About 3 1/2 years into our marriage, Zach and I started talking about what it would be like to have a baby. I was still a little reluctant to the whole idea, but Zach was ready! I started Googling things...haha! My name's Andrea, and I'm a Googleaholic. I read that it takes the average woman about 3-6 months to get pregnant the first time. So, I thought it would be okay to start trying because it would still be about a year or more before we actually had a baby. In November of 2009, we just decided to leave it up to God and see if He was ready for us to become parents. Well, he answered us with a big fat YES! On the morning of Thanksgiving, we found out we were pregnant! Holy moly!! I did NOT expect this at all. I was in complete shock. Sure, I knew it was a possibility for it to happen that quick, but I didn't ever think it would. And trust me, I know now that I am super blessed, but at the time, I was scared out of my mind!
So, we had to go through Thanksgiving day with this huge secret hanging over our heads. The following Monday, I called and made my first doctor's appointment. I had absolutely no idea who to go to, so I just started making phone calls and ended at the office of Dr. Colon. My first appointment was the day before I turned 6 weeks. I bet I took 6-8 pregnancy tests before going to the doctor because I was still in such disbelief. I met with the nurse at the first appoinment, and I remember her asking "are you having any sickness?". My reply was, "no, not at all". So much for that!!! The very next day, I woke up feeling like death. I have a huge respect for any woman that has had morning sickness. It is absolutely terrible. All I wanted to do was lay in bed, but I had to go to work. Poor Lara had to listen to me do an awful lot of complaining! My sickness started off with just feeling terrible all through the day until about dinner time and then fading off and starting all over again the next day. Then, I went through a throwing up phase. I would have to excuse myself while doing someone's hair to go vomit in the bathroom. Talk about embarrassing!!
I had my first ultrasound at 7 weeks. The lady tried an external first, and she didn't see a thing. She had me go to the bathroom, and Zach said while I was gone she told him she didn't think I was pregnant! After that, she did an internal, and Jay showed up right away! I couldn't enjoy anything because I was simply focusing on not throwing up all over the lady! My sickness lasted about 4-5 months before I started feeling human again. Yuck!!
Welcome the much awaited 20 week ultrasound!! It was Zach's birthday, and we were so excited! We told the lady that we definitely wanted to know the sex. Within the first 10 minutes, she told us we were having a girl! We didn't care either way, we were just really excited to know. We had her double check before it was over and she told us that she was 98% sure that our baby was a girl and that she had never been wrong. We made phone calls and phone calls to let everyone know our news. We were already fairly sure of our girl name at the time, so by the end of that week we were announcing that we were naming our baby Brynlee Rhei. Pink presents started to trickle in...
By the Spring, I was already starting to swell and swell and swell. My feet and legs got absolutely gigantic. I would bring it up to the doctor at all my appointments, and he never seemed concerned since my job required me to stand all day. They were only concerned with the fact that my blood levels showed that I was anemic. My family has a trait that can make you show up as a false anemic, so I wasn't worried about it.
Check out these feet! It looks like I'm wearing a fat suit...haha!!
At 26 weeks, I decided to have a 4D ultrasound done since my doctor's office didn't have that equipment. We went to a great place called The Ultrasound Zone in Glen Carbon. It's a fabulous place, and I would recommend it to anyone! Anyways, they allow you to bring family and friends with you, so my parents and Zach's parents came along. The lady asked if we already knew the sex and we assured her that we knew we were having a girl. We joked with her and told her she could double check if she wanted. I'm not kidding, within the first 5 minutes her face went blank, and she looked right at us and said "ummm....this is a boy." I wish I could rewind that moment and look at my husband's face again. We were like "what??? are you joking??". She pointed out the picture to us, and there was absolutely no mistaking that our little baby was a BOY! Everyone in the room was shocked! It was such a weird feeling to know that this baby that we had been calling Brynlee for 6 weeks was not a girl!! Poor Jay...lol. So, we had to make all those same phone calls again! I'm pretty sure we decided on the name Jay on the car ride home. What a crazy day!!
So after all of this, things were kind of normal for a while. I just continued to get more uncomfortable! I had another 4D ultrasound at the end of May, and my last regular ultrasound through the doctor toward the end of June. I remember at my last ultrasound that the tech was having trouble because Jay's head was already so low. Hmm...that was kind of scary! My baby shower was on June 26th, and we were blessed with just about everything that we needed! At the beginning of July, I had to do the testing for preeclampsia because my swelling was out of control. Still, everything came back fine! I could no longer sleep at night, and I was just ready to be done! I had already started dialating at 34 weeks, and at my 35 week appointment my doctor said he would bet that I would have my baby within 1-2 weeks. Holy cow!!! Ready or not! Keep in mind that at the time we were in the midst of a complete remodel of our house. There was not even carpet in Jay's room yet. The pressure was on!
Then, in the early morning of July 13, 2010, a little boy was about to change our world forever. Stay tuned!!
I remember your poor ankles! I don't know how anyone who is pregnant can stand on their feet all day. You girls amaze me! Morning sickness is the WORST. I cried when I found out I was pregnant with Grace, because I didn't want to get sick again. Luckily that never happened, so there is hope for next time, haha!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember you complaining that much. I will never forget you excusing yourself during a hc to throw up. I felt terrible for you! But I am so happy you decided to have children! We have so much fun ahead of us!
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