Little Details

The name will remain a secret until the birth day.

We will find out the gender and I love the idea of a gender reveal party.

Matt would kind of like to have a boy first because he is afraid that he won’t get one unless it’s first. I’ve thought about this over the years and my mind kept changing. Whatever God gives us is what was meant for us. I just want a healthy baby.

Right now we both want two kids but we’ll see how this first one treats me. Ideally I would like one of each.

I love my Doctor so much that I chose to stay with her and drive 40 minutes while in labor instead of waddling out my back door to the hospital behind our house. I hope she holds up to the expectations I have for her. She’s very calm mannered which is what I need in this situation.

I plan to stay Vegetarian. I discussed this with my doctor a while ago and she supports me. Once I can stomach it again I will eat permitted fish.

I have every intention to have a drug-free natural delivery; however everyone has their limits and if labor takes me beyond mine I will reconsider my options. I know it is different for every woman and I have no idea how I will do.

I will need a coach to stay focused on a drug-free delivery. I am looking into the Bradley Method where the husband is trained to be the birth coach. I think Matt is strong enough for this role but if we decide not to do it I will hire a Doula.

Adjusting to the News

Even though we had a positive test we knew we still had a long road to go so we kept quiet about it and hoped for the best. I had to remind myself every day that I was pregnant because it didn’t seem real.


I called my Dr. to make the first appointment. She wouldn’t see me until 10 weeks which I knew was typical but it still made me nervous. 10 weeks is a long time for a first timer who has no idea what to expect. I took another home test a week later to make sure it was still positive.

I decided a long time ago that I did not want to tell anyone the news until I felt comfortable. I knew Matt could keep the secret but I had been hiding everything from Sara, she didn’t even know we were trying. Sara was going to be in town when I was a little over 5 weeks. Even though it was still really early I knew this was my only chance to tell her in person so I told her and swore her to secrecy. I think she was in shock for a while but then got really excited for me. We spent most of the afternoon talking about pregnancy. It felt really good to finally talk about this.

Telling Husband

A few months ago I thought of a creative way to break the news to Matt. I always knew I would tell him instantly but I wanted him to be surprised that I was actually taking a test. I grabbed the gift I made and started pacing around the house. I was still in shock, he was sleeping soundly. I knew I wouldn’t relax until I told him so I woke him up. I said “Happy Easter, I have a gift for you”. He was groggy and didn’t understand what was going on yet. This is exactly the state I wanted him in because otherwise he would be on to me. Back in December I wrote a poem using several Pearl Jam song titles. The poem revealed the big news to him. Halfway through reading he realized what was happening and started smiling. Then he opened the Pearl Jam baby onesie I attached to the poem. He finally asked, “Are you pregnant”?  Finally I was able to calm down. We sat in bed for a while talking and then we broke the news to Cody, which went over smoothly.

That morning we saw a stork on our pond. In the afternoon we had Easter lunch with his family. We have been keeping the secret of us having kids for over a year but we really had a secret to hide now. When we were going to our table at lunch Wanda asks me if the Easter Bunny brought us anything good this year. I kept my cool and thought if you only knew.

Positive

December seemed to creep up so fast but we were both ready. We had planned to go to Antigua for my 30th birthday. Right after we returned home we retired our passports and started trying. 

I decided I wouldn’t be the woman who takes 10 pregnancy tests before her period was due and I would wait to actually miss a period. I was so regular that if I was late it had to mean something.

At the end of March I had a feeling that it had worked. I had symptoms that were stronger than normal but I tried not to read into them too much. My period was late and on Easter morning, I took the test.

Instantly I saw two lines appear. Two lines = Pregnant. What happened to the 5 minutes the box said for the results to appear?!?  I went into instant shock. We both wanted this but I wasn't sure if God had this in our plans. I stayed in the bathroom a while and whispered a few profanities. Matt was still asleep and I was praying he didn’t check on me so I could gather myself to break the news to him.

Planning

We went back and forth about wanting kids for a few years and neither of us ever felt ready. It’s probably because deep down there were still some things we wanted to accomplish. Finally in January 2012 we both agreed that we did want them. We decided we would start trying later in the year, maybe in August. So right then in January I already felt like I was running out of time to prepare. I worked on getting myself as healthy as possible, which is the whole reason I started counting calories. The months passed and I dropped 16 more lbs on top of the weight loss I had maintained from a few years ago. I felt great and I knew when the time came that I would be ready.

Then came May.

We went to Ireland in May knowing this would probably be our last big trip. The last night in Ireland, which was also Mother’s Day, we had dinner in a pub with a really great atmosphere. The Guinness was flowing and we had been talking for a long time when Matt announced to me that he was ready to start trying when I was. I have been waiting to hear this from him for so long that I couldn’t believe he was actually saying it. I was caught off guard because this was months earlier than we planned.

On the plane ride home something happened that always happens at the end of one of our trips. We started discussing another trip and we knew our August start date would probably be pushed back. We were ready for a tropical vacation which is how I always imagined spending my 30th birthday.

December became the new start month.

Announcement

Our biggest adventure yet!  A little being with a mixture of Matt and I’s genetic material will be joining this world around December 6th. Yes we are expecting a baby!

I plan to write on here about this pregnancy. Some weeks may be uneventful but so far there has been a lot for me to document. I will post daily until I get caught up with my current week. As you read through these you will see this is something we started planning a long time ago but kept it a secret. Enjoy!

Kitchen

Finally! We are for the most part finished with the kitchen. We had some little distractions slow us down but we finished! 

Shortly after the countertops were installed we started working on the tile. This was the first time I had ever tiled and it really wasn't that hard. I wanted to stay neutral with the backsplash so we wouldn't take away from the countertops. We also decided to install under cabinet lighting and it really does seem to set everything off.

 

You will notice that we do have a new microwave and dishwasher. Once we started tiling our microwave broke. Then when we were almost finished with everything we thought our dishwasher broke. Come to find out it was ok but we had already purchased a new one. Our wonderful white stove is hanging on strong though!

We still need to paint but I am horrible at deciding on colors so that might be a while.