IT'S A….

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Adam and I are beyond thrilled to announce that we're having a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! We can't believe it! (I literally said "I can't believe it" at least 50 times the night we found out.) We also barely slept at all the night we found out. We just kept laying there saying "It's a girl! We're having a little girl!"

Our doctor won't do any type of early gender ultrasound, because insurance technically only pays for two ultrasounds - the pregnancy confirmation and full anatomy scan. After a great 15 week checkup with the doctor on Tuesday, Feb 24 we scheduled a gender ultrasound at Baby's First Images for Wednesday, Feb 25. Thanks to the huge "snow storm" they expected on Wednesday, our appointment was pushed back until Thursday. I didn't let myself get bummed out because I know it alllll happens for a reason. And now we're pretty thankful because there's no way we could have kept this a secret for a whole other day! (We didn't tell our family or friends until Saturday!)

Of course, I did my research to see if there's anything I could do to make sure the babe cooperated. I chugged water all day, because I read it's best if you have a full bladder. Of course, once I got there they asked me to use the restroom because I need an empty bladder. Turns out the full bladder is for the anatomy scan I get at the doctor's office - oops. I literally peed three times in the 10 minutes we waited.

I've also heard that baby's are most active when you're still and that you kind of "rock" them to sleep when you're walking or exercising. Knowing that, I spent a good chunk of my morning in the gym so the babe could be nice and rested by our appointment at 8:15pm.

Well, as soon as the ultrasound tech put the wand on my belly, we could see her moving all around….but sitting breach. Which means she was literally just sitting on my pelvis. Aka - the worst position to tell the gender. Our tech (who we loved!) had me get up and run in place, jump around, fake cough and body slam the table with my butt - all to get her to move. The second time I got up to run around, I literally put the baby right to sleep. She kept poking her with the wand to try to get her to move and it was kind of hilarious because our stubborn girl would not. After about 10 minutes, little one started to cooperate a little bit and the tech said she had an idea, but needed a couple more looks before she would call it. Adam actually asked her the percentage of her confidence, but she said she wouldn't say anything unless she was positive. I loved that! She said "The umbilical cord is in the way" and then a couple minutes later referred to baby as a "he", so we totally thought it was a boy. And after about 20 minutes she said "Ok… it's a girl!" I think my first words were "Oh my gosh!! I totally thought it was a boy! I can't believe it! Oh my gosh, I'm going to spend so much money!" She then went back through the video and showed us the two or three places where she knew it was a girl, which I also loved!

The most exciting moment was (obviously) hearing that we were having a little girl(!!!!), but it was also amazing to see how much she's grown! When she first popped on the screen, she had her hand by her face and you could see all her fingers and even the joints in her fingers! We could see her long legs (that she had crossed at the ankles for awhile, because she's a little lady), her cute little face, and even her spine! The tech let us listen to her heart beat for awhile, and it was crazy to actually see it beating in her chest on the screen!

Overall, we had an amazing experience! Plus it only cost $30! (We could have paid an additional $20 for pictures, but opted out.) I highly recommend Baby's First Images if you're impatient like me and can't wait an additional four weeks to find out at the doctor's office. :)

Of course, we went straight to Buy Buy Baby to buy her first official girl outfits! I had to tell everyone we saw in the store our exciting news, and everyone was so sweet!

Earlier in the day, my mom said she and dad went to Chili's after they found out Mitchell was a boy - and that got Chili's in my head, so that's where we celebrated! (I don't know if it's because I've stopped taking Diclegis, or I was just so nervous/excited/couldn't believe it, but I threw up on the way to dinner. You stay classy, Mom.)

 Adam was so proud of his choices! He couldn't believe how tiny the little shoes and headband are!


This girl is going to have so many tutus!


15 Weeks… a GIRL!!


15 Weeks: February 24



Baby's the size of a: Orange and practicing her breathing movements!

Weight gain since last appointment: 3 pounds (Total: 2 pounds)

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well, except for the occasional heartburn.

Best moment of this week: IT'S A GIRL!

Miss anything: Sugar Free Red Bull.

Food cravings: Nothing in particular.

Anything making you queasy or sick: My doctor told me I could stop taking Diclegis (yay!), but I've thrown up everyday since. I honestly feel fine, except I have to run to the bathroom every once in awhile. I'm hoping it's my body just getting used to being off the meds, because I'd rather not get back on them.

Symptoms: See above. Other than that, not really.

Have you started to show yet: Can ya see it? Can ya see it?? But for real, when I lay down I have a huge bump, but it goes down (for the most part) as soon as I stand up.

Gender: IT'S A GIRL!!

Happy or moody most of the time: Over the moon since we found out it's a girl!

Looking forward to: Sharing the news with all of our friends and family!






12-14 Weeks

I just realized I'll be pregnant for (at least) 40 weeks. Who wants an entire blog post on all of those? Probably no one - so let's simplify, people.

12 weeks: February 3



Baby's the size of a: Large plum and most of his/her critical systems are formed - now it's time to grow, grow, grow!

Total weight gain: Nothing, yet. But I'm sure it's on it's way with all of the Frostys I've been eating. Oops.

Sleep: Still sleeping a LOT.

Best moment of this week: Telling more of our friends this past weekend and showing everyone our latest ultrasound pictures!

Miss anything: Hm, nope.

Food cravings: Same. Wendy's Frosty, FroYo, Smoothie King, PB&J sandwiches… you know, really healthy stuff.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I've successfully made it an entire week without throwing up! Each week I'm feeling better and better.

Symptoms: Still feeling sick now and then, but excited that I'm getting my energy back. Starting to get daily headaches, which is super fun. The last couple nights I haven't had to get up to pee - small victories!

Have you started to show yet: No, but my abdomen area is starting to feel hard (and not in the "I've got abs!" kind of way). Every morning I wake up hoping there's a little bump!

Gender: Our doctor won't do a gender ultrasound until week 18-20, and I don't feel like waiting that long. I've heard great things about an ultrasound place in Kennesaw, so I made a gender appointment for Feb 25! If bebe cooperates, we're going to do a fun little gender reveal at my parents' on Saturday, Feb 28. Adam still really thinks it's a girl, and I'm starting to think it's definitely a boy. We shall see!

Happy or moody most of the time: Meh, depends.

Looking forward to: Boy or girl?? I want to knowww!

13 Weeks: February 10




Baby's the size of a: sweet lil Georgia Peach and already has fingerprints!

Total weight gain: Ok, I'm getting rid of this question. Who cares???

Sleep: Other than our dogs trying to kill us from lack of sleep while staying at my parents' this weekend.... fine. I could still sleep all day, though.

Best moment of this week: We celebrated a high school friend's birthday this weekend, and it was fun to chat about Chip with everyone. Adam played baseball with the guys, and they were all actually really sweet! I figured they probably wouldn't even touch the subject, but they all congratulated me and had some pretty good questions! They also gave me a hard time when it was time to do birthday tequila shots. I think my favorite reaction was our friend Jeff Cochran - "Wow! Congrats on the intentional pregnancy!"

Miss anything: Sushi!

Food cravings: They're not as intense. Re: I've finally found enough self control to not get a Frosty every time one sounds good.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still feeling sick every now and then, but it typically doesn't last too long and is pretty manageable. Woo hoo!

Symptoms: Chocolate is starting to give me headaches and make me feel bleh. GREAT. I also had some pretty gnarly headaches through the week, but haven't had any in a few days.

Have you started to show yet: No, but only my fat jeans fit me (cool!). I caved and went to Target over the weekend to buy a few things to hold me over. (Thank you Meagan for the advice!) I guess I never really thought of the in-between stage; my old clothes don't fit, but I'm not big enough for real maternity clothes, yet.  

Gender: Just over two weeks until we find out! Every day I feel more and more like it's a boy, and Adam is still sold on it being a girl.

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy! A friend of mine said this the other week and it really made me smile. "I loved being pregnant! No matter what kind of day I had, if work sucked, whatever - I always knew I was doing something very important... growing a baby!"

Looking forward to: Trying to take it day by day and stop spending so much time thinking about two weeks from now, six months from now, five years from now. Just soaking in this time with Adam and the pooches - and our very lazy weekends in front of the TV.

14 Weeks: February 17




Baby's the size of a: Lemon and is sucking his/her thumb!

Sleep: Pretty good! The dogs officially don't sleep on the bed with us anymore, so that has been amazing for both Adam and I.

Best moment of this week: I'm officially in my second trimester!

Miss anything: Still just sushi.

Food cravings: They've toned down a lot, which is nice. Sweets still always sound good.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Riding in car instead of driving. Also, my body decided to try to kill me yesterday - I was so sick. Hoping it was the final hoorah before my first trimester ended.

Symptoms: My abdomen is pretty achy, apparently it's normal since I'm growing a HUMAN in there. Gotta stretch out!

Have you started to show yet: To me, yes. To anyone else, no - just fat. My fat jeans now don't even button. I bought one of those bands to keep your pants up without a button (ew), and it seems to be working.

Gender: We find out next week!

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Seeing our sweet chip at the gender ultrasound next week.

Baby Photoshoot - Round Two

We had our second doctor's appointment on January 27 - 11 weeks on the dot! (As I write this, that was yesterday.) This was my favorite day, ever. EVER. It was better than the day Adam proposed, probably better than our wedding, better than the day I found out I was pregnant and better than our first doctor's appointment. IT WAS THE BEST. Here's why...

Let me preface with this. I don't care who you are, the first trimester is full of anxiety. Even though I feel 100% at peace about this pregnancy, it's easier said than done to just not worry. You worry. I tried to not let it take up any of my mind space (is that a word?), but I can't help it. It's always there.

The more I thought about our first ultrasound, the more annoyed I got about how not special it was. I get that it's just her job to do the medical part of it, but it should also be her job to make it feel special for us. She even asked if it was our first pregnancy! With that in my mind, I went into my second appointment knowing I would ask for another ultrasound (even though I'm only supposed to get one more at 20 weeks). I had this whole spiel I practiced about how disappointed I was the first time, blah, blah, blah.

During my appointment, Dr. Chappell found the heartbeat with the doppler (basically an ultrasound wand without the TV) and said it sounded great! Of course, that was such a relief. (Plus I just really love and trust my doctor. She's so matter-of-fact.) I timidly asked if it would be possible for me to get another ultrasound while I was there. (So much for that forceful spiel.) She immediately told me they couldn't bill my insurance for another one, but she would definitely ask the ultrasound girl if she was available and they'd do it anyway. After giving away half my blood, the nurse came in and said I could do it! And the icing on top? Adam has this week off work and was in the waiting room! She went out and got him and we went in for the super quick ultrasound.

Except it wasn't super quick! It was a different ultrasound tech and after giving her (a much nicer version of) my spiel, she told me I didn't have to worry because the-tech-that-shall-not-be-named just retired! She was fabulous.

As soon as she put the wand on my belly, there was Chip. Our jaws dropped. It was absolutely surreal. S/he was in there dancing around! We saw everything - the head, the tummy, the arms, legs and even the tiny fingers and toes! It was like 10,000 pounds had been lifted off my shoulders. There was our baby! Our perfect, squirmy baby!



The ultrasound tech (I must learn her name. She's my new best friend.) walked us through everything. It was hard for her to get a clear picture because of the dance party! She also let us listen to the heartbeat (a strong 173!) for a solid 10 seconds. We were just completely in awe. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. It was so perfect.

This is only a 4 week difference! Chip went from a little blueberry to a moving and grooving lime in such a short amount of time!



Ok, I went into way too much detail, but I just wanted to remember everything about how perfect it was. Just perfect.

And here's my 11 week picture! We're going to have to find a new place to take these - the light is ruining everything. :)


How far along: 11 weeks (January 27)

Baby's the size of a: Lime! My mom celebrated with her daily vodka/lime concoction. No more webbed fingers and toes for this little babe!

Total weight gain: Nothing, yet! According to the doctor's office, I lost a pound. (But I also took off my boots this time.)

Sleep: Still sleeping a LOT.

Best moment of this week: See above!

Miss anything: I actually really wanted Drunken Noodle (a Thai dish) this week, but it comes with bean sprouts and apparently I'm not supposed to eat them. And I don't trust the language barrier to keep them out.

Food cravings: Same. Wendy's Frosty, FroYo, PB&J sandwiches… Adam's a saint (as we all know) and drove all the way to Pinkberry last night to get my favorite FroYo and more for me to make later!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Apparently my dad's driving, because I got sick on the way to lunch this weekend.

Symptoms: More and more energy! Hope to make it to the gym this week or next. I have to have a snack right before I leave to walk the dogs and immediately when I get home. Otherwise I get sick. (By the way, these walks are typically only 1 mile long. It's not like I'm going on a marathon.) Also notice I get dizzy if I try to get up too fast. Guess I'll lay in bed forever!

Have you started to show yet: See above. I'm gonna go with a no.

Gender: TBD! I keep calling it a "he", but don't know if that means I subconsciously think it's a boy or not.

Happy or moody most of the time: I've been on cloud nine since yesterday!

Looking forward to: Finding out if our Chip is a boy or a girl!

And now I'm learning how to use iMovie to make a little slideshow of all our fun bebe videos and pictures. You can add music to it, so I added "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base and I cannot stop laughing. And that's how I'm finishing my perfect post.


Christmas Surprises

This Christmas was obviously our favorite one, yet - we had the best Christmas presents for our family! Back in November, I agreed to drive from Fort Worth, TX to Atlanta, GA with my brother's girlfriend, Katie, for Christmas. We did it in 2013 and had a blast (as blast-y as a 13 hour drive can be), so I was all for doing it again. Plus, I love her! Our 2013 drive consisted of over 8 Red Bulls, so I knew I was going to have to tell Katie before the rest of the family. She's a Physician's Assistant - meaning I could also spend all 13 hours asking her a billion questions (which I actually didn't). But ok, Katie found out first. Moving on!

We decided to do the big reveals on Christmas Eve, since that's when it's the quiet time with just the family and not all the extended aunts, uncles, friends, etc. that we knew would be around on Christmas Day.

Up first, the Reaves! We had timed this out perfectly, but my dad unknowingly tried to ruin our plans. He was dead asleep taking a nap. I woke up him from his deep, deep slumber - so he was half awake when the news broke. We bought them both funny children's books for them to open. I tried to post the video, but it's not working. Boo. (UPDATE: Thank you Adam for reminding me of another way to upload the videos!) You can view the video HERE: https://vimeo.com/120950106.


Next, up the Bakers! For this, we waited until after we opened our Christmas presents (and were ambushed with "Are you sure there isn't another present?? Like a BABY??" questions). Then I asked if I could put Jude in a onesie I bought him in NYC, but really I put him in this. Adam is a huge UGA fan (I think we've established that) and Nathan went to Georgia Tech, so there's always a fun little rivalry there.


Their reaction was so fun, too! You can view the video HERE: https://vimeo.com/121030835

The next day, we told our family and close friends at Christmas dinner. Needless to say, everyone is thrilled! It also makes it seem much more real! THIS IS HAPPENING!!! You're so loved, Bebe Baker!

I guess I should also include some non-Baby Baker Christmas fun!

Katie and I made sure to take a picture in each state during our 13 hour trek.. in the rain!






And no Christmas is complete without an appearance by Cousin Eddie and Clark Griswold!


Merry Christmas!



Katie's Christmas sweater wins everything.


But Jude was pretty cute, too.



Christmas morning at the Reaves'!


He's obsessed with The Rock.


Pretty sure Karen had to time travel to 2001 to find these bad boys for our stockings!


Mamabear and Papabear looking extra adorable, as always.


We bet Kelsey a pretty penny that she wouldn't embarrass Mitchell on Christmas - now that they're going to be an aunt and uncle (respectively). She won! Here's the evidence: https://vimeo.com/121031112

Oh, yeah. Adam and I went to a Christmas party! We were two of the very few people who dressed up. Oops.


There's a baby in there!


We became puzzle obsessed over the Christmas/NYE break!









January Updates

I feel like all I've done on this blog is talking about our little Chip in the oven! Oh, wait. That's because it's true. And it's not stopping anytime soon. However, we actually do fun things other than sit around and dream about our baby. (But we still do that most of the time.)

Ruthie and Hank continue to keep us on our toes. That's a nice way of saying that they're driving me up the wall.


We celebrated Alysa's 27th birthday on January 10! After dinner at Rosebud we headed to Dark Horse Tavern for a few drinks. (They still didn't know I was pregnant. Sneaky, sneaky.)




I headed up to Asheville for Maria's bachelorette party on MLK weekend. I told Natalie and Anna that I was pregnant, and we hid in a closet the whole first night discussing it. (Seriously. This is a picture someone took when they opened the closet and found us.) I think it will forever be one of my favorite memories.


The bride!


My babes.


I coordinated and attended a Publix Cooking Class with Ford Fry. Tex-Mex…so good.


I hung out with my Jude! I hadn't seen him in way too long, and he is just getting cuter and cuter! He even showed off and rolled over for me. And also fell asleep sitting up in my lap.


Alysa asked me to be a bridesmaid in her May 2016 wedding. I'm so honored! And could this be any cuter? People are so creative these days.


I also told these gals that I'm PREGNANT! I got to Alysa's first and told her/asked her if it was ok for me to tell the other girls. After all, it was her party and I certainly didn't want to take any attention off of her!


Adam made a weekly development calendar of Chip. It's one of the cutest labors of love I've seen.


We went baby browsing at Restoration Hardware with Nonna and Papison. They were really into this crib. (I was not.)


We also stopped by Babies'R'Us and mom could not leave empty-handed. Since there are no neutral clothes options (seriously, there aren't) - we received our first box of diapers!


Adam and I attended Team Hidi 3.0 on Sunday, Jan 25. It's the annual benefit for The Giving Kitchen, a nonprofit I love love LOVE! Google it, peeps.


K. Back to Chip.


Celebrating four years

Adam and I celebrated four years of marriage on January 15. Four years. That's real, people. Or as Adam said, "We're really established!" I'm not going to go on and on about how much I love him and how marriage is the hardest/most rewarding job, etc, etc. I think me carrying his child proves that enough, right? Right.

Here's to the most amazing year we could ever imagine, my love! I wouldn't want to be doing life with anyone else.

As if he couldn't be any more amazing, Adam received a job offer with Nestle Waters on our anniversary! Yes, we will both be working for the same company - but doing completely different things. I'm so excited for him! Nestle is a pretty amazing company!

10 Weeks

We finally got around to taking our first "belly" picture this week! We've been meaning to, but never got around to it - I didn't know what to wear, I wanted to take it in the morning, I wanted to have makeup on, blah blah blah.

Anyway, 10 weeks on January 20 - yay! Finally in the double digits.


How far along: 10 weeks (January 20)

Baby's the size of a: Prune and he/she is swallowing and kicking!

Total weight gain: Nothing, yet!

Sleep: Just a casual 12 hours a night. I blame part of it on this bebe and part of it on the Diclegis that's keeping me from getting sick.

Best moment of this week: Finally having enough energy to walk the dogs.

Miss anything: Sushi. Alcohol still looks pretty gross to me, so haven't missed that.

Food cravings: Wendy's Frosty, FroYo, PB&J sandwiches and sometimes queso. Not exactly mangoes and celery like I was hoping for.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Changes daily, but thinking about casseroles makes me want to throw up.

Symptoms: Slowly starting to have more energy! Still a little sick now and then, but only throwing up about once a week. Get up at least once or twice a night to pee, but otherwise don't really notice.

Have you started to show yet: See above. I'm gonna go with a no.

Gender: TBD! Everyone thinks it's a girl, but I still don't have a gut feeling. It changes daily.

Happy or moody most of the time: Maybe ask Adam on this one. Haha.

Looking forward to: Our doctor's appointment next week!

Baby's First Photoshoot

(Written January 6)

Adam and I were so excited for our first doctor's appointment on Tuesday, Dec 30! It was probably the longest three weeks, ever. Only two weeks away! One week away! 100 hours away! Tomorrow! TODAY!

Up first was our transvaginal ultrasound (sorry for the TMI!). We immediately saw our little Chip! It was very surreal - mainly because we were in the room for a total of 90 seconds. Seriously, it was a pretty big let down! We got to hear the heartbeat ("good, strong 139") for maybe 3 seconds. We were sent to another waiting room when it was over and we kind of stared at each other. It all happened so quick we didn't even have time to really process it… or ask the technician to grow a heart and be a little excited since it's our first PREGNANCY! Whatever - moving on.

There's our little chip!





After waiting in another waiting room, we finally met our Doctor. I picked a new OB-GYN office closer to our house so it was our first time meeting her. So far, we love her! She was hilarious and very straight forward about everything. And I quote… "I'm tired of pregnant women thinking they're china dolls! I was 37 and 40 when I had my kids and all I gave up was sushi and alcohol. I still had my big ass cup of coffee every morning and I ran 3 miles a day." Amen, sister! (Except for the coffee and exercise part.) They also moved my due date to August 18 - I'm measuring a week later than we thought. Kind of a bummer, but my lucky number is 8… so how perfect is 8/18?! She also prescribed me Diclegis for my morning sickness. LIFE SAVER.

Let's move more into "morning" sickness, shall we? The first week and half or so after finding out, I had no symptoms. I'm pretty sure I said I had heartburn or indigestion, but it was barely anything. I just wanted to sound like I had some proof that there was a baby in my belly. I feel very at peace with this pregnancy and am loving growing closer to God during the process… but I still prayed every night for some sort of symptoms so I would know it was real. Especially because our doctor's appointment felt so far away.

We-eee-eee-eeell, ask and you shall receive. Morning sickness came on full force about the end of the fifth week - two days after we got back from New York and two days before I was flying to Texas to drive back with Katie. And "morning" sickness is a cruel joke - it is all day long. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, for real, and this brought me to my knees. (Well, technically my back. On my bed. All day.) At first I basically just felt mildly hungover all day, everyday. I flew to Texas and the drive back was doable. A little nauseous when I wasn't driving, but I tried to keep something in my stomach. The day after Christmas it showed its REAL ugly face. I was miserable all day - think your worst hangover - and throwing up about every other day. As we got closer to the doctor appointment, it was the worst. The two days leading up to the appointment I couldn't keep anything down. Throwing up nothingness and bile all day. I lost about 5 pounds in a week. Normally, that would make me feel very hair-flip-worthy. It was miserable and I felt like I was starving my poor bebe! Well, Diclegis saved my life. I still get very tired, very fast and have had a couple days where I feel meh and throw up. But for the most part, I feel fine! And might I add - even if I didn't have the meds, the sickness would be 110% worth it!

Also, I found my new pregnancy mantra. I'm reading Amy Poehler's book, Yes Please, and just finished her chapter about her pregnancy. "Good for her! Not for me." Everyone's pregnancy/delivery/etc. is different. Not my place to judge anyone else's journey - you're growing a human and that's pretty amazing… GOOD FOR YOU!

Ok, that's it for now. I'm now 8 weeks - only 32 to go! (Haha, right around the corner?)

Week 5

When I lived at home my first year after college, my mom would always have a drink waiting for me when I got home (why did I ever move out?). So needless to say, my mom and I have always been drinking buddies. Not drinking during our visit to NYC without spilling the beans caused me a little anxiety, but I pulled it off!

Lunch, Day 1
My mom went to the bathroom and asked me to order her a glass of Pinot. As soon as she got up, I flagged down the waiter.

Me: "Hi! My mom wants a glass of Pinot and I'm pregnant. I'm not telling my parents until Christmas, so can you bring me a tonic water with lime and say it's a vodka tonic when you bring it back?"

Waiter [with big eyes]: "Yes! Let's do a cranberry juice with tonic water so it looks like there's vodka in it!" (He then proceeded to tell me how his sister just found out she's pregnant with twins and maybe I'll have twins! I appreciated his enthusiasm.)

When he came back with the drinks.... "Here's your glass of Pinot and here's your VODKA cranberry." When I finished my drink... "Do you want another VODKA cranberry?" Hahah, he was too cute. Then we got the bill and of course my mom noticed we weren't charged for the vodka. I made up some ridiculous story how the waiter smirked at me when he dropped off the check, so maybe he gave it to me for free because I'm cute. (Making that story up almost caused me to have morning sickness - so dumb! haha)

Dinner, Night 1
We walked into Tribeca Grill and headed for the crowded bar. I told my parents I wanted to buy the first round of drinks (so I could order myself a non-alc drink without them knowing). Of course, my mom says she'll help me since I can't carry three drinks by myself. UGH. I ordered a vodka tonic and kept pretending to sip it. I excused myself to the bathroom and made a bee line for the hostess stand.

Me: "Hi, I'm pregnant and my parents don't know yet. I'm going to keep ordering vodka tonics, but can the waitress just bring me tonic and lime?"

I knew this one had a lot of room for error, so I was pretty nervous. When we sat down at our table, I told our waitress "I think the bartender accidentally gave me a vodka club soda - is there any way you can bring me a vodka tonic?" She came back with a TONIC AND LIME and we made eye contact and smiled. It worked! I ordered two more "Vodka tonics" at the dinner table and it went off flawlessly. However, I knew it would look weird if we weren't charged for the vodka (again), so I went to the bathroom and thanked our waitress profusely - and asked her to charge us for the vodka. (Sorry, dad! I think it was worth it.)

Drinks, Night 2
The Carlyle Hotel bar was so packed, there was no way I was going to be able to find someone to tell my story to. I ordered a Pellegrino to start out (because I was "so thirsty". But really, I was.) and of course Christine arrived and said "What is this??? Are you PREGNANT??" Thanks a lot! However, the man upstairs was clearly looking out for me. I ordered a vodka tonic, and the waiter came back with a small glass with the vodka in it and my own bottle of tonic! I drowned that bad boy in tonic water and kept topping it off. I'm sure I did have a sip or two of vodka, but I think bebe will survive!

Dinner, Night 2
I ordered a glass of red wine and took a few sips. But I really was so exhausted at that point that I couldn't even fake to drink it anymore. Dad saved the day and downed it for me.

Overall, I DID IT and I don't think there's anyway my parents knew otherwise. So sneaky. :)


5 WEEKS 

(as of Friday, Dec 19)

Total weight gain: None. Well, probably a few from all the food I ate in NYC.

Stretch marks: Still nope.

Sleep: Same as always. The dogs take over the bed, and I work my way around them.

Best moment of this week: Baby's first trip to NYC (in my tummy, of course).

Miss anything: Not yet.

Food cravings: Nope. I still don't have much of an appetite.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing in particular. Just feel like I have a little hangover on and off throughout the day. Fun times!

Symptoms: Starting to feel sick here and there. Nothing too terrible.

Have you started to show yet: Nope.

Gender: TBD! I think it's a boy, Adam thinks it's a girl. I thought I would really be hoping for one or the other - but I honestly am totally indifferent! I'll be thrilled with either.

Happy or moody most of the time: Mostly happy! But I have my moody moments.

Looking forward to: Telling our parents on Christmas Eve!

There's a Bun in this Baker's Oven!

WE'RE PREGNANT! Which means this blog is officially the "Baker's Bun in the Oven Pregnancy Journal". I want to be able to look back and see what each week was like during this crazy period of time! Get used to it, or stop reading. :)

(Disclaimer: I wrote this on Tuesday, December 9 - the day after we found out.)

The Day We Found Out
A little (TMI) backstory first… I went off birth control in November because our insurance suddenly decided I could only order it through the Mail Service, not by picking up at a local pharmacy. Obviously, I thought all those reminders in the mail were just spam. (Oops. Best oops!) I've gone off birth control for a month or so at a time before (just to give my body a break), so I didn't really think twice about it. My period has never been regular (hence why I went on birth control to begin with), but it just never came in November. Again, pregnancy wasn't really on my mind - I figured it was my body getting mad at me for throwing it off. After a week with nothing, I decided to take a pregnancy test on Monday, December 8 with the thought "I'll take one, so when I call my doctor I can tell her I already took a negative pregnancy test." I took the test, got ready for the gym, let the dogs out, etc. and when I came back to the bathroom I was shocked to see it said PREGNANT! My first feeling was absolute terror. I just started shaking. Total shock.

I headed off to the gym (in a daze/state of shock) and spent a solid 30 minutes on the elliptical just chatting with my man, Jesus. Thanking him for this amazing blessing and assuring Him (and myself) that I know everything is in His hands, and His plan is far greater than anything we could imagine. (I know this is totally natural, but I obviously think something is going to go wrong. I'm still so early.)

I came home and took another test, just to make sure. Same results. But this time I just smiled and kept saying "Thank you, thank you!"

I guess this is real!



Might I suggest not taking a pregnancy test on a Monday? Can you guess how much work I got done? None. I also tried to walk the dogs, but felt super sick so I literally had to run home with them. (Not morning sickness, I didn't take a meal with my prenatal vitamin. Lesson learned!) After getting my act together, I headed to Barnes and Noble, because I obviously had to pick up some reading material on this bebe in my tummy. (Debbie - This was when I called you about Rosetta Stone! Little did you know…) Being the planner I am, not only did I buy books (What To Expect When You're Expecting and The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy) and prenatal vitamins - I made my first doctor's appointment (Dec 30!) and obviously downloaded an app.


Telling Adam
I spent all day trying to figure out how to tell Adam. I knew he would DIE of happiness when he found out, and I wanted to make it super special. According to all the internet scouring I've already done, I'm due in August 2015… right before college football season. Adam is a huge UGA football fan, so I decided to play off that. I went to Target and bought the only UGA onesie they have (a set of three and they're all really dumb, actually). I was making dinner when he came home and when I heard the door open I suddenly got really nervous. I waited for him to shower and sit down at the bar before I snuck into our room for the onesie. Let me set the scene for you….

Me (walking down the hallway): Guess what? I finally found someone to watch the Georgia games with you next year!

Adam: Oh, yeah?
(He later told me he figured I had met some restaurant manager who likes Georgia football and that I was trying to make him new friends. Basically a big eye roll from him.)

Me (walking into the kitchen with the onesie): Yeah. I'm pregnant. (This is also the first time all day that I actually teared up. I do have human emotions!)

Adam probably said "WHAT?" a thousand times. He totally didn't believe me, so I brought him the pregnancy tests. Needless to say, he is so incredibly happy and excited! He didn't sleep at all last night. haha. (Meanwhile, I probably had one of the best nights of sleep in a long time!)

About five minutes into his "WHAT?" episode.


Baby Bulldog!


Our first picture as a family of three! (Or five, if you count Ruthie and Hank.)



My babes and me! (Ruthie and Hank just can't even stand the excitement - can't you tell?)



We've decided to tell our families on Christmas, when we'll be almost 8 weeks, which seems like forever away! Especially since I'm going to NYC with my parents next week and we have Debbie's birthday dinner on Sunday. Most fun secret, ever!


5 WEEKS (UPDATE: Turns out we were only 4 Weeks!)
(as of Friday, Dec 12)

Total weight gain: None. I've actually lost a few pounds because I've cleaned up my diet and haven't had any alcohol all week. That's probably a record for me, since I've turned 21. Kind of embarrassing!

Stretch marks: Nope. Already purchased the cocoa butter to avoid this at all costs!

Sleep: Pretty amazing, except for the anxiety fits I had for a couple nights after reading those dumb discussion boards!

Best moment of this week: I think this one is pretty obvious. WE'RE PREGNANT!

Miss anything: No, but it did hit me last night that I won't be having another drink for quite some time.

Food cravings: Nada. I'm actually having to force myself to eat. I don't know if it's a symptom, or if I'm just still in shock, but don't have much of an appetite.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No. I don't feel sick - just a little off.

Symptoms: Nothing really. A little cramping, a little queasiness, a little indigestion, a few forgetful moments (Hank enjoyed his entire day out of the cage, though). Pretty sure I would have no idea other than the three positive pregnancy tests. Oh, yeah. I took another one during the week, just to make sure I wasn't going crazy.

Have you started to show yet: No. Wouldn't that be a fun 8.5 more months if I was already showing!

Gender: TBD! We will definitely find out, though.

Happy or moody most of the time: So happy! Unless Adam annoys me. (Sorry, honey.)

Looking forward to: Our first doctor's appointment! I'm trying out a new practice since my current one is based at Northside Hospital and I'd rather be at Kennestone (literally 2 miles from our house). So far I have a good feeling about this place. When I called, I said I was a new patient who just took a pregnancy test and didn't know what I was supposed to do next. The super sweet receptionist started off with "Well, congratulations!"

UPDATE: It's now Friday, December 12. Can I give one piece of advice to all first time pregnant people - DON'T READ DISCUSSION BOARDS. I've spent a good part of this week analyzing everything. I don't really have many symptoms, try Googling that. NOT FUN. I stopped reading the message boards (and those books I bought) and I have felt much more at peace.

Needless to say, we are beyond thrilled for the baby! Thank you, Jesus, for always having such a better plan than we could hope to dream up! We can't wait to meet you, little one!


 
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