And Then There Were Three...

Just a short little post from the morning we found out that "then there were three." It makes me smile every time I read it and remember that morning.

As I said mentioned previously, I woke up early on the morning of Friday, December 10th to take the pregnancy test. By then, we were very much suspecting that I was pregnant, but I was still nervous that it might just be in our heads. I was so nervous that I didn't wake up Jeromy...I just wanted to take the test quick and limit the amount of pressure and anticipation. I took the test and it didn't take long for two pink lines to appear! This is what I wrote that morning...

December 10, 2010

I’M PREGNANT!!! After patient (painful) waiting for a week, I took the test early this morning. Two lines!! It was so fun to creep back upstairs, crawl into bed, and whisper to Jeromy, “I’m pregnant!” We spent a few quiet moments smiling and hugging. “You’re going to be a daddy!” “You’re going to be a mommy!”

This is the start of an incredible journey that we have waited for for a long time. We couldn’t be happier, and can’t wait to take the journey together!! More to come!

"The Beginning"

As promised, I wanted to add posts to here that I wrote when we were trying, and then before the news was out. So here's the first round...from before we knew I was pregnant.

September 25, 2010

Whelp. We are officially “trying.” It seems so weird to write those words, after so many months of it “not being the right time.” Even though it seems like such a little step in the whole process of getting pregnant, being pregnant, birthing a baby, and raising said baby, it feels like a very significant step.

My first semi baby-related purchase (and by this I mean the first purchase when Baby Pod is even a moderate reality and not just a “someday” thing) was prenatal vitamins. I’m not sure if other women have experienced this, but even that seemed surreal. Standing in the vitamin aisle of Target (hoping no one we know happens to mosey by), comparing various parental vitamins, making sure the ones I pick have the most of everything for me…and eventually Baby Pod. Weird. Amazing, exciting weird. But still weird.

Jeromy and I had dinner and game night at friends’ Kirstyn and Dave’s place tonight. The topic of babies was definitely in the air, given that fellow WOWZA Jackie just gave birth to the first WOWZA/MANZA baby, Gavin, earlier this week. We gushed about how cute Gavin is, and how fun it is to see Jackie and Tom as parents…and took guesses at who might be next.

It’s no secret Jeromy and I want kids…and have for quite some time, but we’ve decided to keep the “trying” thing a secret (or at least as much of a secret as it can be, being that both Jeromy and I have been very vocal about wanting kids for awhile). I can certainly understand now why people like to share this news…it’s exciting!

We’re early on in the process, and I’m constantly reminding myself that the reality of this is that it could take a long time yet before we even start on the road of pregnancy. But here’s hoping it happens sooner rather than later. :-)

October 10, 2010

I knew, as admitted in the previous post, that pregnancy can take long time. I knew that pregnancy right away is a major rarity. But I’m still a bit disappointed that this month wasn’t the month. It’s stupid, I know…but it’s there all the same.

I’ve spent the time since we started trying being so attuned to my body. Any symptom may have been “the symptoms.” Now I know that they weren’t. I’m preparing myself to face other months like this…and working on having a better attitude. It’s just hard when pregnancy and babies seem to be everywhere…except this house. We’re just at the beginning, I know…but this is something we’ve wanted for so long…

December 1, 2010

I hate this time of month…where I feel like I’m just waiting to be disappointed. Sigh. How can people get pregnant so often ON ACCIDENT, but people who try and really want to don’t?

Appts. (Thus Far)

Hello Blog World!

As I've alluded to, these first few posts will probably be a bit random as we get back to blogging, and get everyone caught up with the events of Sweet Pea thus far. As promised, I will still post some entries I wrote before the word got out, but there are other things I wanted to share that I didn't quite get around to blogging about...until now.

So this post will be devoted to information about our appointments for Sweet Pea (thus far), as that has been one thing I wasn't good about blogging about...

Again, a little back tracking...I first took an at-home pregnancy test early in the morning on Friday, December 10th (another post about that to come). Two pink lines right away! I called the doctor that afternoon! Although I anticipated having to wait a little while until our first appointment, I didn't think it would be so long...January 6th! UGH! For those who have been through pregnancy before, you understand how painstakingly slow those weeks go (especially when you are waiting until after that appointment to tell ANYBODY...which we were).

So we waited. And waited. And waited some more. We made it through Christmas and New Years without telling a soul, and keeping it pretty well under wraps too! Until finally...January 6th! We eagerly drove to the doctor. I, admittedly, was super nervous. We have had a good number of friends experience miscarriage, some of them with no symptoms until the 1st ultrasound that revealed that baby simply did not develop properly. In many ways, I think I was just bracing myself to have bad news...which is just an awful feeling!

Our first appointment was with the nurse practitioner (at our clinic they alternate between seeing her and the doctor). Our nurse is very nice. Kind. Reassuring. She listened as we asked typical "nervous first-timer questions" (my phrase, not hers), and calmed our fears, assuring us everything we were describing was perfectly normal. After answering our questions, and reviewing my health history came the best part...the ultrasound.

There are really no words to describe watching the ultrasound screen turn from black to bright with the unmistakable sight of a womb...and a baby! There Sweet Pea was...looking not quite babyish, but amazing and beautiful all the same. (See picture to see what I mean...) The best part...a little flicker in the middle of the "blob" that our nurse proudly proclaimed was the heartbeat! I said, and I quote, "Holy crap!" as I beheld the first glimpse of our baby. All of a sudden, this was more real. All of a sudden, it's not just a dream or a hope or a "someday." It's a now. Now there's a baby. A living, growing, heart-beating baby...inside me! Holy crap.

Although at that point according to "the numbers," I was 8 weeks, 6 days along, the baby was measuring a full week smaller at 7 weeks, 6 days. The nurse said this was nothing to worry about, as babies and gestation times vary. She explained that at the "big" 20 week ultrasound, they will remeasure and be able to better predict the due date. However, in order for the due date to move from the predicted August 12th, the baby would need to be measuring a full 10 days bigger or smaller. Everything checked out, and the nurse sent us on our merry way, knowing that Sweet Pea was safe and healthy inside of me.

The following days and weeks we got to FINALLY spill the beans (more on that to come). It was weird (but wonderful) to finally be able to talk about Sweet Pea with more people than just me and Jeromy!

Four weeks following our appointment with the nurse (February 4th to be exact) was our first appointment with the doctor. By the time the appointment came, I was nervous again. What if something happened to Sweet Pea? What if they can't find a heartbeat? What if they missed that something was wrong on the ultrasound? Uff. I am a 3rd generation (at least) worrier, and it's hard to fend off sometimes.

The appointment with the doctor was much shorter. A flu shot. A check in about how things are going (fine but still sick - which was normal). A check of my blood pressure (also normal) and weight (only a pound gained since my first appointment - normal, given how sick I'd been). I really love my doctor. I had seen her once before for my annual physical (in addition to being an OB, she is also a gynecologist). She is FABULOUS (thank you for the great recommendation, Jackie!) And it's funny, because since letting the word out I found out that at least one friend has had her as an OB too! She's super nice, and friendly. Really easy to talk to. And has fabulous "bed side manner." I look forward to working with her in the months to come!

Anyways, no ultrasound this time -but the doc did check for the heartbeat! Again, the "realness" of it set in big time. Laying on my back, the doctor put cold gel on my abdomen, followed by the wand to find Sweet Pea's sweet heartbeat. I held my breath as she moved it around, waiting for the sound we hoped for. All of sudden we heard a swooshing sound. "There's your baby!," she said. At first I was a bit disappointed, because it didn't sound as strong as I thought it would. Soon after I thought that, the doctor moved the wand ever so slightly and the heartbeat got super super strong and loud! What a fantastic sound! The doctor said it sounded great. Nice and strong at about 150 beats per minute. YAY!!

Another exciting part of the appointment with the doctor is that we were able to make the appointment for our "big" week 20 ultrasound. The ultrasound will take place on March 24th. If all goes well, we'll be able to know if Sweet Pea is a boy or a girl! Start placing your bets now! :-)

I had another appointment yesterday, that ended up great...but came about in a not so desirable way. Late in the afternoon on February 14th I had a little bit of bleeding. I, understandably, freaked out a little bit. I hadn't had any bleeding or cramping or anything previously, but I had read the horror stories of 2nd trimester miscarriages. It's scary to think that something might be wrong. So I called the nurse line right away. She asked me a bunch of questions. She said it sounded like it wasn't anything to worry about, but encouraged me to come in just to be sure. So we made an appointment for the next morning.

I did my best not to worry that night (Jeromy did a great job helping me with that), and we were able to have a really nice Valentine's Day celebration together. I went in the next morning feeling a little more reassured, as I hadn't had any additional bleeding, and no other symptoms. I met with our nurse practitioner again, and was very pleased that she did a very thorough exam. She took the time to really check things out. Much to my surprise, the exam included another ultrasound! And this time, Sweet Pea actually looked like a baby! :-) Check out the picture at right to see! We could make out its little head and arms. And even more impressive...Sweet Pea was on the move. Lots of little twitches and movement. Once again, a nice strong visible and audible heartbeat. I'll admit...I teared up. There is seriously nothing better than that sight and sound.

While I was at the doctor I scheduled two more appointments...one in about 2 weeks with the nurse, and the next appointment with our doctor 4 weeks after that. By that appointment, we'll know if Sweet Pea is a boy or a girl!

Wow. This was a long post. Hopefully they'll become shorter once I get a chance to play "catch-up." Thanks for reading!

Sweet Pea!

Wow! It's been a long time...and I mean REALLY long time since we've last post (see previous entry if you don't believe me). I could dwell on that, and feel bad about my skills as a blogger (which, admittedly, I kind of do), but I think I may move past that onto more exciting things!

A lot has gone on since we last post. The most significant being referenced in the title of this post. Sweet Pea! Let me back track a bit...

Jeromy and I have known we've wanted kids since Day 1. It was just a matter of when. We knew we didn't want kids right away...that we wanted to get settled first a bit, and enjoy our time as newlyweds. We first started seriously talking babies early in 2009. Jeromy had been unemployed since July of the previous year, which halted the plans altogether. However, with the promise of a temp to hire position, and a secure (or so we thought) job on my part, we were able to start seriously talking about it. Well, God had other plans in mind and shortly after Jeromy got that permanent position, I was laid off from my job. There went that!

Fast forward to March of last year...I got a great new job at Capella University as an Academic Advisor! Jeromy was still at the same job, and doing very well (a couple promotions during that time, if I may brag). At last...we could start considering this whole baby thing again! Come September we decided we would start "trying" (which is such a funny term/concept to me, but that's what it was, so that's what I'll call it). Thankfully, it didn't take too long before I was pregnant! We found out early in December (I'll post some blog entries I did then on here later...) and needless to say are thrilled!

So where does "Sweet Pea" fit in to all of this, you may ask? Well, in the excitement of learning that we were expecting, I did what every modern woman does...I signed up for e-mail alerts from various pregnancy sites! The e-mails started coming in, describing the changes in my body, and (more excitingly) the progress of the baby. The first alert we got described the size of the baby as a sweet pea. We loved it! For those of you who have known us a while, you know Jeromy's college nickname of "J-Pod" and how from that some call me "B-Pod" and call us "The Pods." What a more fitting title of the offspring coming from "The Pods" than Sweet Pea?! Jeromy and I talk often these days about how much fun we'll have...him, me, and Sweet Pea. We'll be three peas in a pod! :-)

So here's an update: I'm 14 weeks today (!!!!), with an estimated due date of August 12th. The first trimester has, admittedly, been a little tough. I had always hoped to be one of those women who handled pregnancy like a pro...not getting slowed down...not getting sick. And although that was the case for the first few weeks, by weeks 7 and 8, things caught up with me. The last couple months have been characterized by waves of nausea (most days have yielded all day sickness rather than morning sickness), fatigue, and a HUGE lack of appetite/aversion to most foods. Blech! As of late it's been wearing on me...especially as I come out of the 1st trimester, and symptoms are supposed to cease. Things have gotten better, but I still have my moments/days, and I SO miss my regular appetite, and being able to eat more things than cereal, toast, fruit, etc.

As I said, I have a few blog posts I wrote before word was out of Sweet Pea's impending arrival, which I'll post soon now that the word is out. I might also try to back track a little and tell stories from the weeks since we found out. Here's hopin' that this exciting news, amazing process, and journey worth documenting will help us blog a little more regularly in the coming months and years!