First Trimester.

Thank you all SOOO much for the absolute outpouring of love and well wishes after sharing our exciting news! Shawn and I are blown away. It is so much fun to be able to share with all of you now that we know the baby is healthy. We have so many wonderful people in our life, and this baby is already so loved.

It has felt a little like lying these past 3 months, so here is everything you’ve missed!

Like all things in my life, this baby was planned. Very very planned. Like, over 2 years planned. Shawn and I got married in September 2012, and I really wanted to enjoy our newlywed life. I thought 2 years would be a good time to start trying. But then with the start of our videography business in late 2013, we decided to get thru one whole wedding season in 2014 first. I wanted to try and have the baby during off season for weddings, just so I could give myself plenty of time before having to be away from the baby for an entire day. January, February or March seemed like a good time to have our baby. It would be after the holidays, and weddings don’t really pick up until June. So we decided we would start trying in April 2015, assuming it would take a few months. And starting to try in April worked out extra perfect, because Shawn got his new job at the end of March, which meant amazing health care for Shawn, me, and the future baby. The timing could not have been better.

2 of my close girlfriends started trying to get pregnant before me, and it had taken both of them months. They would tell me just to prepare that it wouldn’t happen right away, and to just relax and not stress about it.

Well wouldn’t you know it, we got pregnant on the very first try.

I know how very, very lucky I am to be saying that. And just from that one month of trying, I cannot imagine the stress and let down of trying to get pregnant month after month with no positive results.

About a week after we started trying, I could already feel a little cramping now and then. And I was feeling extra tired and lazy. I wasn’t sure if these were real symptoms, or if maybe I was just tricking my brain into noticing things and making them feel like symptoms. I kept asking my mom if she had any of these symptoms when she was first pregnant. But I guess 29 years makes your memory a little fuzzy, and she couldn’t quite remember. But she and my sister totally thought that I was pregnant.

I decided to take a pregnancy test 4 days before my missed period. It would be a Sunday, so Shawn and I would both off of work. I could barely contain myself that whole weekend. That Saturday we had a baby shower for my one of my closest girlfriends, who was 6 months along. And while there, my other girlfriend told us that she was pregnant too! 9 weeks along! My girlfriends knew that Shawn and I were trying, and I told them I was going to take a test tomorrow. It was nice to be distracted that day.

The night before I could barely fall asleep. I just couldn’t wait to wake up and take the test.

My eyes popped open at 5:30am. It felt like Christmas morning when you’re a kid. I was just so excited. I gently woke Shawn up. I told him “It’s morning!” I told him to get dressed and brush his teeth, because I knew that would wake him up. I didn’t want him groggy or half asleep when I took the test. But he was so excited too, he woke up really quick.

I took the test, and set it face down on the table in the living room (ew!). Then we sat on the couch and had to wait the agonizing 3 minutes to check the results. We were both so nervous and excited. I can’t even remember what we talked about. Could I really be pregnant?

I wanted Shawn to read the results and tell me. I knew if it was a no it would be much easier to hear from him, and if it was a yes, it would be a million times better to hear it from him.

He picked up the test, stared at it, and immediately started flipping it over because it was upside down. I told him he’s looking for 2 lines. 2 lines means pregnant.

He gasped, looked up at me, and said, “You are! You’re pregnant!”

I immediately start crying. I had to look at the test myself. He was right, 2 very strong pink lines. We hugged, we kissed, we cried. I kept repeating over and over “I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it! I’m so happy!”

By this time it is almost 6am. The sun is coming up, and our whole world is forever changed. We had so much adrenaline, we didn’t know what to do with ourselves. I asked him if he wanted to go on a walk in the hills. He did, so we threw on our shoes and we were out the door. We went on a nice long walk, and talked and talked. I still couldn’t believe we had gotten pregnant so fast. I told Shawn thru tears, “It’s because the baby was so excited to meet us. It’s been waiting to join our family!”

After our walk, I had to tell my parents, sister and her husband. HAD to! It was maybe 7am. I started calling my sister over and over and over. No answer. So then I start calling her husband Ken over and over and over. No answer. They finally call me back. I ask them if they want to go out to breakfast? Nicole says yes, they slept at mom and dads last night, so go meet them there. Perfect! We head over, pregnancy test and all, to go tell them the good news. Everyone was hanging out in the kitchen. I walk in and couldn’t wait another minute. “Shawn and I have some really good news! We’re having a baby!”

Everyone starts screaming, hugging, crying. It was the best reaction ever. I will never forget it. We then all went to breakfast together, and they kept joking that I needed to eat my whole plate because I was eating for 2 now.

Shawn and headed home, very worn out from our emotional day, and it was only 10am! All I wanted to do was just lay on the couch and watch TV together. But first I had to text my 4 closest girlfriends the good news. I texted them all a picture the 5 of us had taken together at the baby shower the day before and said, “Was so great seeing all of you yesterday! I love this picture we took! Especially since there are 8 people in it…”

They were all so excited! They couldn’t believe it either! And so fun that one of my girlfriends is 5 months ahead of me, and my other girlfriend is just 5 weeks ahead of me. It’s been a lifesaver having them to check in with and make sure everything is normal and what to expect.

Almost immediately after telling my girlfriends the good news, I started having small worries that something might happen to the baby. I am not a worrier, I refuse to worry because I hate that feeling. I always assume everything is going to be just fine. So it really caught me off guard that I was both so ecstatic and so terrified at the same time. All I wanted was a healthy baby. My mom never miscarried, and I don’t have any close friends who miscarried, but I think from reading so many blogs, I have read one too many stories of lost pregnancies. I tried to have a positive attitude and not think about it, but it was always in the back of my mind. Shawn kept reassuring me that everything would be fine, and said that this just shows that I’m going to be a great mom because if there was ever a time to start worrying, it is about the health of our baby.  (Isn’t he just the best?) This little fear made it very easy to keep the pregnancy hush hush, and we decided we wouldn’t share the news with anyone else until after 12 weeks.

I couldn’t wait to hit the 12 week mark, which was June 24, the day before Shawn’s birthday. Every week I would tell myself, just 8 more weeks. Just 7 more weeks. Just 6 more weeks. Just 5 more weeks. And with each passing week I worried a little less and a little less.

We went in for our 9 week appointment and got to see the baby for the 1st time. It was amazing! I was so happy to see a healthy, strong little heart beat. It was even moving around and waving his or hers little arms. My doctor told me that there is a less then 1% chance of miscarriage after seeing a healthy heartbeat. Finally, I could relax! But the very next day, I read this post about a woman who’s baby lost it’s heartbeat between weeks 9 and 11. No! So now I couldn’t fully relax until we went in for our 13 week appointment where we would have an ultra sound, see the baby’s heart beat, and the ultra sound would tell us if the baby was at any health risks.

We went in for our 13 week appointment last Wednesday, and the baby is healthy and strong! No risk for down syndrome, and was even measuring 1 week bigger than a 13 week baby should. So they moved my due date from January 6 to December 29, and told me I was actually over 14 weeks pregnant. It felt like I jumped ahead in the future a whole week! Shawn and I were so very happy to be having a healthy baby, and went out on a date for pizza afterward to celebrate. And it was extra special, because I was actually able to eat and enjoy the pizza!

Which brings me to…morning sickness.

I definitely had morning sickness. But it was very different from what I assumed it would be. From the movies, it looks like you’re going about your day just fine, and then all of sudden…you puke. And from the name, it seems like it’s only in the morning. It wasn’t like that for me. It was more of an all day queasy feeling. And not the sick feeling you have when you’re hung over, but more like a motion sickness feeling.

I didn’t start getting morning sickness until about week 7. So for a whole month after we found out I was feeling great! Just very tired (so very, very tired), and had extremely sore boobs. But was able to eat and cook everything just fine. And then it started out gradual. I started being grossed out by food, mostly meat. Oh meat, I just couldn’t even smell it let alone eat it. Then I started feeling nauseous. Then I started throwing up after breakfast and lunch. It was kind of bad weeks 7-9, and then only pretty bad weeks 9-12. But I’m really good at throwing up, I don’t mind it. Before I was pregnant, if I ever felt like I might have to throw up, I would just go make myself throw up immediately so it would be done with. Unlike Shawn, who will lay there complaining of feeling like he needs to throw up for about 3 hours, then go throw up. Better to get it done. So this came in really handy with morning sickness. I would feel queasy, get up, go to the bathroom, and be done with it. It really wasn’t that horrendous. I was still able to go to work (where I would try and throw up as quietly as I could in the 1 bathroom the whole office shares), and film weddings (threw up at every one during the first trimester). But after I threw up, I felt fine and was able to go about my day.

I was also extremely tired and extremely lazy. I barely cooked dinner for a whole month, which meant Shawn got a lot of take out or did a lot of grilling for himself. And I barely cleaned or did laundry for a whole month. I would come home, lay on the couch, eat toast or cereal or fruit, the go to be at 7:30.

I must take a moment to write about how absolutely amazing Shawn is to me. The whole time I was feeling sick, he did ALL the cleaning, all the laundry, cooked for himself, did all the gardening, took care of the chickens, he did it all. And he never complained once. He was constantly checking on me. He would call me multiple times throughout the day, just to see how I was feeling and to let me know he was thinking about me. When I got home, he would ask me “Can I get you anything?” <- Best question a husband can ask. If he ever saw my water glass was almost empty, he would walk over and fill it up. He is constantly telling me how beautiful I look, and makes me feel so pretty, even though I know for a fact I have definitely looked better.

At weddings he was extra worried about me. He would force me to take a break and go sit down to drink water and eat a granola bar. Usually when I come home he greets me with “Hi baby!” But he pronounces it bay-BEEEE, 2 very distinct syllables. But now he greets me “Hi baby! Hi momma!” Then he gives me a kiss, and my belly a kiss. I could cry when I think about how wonderful he is. I know he is going to be the best dad and co-parent to our little baby. I really won the lottery when he asked me to be his girlfriend when I was just 16 years old.

So now, here we are! I am 15 weeks pregnant, and I am finally feeling like myself again. I can eat anything, I have my energy back, we can finally share with everyone that we’re pregnant, and I have the tiniest little bump coming in. Shawn and I are just so darn happy. What a fun time in our life.

What other questions did I miss?

Oh, yes, we will be finding out the gender! We both think it’s a boy, but then sometimes I think maybe it’s a girl. I keep going back and forth. But I’m trying to not picture it too strongly as either boy or girl, and trying to wait until we find out. We’ll find out at our 20 week appointment the second week of August. I thought about waiting until the baby is born to find out, but there’s no way we can wait that long! Even now, I’m not sure how we’re going to wait another 5 weeks.

No, we don’t have a name yet. We have a long list of possible names, but are going to wait until we see the baby before choosing one.

Welp, this has turned in to over 3000 words about being pregnant! I’ll be doing little check in’s during Five Things for Fridays, and will probably check in at the end of the second and third trimester.

And on Saturday I’ll be sharing a post with my First Trimester Must Haves.

Thank you for sharing in our joy! Hugs to you all friends!