The First Trimester.

Gary and I are thrilled to be welcoming a new addition to our family this January.  We came home from our European vacation wondering if we might have a "bun in the oven".  On Easter Sunday, 4 days before my missed period, I couldn't take the suspense anymore, so we went and bought a First Response Pregnancy Test (the kind that gives you two pink lines if you're pregnant).  We came home and I immediately took the test.  We waited, and a few minutes later we had one dark pink line, and one very faint, almost not even there pink line.  My instant reaction was that it was a positive.  I've taken similar tests before when I've had a late period, and never seen a faint second line.  Gary however, wanted to protect us both in case it was a fluke, and refused to believe it was a positive result.  We went to bed confused, and I didn't sleep much that night.

The next day I was off work.  My mind was going crazy wondering if I had a little one growing inside me. When I couldn't take it anymore, I ran to Walgreens and splurged on a digital test (no confusion with a "pregnant" or "not pregnant" result).  I came home and immediately took the test.  It seemed like the little hourglass remained on the screen for hours, but finally a word appeared that would change our life forever.  Gary was at work, so I text him this picture:

He called me as soon as he saw the picture, thrilled to be an expectant father.  But now came the hard part, the wait.  It would be 4 weeks before I could get in to see the doctor and confirm that everything was going well with our little "jellybean".

We decided not to tell anyone our news until we had been to the doctor.  This was one of the hardest things I've ever done.  While we anxiously awaited, we took 3 more pregnancy tests to ease our minds, all of which were positive.  Every time I saw that second pink line appear, I felt excited all over again.

On May 23rd we went for our first appointment with Dr. Chang.  I gave blood for blood work, a urine sample, weighed in, had my blood pressure taken, answered a series of questions, and had a pap smear.  Finally after all that was over he said "let's take a look at your baby."  I was excited and nervous at the same time.  He turned on the machine, squirted the goo on my belly, and put the device on my stomach.  Instantly, a large black circle appeared with a small white oval in it.  He informed me that the little oval was our baby.  He zoomed in and measured it from crown to rump.  It showed to be 7 weeks and 4 days in age, which was exactly what we had estimated.  He zoomed in closer and we could see a tiny flicker.  That flicker, he said, is the baby's heart beating.  I couldn't believe it.  It was all so tiny, yet it already had a heart that was hard at work, so amazing.

As, you can imagine, we left the doctor's office thrilled to know our jellybean was alive and well.  That evening we finally told our parents and siblings the good news.  Gary's parents, sister, and brother-in-law are in the DFW area, so we told them via face time, by holding up the ultrasound.  They were confused at first, but once they realized what we were telling them, they were screaming with excitement.  My parents, brother, and sister all watched the video you saw on here, thinking we were just showing them the footage from our trip.  When it got to the end, my mom cried, dad fist bumped Gary, and my siblings were in shock.  It felt so good to finally share our excitement with our families.  Over the next few weeks we shared the good news with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, and a few close friends.  Every time we shared our news with someone new we were met with excitement, love and encouragement.

On June 13th we went back to see Dr. Chang for our second appointment.  This time our "little bit" was 10 weeks and 4 days.  This appointment was much shorter.  Dr. Chang informed us that all the tests from our last appointment came back good.  My blood type is O negative, which apparently is a little more rare, so Gary needs to find out his blood type in the next few weeks, because if it is a positive type (which it likely is), the baby could be a positive blood type, so I'll need to get shot at 27 weeks to protect me in case our blood was to cross during labor and delivery.  

We didn't get to see our jellybean again, but we did get to hear its heart beat.  It was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard, beating away at 160 bpm.

The following morning I decided to share the good news with my co-workers at the salon with these petit fours:

They were all in shock, but also very excited.  Kate has been trying to help me come up with names everyday while we work.  That evening we went public posting our video on Facebook and here.  We have received many sweet comments from friends, encouraging us in our journey.  We feel very blessed.

The first trimester is coming to a close this week.  It has been an exciting time for us, filled with a lot of firsts.  I have spent most of the past 3 months on the couch when I'm not at work.  They aren't kidding when they say growing a baby wears you out!  I have never been so exhausted.  I never had the morning sickness that has many hugging the toilet the first 3 months, but I did feel very nauseous if I didn't eat something every 2 or 3 hours.  The worst part for me has been the bloating and indigestion.  But all in all, I can't complain, I have a healthy baby developing inside me and that makes it worth all the symptoms pregnancy can throw at me.