The Summer Before I Became A Mommy

I go back to school tomorrow to begin my 3rd year in the Psy.D. program.  This summer has been wonderful: I had my 10 year high school reunion, I went on a couple of fun trips, spent a lot of time with family and friends, and Chris and I found out that we were having a baby boy!  Next summer, my life is going to be completely different. 

Here are some of the ways in which I think having a baby will change my life:

• less sleep at night, no more naps during during the day
• Chris and I eating out less and taking turns to eat
• "table for 2 and a high chair"
• when will I take my showers???
• less trips to the dog park
• a fuller refrigerator and pantry
• toys everywhere
• spending a lot of money on baby needs
• being the most tired yet happiest couple on earth

Things I hope will continue:

• date nights with my husband
• cuddling and spending quality time with Chris when baby is asleep
• being nice and considerate to each other
• school and practicum (I am not planning to take prolonged time off)
• going out with my girlfriends occasionally
• Chris spending time with the guys
• spending time with all our friends, the 3 of us together
• going on trips

After January, I will refer to this list and compare.  I am looking forward to the journey into parenthood that will be uniquely ours because I'm sure that everybody's experience is different and yes, I'd prefer to find out on our own because, once again, everyone's experience is different.  For me, this pregnancy has been a positive experience.  In a few months, Chris and I will become parents.  We know it's going to be tough but together we will make it through, just like we have everything else.  So, negative comments and unsolicited advice, you may come visit but sorry there is no room for you in our happy home!

It's a BOY!!!

Baby Harrison @ 20 weeks

(My memory of our ultrasound appointment on August 26, 2010)
Dr. Devore: I can tell you what it is...would you like to know?
Me and Chris: Yes!
Dr. Devore: What do you think it is?
Me: Well, last time we were here, at 13 weeks, you had said that there was a 90% chance that it was a boy, so...a boy?
Dr. Devore: Yup, it is.
Me: (shrieking and clapping) Yay!!! How sure is it?
Dr. Devore: Well, there's the rocket right there...so pretty sure cause a girl wouldn't have a rocket!
Chris: We should call him "Rocket Boy!" (Chris remembers the doctor being the one to suggest we call the baby "Rocket Boy."  Either way, there's no denying that little rocket of his!)

After the doctor and the nurse left, we excitedly took some pictures in the room :)

That up there is what's in here!

Sweet baby boy!

We're gonna have a boy!

The money shot! Daddy wanted to take a picture of his son's rocket.
When the boy misbehaves one day, we'll have this photo to blackmail him!

And to celebrate our baby boy...

We can't wait to meet you, son!

Home Sweet Home

After a week and a half of being on vacation, Chris and I are home from our Texas and Palm Desert summer trips.  I won't focus so much on the trips here but I will say that I had a great time with the Harrisons.  I am so blessed to have in-laws that I am crazy about.  I wish that I could go on vacations with my own family as well because some of the best memories are made when you and your loved ones are all under the same roof, away from the hustle and bustle of daily life, for a moment in time.  The best part of being on vacation is waking up in the morning wondering what day it is, then realizing- who cares, we're on vacation!  This break is definitely much needed and is replenishing my energy for next school year.    

In addition to Chris' parents and my two sister-in-laws and their families, all of our friends from Chris' side were in Palm Desert as well, most of them with kids.  Of course, everyone kept saying how excited they are to have more babies in the group come next year.  Right now I can only imagine how different my life will be by next summer!  It's almost hard to believe that our baby will be about 7 months old by then.  But with each passing day I become more and more excited for the transformation that will take hold of my life...me a mommy and Chris a daddy!  I also think it's because I am actually starting to show, now that I am 18 weeks pregnant (can't believe I'm almost halfway to mommyhood!).  It is beginning to feel more real, although I still have not clearly felt the baby move in my belly.  My belly is becoming rounder and my pants are starting to get tighter, though thankfully I can still fit into them.  The skin around my stomach is starting to get a little tight and itchy, and whereas milk was my best friend in the 1st trimester, cocoa butter seems to be my ally in this 2nd trimester.  So far, this pregnancy has been wonderful.  I feel good, I'm eating healthy and exercising, and I have not gained too much weight.  So far, so good, with only 22 weeks to go...

This week, the baby is about 5 1/2 inches long and about 5 ounces, the size of a large mango!  In 2 weeks we will find out the sex of our little one.  I am waiting patiently until then to register for baby stuff and decorate the nursery.  Come January, our home sweet home will house a family of three!      

The First Trimester

Rule #2:  Do not give a pregnant woman advice unless she asks for it, and refrain from automatically touching a pregnant woman's belly!

Weeks 5-8

• I felt very tired and took naps whenever I had the chance.  I could not stay up past 10 pm.  But I made it through finals week and a very difficult semester of grad school!
• No morning sickness!

Weeks 9-12

• Still felt very tired and napped a lot.
• Eating became a challenge.  I had no appetite and nothing tasted good.  I had to make myself eat most of the time.  Milk was my best friend (all kinds of milk: chocolate soymilk, strawberry milk).
• Felt queasy a few times but still no morning sickness and no vomiting.

6 weeks

7 weeks

8 weeks

9 weeks

10 weeks

11 weeks

12 weeks

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