Thank you all so very much for the kind comments here on the blog and via Twitter! Sometimes I wonder if anyone still reads this thing so it’s nice to know a few of you still do. Thanks for sticking with me!
As I said yesterday, I have a ton of posts just sitting in my drafts folder, waiting until the day I could openly talk about the biggest thing going on in my life right now. But before I take you back in my little time machine, I figured I’d get most of the big questions out of the way by doing a little Q&A session. I actually wrote this when I was about 11.5 weeks (Nov. 14 to be exact), and now I’m right at 14 weeks. I’ve tried to include updates where applicable. Thanks to Kristal at Mama At Home Blog for the list of questions!:
When did you find out?
Thursday, Sept. 22. About 15 minutes before I had to leave the house and hop a plane to NYC for work conference. I was already SURE that I wasn’t pregnant, because I had taken a couple of those cheapy tests that came with my ovulation strips a couple of days before and they had come out negative, but for some reason that morning I wanted to make absolutely sure so I used one of my “good” tests (First Response) and within seconds saw two very strong, very solid, pink lines. I looked up at myself in the mirror and the biggest, cheesiest grin crossed my face. I’m PREGNANT!! Then I threw my pee stick in my bag and hoped TSA wouldn’t go through my stuff.
How did you tell the hubby?
Ryan’s birthday is Sept. 26 so we had already planned for him to join me in NYC after the conference and spend a couple of extra days celebrating his b-day in the Big Apple. I took the test Thursday morning and he wasn’t set to arrive until REALLY late Friday night/Saturday morning. It was pure torture talking to him on the phone Thursday night and not being able to say anything. Every thought I had those first 24 hours were about the baby.
When I had a few moments of downtime in NYC, I tried to think of fun ways I could break the news to him. I knew he’d be excited, but I had always imagined doing something fun. I just didn’t think I’d be doing it THEN. So I walked a few blocks toward Rockefellar Center. I looked for cute onesies in some of the tourist gift shops along the way but couldn’t find anything announcement-worthy. Then I hit the NBC store and just as I was about to give up there too and walk out, I saw a cute coffee mug that said “Dad” on it. I bought it and on the way back to my hotel, stopped by Duane Reade to buy yet another pregnancy test, just to make sure in case Ryan wanted an in-person testing session. I looked at the greeting cards section and realized that card makers don’t really make cards for “Congrats! You’re going to be a dad!” so I found a generic congrats card and wrote my own message in it. I also bought him a birthday card while I was there.
Sometime after 1:30 a.m, his flight arrived and he was hopped up on caffeine, trying to stay awake after a long day of working then flying. I was already exhausted and starting to feel like poo so once he got to the room, I wasted no time in shoving his present in his hands and making him open it. I told him it was an early birthday present and at first, he wanted to wait. But I insisted. When he opened the mug, he looked confused for a moment before he understood the message. Once he realized that yes, I’m pregnant, not just jumping the gun with gifts, he immediately hugged me hard and was probably even more excited than I expected. There were lots of kisses and hugs and a shouting of “My boys can swim!”
Was it planned?
Yes. I went off of birth control back in May so we knew it would be a couple of months – at least – for the hormone to exit my system. I tried tracking my temperature but couldn’t stick with it so that didn’t work. My cycles were also about 35 days long so the regular counting method wasn’t going to work either. In July, I bought these ovulation strips from Amazon for $9 and started tracking so I knew when I was ovulating. Looks like it worked!
When did you tell your family and friends?
We told our parents the weekend after we found out since all six of us were together at once for the Louisville vs Marshall football game. That NEVER happens where we’re all in the same place so we took it as a sign that it was the perfect opportunity. I told one co-worker that staffed the event in NYC with me, just because I was dying to tell SOMEONE and she was right there, and a mom to a little girl. I figured she’d be a good confidant and I was right! After that, we waited for a few more weeks to tell anyone. We spilled the beans to close friends near the end of October, I told my grandparents the first weekend in Nov., and I told my bosses at work the second week of November.
Updated to add: On Nov. 30, I finally “announced” the pregnancy at work, as I had asked my bosses to keep it a secret for a little while longer.
What were their reactions?
Well my mom burst into tears (of joy!) and my in-laws were just super excited for us. Friends were also excited, as were my grandparents and the couple of work people that I told. But other than our parents and a couple of close friends, not many people that know, especially at work, have asked me much about it. It’s pretty much been business as usual.
Updated to add: After I let the entire office know, people have been really wonderful at congratulating me and being super excited for me. A little unexpected but really very nice.
Will you find out the sex?
Absolutely. I can’t wait to know if we’re having a little boy or a little girl.
What sex would you rather?
Ryan wants a boy, no doubt about that, but I’ll be happy with either. We plan to have more than one so I’d like to have one of each, but it doesn’t matter to me which is first.
Do you have names picked out?
For a boy, yes. We’ve had that one picked out for awhile. For a girl, not even close. Not sure if we’ll be sharing the names on the blog beforehand, but we’ll probably tell family and close friends as the date nears.
How are you feeling?
Could be worse. Starting around week 7 I had horrible nausea (fortunately without vomiting) paired with indigestion, heartburn and constipation. I couldn’t eat any veggies or fruits without gagging and anything with sauce or that was acidic at all (think tomato sauce) gave me crazy bad heartburn. But the worst was probably the constipation which was constant until these last few days (I’m about 11 1/2 weeks). I had a good week or so of being able to eat most foods again, but now I’m battling more gas and indigestion and fatigue. I’m REALLY tired these last couple of days. And belching ALL THE TIME. It’s annoying. And gross.
Updated to add: I’m 14 weeks now and still battling food aversions and occasional indigestion. Definitely feeling MUCH better though.
Due Date?
May 30, 2012. So there’s a chance the baby could be born on our anniversary (May 22), my birthday (May 27), or my mom’s birthday (June 3).
Which means you’re how far along?
11 1/2 weeks as of this writing. Probably closer to 13 as of posting.
Updated to add: Actually, I’m 14 weeks now. ;)
Cravings?
Early on, I could only seem to stomach carbs and cheese. I think my absolute favorite thing to eat if I’m feeling sick-ish is crackers with cream cheese. Followed by cheese ravioli minus the sauce. Or maybe an asiago cheese bagel. Are you sensing a theme yet? Cheese and carbs.
Updated: Not so much craving cheese anymore. The latest craving? BBQ chips. Yum.
Aversions?
I’m still not really able to eat salads as the dressing gives me indigestion. And my beloved spicy foods are all out the window right now. I normally like broccoli but last week I had to douse it with cream sauce and still could barely stomach the stuff. It’s so hard to eat healthy when nothing healthy sounds good.
How are you decorating the nursery?
I have no idea. I’ve been looking at nurseries online for design inspiration but I haven’t really seen anything that’s been a “Yes! That’s it!” sort of thing. I think I want something that’s gender neutral so we can reuse most of our stuff for future kiddos. Right now we’re toying with an “around the world” theme but that’s about it.
I think that’s it so far but if you have questions, let me know in the comments and I’ll answer them! Otherwise, get ready to be bombarded by pregnancy-related posts for awhile until I’m all caught up.
So cool. I’m very excited for you guys.
Thank you!!
Congratulations! So that’s why you glowed at the conference. And here I thought that was your normal state. :)
I’m so happy for you – and so glad it’s you and not me going through the food/nausea/tiredness, etc. LOL
I don’t know about “glowed” but I was certainly in a strange state of exhaustion + elation.
So fun hanging out with you and your hubby!
How sweet! What a wonderful story. I remember my first. I also had to give up Mexican foods, was soooo tired and started finally going to bed at a more decent hour (crazy for this night owl), and quickly gained a HUGE desire to eat anything with cream, chocolate, milk, etc. I gained 60lbs and started out at 118!!! Trust me, you do not have to eat for two. An extra couple of snacks (banana and a Belly Bar) will give you all the extra calories you need.
A good friend told me to start buying diapers every trip to the grocery store. I did this and we had enough diapers for almost a YEAR after baby was born – which was awesome for our budget! Also, keep your baby items for at least 10 years. You never know if you’ll need them again. I gave mine all away, and we ended up having a 14 yo, 12 yo and now a 2 yo and 10 month old! 23 months apart and a ten year gap… then 23 months apart again! I had to buy all my maternity and baby items again because I was SURE I didn’t need them.
Anyway, CONGRATS!!!
Wow, that’s a big age span in babies! But how fun to have such a big family and go through the baby stages all over again.
Congratulations again! Can’t wait to read all the pregnancy posts!
Thanks! I loved reading yours so hopefully mine bring back a few good memories. :)
congratulations! I just got caught up on my reader! So excited for you!
Thanks Kari! Hope all my baby posts don’t drive you away!
Yaaayyy! I’ll be playing catch-up during baby feedings, so expect a few random comments on these posts soon! So excited for you and glad you’re mostly feeling good. Major bummer about the spicy food, though!
My husband’s birthday is May 30 — good day for a due date!