From Misses to Maternity

I think one of the first things that all women think about when they first realize that they are pregnant is "When am I going to have to wear maternity clothes?" I'm sure that some women are more excited for that shopping experience than others, I was definitely not one of them. I have been procrastinating as long as possible to make the dreaded shopping trip. Now, after 15 weeks of pregnancy, I had to cave. Not that the pants are absolutely necessary at this point, but I am sure uncomfortable wearing my regular jeans. I knew that getting a pair of maternity jeans would relieve my stress on the belly as well as the stress on baby.

The only jeans that I could picture in my head, were the "full panel" jeans. Those lovely jeans that have the giant elastic band that goes clear up to the chest. I couldn't imagine how small bellied mommies could possibly wear these jeans. I told myself I would suck it up and manage, anything would be better than the pressure and indentation that my current jeans leave daily. Luckily, I was naive in the world of maternity as there are a plethora of "band types" to choose from.

Thank goodness, I didn't have to buy the jeans that I was absolutely dreading. I'm not sure if I will regret it later down the road or not but I decided to go with the demi panel. These sit nicely below the belly and have plenty of room for baby growth. Although those with the full and extended panel leave much room for growth, I can't be sure how big I will be or how uncomfortable I may need  to buy them. Being pregnant during the summer is going to be absolutely terrible. The horrible heat that Colorado gets will be extremely uncomfortable for a pregnant woman. That means that I will then have to go shopping for shorts and tanks that I will only be able to wear for 3 months! 

I think that I will wait before doing anymore maternity shopping as the price tags are not cheap. Hopefully I will be able to go a little bit longer without having to worry about buying shirts. I would definitely much rather spend money on the baby than myself. I would have liked to wait at least another 5 weeks or so before buying jeans but it just wasn't worth it anymore! With our next appointment this week, we should be able to see how measurements are coming and how baby is growing. It might give me an idea of when I will have to make this glorious shopping trip again.

Feeling Uncomfortable

I cannot help but search for pictures online and look through baby books and magazines to give me an idea of when I should be showing the pregnancy and how I may look. It seems to be a curiosity for never experiencing it before. I use the books that tell me "Your baby is the size of a lime," to help me in estimating where it may be sitting and how big before I will feel it. Unfortunately, I feel nothing but uncomfortable. I have began to feel pressure in my lower abdomen and it is the worst. My jeans are too tight and maternity pants are too big! I see a small difference in my lower stomach and that is it! There is no sign of an actual shaped 'baby bump' so at this point I try to keep myself comfortable without worrying what I look like from another perspective. I understand that each woman is completely different with each pregnancy but I am hoping that within the next few weeks I can begin to have a small bump. Maybe this will eliminate some of the discomfort and give me a little bit of confidence in what I am wearing. I am certain that the discomfort will arise again later in pregnancy, but at that time, I should be in those clothes that are made for expecting mommies. For right now, I feel it may still be a little too early to be shopping in the maternity section.

I talk to many different women and I hear so many different things about pregnancy. At times, I wish there was some consistency in having a baby so I can really understand it. At this point, I have no clue what is going on, what to expect or what is going to happen and it absolutely drives me crazy! Living with a man doesn't help either cause they don't know squat about anything. I guess I have to take each day with a grain of salt, try and educate myself as much as possible and pray that my mommy intuition will eventually kick in--and not steer me wrong. 

Baby Looks Like A Baby!

February 1, 2011

About 9 weeks through the pregnancy I and I finally began to start feeling normal again. I regained my appetite and was not feeling quite so nauseous anymore. I was starting to have a better outlook on pregnancy. However, I woke up one morning and thought that my pregnancy was all over. With the thoughts of miscarriage running through my head since I found out about the baby, I couldn't help but have overwhelming emotion that morning. I called the doctor just to be safe, explained my symptoms and was told I needed to be seen. I took it easy that day trying to prepare myself for what the future of the pregnancy may look like.

When I arrived to the doctor, the only thing I kept thinking was that I wanted to see my baby and hear the heartbeat. Of course, they anxiously make you wait until the last few minutes of the appointment. I was finally admitted to ultrasound and was graciously relieved that I could see my baby fluttering and heard the strong heartbeat (around 200bpm!) I was given the news that everything was fine with baby and that I had a small blood clot, or a chorionic hemorrhage,  around the area where the baby was growing. I was assured that everything should be fine but to make sure to take it easy, no heavy lifting or moving, and hope that my body absorbs the clot. (Luckily, I have a wonderful husband to take care of all the dirty work for me.) Although I was relieved, the 'mommy' side of me couldn't help but continuing to worry until I really knew that everything was okay.

Our follow up visit was great! There was no sign of the hemorrhage still and the baby was growing great and still had a strong heartbeat. My mind was definitely put at ease to know that this clot may have just been a small bump in the road. We went in on the 1st, 11 weeks, for our infamous Down Syndrome and Trisomy testing. As I find out that we have to wait 4 weeks in between testing and then wait an additional 4 more weeks before finding our results, made feel feel a little uneasy again. I'm sure its common between all first time mommies but I am still not sure how I should react to everything. However, our ultrasound tests went amazing! Everything measured just how it should be and we were so excited because baby finally looked like a baby! There was certainly a noticeable head and little body and it was no longer just a white peanut, there really is a baby in there.

At that point,  I realized that it doesn't matter how testing comes back but that we have an amazing miracle joining us is the greatest gift I could get. I could not feel the baby and I didn't look as though I was having a baby but I knew that one day, when it did happen, it would be indescribable.

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.