6.1.11

11:45:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments

June 1st, 2011.  A day I will remember forever.

I’ve had mild cramping since finding out about my pregnancy at 4 weeks, but this past weekend I had cramps at a whole new level.  The cramps were severe, waking me up in the middle of the night and keeping me in tears, and seemed to become more frequent and more intense as the days went on.  I’m back to having frequent but mild cramps, but Nick insisted that I call my OB/GYN’s nurse to get her opinion this morning.  

She did not seem overly concerned, but did schedule me for an ultrasound tomorrow morning.  I am absolutely terrified.  I have read everything I possibly can on early miscarriages, which has done everything but make me feel better.  So far I have escaped bleeding and all of my mild pregnancy symptoms have continued, so I am taking that as a good sign.  Unfortunately I am far too aware that miscarriages happen without symptoms and without bleeding. 

So tomorrow at 11am our lives will change forever.  We will either receive devastating, heartbreaking news, or we will get the first peek at the little one growing strong inside of me.  I have done everything I can today to stay distracted and keep an optimistic look toward our future.  I can’t imagine spending 2 1/2 years battling infertility, only to be surprised by an unexpected pregnancy that ends before it has even become real.

Please keep my little sunshine in your thoughts tomorrow.  If all is well, we’ll be on our way to NC tomorrow evening to share good news!

9:22:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments

My heart just melted.

236 days to go!

6 weeks!

5:35:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments

I made it to 6 weeks on Saturday…. in some ways I feel like it’s been months since I found out and that time is slowly creeping along, and other times I feel like this pregnancy is going to fly by.

Not much has changed in the last two weeks.  I still have moments of shock that this is really happening, but for the most part it has become such a big focus in our lives. And between the cramping, nausea, heartburn, sore boobs, backaches, and whining, I’m starting to feel pregnant.  I’ve also lost the ability to suck my stomach in, but I’m actually looking forward to watching this bump grow in the coming months.  

It’s also been exactly 14 days since my last cigarette, and 15 days since my last cup of coffee and glass of whiskey.  I can’t say I haven’t missed them, but it has been so much easier than I ever imagined.  I’ve always struggled with quitting smoking and wasn’t sure how I would handle it.  The day after I found out I wore the lowest milligram nicotine patch available, but since then have quit cold turkey.  There is no greater motivation to quit than being blessed with a miracle you never thought possible.  I am amazed at how easy it has been, and I must admit I’m pretty freaking proud of myself.

In 2 short days we will be on our way to NC to share the news with our families!  I absolutely cannot wait.  It has been such a challenge to keep this news to ourselves.  It has now been weeks since I’ve talked to my mom (we usually talk on the phone daily), because I know there is absolutely no way I could keep my mouth shut.  I almost feel guilty for not telling her sooner, because she was naturally the first person I wanted to tell, but it was so important to me to tell her in person.  I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces!  

Happy Memorial Day to everyone!  Please keep the soldiers and their families in your prayers today, especially those that have sacrificed everything for this country.  I am blessed that this Memorial Day will be the first in 3 years that my husband is home safe, rather than fighting for our freedom across the world.  My heart goes to all of those who are less fortunate.

Let the deals begin

3:27:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

I’ve spent my Sunday window shopping and online browsing (and resisting the urge to buy everything I see!).  I’ve stumbled upon what could be my greatest finds over the next 9 months, and wanted to share:

www.zulily.com

www.totsy.com

www.theminisocial.com

www.babysteals.com

babyhalfoff.com

Similar to Groupon, LivingSocial, Sharing Spree, etc, these websites offer daily and weekly deals for all things baby.  I’ll share my experiences and the best deals as I find them!  If you know of any other good deal websites or sales, please share them.  

Edited:

I almost forgot Amazon Mom!  I love Amazon!

Wish List

5:10:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments

At only 5 weeks my wish list for the little one is already growing!  I’m resisting the urge to buy anything for a while, but that doesn’t stop me from plenty of online browsing for now.  Here’s the first of many wish lists to come…

The must-have:

I have seen these Bumbo seats in action, and it is definitely a must-have for my home!  Such a genius idea.

The lust:

I LOVE the Bugaboo strollers.  I’ve heard mixed reviews, but I love the look and style of them.  Would I ever spend $800+ on a stroller?  Absolutely not.  Would I spend $300-400 for a used one on Ebay?  Probably not.  But a girl can dream.

The Diaper bag I picked out long before the baby:

I have always been a fan of Lug Life, and long ago while looking for a new carry-on bag I stumbled upon this perfect diaper bag.  It is so practical and functional with all of the different pockets and compartments, and great easy-to-clean fabric.  I also love that it isn’t too feminine, so The Husband won’t think twice about carrying it around.  You can get great deals on Amazon for all of the Lug Life products.

sshhh, don't tell!

2:17:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

I HATE keeping secrets.  I do really well keeping other people’s secrets, but when it comes to my own I can never keep my mouth shut.

For obvious reasons I wanted to wait a while before we told anyone, but I knew this was not realistic.  We have the opportunity to take a long weekend trip to NC at the beginning of June (I’ll be 7 weeks!), so we’re waiting until then to tell our parents and families in person.  Of course we planned to wait on telling anyone else until after our families knew, but that didn’t happen.

I’ve only confided in my closest friend at work (I had to tell someone), but Nick has told 5-6 coworkers, at least 1 Army buddy, his dentist… the man can’t keep his mouth shut!  I love it.  

The list of those in-the-know will likely grow this weekend, as I just made last minute plans with two of my closest TN friends for a cookout tomorrow.  There’s no way I could stand to be around them more than a few minutes without blabbing, but even if I could it would be pointless.  The minute they notice I quit smoking and am refusing beers on a beautiful Spring afternoon?  It would be over. 

4wks+6days

12:14:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

I found out I was pregnant on Monday, at exactly 4 weeks.  I’m now 4wks and 6 days, and I can’t say a whole lot has changed.

• I haven’t had any morning sickness yet.  I know it’s still early, but due to my weak stomach and bad history, I was sure I would be one of those women that suffers from nausea every day for 9 months.  I’m still expecting it any day now.


• I can’t get enough water.  I am constantly thirsty, but the only thing I really want is cold, pure water (very strange for me).  


• I’m constantly in the bathroom.  Mostly peeing, but I also spend a lot of time running back and forth to make sure I’m not bleeding.  Which brings me to…


• Cramps.  Serious, awful cramps.  They come and go, but when they come they usually last for hours.  Scares the hell out of me.  


• I’m constantly eating.  I eat, sit, and then I’m ready to eat again about 20 minutes later.  Luckily I’m craving healthy choices, so hopefully that will keep me from gaining 15 pounds before I’m even showing.  


• My heat tolerance seems lower.  I’m still running, but I’m much more intolerable to the hot afternoon heat.  This is probably related to my increased thirst and need for hydration.  I’m taking it easy to be sure I don’t get heat exhaustion, but I’m really hoping to run throughout my entire pregnancy.

Tomorrow is 5 weeks!  My 1st prenatal appointment isn’t until I’m 8+ weeks, so I’m counting on this blog to keep me sane until then :)

A little about our TTC journey...

12:02:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

Conceiving our little miracle baby was no easy task.  We spent over a year trying without success, until finally beginning fertility testing last summer/fall.  The news wasn’t good.  We learned that I didn’t ovulate regularly, if at all, and Nick’s little swimmers had a few problems of their own.  In short we were told it was “highly unlikely” that we would ever conceive naturally without medical intervention.  When you’ve been trying to conceive for what seems like an eternity, “highly unlikely” sounds just like “impossible”.  We were crushed.  

After a lot of thought and discussion (and crying on my part), we decided we would wait before our first IUI attempt.  It was just so overwhelming, and I knew I couldn’t emotionally handle it at the time.  Nick agreed, and we put our dreams on hold.  We began discussing adoption more seriously, and looking at all of the options for our future.

Sometime around the beginning of this year, I began to accept our fate.  It was truly a breakthrough.  It took months and months of depression and crying, but I made it.  I decided that rather than stressing over our fertility and starting a family, we should be cherishing our first few years of marriage as a free, young couple without any serious responsibilities.  For so long I felt like time was running out, but after this revelation I realized that 27/28 yrs old is YOUNG.  Really young.  We had plenty of time to do everything we wanted, and for now we would explore ourselves, our world, and our lives.  I felt relieved.  I felt free.

It had been so long since I had put a lot of thought into fertility, my period, or anything else related to baby-making.  I still can’t figure out what made me pee on that stick half-asleep the day my period was due (I wasn’t even late!).  Female intuition?  Who knows.  But you can imagine my absolute complete shock when I saw two beautiful pink lines appear almost immediately.  

My initial reaction wasn’t even excitement.  I didn’t know what to think.  I had finally accepted our fate and planned the next few years without babies.  I was only a few weeks away from my application being reviewed by the Army Reserve Nurse Corps board!  (this was part of my “live in the moment as a young free spirit” coping strategy).  This changed everything.  I’m a type-A hardcore OCD planner, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about having all of my plans turned upside down.

Of course that feeling didn’t last long (less than 24 hrs?!), and now I am full of nothing but excitement and anticipation for the weeks and months to come.  I haven’t felt this happy about anything in a long time… I wasn’t even sure I could be this happy anymore.  Infertility had sucked the joy and happiness out of my life for so long, and now this little poppyseed has already provided enough for a lifetime.   And so the real journey begins…

I'm pregnant!

11:44:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments

After 2 1/2 years of trying, I’m happy to announce that Nick and I are expecting!  It’s been a long, tough journey, but we couldn’t be happier at our unexpected surprise.  

I’m starting this blog as a way to shout my excitement and anticipation, as we have yet to share our news with anyone other than a few close friends (we’re taking a long weekend trip to NC in a few weeks to announce to our families).  I look forward to sharing our journey with you!

9:24:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments