Our First Doctor Visit

January 4, 2012

After all of the hype and excitement of the new baby, it was time to get down to business. The first doctor visit had arrived and it was time to find out when we would welcome our new addition. I was so incredibly nervous as I have obviously never had a visit to this extent before. It's quite intimidating being around other women who have gone through this process numerous times. I was the newbie. I had no clue what I was doing or what was to come and I was one of the only ones who carried my "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book as a bible in my purse. Luckily, I was able to drag Nick along with me so that I wasn't alone.

They call us into the office and of course do the usual testing, measurements and weighing as they do with every usual routine visit. However, this time, they were testing for that baby hormone that should be streaming through my body at this point. After a good hour of waiting and answering questions, we were told that in fact we were expecting and that the tests that I had taken had not proven me wrong. I think that we both became overwhelmed and glanced at each other with smiles but we weren't sure what else to say. After the doctor had completed all testing and other necessary 'shenanigans', she decided that we could have an ultrasound done to determine baby's due date.

We thought that it was way too early to have an ultrasound done, as we were only 7 weeks at this time. After being moved to the ultrasound room, I wasn't quite ready for what I was about to see.

In fact, there was a tiny little one growing inside me. At this time, everything went from being surreal, to being incredibly real. Lucky for us, technology has grown tremendously and we were able to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was moving quite rapid, but at a healthy pace. A sigh of relief came from both of us as we knew that this was not just fun and games any more but we in fact were becoming parents. A little baby was about to be with us and we hoped we were ready for the next months that were about to be upon us.

The Big Reveal

December 24, 2011

Over a week had gone by since we had found out. Thoughts of doubt kept running through my mind about whether we really were pregnant or not. With no visits to the doctor, I could only rely on the little stick to give me the thumbs up. Although I had already taken two (yes, two) tests, I still felt that I needed reassurance. I decided to take one more test, just for good measure. 

This time, it was written clear as day. There was no need for interpretation if there was really two lines or just one. We in fact, were expecting and we knew that Christmas was the perfect time to reveal it to our parents. Especially since we had been now assured numerous times that there was a baby on the way.

We went back and forth the last week about how we were going to tell everyone. We knew that our parents had to know first and everyone else would just fall into place. It was difficult to figure out how to tell your parents such big news. We weren't sure whether to make a phone call and just spit it out or whether to mail them a letter. Since it was Christmas, we decided to get creative. We wrapped a gift for each of our families, with a baby bib saying "I love grandma" or "I love grandpa" inscribed into it. Just to clear up any confusion, we posted this to be the first thing that they saw when they opened the gift:

The poem reads: "To all those that we love, We have some news to tell you today, Seems that the stork is coming our way! A cherished little on, a boy or girl, Will soon bring us all the happiness in the world!" We placed them under the trees as any other gift but made sure that it was the last present that everyone opened that day. Our parents were thrilled. There was much laughter, joy, excitement and tears for the next few days but we were surely relieved to know that it was no longer our little secret. We weren't quite sure how everyone was going to react but it was better than we expected.

Now that the hard stuff was done, the next step was figuring out how to get through the next 8 months of our lives....

And Our Family Becomes Three..

December 14, 2011

I had been feeling under the weather within the last few days, I just knew that something was different. After a long day of work and talking with Nick, I decided to take the infamous test. After 3 long minutes of anticipation, the 2 pink lines appeared and I was overwhelmed with emotions. I ran into the other room to show Nick the positive test.

Expressions surely speak louder than words sometimes as I don't think he knew what to say. Both Nick and I knew that it could be a possibility before I even took the test, but was shocked that it happened so soon. He gave me a kiss on the forehead and an embrace I will never forget and we then knew that this was the next chapter in our lives. 

The next few hours all we could talk about was how we were going to tell our family, whether or not it was too soon to tell friends and what the next steps were. We were still a newlywed couple, enjoying our honeymoon time together and now we were going to become parents. 'Parents'-seems like a word for the individuals with a Monday through Friday 9-5 job and lacking the desire to go out on weekends. Were we really ready to become parents? Either way, we were ecstatic as the only thing I have wanted in life was to have a family. We were married, both with jobs, finished school (well I will have finished school the following May) and living in a house with plenty of space to accommodate the new addition. What is there to be scared of? We began to feel absolutely blessed. After many discussions, we decided that the perfect time to tell our parents was on Christmas, and give them the greatest gift ever. We spent the next week figuring out the creative way in which we could declare our new addition to the family. And, begin exploring all of the things that come along with the new bundle of joy.