28 and pregnant!

The reunion planners- Sabrina, Jill, Mike, and me

With my good friend Katie

Sabrina, me, Jill

 

My 10 year high school reunion was this last Saturday.  What a great night!  Everyone who was there enjoyed themselves and let us, the organizers, know how much they appreciated us putting the event together.  The best part for me was sharing with everyone the news that I am pregnant and knowing that one day, I can tell my baby that he (or she) was my date to my 10 year reunion! 

I love people's sheer joy and excitement (and disbelief at my current lack of an obvious baby bump) when I tell them that I am pregnant!  Their genuine reactions are priceless, and THAT is why I refuse to announce my pregnancy on facebook!  Sure people will find out here and there, but I think the people that I actually care to share with will personally hear it from me and my hubby (even if some of them had to find out via e-mail or text message due to geographical distance).

Some of my favorite reactions:

• My husband's (see my blog "The Beginning")
• My BFF Megan - I sent her a picture message of my positive pregnancy test and she shrieked so much that her 2 1/2 year old daughter told her to stop screaming.
• My siblings, Oliver, Joe, Rob, Suzie, and Steven - they were all so excited, especially Steven and Joe.  Oliver and Joe said that we have had a ton of babies in our extended family, but it's different when it's their own sister's.
• My Psy.D. cohort - I asked if anyone was going to be around next January because we have that time off from school.  Then I asked them if they could help me celebrate the birth of my first child.  They were so surprised!  They clapped and gave me hugs as they expressed their excitement. 
• My mom-in-law and dad-in-law - we took them to lunch on Father's Day.  Inserted in Dad's card was the first ultrasound pic of the baby at 8 weeks.  He thought it was Wendy's that we printed from the internet.  She thought we were kidding.  Why wouldn't she when Chris has joked with her at every family gathering that we were pregnant?!  Prime example, at Christmas one year: "Everyone, we have an announcement...we made some really good Chex Mix and it's in the kitchen!"  I think he even put it on her birthday card one time - before we were married!  Oh my funny husband.
• My sweet, softspoken cousin Lauren - "OHMYGOSH!!! If we weren't in public right now I would be screaming really loud!"  We told her over cheeseburgers and fries at T-Burgers.
• ...and of course, my Mom and Pops - they are SO excited for their first grandchild to arrive.  My mom is already making time for the baby in her schedule and I heard my pops woke up at 4 am one morning and said to my mom, "Honey, we have to go look for a crib."

In honor of my 10 year reunion, I'd like to close with my Senior quote:  "Cast your heart before you.  Then run after it."  I have definitely done that.  I thank and praise God for blessing me with academic success, a happy marriage and a baby on the way 10 years after my high school graduation.

The Beginning

Rule #1:  Your family planning is nobody else's business!

April 2010
I hated the idea of planning my pregnancy.  The idea of marking the calendar, using an ovulation kit, and planning the due date was anticlimactic and unromantic to me.  Wasn't it just supposed to happen out of love?  But April was kind of the get-pregnant-or-get-checked-out month for us.  So I did what most women trying to get pregnant did: I took my temperature in the morning and kept track of my ovulation date.  Some women say that they "just knew" they were pregnant before they even took the pregnancy test.  I guess it's true.  Of course there were a couple of physical signs for me, but I had a feeling that this time we did everything just right...

Friday, May 7, 2010
I was hoping all day that my period would not come...and it didn't!

Saturday, May 8, 2010
Still no period!  I have 2 big papers due on Tuesday so I tell Chris that I am going to Starbucks to get coffee so I can pull an all-nighter.  I actually go to the store to buy a pregnancy test so that I can take it first thing in the morning.

Sunday, May 9, 2010 - Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to me!!!

Chris is at his family's Mother's Day gathering and I stay home to finish my papers.  I think I'm going to surprise him with this big news on Father's Day this year!  He comes home that night and tells me that my sister-in-law Wendy is pregnant with her second child, who is due in December!  Wow!  (If only he knew who else was pregnant!)  I decide it's not the right time to tell him...

The next day I call my doctor's office and tell them I just found out I'm pregnant.  They schedule an appointment for me the next day.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - How I Told My Hubby/Daddy-to-Be

I tell Chris that I have an appointment with my gynecologist for my annual exam and to get some pregnancy planning advice.  The OB nurse sees me, confirms my pregnancy, and gives me an estimated due date.  I am exactly 5 weeks pregnant!  She takes two pregnancy tests.  The lines are dark.  She tells me the due date is around January 13, 2011 (at another appointment, Dr. Brady tells us it is actually 1/11/11).  I think to myself, "Well this sure is my child, already a perfectionist from the start!"  Perfect statement of his/her existence (very dark lines on all the pregnancy tests), perfect due date (I am off from school in January!)

I come home from class that night and tell Chris that we need to talk.  He is worried that something is wrong.  I tell him that everything is OK and hand him the reading materials I got from the doctor's.  He pays no attention to the picture of a baby on the Similac plastic bag that contains my pregnancy goodies.  He pulls out a pregnancy journal and thinks it's for planning...a sample of prenatal pills...a sample anti-nausea lollipop...finally, a list of medications to avoid when you're pregnant....

It hits him.  "You're not...no...are you???"  I smile and nod.  He hugs me and tells me he is so happy and that he is going to cry.  I hand him a card that reads:

 the first steps a baby takes

 are into your heart.

congratulations 

We're gonna have a baby!!!

  

Baby Harrison in 4D

Today we had our appointment with the fetal ultrasound specialist to screen for Down Syndrome and other abnormalitites.  It is unbelievable what technology can do nowadays- we got to see Baby Harrison in 4D!  It was amazing to see the little person inside me...we saw the rapid heartbeat, the spine, the movement of the little arms and legs.  We even received a picture of our baby and a DVD of the entire ultrasound.  The doctor said everything looked good.  In 7 weeks we will go back for another ultrasound and find out the sex of our little one!

Baby Harrison at 13 weeks

There is No "Me" in Mommy

July 4, 2010

 Today marks the last day of my 1st trimester (12 weeks).  Yesterday we celebrated 4th of July with our good friends down in Mayflower Village.  As Chris and I watched our friends' kids run around in Brent and Kim's backyard, we couldn't help but get excited over the fact that 1 year from now we will have a 6 month old!  As much as I am looking forward to being a mommy, I couldn't help but think that as America celebrated its freedom yesterday, I may have just celebrated my last 4th of July as a "free" woman because after January 2011 my freedom will most definitely be limited.  Even now I am learning that all the choices I make no longer involve just me: the foods I eat, the activities I engage in, even the clothes I am eventually going to wear.  Let me further illustrate my point.

This morning I met with my supervisor for next year's practicum (part-time internship) at Aurora Behavioral Health - Charter Oak Hospital to discuss how my pregnancy will affect my work.  Thankfully, he is very easygoing and accommodating.  He is willing to give me the time off that I need, work around my schedule, and put me in the unit with the less "risky" patients.  A part of me felt relieved but the selfish part of me felt disappointed that I will miss out on working with the more psychotic patients.  My point?  It is not just about me anymore.  I have to think about my baby's safety and health.

After my meeting, I went to Sport Chalet to buy a one-piece bathing suit that I can work out/swim in.  I tried one on that fit well...for now, but who knows how big my belly will be in a few months?  I walked out of the store with nothing but a pair of goggles.  The point?  It is not just about me anymore.  When it comes to clothing, I have to think of comfort and make room for the growing baby inside me.

While pregnancy and motherhood involve giving up some freedom and certain rights (i.e., the right to sleep as long as I want), I cannot deny that it is one of the most amazing and selfless experiences that a woman can have.  The fact that I have a little person growing inside my body, with a little heartbeat, is miraculous in and of itself!

To Blog or Not To Blog?

That is the question.  I guess we know the answer.  I have decided to blog mainly to keep my loved ones updated on my and Chris' exciting journey to parenthood!  P.S. I am NOT a fan of sharing every detail of my life on facebook.  I'd like to think that in this social-networking-crazed world, I still have control over who I share personal information with.  With that said, please join me in this journey to motherhood and beyond!