The One Where We Find Out

Our family is growing by 2 feet <3

I've decided to attempt to keep up a consistent blog (again) now that we have some exciting news and lots of upcoming changes to share.  If you've landed here at my little blog, then you probably know our big news - George and I are expecting our first child, due to arrive January 20th!

The Beginning:

George and decided to start "trying" to start our little family just after we returned from our belated honeymoon in February.  We expected that it would probably take several months to be successful, and that it was likely we wouldn't conceive until summer.  That would have been our "perfect timing" for a late-spring baby; my sick days at work would cover a maternity leave all the way through the remainder of the school year (plus my regular summer off) and I would have a nice, long period of time at home with our baby before I had to return to work.  As you can tell, our plan didn't quite work out as anticipated!  As I so often forget (and need constant reminders of), God's timing is so much more perfect than our own.  Less than 2 months after we began actively trying, I found out I was pregnant!

How We Found Out:

The week of May 6th, I was feeling tired and a little under the weather.  I complained to George that I was feeling "flu-ish" and hoped that I wasn't coming down with something.  Friday, May 10th, I ran into the Family Dollar store after school to pick up some stickers for my speech students.  While perusing the aisles, I happened to spot some grape bubble gum (my favorite!) which is next to impossible to find most of the time.  I immediately grabbed it to throw in my basket when suddenly, just the thought of putting grape bubble gum into my mouth made me want to hurl.  The smell of it had me gagging all over the place.  This unusual reaction, paired with my flu-like symptoms all week,  led me to nervously pick up a store-brand pregnancy test before checking out (I didn't think I would be far enough along for the test to read positive - even if I was pregnant, so I didn't want to waste my money on the expensive brands!).  I got home and immediately peed on the stick, and after 3 minutes thought I might see a faint second line!  Well, a faint line was definitely not enough to either confirm or rule out pregnancy (at least for me), so I did what any sane woman would do - started chugging water and ran back out to Rite Aid to purchase a digital test.  I repeated the whole pee-on-a-stick thing, and within 30 seconds the word "pregnant" popped up on the screen!

As it turns out, I was only about 3.5 weeks pregnant when I took this test, so it's truly amazing that I got a positive result so quickly!

George was generously giving blood at our local blood drive when I took the pregnancy test - so now I had to tell him!  I had pinned all these cute ways to break the news to your husband on the infamous Pinterest, but when it came right down to it, I just didn't have the patience to plan anything creative!  I sent George a text saying "Hurry up and come home asap; I have a surprise for you!".  This probably gave it away right there, since we were actively trying and George can obviously count days/weeks as well as I can, but I just couldn't help myself.  When George came home, I had laid the positive pregnancy test on his dresser (on top of a paper towel, obvi).  When he saw it, his response was "You're pregnant, aren't you?!"  Haha!  A bit accusatory rather than celebratory, but in his defense it was a total shock that it happened SO QUICKLY.  It took a little while for it to really sink in, but once it did, we were both so very excited!

Spreading the News:

We only told a few very close friends and immediate family members early on.  We were hesitant to tell too many people (especially since we found out so early) during those early weeks when so many things can happen.  It happened to be Mother's Day weekend when we found out, so we chose to tell our parents on Mother's Day.  We put a picture of me holding the pregnancy test in my mom's card, and she was thrilled!  We had to do a little explaining for my dad, since he didn't originally "get" what the picture was!  George's mom lives 11 hours away from us, and while we really, really wanted to tell her in person, we also felt it was important to tell her around the same time as we told my parents.  We chose to Skype her on our ipad, and broke the news "sort of" in person.  She was so happy and excited!  This will be the very first grandchild for her :)

We also told my bff, Colleen, right away because - let's face it - I tell her pretty much everything.  Her response was an enthusiastic scream followed by, "You must be the most fertile woman ever."  Classic Colleen response!

We chose to tell our friends James and Melissa very early on because we had planned a long-weekend trip to Quebec City, and I wasn't sure I would be able to keep it a secret while sharing a hotel room (what with occasional nausea, exhaustion, and sticking with "just water" for our entire trip).  They were thrilled for us, as well; and just a few weeks later we learned that they were expecting, too!  Melissa and I are due just two weeks apart, and I know it will be so fun to have someone to share this journey with!

We had our first doctor's appointment when I was 8 weeks pregnant, and our ultrasound showed the most adorable little blob with a healthy heartbeat of 167 beats per minute.  At 11 weeks, with one very positive doctor's appointment under our belts and no complications, we chose to tell my extended family at my niece and nephew's birthday party.  We told George's extended family just a couple days later when we made a trip to New York.  Everyone has been so happy for us and so supportive - we feel beyond blessed by this tiny miracle and by all the wonderful people in our lives who want to share in our joy.

Two lines!!!