Urgent (Part 2)

Just to give you a recap of the events after my last post, I have listed a chonology of my Twitter updates for you:

UPDATE: Jen is going to surgery ahead of scheduled. She will being in prep in about 5 minutes...12:39 PM Oct 23rd from UberTwitter

Jen is headed back into surgery. She's pretty scared but she will be fine. Now we wait for an hour and a half for news from DR...1:33 PM Oct 23rd from UberTwitter

A fire drill in the hospital just now. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Siren blaring. Drill for OR #5.... Hope Jen wasn't in that one... Yikes-2:42 PM Oct 23rd from UberTwitter

DR says that surgery went well without complications. She's in post-op for another 30 min. More updates soon. http://myloc.me/19PAY3:16 PM Oct 23rd from UberTwitter

Jen just returned to her room after recovery feeling really well. She looks relaxed and comfortable for the first time in days...4:18 PM Oct 23rd from UberTwitter

Jen is staying overnight again. Her mom is covering the overnight shift here tonight so I can rest for Gabe's weekend....6:49 PM Oct 23rd from UberTwitter


The day has hit me like a ton of bricks. I am exhausted. Should get some sleep tonight. Thanks to everyone for thoughts and prayers-9:17 PM Oct 23rd from UberTwitter


Jen got the call that they are beginning to work on her release. She will be recovering at home soon! http://myloc.me/1aAYh10:13 AM Oct 24th from UberTwitter

Jen now is doing quite well, all things considered. She is still having some pains from the aftermath. By working through it, she is now back in the flow of life and returning to work later this week. Its truly amazing- she is only using 1 pain pill everyday right now!

Gabriel got to visit Jen in the hospital Thursday night when she got to the hospital. He was pretty nervous by the events and did not want to get too close to Jen. Poor boy. I think this was his first real experience in seeing a loved one in the hospital. He has been a tremendous help for her since she has returned from the hospital. He has always been a great helper...

Jacob did a great job of coping with the procedure as well. One night, we had the heart monitor on and he was constantly banging around in the womb. Eventually, we had to turn the monitor down so we could get some sleep. The doctor did mention that when looking at the uterus during surgery, he remarked at the large size of the baby at 25 weeks (that's my boy)...

Thanks again for all of your thoughts and prayers. It has been quite a long week and I am just now recovering. Hopefully this will be the last event we will deal with until delivery!

Urgent? (Part 1)

Foreigner- appropriate for this post:

Many of you know by now that Jen is in the hospital and is having surgery today. As you are aware, hospitals are notorious for poor cell reception. Therefore, I have been updating the masses via Twitter. Finally a legitimate use that I can document for anyone that asks, "why would you want to use Twitter?"

More information is to follow and you wish to follow click the link below to my Twitter page and follow me: http://twitter.com/mrogerson. Here is a chronological review of what has happened over the past 18 hours or so:

Jen in hospital. May be gall bladder. Can't talk now. Please start prayers! Thanks in advance. More info to follow- -about 17 hours ago from UberTwitter

Update from hospital- call Dad... -about 16 hours ago from UberTwitter

No reception in hospital... Think its gall bladder or kidney stones... Not sure at this point. Probably staying the night. More to follow- about 14 hours ago from UberTwitter

Waiting on the doctor to determine if surgery is happening tonight or tomorrow. Probably going to be here a while... -about 13 hours ago from UberTwitter

Waiting on the DR to determine if surgery is tonight or tomorrow. Either way, sleeping in the hospital tonight... -about 13 hours ago from UberTwitter

DR says surgery tomorrow. He's up now, surgeries all night and hers is in the afternoon... Hmm... -about 12 hours ago from UberTwitter

For years I've been sleeping in a king bed & waking up with back & neck pain. What if I feel great after sleeping on this hospital cot?-about 9 hours ago from UberTwitter

LONG night in the hospital. Apparently Jacob parties all night while we sleep… He was banging on the heart monitor all night long! Funny-about 3 hours ago from UberTwitter

If you wish to call and check on Jen, my mom and dad have the number. Don't have their's? Send me a TXT or Blkbry msg...about 1 hour ago from UberTwitter

DR has given Jen "the talk" of all that could go wrong. She's a bit freaked out by it all. DR says all should be well... More later-11 minutes ago from UberTwitter

Jen is feeling better right now, but DR says its best to go through with procedure because not doing so could be more detrimental... - a minute ago from UberTwitter

As you can see, it has been a pretty stressful time. Right now we are patiently waiting for the afternoon to come to let the doctor take care of her. Waiting is the hard part, because we don't know exactly when the surgery is going to take place. Complications are understandable, and are clearly defined by the doctor prior to surgery. We is not known is when the doctor wil whisk her away from us. Then we have to sit and wait again without knowing when the surgery is scheduled to be finished.

Time is the great equalizer. No one gets more or less than any other person each day. It's the only thing that must be completely used up by midnight, only to be given a fresh batch the next day. That said, no one is guaranteed another breath, let al0ne tomorrow. Therefore, time spent waiting for action is the toughest part of life.

More updates will follow on . Again- if you want to give us a call here in the hospital, you can get the number from my parents. If you do not have their number send me a TXT or Blackberry message. We will probable be her until Saturday afternoon. Please keep us in your prayers and thanks for reading.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

A little Hank Jr. for you...

As everyone knows, I like sports. I enjoy sitting back and watching football on a breezy fall Sunday afternoon. The game is the ultimate TV sport. Each play is called, men are set in position and are frozen in time until the call of the leader. Only then can each player release the stored energy in each muscle to dominate their opponent. A furocious ballet ensues for approximately 5 to 10 seconds, the play ends and the game is suspended until it's time to do it again. What can be done during the down time? A REPLAY of the last play giving the viewer insight into why the play was a success or failure. How sweet is that? Not to mention that with NFL Sunday Ticket, I get to watch any game I want without blackout restrictions.

This is my 4th year with NFL Sunday Ticket, and each year it has been well worth it. This year is slightly different that the last several years because of a minor detail- I am NOT playing fantasy football for the first time since 1993. Yes, I said 1993- I harken back to the days of a mail-in draft and getting our scores Thursday by mail based on the stats inside the USA Today from on Monday.

I decided not play fantasy football this year because it has begun to be more work than fun. I no longer wanted to talk to a friend for 30 minutes trying to get a deal done. Neither do I want to flip through every game on Sunday without really watching any of them for the sake of the stats of my players. I wanted to take a break over the past few years, but so many people have wanted me to play, that it began feeling more like an obligation than fun as well.

Turning on the TV on Sundays this year has changed dramatically. I now look at the weekly schedule and am unable to find a game that I have any interest in as I look through the list. NFL parity has not added credibility to the league and increased competition. It has diluted itself into mediocrity. There aren't dominant franchises that create the dynasty of the 70's Steelers and the 80's 49ers. Now I see a bunch of teams that are predominantly average at best. I still watch the Dolphins, but after their game, I haven't had the urge to watch other games because I seemed to have lost interest in the matchups. Maybe it's a coming of age for me, I'm not sure.

I have told Jen that I will probably not buy the NFL Sunday Ticket next year. I have not been using it enough this year to make it matter. Instead, maybe I will get MLB Extra Innings. The idea of being able to watch the Yankees virtually any night I wish from April to October does peak my interest. And the MLB Extra Innings package is not exclusive to DirecTV, so it opens the door for a healthy competitions between service carriers. Plus, I feel that I would get a lot more use out of watching baseball rather than football. A blog of the beauty of baseball to be posted soon...

m

Peaceful, Easy Feeling

Yes- a simple relation to the Eagles...

Jacob-

Over the last several weeks, your mommy has been asking to feel "that one big kick" so she knows that you are there and getting stronger. She tells me that she can feel what she describes as you rolling in circles in her belly, which makes her feel that she is on a roller coaster! That is pretty cool, bud. I really hope that you continue using your umbilical cord as your own personal bungee jump system!

I just wanted to thank you for finally giving your mother what she wanted. You must have my sense of humor, because you gave her your best kick- around 2am! You actually woke her from her sleep when she felt that one. I know you don't have any idea what that means (2am), but soon you will and realize that it was pretty funny. The best part is that you have been giving her your best shots over the past week very early in the morning. Even today, you were kicking her hard at 7:15. You mom actually woke me up to let me feel you kicking. That is where we have a problem...

You see, Jacob- I too would like to feel you kick really hard. Actually, I would really like to be the first person other than Mommy to feel that. It is important to me because I don't get to go to all the doctor's appointments to hear your heartbeat. Every time Mommy puts my hand on her belly to feel you moving, you stop- actually that is kind of funny too (which is my sense of humor as well). You are a pretty funny fellow already.

I am starting to think that it is okay that you stop kicking when I feel you. Mommy is starting to get fearful that my touch is so soothing that I may be the only one that can sooth you when you arrive. You know what? If that is the case, it is fine with me. I don't get to the strong first kick, but we will have a much stronger bond. I can be the one that relaxes and comforts your frustration and tension. I will be there to soothe you. When you won't stop crying for everyone else, I will be the one that makes everyone envious. We can have a different bond. The bond of a peaceful, easy feeling when I am holding you, rocking you to sleep at night.

Sit back and relax when I feel for you. It will be our little secret...

See you soon, Jacob. Love you already.

m

Whenever I Say Your Name

Great song by Sting and Mary J. Blidge from the album, "Sacred Love."

Today was our 20 week ultrasound and everything was fantastic. I was great to see Jennifer's ovaries shrinking from softball to about raquetball after the many shots during the IVF process. We also got to see the baby once again and he has gotten much bigger in the past 5 weeks.

We also got complete confirmation that "he" is in fact, a "he." Previously, Jennifer had done extensive research and came to the conclusion that it is very difficult to determine the sex of a child at week 15. I rebutted her discovery by using the evidence of the Week 15 unltrasound and the experience and expertise of the technician. She is a 15-year veteran of the ultrasound machine, so I believe that she knows what she is looking at despite any limited development up to Week 15....

Here is the picture of the day:


Case Closed.

As stated in a previous blog, I stated that I would cover the names sent in to me over the past several weeks. Sadly, only my own mother and her friends gave us ideas. And here they are:

Jacob Scott- pretty good start, but denied...
Jacob Wade- Boggs = Red Sox. Nope.
Jacob Tyler- Not bad...
Jacob Shawn- Missing the flow.
Jacob Stone- Umm... No comment. Check that- horrible.
Jacob Connor- Jennifer's friend's son is named Connor. Out.
Jacob Ryan- Jennifer's ex-boyfriend's name. Out.
Jacob Lee- Not digging the Lee...
Jacob Dillon- I like (spelled Dylan- like the singer of The Wallflowers)- vetoed by Jen.

So it's decided- Jacob Alex, right? Wrong. Out of nowhere, Jacob Matthew. Jennifer came across this combo recently and really liked the way it flowed. She also liked that it was similar to Michael (Like Gabriel Michael), and it had BOTH of our initials in the name (JMR). All really great reasons for Jacob Matthew, but what about the New York Yankees reference? I have scoured the record books looking for a Matt or Matthew to lend itself to the name and came up with nothing...

I had to turn to another passion of mine: music. Easily, I can come up with a couple of favorites from my iPod- Matt Nathanson and Mat Kearney. Both of these guys have a great sound and moreover, Jennifer likes them both as well.

Just like that old horse racing phrase, "out of the clouds, from last to first," Jacob Matthew wins... We welcome you with open arms and will be monograming pillows and photo frames for you soon as we await your arrival. See you soon, Jacob Matthew!

Sing A Song

A little Earth, Wind & Fire for you for this post...

Jennifer is pushing the 20th week of her pregnancy this week. How fast this summer has flown! We just read that this week the baby can actually hear sound, which is the the start of the best part of the pregnancy. I believe that despite the inability to hear earlier over the past several weeks, the baby can feel the vibrations of my voice when I get close to Jen's belly. I have been chatting it up with Jacob here and there, mostly late in the evening prior to Jen going to bed. Giving him a primer of becoming a Rogerson: believe in the Yankees, love football, and being kind to his mother. This week, we have added a new part to the mix: music.

Over the past few days, we have been playing Jacob music from my iPod via headphones strategically placed on Jen's belly. It started out by playing something with a strong beat so he could feel the vibrating rhythms of the Gap Band, Earth, Wind, & Fire, and Michael Jackson. No response from Jacob. I am guessing that he was a little freaked out by the cacophony of new sound.

Tonight, I tried a different mix. We started with The Beatles' "Yesterday," Emerson Hart's "Green Hills Race for California," and Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind." I think that Jacob enjoyed this more than yesterday. We finished with another Beatles tune, "Goodnight," from the White Album. I thought it appropriate finale for the evening of his education through music. My goal is that he hears the Beatles and is instantly soothed when he cries in the middle of the night. Gabe turned out great- he loves my musical tastes. He is becoming an avid fan of The Beatles and AC/DC, which is alright with me...

If you haven't seen them before, they now make an album series entitled, "Rock-A-Bye Baby" which are famous artists set in the form of a music box for babies. It is quite possibly the cooles thing I have heard in quite a while. They have music box versions of AC/DC, Metallica, The Beatles, U2, The Cure, Pink Floyd, and several others. It sound bizarre, but they are quite captivating. Seriously- a baby-friendly version of "Master Of Puppets" sounds ridiculous, but its quite enchaniting. Far better than listening to the other garbage that is out there, for sure. Jen and I plan on getting most of these albums for Jacob to enjoy in the crib and car. Rock on, little Jacob!

Playing this music for Jacob has me itching to pick up the guitar and learn some new material. I haven't played too much lately- life has been too busy and I end up doing other things to keep myself occupied. I really want to learn some material so that I can sing and play for him while in the crib. It is also something constructive that has forces the brain to fire the synapses on the creative side of the brain, which doesn't happen all to often throughout the day.

I began learning the chord progression for "Yesterday" and "Something" tonight. Let me just say that the brilliance of John, Paul, George, Ringo, and Sir George Martin will never be exaggerated. The chord progressions and melodies are quite eloquent....

Over the next few months, I'll be trying to build a repertoire of tunes in preparation for the February birth of Jacob. Let me know of tunes you think I should learn...

Birthday!

In honor of The Beatles launch of Rock Band and my birthday the day prior, I figured I would toss them the title of this post...

I had my 35th birthday on Tuesday. My day was my own: I was able to have lunch with Gabriel at school, take a ride on the motorcycle, pick Gabriel up from school, have some father-son time, and have dinner with Jen's family. Some great gifts were received: Seasons 1-3 of The Office, a shirt from AE, and the crown jewel- a new pair of Nike Free 5.0 shoes in navy and grey (NY Yankee colors). Tremendously comfortable.

On an internal note, it was definitely a day for reflection and looking to the future. Internal retrospection only lasted for a few minutes. This year, there have been tears of happiness and sadness. I have had some tremendous highs within my immediate family and my career, while rough low points recently in a loss of a great friend and struggles within my career as well. It has been a complete whirlwind and both ends of the spectrum assure me that I am still alive inside.

That said, it is too easy reviewing the decisions made in the past that have made me the man I am today. What is far more difficult is looking to the future to determine who I will become. This is something that I have not been able to work through just yet. I must develop the ability to be content with my life despite the external forces at play in my life. I have to figure out a way not to allow my job define me or determine my worth. As a man, I believe that is one of the most difficult things to do as a man in this society.

All this to say that I have decided to make an conscious effort to continue discovering who I am as a person. I enjoy listening to lectures that expand my ability to think on a higher level. Philosophy has always interested me because I like to ask questions that seem simple, but are quite complex when digested. I call it mental gymnastics. I have download some incredible material in iTunesU that I purpose to be recommended listening: Oxford University's Philosophy for Beginners. If you have not checked out iTunesU, please do so. There is an incredible amount of material available that is free to download and provides opportunities for you to stimulate your mind. If you find something in iTunesU that you really like, please let me know and I'll check it out too!

Exercise your mind!