his side to start his life in Erie....(big smile). We immediately moved into a new condo in March, Brandon started his internship at a local veterinary practice, while I started working as an associate veterinary at my dream hospital Animal Ark/Kingdom. Life after vet school was just starting to mold itself into place. Then the biggest, little surprise of our lives surfaced....a baby was on the way! And so the reason to start this blog site...a place to document all the blessings we encounter on this journey through our pregnancy. We are so excited to welcome our son, William Smith Grimshawe this December and hope you enjoy following along with us!
The Brandon and Jenny Story from the beginning:
Brandon and I met while attending Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine during our clinical year. A dear friend, Erin Brown secretly put a bug in my ear about Brandon's interest in becoming more than just friends at school. It was told to me that Brandon was a good southern boy raised by a nice southern family and that I should definitely date him. It was a slow start at first, but after a few group meetings at our favorite Auburn sites, sweet dancing at Sky bar, alpha psi house parties, auburn football tailgating, and a trip to Lake Martin....I was convinced, Brandon was "the one." He was in fact everything Erin had mentioned and so much more. So Brandon and I dated through the remainder of our time at vet school enjoying every bit of having an interest in learning together. In January, my time in Auburn had been up and it was time for me to return home to Erie, PA. Way up north of the mason dixon line to a good old southern boy. It wasn't long thereafter that Brandon was traveling 16 hours, U-haul trailer packed, Duke by his side to start his life in Erie....(big smile). We immediately moved into a new condo in March, Brandon started his internship at a local veterinary practice, while I started working as an associate veterinary at my dream hospital Animal Ark/Kingdom. Life after vet school was just starting to mold itself into place. Then the biggest, little surprise of our lives surfaced....a baby was on the way! And so the reason to start this blog site...a place to document all the blessings we encounter on this journey through our pregnancy. We are so excited to welcome our son, William Smith Grimshawe this December and hope you enjoy following along with us!
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