I knew I would want to have a blog for our family long before we learned we were pregnant. Now a days it is very common for families to document little adventures this way and I think its a pretty good way of preserving some memories and sharing them with loved ones who you may not get to share details with regularly.
While it has taken some time to put the blog together, the story and memories started the week leading into Mother's Day. We learned we were pregnant on Thursday, May 10th. We took a good 24 hours to process the news ourselves before we shared with our parents. Since I could not share the news with my parents and sister personally, we gave them the phone call on Friday evening. We told them we had forgotten to mail the Mother's Day cards with all the stress of moving (that's another story) and wanted to tell them they are fantastic mothers and women. I also pointed out that NEXT YEAR I hoped they wouldn't forget to send me a card. It was fantastic to get the reaction of my family on the phone, I just hope in the future to share those moments in person. Sorry I just couldn't wait to tell you the next time I saw you!
With Mother's Day on Sunday, we wrapped up a pregnancy test to put with the gifts for Chris' mother to open. When she processed the meaning behind the contents of the sandwich bag, we enjoyed many hugs and tears. It was awesome to let them in on the news on a special day like Mother's Day.
In the middle of May we spent a weekend on Lake Oconee for our friend Victoria's 30th birthday party. Months before the party her boyfriend had secretly organized all the college friends to meet for a long weekend and got Victoria on an airplane out of Chicago. When we first got the invitation we were pumped. After finding out that you're pregnant, but not far enough in to tell anyone, this sort of boozing trip becomes very tricky. How do you socialize for days with that many friends and not drink without anyone noticing? Not easily. Fortunately only a few people took serious notice and we think we were able to redirect the others. Time will tell who actually noticed :-)
I decided I could not keep the secret for too long. I had scheduled a lunch date with two dear friends to celebrate the start of summer (June 1). Stefanie is pregnant and due in September and Rhonda has been my confidant on the road to conception. I decided that even if my first OB appointment did not go as expected, I would need some friends to know the background. I also knew that we would need some assistance in telling the rest of "the group" that we were expecting if everything did go according to plan. I beat them to the restaurant and I opted for our "traditional" way of telling other ladies that you're pregnant. I ordered a glass of milk in a wine glass and I was holding it when they came up to the table. Stefanie knew immediately and was overwhelmed with excitement. Rhonda held back a moment pointing at the glass and asking what it meant, but her eyes told me more. It turned out she is expecting as well! Just a month behind us! It was a very special lunch and we all enjoyed milk in a wine glass.
June 5, 2012 was an amazing day for our growing family. We opened the morning with our first OB/GYN appointment. The first portion was the ultrasound. I was completely overwhelmed with emotion before the nurse even came in the room! We were delighted and amazed as we got our first look at our peanut. Everything looked great- baby was positioned correctly, had visible limbs, and an amazing heart beat. We received pictures (see first post) which we continue to enjoy. Afterwards we met with one of the nurse practitioners in the practice. They can not guarantee who will be on call when I go into labor, so I have to rotate through the providers in the practice. I would prefer to go the nurse practitioner midwife route as they are more available and involved than an MD, but if there are any complications the MD on call takes over. Chris had many jokes while at the doctors office, but my favorite- "If you have complications and the midwife has to bring in the doctor, is that called a midwife crisis?"
We also sold our first home on June 5th. We greatly enjoyed our time at April Drive, but it was time to move on.
We had the home emptied by May 30th and we have been living in a two
bedroom apartment. It is a lot smaller than the house, but we have
enjoyed the coziness of the apartment and it is much easier to keep
clean. We have a new house under contract but we will wait to celebrate
that house until it's closing at the end of June. We hope to have
started the move in process prior to our annual trip to Hilton Head in
July.
Two weekends ago I traveled to Augusta to see my parents, sister, and nephew. This was the weekended the grandmother's were "clear to share the news" so you probably got your phone call at this time. During the visit my sister helped me start a registry (with the wisdom that only a mother can offer- thank you again!) and she also helped me find some "must read" titles. It was such a fantastic weekend that I am going back to Augusta this weekend while Chris travels to the American Library Association Conference in California.
I think that pretty much sums up the major events of the first ten weeks of pregnancy. Symptoms are all "normal" and present (and none worth discussing), email and phone congratulations have been fantastic, and my clothes still "fit" for the most part.
We look forward to sharing more happenings for us and promise not to be so long winded in future posts.
