Pregnancy 101

So I'm going to go back about 10 months ago to where this new part of our lives began. It was Wednesday, February 3, the day after we moved into our new house. I was only one day late, but decided to take a pregnancy test anyway. I remember standing in the bathroom in disbelief staring at that word that would change our lives forever, "Pregnant". I took another one just to make sure. Jeff was not home from work yet, so the next hour was the longest one ever! I imagined him walking through the door, me running up to him shouting "I'm pregnant!" and crying tears of joy. Well, it didn't quite happen that way. He had brought home KFC for dinner (I must have already eaten before he got home). I sat at the table with him, not wanting to interrupt. I waited and waited, I wanted the moment to be just right. After dinner, 30  minutes later, I was literally dying with anticipation- I couldn't wait any longer. As soon as we sat on the couch, I started to tear up (happy tears of course). Jeff looked at me kind of strange and asked what was wrong. I said nothing and pulled the pregnancy tests out of my pocket. He gave me a huge hug and I cried! After about 10 minutes, we looked at each other and said "What now?"

I knew I couldn't be more than 4 weeks pregnant so it was really early. Of course, I wanted to tell everyone right then, but I was afraid it was too soon. We decided to only tell our parents, and I begged him to let us tell them that night. We first went to my in-laws house using some excuse about bringing something over to them. I remember as soon as I said "I'm pregnant!", Kathy screamed and hugged me and we both cried! The look on their faces said it all! Next, we called my parents saying that when unpacking, we found several things that belonged to them and wanted to bring them over. I'm sure they thought that was strange, as it was 8:00 on a Wednesday night. My dad was at choir practice, so we sat with my mom for a few minutes, trying to make small talk without letting the cat out of the bag. As soon as he got home, we told them and their reaction was similar to Bobby and Kathy's.

The next step was to make a doctor's appointment and see if it was official. I called Dr. Thornbury's office from school the next day and made an appointment for the next week. When I went, they confirmed the positive test and told me I was about 5 weeks along. We went ahead and made an appointment for a couple weeks later to get the first ultrasound and fill out a million papers.

I think I waited until I was 6 or 7 weeks to tell my friends and people at school. Early- I know- but I couldn't hold it in any longer.

A quick synopsis of my pregnancy- until about 9 weeks, I felt great! Then....morning sickness hit with a vengeance. Oh boy, I was so sick until about 18 weeks. Some days it would be just when I woke up, and others, it was all day long. I remember having to step out the back door of my classroom and throw up in the grass. My kids got pretty used to it! Gatorade became my best friend and I always had a bottle with me, trying to stay hydrated. The sickness faded and then I started to feel pretty good again, just in time for summer! I remember the first time I felt him move was on Mother's Day morning. What a great present!

All summer, I felt wonderful! We went to the beach and I got lots of rest (which I am dying for now!). I finally looked pregnant, not just fat. We found out it was a boy at 16 weeks, in May, so we were super excited. The summer came to an end, and little did I know, so did my feeling-great days. The heat in August and September was unlike anything I have experienced before. I was huge (and so were my feet) and any elementary teacher will tell you that there is not much sitting down the first few weeks of school. I put in for my maternity leave to begin Friday, October 8th, and my due date was the 12th. Little did I know, Mr. Will had different plans....