I've gone back and forth about how much I should or shouldn't say about the pregnancy. Is it too personal, do people really care, etc. But when thinking about this blog and why I even maintain it, I know that it is first a place for me to record my thoughts and life, second a place to keep our long-distance relatives informed of what we're doing and show off pictures of the kids, and third a place for entertaining or sharing tutorials and befores and afters. When I broke it down like that, it became a no brainer. Why wouldn't I want to record my thoughts on this journey? One day I'll want to go back and read them, especially if I'm blessed enough to be pregnant again sometime.
There were LOTS of things I wanted to say or ask during the first 12 weeks when I wasn't talking about it. Now that the secret's out, it's kinda weird. After spending 3 months NOT talking about something, I still occasionally get surprised when someone mentions it. Wait, you know I'm pregnant? Of course they know, I put it on the internet for crying out loud! Now I'm kinda drawing a blank on all those things I wanted to write about, but I'll still try. I'm sure for those of you that are old pros at this whole making-a-baby thing, you'll be able to point out how I'm doing it all wrong. I may even elicit some eye-rolls at my amateur-ness. But maybe for those of you who have been out of the game for a while, I'll spark some fond (or not-so-fond) memories. And heck, those of you who are still waiting for your turn, maybe you'll learn something new here!
Let's do this bullet point style, shall we?
- As for the stats, I'm currently 14 (and a half!) weeks along and our due date is September 24. We're a mere 5 weeks away from the big ultrasound and yes, we plan on finding out the sex.
- We've had 2 ultrasounds so far. Last time the baby's heartbeat was 155 and he (she?) looked a little something like this. (Sorry for the crappy picture of a picture.) That little white blob above the head/nose is his (her?) hand waving at us!
- Both ultrasound visits brought out a range of emotions for me. My thought pattern probably resembled something like this: Oh my gosh, I'm freaking out this is weird why do I have to take off my pants that's cold what if it's really not there what if she can't find a heartbeat how many will there be she's showing me the screen but where the heck is the heartbeat doesn't she know I've never done this before that just looks like a blob where's the freakin' heartbeat oh there it is a heartbeat! oh my gosh a heartbeat! holy cow are you telling me there is seriously a baby? in my belly? holy crap I'm gonna be a mom.
- Even not pregnant, I'm a bit of a worrier and have a fair amount of anxiety. Because of that, I've given myself a fairly strict "No Googling" rule. As I'm sure you know, it only takes a few clicks on sites like WebMD to turn a little symptom into a fatal tumor. I figure I should steer clear of that right now, or I might think I'm dying every single day. I also, to date, have not read a single pregnancy book. As far as making this baby goes, I'm totally wingin' it.
- I lied. I'm not completely wingin' it. I do have the What To Expect When You're Expecting app on my phone. I don't use it much except to occasionally read the weekly updates. I feel like there's got to be a better app out there. Any suggestions? Please, nothing that will scare me.
- Doc was there when I found out. I was way late but had had several negative tests. I was actually getting ready to call the doctor to see what party of me was broken, but decided to take one more test before making the call. It was a new brand of tests that we hadn't used before, and I must've woken up on the bad side of the bed because I was grumpy when I pulled a fresh test out of the box. A few minutes later, I glanced at the test before stepping into the shower and saw a plus. We'd been using tests that were one line or two. I yelled to Doc, "It's a plus! What does that mean? Grab the box!" and after fumbling through the box instructions we found that plus = pregnant. Then we high-fived. (True story. Our immediate reaction was to go for the high five like we'd just defeated our opponents in some kind of intense playoff game.)
- After the first test, I took the other 2 in the package just to be sure. Then, I convinced myself that someone could've tampered with the whole box, so I made Doc go out and buy the brand that kept giving us negative results. I now have a nice little collection of positive pregnancy tests. Gross?
- I've tried to be proactive about preventing stretch marks from day one. I immediately bought some cocoa butter lotion and use it every day. I'm not sure how I made it this far in life without putting together that cocoa butter lotion would smell like, well, cocoa. I'm like a walking tootsie roll. I hate it; Doc and Lolli think it's the best thing ever.
- My parents were the first people we told. I'd always daydreamed of sharing the news in some kind of creative or elaborate way. Maybe with blue and pink cupcakes or a wrapped up ultrasound picture or something. It didn't happen that way at all. We kept it a secret for about two weeks, I think, but then Doc was scheduled to go out of town for the better part of the week and I was going to stay with my parents for a few days so we could knock out some of the remaining beach house projects. The problem with that situation was that I felt a little sick and I could no longer be in charge of all the painting. Remember the post about our backyard painting party? I kept finding other things to do while my dad, Doc, and my brother Nick did all the painting. Finally, right before Doc left for the airport, we managed to get my parents alone in the kitchen. Doc had the honors of telling them and asked that they not let me paint or lift anything. They were excited but I squashed all the celebrations by yelling out "Here comes Nick! We can't talk about it anymore!" and we wiped the smiles off our faces and acted like we were having just a typical Sunday afternoon conversation.
- We ended up telling my brothers and their wives before the 12-week mark too. We had to since the beach house move-in day was quickly approaching and I knew they wouldn't let me get away without helping carry furniture in and out. We also went ahead and told Doc's parents by sending them a picture text of the ultrasound. Everyone was sworn to secrecy!
- Speaking of moving into the beach house, I feel bad because I was really no help at all. I gave orders from the couch while everyone else moved furniture and hung curtains. One day I felt so bad, I laid down for a nap before 1:00 and woke up sometime around 5:00. Whoops. I really wasn't any help that day!
- After the second ultrasound at 11 weeks when we felt like everything was going well, we finally told Anna and Wyatt. I think they're initial reaction was shock since we completely caught them off guard, but if they were upset at all they hid it very well. They both seem excited for different reasons, Anna because she'll be able to babysit and Wyatt because he can help us figure out what new car to buy. (My MINI is not carseat friendly.)
- Anna asked if we could get a pink or blue cake to find out if it's a boy or girl, so I guess we'll have a mini gender revealment party. If a cake makes her happy about a new sibling, then we shall have cake! That same night we also had them right down on a piece of paper what they thought it would be and we stuck them in an envelope with mine and Doc's guesses. We discussed having a prize for anyone who guesses correctly. The prize would have to be something that could possibly be split by a number of people, so Wyatt suggested that we all put in $5 and the winners split the money. We're teaching them to gamble at a young age. :)
- I think boy; Doc thinks girl.
- I've started taking weekly photos and it's really awkward. More awkward than the turtleneck pictures. I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to ever post them here. Maybe when the belly actually starts poking out some.
- In addition to a bigger car, we need a bigger house. I shouldn't say need; we would like a bigger house. Our current house has 3 bedrooms - ours, the kids, and one set up as a playroom. Technically we could convert the playroom to a nursery, but since I want Anna and Wyatt to love their new brother and sister, taking something away from them and giving it to the baby is not really what I want to do. Plus, they can't share a bedroom forever. We currently have no prospects but I'm not letting myselft worry...yet.
My mind has gone blank. I'm certain there was more I was going to say, but this has already gotten pretty wordy anyway. I'm sure there will be more posts like this along the way. In the mean time, if you have any tips or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
