Telling the fams

We would have loved to tell all of our family in person, but it just doesn't always work out that way. Plus I am way too impatient to wait for trips or visits, so the phone would have to suffice.

My mom and step-dad were already planning on making their way down to us to see our new home, so we planned on using that weekend to tell everyone.

Telling my sister was fun - she set it up nicely. We were talking on the phone and she asked what we had planned for mom's visit. I said casually, "they get in Saturday and we will probably just hang out at home to relax after their drive. Sunday morning should be fun; we're getting together with the hub's fam for breakfast so we can tell everyone I'm pregnant..." Screaming excitement and congratulations ensues...

Next were my mom, step dad, hub's parents, sister and brother-in-law. Like I told my sis, we all met up for breakfast Sunday morning. After we all ordered and were settled, the hubs and I tell the parents that we have a little something for them as a thank you for their help and support during the wedding and the home-buying process. "Just a little something". The moms open them at the same time and both immediately look at me in shock and hand the cards to the dads. My mom is tearing up, and so am I. Hub's mom is scooting around the table to give me a hug. Happy, excitement and congratulations ensues...

If I had to tell my dad over the phone, I wanted him to have the sonogram surprise as well, but how could I insure that he'd get it in time, and that he wouldn't open it until I call? I couldn't. So I just bucked up and called. He was playing with my step-sister's (adorable!) baby, so I used that as the opener. I told him how happy I was he had so much recent baby experience,...since I was pregnant and due in January. Happiness, congratulations (and he wouldn't be my dad without giving advice) ensues...

I love our families and I am so happy that I can share this experience with them!!!

First Ultrasound

We had the first prenatal exam at 7 weeks; although until my dr. confirmed, I wasn't exactly sure how far along I was. I filled out some seemingly endless paperwork, peed on a strip of paper and then they took my blood - blech. Not a fan of the blood taking. Lucky me, I think I am going to be doing it often now. Oh well, what's good for the baby...

Then we prepped for the ultrasound. I was on the table and Erik stood behind to my left. She placed the probey thing (technical term?) inside me and aimed around until my uterus came into view on the screen. There it was. Our...baby...which looked more like a sea monkey or blob, but it was still very awesome. The dr. flipped a switch on the machinery and a little sound wave appeared at the bottom of the screen followed by a fast-paced 'ba-bump, ba-bump'. I had read that you may not hear the baby's heartbeat until 8 or even 10 weeks, but there it was. Or was it? I had to be sure. "Are you sure that's not my heartbeat?" Though my heart was certainly pounding with excitement, she assured me that the probe was honing in on our baby. And, that it was unlikely my heart was beating at around 130 beats per minute; a very normal rate for baby in womb. We heard the heartbeat. It was awesome. I can't stop thinking about it. I keep hoping I will find a spot on my tummy where I can feel it, but no luck yet. I can't wait to hear it again.

To be or not to be....pregnant, that is.

I think I knew I was pregnant very early on. I started feeling tired, bloated and crampy - and I wasn't quite near my period. Any of my early symptoms could have also been due to the fact that my body was adjusting to being off the pill, but what did I know? I haven't been off the pill in 8 years and I have never been pregnant before. I started to feel very aware of my uterus. Like all my annoyances were springing from that very point in my body.

By the end of April, I couldn't wait. I took a test. One of those 'one line = not pregnant, two lines = pregnant'. One line. Not pregnant. Right? I read the box and find that you should wait to take an HPT until you are 4-5 weeks pregnant, and you should also use held pee. They don't use that terminology, however they recommend peeing on it in the morning, or after a waiting period of 3 hrs since the last time you peed. I wasn't so sure about how long since I peed, but I was pretty sure there was no way that I was 4 or 5 weeks pregnant. I thought I should wait at least another three weeks before I took another one. I should wait until our anniversary.

I couldn't wait. I took another test May 12th. This time it was the kind with 'one line = not pregnant, crossing lines = pregnant'. Crossed lines. One line, one faint crossed line. It was faint. Pregnant? I think so. I tell Erik. Excitement ensues!

But it's a faint line. So I wait a week...ok, actually 5 days...and take another. Another (slightly less faint) crossed line. I double-check multiple sites and figure out that a non-pregnant woman would not have enough HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin - the hormone produced during pregnancy) to even produce a faint line.

I am pregnant!

Let's start from the beginning.

At 10 weeks pregnant, it's no surprise that I have known for a while now the circumstance of my uterus. However, since I only start this blog now, I still think it would be sensible to start from the beginning. So let's suspend disbelief as I take you back 11 weeks to when it all started.


It is the first week of April, and I am at my GYNs for my annual appt. I love my GYN - I have been going to her for the last 4 years and I think she is awesome, so I feel lucky having her be there for us in the time to come. I tell her that I am going to go off the pill (bcp), and that Erik and I are going to start trying next month. She reminds me that I don't have to wait after I go off the pill - that I can still conceive before my first non-pill period. But I don't want a Christmastime baby and I could use a month to get used to being without the pill's hormones as well as work on the little tire of fat around my waist. She laughs and writes me a prescription of prenatal vitamins, that I can start taking as soon as I please.

At home Erik and I start talking about the baby plan. He thinks my non-Christmastime and work-out plan/ logic is flawed. "Why don't we just start now?" he says. After some debate, I give in.
Within the next 2-3 weeks I get pregnant.