When does that pregnancy glow kick in?

Well I finally made it to the second trimester and I'm definitely feeling a lot better! I finally got my appetite back (which was the biggest problem I had throughout the first trimester) and the bump is starting to show!

I knew from the beginning that I wasn't going to update this blog with weekly bump updates because 1) I didn't want to commit that much time to it each week 2) all I wanted to do up until last week was sleep 3) I certainly have not seen that pregnancy glow yet (in fact, my face has been broken out like a pre-pubescent teenager the entire time) 4) I have had stretch marks ever since I can remember so I didn't really care to answer that question repeatedly (I honestly don't know how women make it this long without any stretch marks) and 5) I definitely did not want to update my weight gain each week because I know I will get huge! Haha 

With all that being said, I have consistently taken bump photos every two weeks to show the progress, so without further adieu, weeks 4-14:

Our first trimester screening results came back perfect! The baby is in the lowest risk category for genetic disorders so that was an answered prayer! It's kind of funny because I always thought I would pray for a cute little baby (preferably girl) and from the second I got that positive pregnancy test, my prayers have been for a healthy baby. I pray for God to protect the baby and to keep it safe and to watch over it as it continues to grow. And I can honestly say that I have no gender preference at this point, as long as he/she is healthy! On that note, I never realized how annoying it is to be asked if you want a girl or boy until I got pregnant--that is all anyone ever seems to ask and I always reply with "either, as long as it's healthy!" It has certainly changed my outlook on what is appropriate/not appropriate to ask a pregnant woman! 

With that being said, we find out the gender in less that a month and it's so exciting to know that in a few short weeks our little blessing will have a name! We have already picked out names for a boy and girl (both of which start with L ;)). 

Also, I still haven't had anyone at work ask me if I'm pregnant so we will see just how long I can push it! It's getting awful hard to keep it a secret (and none of my dress pants fit), but it's kind of fun keeping it to myself!

Watching the baby move around on the ultrasounds has been the most amazing thing ever--I really don't know how people can be pregnant and watch the baby growing through ultrasounds and not be in awe of God's handiwork. It seriously blows my mind! I wish I could record the ultrasounds and watch them all the time, but unfortunately they won't let me. I'm so bummed that they aren't doing an ultrasound at my appointment next week (just listening to the heartbeat via doppler) because I really want to check in on Baby L!

Here's to hoping that pregnancy glow kicks in soon so I can stop looking like a pregnant teenager! Oh, on that note--the new girl at work guessed that I was 30 years old...usually, people guess that I'm like 20 so I was amazed that she thought I looked older than I am. But then it dawned on me that I'm now closer to 30 than I am to 20 and I was a little offended. 

How I Told Jacob About Baby L

I just realized that I jumped over how I told Jacob about Baby L and immediately started talking about how we told our family, so today I'm going to rewind a bit and start at the beginning. 

Jacob and I had always planned to start trying for a baby around our one year anniversary, but because of all the horror stories I had heard about people having trouble conceiving (and the fact that I had been on birth control for YEARS), we decided to start trying a little earlier than planned. 

Our first month of TTC, was unsuccessful and I spent my birthday week crying over a (read: many) negative pregnancy tests. I had told Jacob all I wanted for my birthday was a baby and I was heartbroken. So he, being the amazing husband that he is, had gone to the bookstore and gotten me a Pregnancy Journal for my birthday. I was confused at first because I wasn't pregnant, but he said "there is information you have to fill out before we get pregnant, so now is the perfect time for you to start this journal." It was the most thoughtful gift ever and I was so proud of him for thinking of that! 

On to month two of TTC...

I always planned to do something cute to tell Jacob he was going to be a Dad, but it took me awhile to figure out the perfect way. I didn't want to do a onesie since we didn't know the gender and it would be so long before that got use, so I finally decided to get a book. I found a book called "She's Having a Baby and I'm Having a Breakdown" and instantly knew that was the one! It had a lot of good information in it, but was written to be kind of humorous, so it was right up his alley! I bought the book about a month before we got pregnant, so I had to hide it from him for quite awhile (which was very difficult because I suck at keeping secrets). 

We got back from vacation on Sunday September 6th and had the following day off work, at which point Jacob started bugging me to take a pregnancy test. I told him no, it was too early! I won the battle and didn't test until Wednesday morning. I wasn't expecting to get a positive since it was still pretty early to be testing (and since I had peed on so many sticks the previous month and repeatedly got negatives), so I was dumbfounded when I saw two lines. I immediately took another test (a more expensive one than the first) and again, saw two lines! I couldn't believe it, so I immediately made Jacob get out of bed to confirm that he also saw two lines. At this point I had already ruined the surprise of telling him but I didn't care--I had to make sure I didn't have line eyes! He then handed over my digital tests that he had been hiding from me (because I have no self control) and after the longest couple of minutes ever, we were greeted with the "Pregnant 1-2" message!! I think Jacob was still in denial/shock at this point so while he was in the other room, I got his book out and handed it to him and he immediately sat down and started reading it. 

I had, at this point, spent like 15 minutes peeing on sticks so I had to hurry and get ready for work so I could run out the door, but not before taking hundreds (sight exaggeration) of pictures of the tests. 

As you can tell, we are not the most photogenic people (especially in the mornings), but at least we got photo proof! Haha. 

We did a retake that evening and it turned out slightly better, but it's hard to get a good picture when you are that excited! 

So, in the end, I didn't get to surprise Jacob with the news, but I don't think I would change a thing about that wonderful day! 

Final thoughts: I am still shocked (and eternally thankful) that we got pregnant as quickly as we did. My heart goes out to the couples who spend months/years TTC. I can't even begin to imagine the emotional rollercoaster that comes with that process and I still feel guilty that we were so lucky. 

A Letter to Our Upstairs Neighbor…

We toured many apartment buildings before finding this perfect location—between the granite countertops, new carpet, and HUGE Master Bathroom, it was love at first site (despite the ungodly price tag)! Me, being my normal lazy self would not even consider a walk-up…I wanted to be on the ground floor where I didn’t have to worry about running down the stairs each morning in my heels or climbing the stairs after a long day at work with 5 grocery sacks in each hand because heaven forbid I make more than one trip up the stairs. My soon-to-be husband mentioned that we might have noisy neighbors upstairs, but the ladies at the front desk reassured me that they have NEVER had problems with any of their upstairs neighbors, nor had any tenants complained, so I thought surely this apartment (that had granite countertops and crown molding) had used soundproofing barriers between the floors!

We moved into our new apartment and, in our newly wedded bliss, had no complaints of our new apartment (besides a minor ant infestation that maintenance quickly fixed). Then, one afternoon we heard it—a sound that has come to haunt us. What sound did we hear? At first, we thought we heard a bowling ball roll across our ceiling, and then we decided perhaps there were small children playing upstairs or maybe even a dog and that we should just let it go. Later that night as we were lying in bed, we heard another noise…this time, it was the sound of a sumo wrestler walking across our ceiling…and jumping. Then we heard cabinet doors slamming, then more sumo walking. What in the world was wrong with our neighbors? We were actually relieved to hear our annoyingly loud air conditioning unit kick on—that sound was a welcome white noise to the sound of our sumo wrestling neighbor.

Over the next few months, I made it my mission to figure out who lived above us and what excuse they might have for being so extremely noisy at the oddest times of day (and night). Upon the realization that there were, in fact, no sumo wrestlers in our apartment complex, we were at a loss for what their excuse could possibly be. After a few noise complaints went unaddressed, and many nights of the temptation to pull a Mr. Heckles on them (the only things stopping me from going to that extreme were 1) How Mr. Heckles died and 2) The fear that I would damage the ceiling and lose our damage deposit), we realized that we would just have to deal with the situation.

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Finally, hope was found in the form of our new house being built! We could see the light at the end of the tunnel! Since our neighbor, clearly wasn’t going to be moving anytime soon, at least we would be! We began counting down the days—not to the completion of our house, but to the date we would move out of our apartment!

As I laid in bed last night, listening to the sound of my neighbor pacing the floor from 9:30-12:00 and again from 4:00-5:00, I began drafting a letter that I would like to leave on his door the day we move out. It will go a little something like this…

Dear Neighbor in Apartment 1123:

It is with great joy that we leave you this letter, as it means that we are moving today! When we first moved into the apartment beneath you 18 months ago, we were so excited to begin our new life as newlyweds in such a wonderful apartment (after all, we were paying a small fortune for this slice of heaven).  Soon after, we were blessed to hear the presence of our upstairs neighbor (you). We thought you might be bowling with your children or playing fetch with your Great Dane by the sounds of things and we were momentarily excited that there might be another young couple nearby. As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, we were continuously blessed with noise from above—a constant reminder that the world did not revolve around us newlyweds! We began to wonder if you were practicing to be a sumo wrestler; everyone knows their schedules consist of eat, sleep, eat, sleep, practice, eat, sleep, and repeat, so the schedule fit perfectly with your untimely noises.

I have always loved my sleep—8 hours each night plus 1-2 naps on the weekend was my idea of a good time, so when I became pregnant, I finally had an excuse for my laziness! Based on my exhaustion, not even you could hinder my sleep—I was like a bear in hibernation, or so I thought… One Sunday evening, the night before the always dreaded Monday, and a very important ultrasound to check on the little blessing growing inside of me, you decided to pace the floor for 2½ hours (perhaps you had a big match coming up that you were worried about, or like to study while walking, or just found out your girlfriend was pregnant and were walking off the overwhelming feeling of fear…we will never know the reason). I laid in bed, on the verge of tears, overcome with exhaustion and wished nothing but the best things upon you. Then, when you finally stopped moving long enough for me to fall asleep (or the sound of our amazingly loud air conditioner drowned the sounds of you), I was awoken to the sound of stomping a mere 4 hours later. As I hit snooze the following morning and slowly dragged myself out of bed, I was just so overwhelmingly thankful for your thoughtfulness—how did you ever know that because I was leaving early from work that day for an ultrasound, I would not be able to take a nap in my car during my lunch break and would be so exhausted after only 4 hours of sleep the previous night, that Monday would FLY by? My cup runneth over.

I do hope that you show the new tenants of Apartment 1113 as much grace and thoughtfulness as you did us. I pray that they be as numerous as the Brady Bunch (I would say the Duggars, but Lord knows they wouldn’t fit into a two-bedroom apartment), as loud as the Kardashians, and as musically talented as the Partridge Family so that they can share that blessing with you! Only then, will this world be just.

Sincerely,

Your Former Neighbors in Apartment 1113