I live in an area where everywhere you turn you see a pregnant woman. I sometimes feel like it is routine to hear that someone else is pregnant. It try to remind myself that making a baby is a miracle and blessing that God has bestowed upon us and that making a baby is actually one of the major reasons that Andrew and I got married. We are starting our eternal family!
We have been preparing ourselves every day of our lives to be parents. We collected do's and don'ts subconsciously and consciously for years. We discussed some basic things when deciding to get married and we have even read a parenting book called "Positive Discipline" and discussed our approach to parenting for years. We really recommend this book. I have been researching French parenting as well and am interested in incorporating some approaches there.
So Andrew and I are going to be pretty awesome parents and let me tell you why. Sometimes spontaneously we role play where one of us is the kid and the other is the parent and we improv this dialogue that challenges the parent to think on his/her feet pertaining to how we are going to handle a situation in parenting. The other day I was riding a bike and Andrew was running. For some reason I was falling off and having a hard time so Andrew took the role of Daddy and I became little Jimmy riding his bike. The story turned into Jimmy talking about how his friend Tommy gave him lollipops with something called cocaine in them and how Tommy invited him to a sleepover with girls. We love adding little surprises. Andrew is my best friend and playing games like this is one reason why.
So back to the baby business. About a year ago I realized I should be taking prenatal vitamins if I wanted to make a baby within the year. Andrew and I agreed that we would wait until Andrew was done with school. I didn't have a problem with that and except for the occasional baby hungry moments, we were happy to be focusing on just each other and our relationship. You need that time and should cherish it as much as possible before you start the baby flood.
Last September after attending the temple with no specific question in mind, I received an undeniable prompting from the Holy Ghost that we should start trying to have a baby. I got into the car with Andrew afterwards and just started crying because last time we talked Andrew was kind of anti making a baby at that time, plus I was really overwhelmed by this new possibility. I told him what I felt and he totally reacted by saying that over the past couple months his mind had been softening to the idea of starting a family. After praying more and deciding together to go for it, I went off birth control.
Next was the nightmare of getting me health insurance which I had none of. Neither of our jobs give us benefits so we have had to do it the hard way and still are. I finally got setup after about a month and a half long process.
Back in December I realized that my body needed to be healthy, especially for the baby's sake. I have been eating better and exercising more and have seen great results. My Summer eating habits and work out plan were a good culmination in that journey. I actually did not document with a tape measurer how many inches I lost but my clothes were significantly looser on me. All of this was perfectly timed to me getting pregnant.
I became pregnant around July 1st.
Here are the happy parents on a date at the Little Red Lighthouse, unknowingly on the day we think was the day of conception.
Coincidentally enough, this was the first time we went to this spot and it turned out to be our favorite place to go and one of our favorite memories of New York.
4 weeks pregnant- This is a pretty great story. On our way home from Nauvoo we were driving a rental car to the airport. I had stopped to go to the bathroom an hour earlier and had to go again about 10 minutes before we got to the car rental place. I was driving and the urge was intense. We stopped at the gas station 200 feet away from Avis to fill up before we returned it. Usually I get Sudden Pee Syndrome (we gave a name to that urge to pee you get when you arrive at your front door) and I can hold it until I get to the bathroom. I stopped the car and told Andrew that this one was different. This time I could not move. I told Andrew to hand me the tiny plastic water bottle and contemplated trying to aim everything inside. I dropped that idea and just gave in. I peed all over the cloth driver's seat and my pants. I was so horrified. Afterwards I tried soaking it up with as many gas station paper towels as possible and then had to drive it right over to Avis. I got out of the car and simultaneously grabbed the paper towels I had been sitting on as the agent greeted me. He sat in the seat to gauge the mileage and eventually we were on our way. I was really terrified that he would say, "It smells like urine in here. Uh, could you explain that?" But he didn't. We got the charge a while later and there was not an extra "Had to clean up the gross pee that the pregnant lady flooded the driver's seat with" fee. I did not know I was pregnant at this time and I was really confused. Here is a picture of the seat...
5 1/2 Weeks- When my parents came to visit August 8th I had started to get nauseated. I decided this nausea was very unusual after the 5th day of it so I had Andrew and Dan go get pregnancy tests. Meredith was present as well and they recorded us checking the test to capture our wonderful reactions.
Afterwards, we took a picture of me holding the test on the bed. We loved staying in Jeff and Aurora's apartment in New York and now it is an even more special place to us..... hahaha.
Since then I have been nauseated everyday. It is usually the worst in the morning and evenings. That is perfect for my teaching schedule which is in the afternoons.
6 - 9 weeks- I got a cold that lasted 3 weeks. Apparently pregnant womens' immune systems are very weak because they don't want your body to turn on your baby and attack it or something. That plus nausea was misery. Those were also the weeks that we had to pack and prepare for our trip back to Utah, the one week I had to prepare for the new school year, and the first week of school. Those were the most stressful days of my whole Summer and I felt absolutely horrible. I made it somehow.
8 weeks and 5 days- We saw the doctor for our first appointment on August 31st. We saw the embryo move and that was super cool. Here is a picture of the ultrasound.
4 weeks pregnant- This is a pretty great story. On our way home from Nauvoo we were driving a rental car to the airport. I had stopped to go to the bathroom an hour earlier and had to go again about 10 minutes before we got to the car rental place. I was driving and the urge was intense. We stopped at the gas station 200 feet away from Avis to fill up before we returned it. Usually I get Sudden Pee Syndrome (we gave a name to that urge to pee you get when you arrive at your front door) and I can hold it until I get to the bathroom. I stopped the car and told Andrew that this one was different. This time I could not move. I told Andrew to hand me the tiny plastic water bottle and contemplated trying to aim everything inside. I dropped that idea and just gave in. I peed all over the cloth driver's seat and my pants. I was so horrified. Afterwards I tried soaking it up with as many gas station paper towels as possible and then had to drive it right over to Avis. I got out of the car and simultaneously grabbed the paper towels I had been sitting on as the agent greeted me. He sat in the seat to gauge the mileage and eventually we were on our way. I was really terrified that he would say, "It smells like urine in here. Uh, could you explain that?" But he didn't. We got the charge a while later and there was not an extra "Had to clean up the gross pee that the pregnant lady flooded the driver's seat with" fee. I did not know I was pregnant at this time and I was really confused. Here is a picture of the seat...
5 1/2 Weeks- When my parents came to visit August 8th I had started to get nauseated. I decided this nausea was very unusual after the 5th day of it so I had Andrew and Dan go get pregnancy tests. Meredith was present as well and they recorded us checking the test to capture our wonderful reactions.
Since then I have been nauseated everyday. It is usually the worst in the morning and evenings. That is perfect for my teaching schedule which is in the afternoons.
6 - 9 weeks- I got a cold that lasted 3 weeks. Apparently pregnant womens' immune systems are very weak because they don't want your body to turn on your baby and attack it or something. That plus nausea was misery. Those were also the weeks that we had to pack and prepare for our trip back to Utah, the one week I had to prepare for the new school year, and the first week of school. Those were the most stressful days of my whole Summer and I felt absolutely horrible. I made it somehow.
8 weeks and 5 days- We saw the doctor for our first appointment on August 31st. We saw the embryo move and that was super cool. Here is a picture of the ultrasound.
10 weeks- We called our parents by Skype to let them know. My parents are in Florida and Andrew's mom is in England. We were able to screen shot their reactions. Notice how the mothers did the same thing.
I am so grateful for Andrew who has been very patient and helpful when I just don't have the energy or feel sick. He also goes and buys toilet paper when I use ours all up because I pee once an hour during the day and get up 4-5 times a night. I could sleep forever and I prayed everyday that the nausea would go away. It is times like this that make me remember how blessed I am when I feel happy and healthy. I haven't worked out for about 2 months and I can't wait to feel good enough to be active again. Remember how Jillian Michaels whipped me into shape this Summer? Sad that I have pretty much lost all of that. I was looking good.
Week 12- woke up feeling much less nauseated and life was more manageable. I still have to eat small snacks every so often.
Week 13- Went to the Doctor's office and heard the heartbeat. I had never heard anything like it. Babies are a miracle. Like any mother I was worried about this appointment because I knew that if the baby made it through to this point that my chance for miscarriage would be less than 1%. It was a huge relief to hear that rapid beating and a kick to the microphone. So overjoyed!
Here I am at 13 weeks. Not much of a bump. I'm just looking fat.
When I was getting married, I realized that the day I had been dreaming about was actually happening. I found my prince charming, and we were going to a beautiful castle to get married and to live happily ever after. It was a bit surreal. Now I am moving forward to that next stage that I always dreamed about; holding a precious baby just sent from heaven for us to take care of. I am so excited about the hard and rewarding changes that are coming our way. I love changes and trials because they shape me into a better person every time. I know that having children is that next step and if it changes me any way like marriage has in these short 3 years, I am going to be refined into a beautiful jewel through the most amazing experiences.
