The past 12 (well, really 8) weeks have been quite a different experience for me. While getting used to the idea that Keith and I will be parents and responsible for the life of another human being, I have been trying to enjoy this exciting time while feeling not so great.
Here is a recap of the past few weeks:
March 11, 2011: 4 weeks 3 days. Today is the day we found out we were going to have a baby. I woke up super early that day for no real reason. Being a few days "late" I decided I should probably take a test at some point soon. Since the at home versions are most accurate in the morning, I figured I'd just go ahead and take it then so I could get on with the rest of the day without the thought that I could possibly be pregnant lingering in the back of my mind. I was super sleepy while preparing the magic stick. I sat there yawning and didn't believe my sleepy eyes as 2 bright pink lines showed up right away. I had taken a few of these tests before, and of course they had always come back with just 1 line so that's what I was expecting to see this time as well. I ran out of the bathroom to Keith, who was putting on his shoes and preparing for the day. I showed him the test and shouted, "what does this look like to you?!?" A big, sweet, smile appeared on his face as he replied, "it looks like you're going to be a mommy!" We sat together for the next few minutes just staring at the test. Wow. We are going to have a baby. After jumping through hoops just to locate the correct number, I called the Women's Health Clinic on base to set up an appointment to verify the pregnancy. Luckily, they had walk in hours so we were able to be seen that day. Keith was able to come with me, and sure enough, after peeing in their magic cup, it was verified that I was in fact (based on the presence of the Hcg hormone) PREGNANT. I spent the first two weeks wrapping my mind around the fact that I was in fact pregnant. I didn't feel pregnant, I didn't look pregnant, but I had a magic stick with 2 pink lines as proof that there was in fact a baby growing inside me. That, and I didn't have any signs that I wasn't pregnant. This (and majority of the 1st trimester) has been such a unique experience. It can be hard to believe something you can't see or feel, but I guess that is where Faith comes in.
March 22, 2011: 6 weeks
I read in one of my pregnancy books that most women don't experience morning sickness until about 6 weeks along. This is when I learned that I had a textbook baby growing inside me. Oh my, did the morning sickness hit. I got sick in the morning that day, headed to work, felt awful all day, then got sick again when I got home (due to sheer will power and refusing to get sick at the hospital). This was the pattern pretty much every day I worked. I think the combination of not being able to eat small frequent meals and pure exhaustion made working pretty miserable. On my days off things were a little better, I had that "icky" feeling in my tummy throughout most of the day, but would only get sick once if at all.
March 29, 2011: 7 weeks
I turned 25 :) I got sick a few times in the morning, hung out around the house other than going for a walk, opened some lovely presents and sweet cards, then went out to eat at PF Changs with Keith. Unfortunetly, after about 3 bites of my food, I lost my appetite and was ready to leave. Poor Keith scarfed down his food and quickly asked the waiter for the check, but not before I was able to ask him for a "Great wall of chocolate" cake to go. I figured it was my birthday, and at some point in the near future I would be up for eating the delish cake. (Oh, and later that night I put quite a dent in it!) This is when I learned that even before children are born, they affect your life. Even though I felt icky on my birthday, it was worth it to know that this is the year that I will become a mommy :)
April 5, 2011: 8 weeks
Today was our first ultrasound. Keith and I were so excited to finally be able to see our little bean and to hear the heartbeat. I was a little nervous due to all of the horror stories I've heard about no heartbeat being there, and Keith was nervous that there would be more than one little bean. Both of our fears were relieved when we saw ONE baby and heard a beautiful heart beating a strong 174 beats/min. It was such an amazing experience to see our little one and hear that precious heart. We are in love.
Weeks 8-10
What's worse than morning sickness? Getting a stomach bug and having it last 4 days because after the bug gets out of your system, pregnancy sickness kicks in and is worse than ever. Oh my goodness that was not fun!
April 21, 2011: 10 weeks 2 days
Today we flew home to Richmond, VA to be with our families for Easter. Not only were we looking forward to being home, but we were finally going to be able to share our exciting news with our families. We wanted to tell both families together, so we planned a dinner at my parent's house and invited Keith's family to join. While everyone was gathering in the kitchen to say a blessing, I ran to get the cards we had prepared for each of our mothers. I said that before eating I had a little early Mother's day card for each of the moms. I don't think either of them knew what was coming. They each opened that card which read, "Just wanted to let you know..." and on the inside, "we're expecting a new bundle of joy." (Hallmark truly does have a caard for every occasion!) Inside the card was the ultrasound picture of our little one. Both mom's had a somewhat delayed reaction as they attempted to process the news. My mom first screamed with joy, then shed a few happy tears. There were many hugs and congrats spread around. Everyone seemed truly excited (even our younger brothers, once we explained to them what just happened, ha!) We were so so happy to tell them and to no longer have to keep such a big secret!
Weeks 12-13
There is a huge debate in the pregnancy world as to when the 1st tirmester ends and when the 2nd officially begins. Technically, from a developmental standpoint, the baby is 1/3 of the way developed at the end of the 12th week. Either way, getting through that scary and uncomfortable 1st trimester was a great feeling and I was really excited to start enjoying my pregnancy!
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| 13 weeks! No real bump yet! |
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