Matthews Birth story part 2

You can find part 1 here.

We waited for what seemed like hours, but in all honesty was probably only 10-20mins. The triage nurse came in and explained that they were going to monitor me to see how far apart the contractions were. She asked me all the normal questions, including if my water had broken. At this moment in time it hadnt. But I swear those contractions ever couple of minutes were pretty intense. I remember squeezing Matts hand through each one. I would cringe my body up real tight and basically stop breathing. Again something they tell you not to do. But I just couldnt control it.

It had been about 30 more mins of monitoring when all of a sudden I felt a leaking sensation. (sorry for the tmi) Not a pop. Not a gush. Almost like I had just peed in my panties. I even told hubs this. "Either I just peed all over the bed, or my water broke." And truthfully, I really didnt know which it was. lol. And at that moment, the nurse had come back in. She was coming to tell me that my contractions were not coming as often as I had reported when coming in. They were now 6 mins apart. Basically meaning that I would be sent home.

To which I replied, "umm I either peed or my water broke." She looked at me kinda funny and asked if she could check. She lifted the sheet and confirmed, "Well, you just bought yourself a ticket to being admitted!" You mean this is real. This is really going to happen today? I couldnt believe it. And then another contraction hit me. Quite hard. The nurse said she would be back with clean sheets.

I turned to Matt. I think im going to vomit. Get a garbage can. Get a bag. Get something. Somehow I held it in the time it took him to find the ever so clever "barf-bags." I couldnt understand how i even had anything to throw up. I hadnt had anything to eat since the night before. And it was going on 2pm. Then I remembered those delicious fruit pops. They didnt tast so delicious coming back up thats for sure.

When the nurse returned, she noticed how pale i looked. Hubs informed her of what just happened. Then she said something that kinda amused me;
"I bet youre 4cms now."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, I dont know why, but the minute someone says theyve thrown-up, they are normally at least 4cms dilated"

Sure enough, she was right. I was now 4cms. She told me they would be moving me to a room and out of triage. As we were waiting for the room my sister was actually able to come back. When she did, she also let me know that the other doctor at the practice, Dr. Coe, was the doctor on-call that weekend. Quite a coincidence if you ask me, being he is my sisters dr and had delivered my niece and a few of my friends children. (lil back story, i actually first went to this practice to have him as my dr, but then found out he didnt take my insurance. however, one of the other partners, Dr. Fahey, did. At that time I was a little relieved because she is a woman, and Coe is a man, and i had never had a male Gyno.) I wasnt the least bit upset either. Dr Coe knew me very well, as i had been extremely involved with my sisters 2nd pregnancy, and i was at least happy i knew who would be delivering our lil boy.

The next few minutes are a little blurry to me. I remember them asking if I thought i could walk to the new room. I had said that would be fine, and then all i remember is halfway there (which wasnt very far) the contractions started to hit hard. I grabbed onto the nurses station and had to have Matt holding me up because I couldnt move. Then the next thing i remember is getting onto the bed.

Throughout my pregnancy I had always been undecided about the epidural. First, Im allergic to epinephrine, the main ingredient in most epidurals. My dr assured me that it isnt always in epidurals and just to let the anesthesiologist know, and they should be able to make a different cocktail of drugs that would work the same. And secondly, i really wanted to be able to move around and not be limited to the bed during labor. Hopefully allowing me to use the tub if possible. So i had told my hubs and sister, the two who would be in the room with me, that i would like to hold off on the epi for as long as possible and see if i could make it natural. But never being 100% against it, knowing I may demand it at some point ;)

Sure enough, as im getting on the bed, the nurse asked me if I would like an epidural. As in, if-down-the-line i would like an epidural, but first you need to sign paperwork. But before she could even explain to me the part about the paperwork I was already forcefully saying "YES! PLEASE!!" At which point my sis and hubs began hysterically laughing, as well as the nurse, who then explained she would call for the anesthesiologist and be back with the paperwork. Looking back, I am sure glad I said yes at that point, because turned out i wasnt able to get it for another 1.5hr due to the hospital being busy that day.

During those 90mins i was so uncomfortable and in pain. I would get really cold and shake. I would have a contraction and shake. I couldnt talk to anyone. I could barely rest between the contractions. I believe my sis-in-law and mother-in-law came in sometime during this time. And they say I wasnt very pleasant.... I would squeeze matts hand, hold my breath, and cringe everytime. And then the anesthesiologist finally showed up. I was really nervous at how i was going to be able to sit still during a contraction, as i was involuntarily shaking uncontrollably during each one. The nurse assured me I would be fine and asked everyone, including matt to the leave the room. Which he had absolutely no objection to. Then she had me lean over a pillow as she stood in front of me and told me i could hold on to her or the pillow. She said we would do it right after a contraction ended so I had a better chance of staying still.

Surprisingly it honestly did not hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would. Yes, its a needle, its gonna hurt. But trust me, compared to the contractions your feeling every couple of minutes, that needle is like a small pinch, followed by a small burning sensation. And then she said it was done. They put me back on the bed lying down and explained how my legs would start to go numb. Which they did.

They continued to monitor my contractions and even had to inform me when i was having one. I was so surprised at how it literally took the pain away. I mean i knew it would, but the relief to be able to relax in between was so calming. Then everyone came back in, to which they all informed me I seemed to be in a much better mood. And I was actually able to talk to them.

The next couple of hours are blurry to me. Dr Coe came in to check on me and say hi. Letting me know he would be the one to deliver. I know i was able to rest a little. I know they turned the lights down low so I could try to nap. I was exhausted, but too anxious to sleep. I remember the nurse checking me a couple times, and me progressively dilating further. I think somewhere around 11pm the nurse said i was at 9 cm and that she was going to call the dr to come in and check on me.

Around 11:30pm Dr Coe came in and said I was now 10cm, he had me do a couple of pushes. I guess to see how well I would do? i dunno. And then informed me that I would need to push for a little while. He let me know that he would be at the nurses station doing some paperwork and would come back to check on me soon. And then, get this, youll see how informal we really are and how close of a relationship we have with this doctor....With my legs spread open from him doing the internal check, he turned around and started watching and commenting on the Miami Heat game that was on the TV. Him and my husband were literally watching the basketball game as I was "laboring" on the bed. Till this day we all laugh about this. (Sidenote: the Heat did win that game! lol)

He left after a few more mins and my nurse came over to have me do a couple more pushes. I guess I wasnt doing it right. And if im being completely honest, i think it was the thought in the back of my mind that I might poop on the table. It wasnt that I was scared to or anything, i just didnt want to, and i think that thought was hindering me from pushing as hard as I could. The nurse finally came out and said it, and informed me that she could tell I was tensing up as I pushed each time. She said she could see his head coming down but then I would kinda suck him back in (Sorry if thats too visual). She said I needed to push like I was going to poop. So I tried, and she immediately exclaimed "Yes! Just like that!" After only a few more "test pushes" as I like to call them ;) she said she was going to go get Dr Coe because our lil boy would be here very soon. And explained that since I had had a fever all day that they would need the nicu nurses to be in the room during birth.

By this time it was around 12:10am. Dr Coe came back and said "I didnt even get to do any of my paper work!" Which lightened the mood a tad. He scrubbed up, the nurse got the baby table all ready, and we started doing the "real pushes." My sister was on one side holding up my leg, and hubs was on the other. I swear it felt like hours later, but with literally only about 20mins of pushing our lil boy was born at 12:38am at 8lbs 12oz. They put him on my chest, and I just held him for a couple of seconds, not realizing the weight of what just happened. I was still in shock and quite out of breath. But he was there. Our lil boy was here.

They then took him over to the table to clean him up and weigh him and such. I remember hearing him cry, but it was what they called an "extended cry." Im not sure how long it was, but i remember hubs going out to the waiting room to tell family he was finally here. While he was gone, it was only me and my sis in the room. I dont remember exactly how long it was, but I heard one of the nurses say he had a fever. And then I heard my nurse say that "he probably had a fever because the mom has had a fever all day too." Probably due to me being in the pool & sun earlier that day.

My nurse came back over to me and explained that he had a little bit of an extended cry. Probably due to a tiny bit of fluid being on his lungs from not being squeeze out at birth. And that since this was happening and he had a fever, that they would need to take him to nicu for further monitoring. They wrapped him up and asked if i wanted to hold him before they took him down. I of course said yes. At this point hubs had come back in the room. I just looked at my sis and told her to explain what was happening. As I was still a little out of it and just wanted to hold my baby.

I asked Matt if he wanted to hold him before they took him, since he hadnt held him yet. I think he was too nervous to, and said no they should just take him to make sure hes ok. They then put him in one of the transporting beds and wheeled him out. By now i tears welling up in my eyes and trickling down my face. I knew he would be ok. I knew it was just precaution, but I wanted so badly to do the skin-on-skin contact. And to try breastfeeding. And to just hold my baby boy.

Matt and his mom followed the baby down to the NICU while my sis stayed with me. My nurse came back in and let me know she would help me go to the bathroom, as I had to pee badly. The epidural had worn off by now, and I could feel my legs. She led me in the bathroom and helped explain "the cleanup." We were transferred to our room somewhere around 3am. Still no baby with us. Then around 5am they came in to check on me. They insisted I could go to see him whenever I wanted, but I could barely move, let alone get into a wheelchair to be able to go in. I was so tired and told them I would go as soon as I could get up and shower off. Around 8am hubs was awake, I showered, and we went down to see our precious boy.

He was getting oxygen through a helmet, and was on a little bed warmer. I wasnt able to hold him, but he was so precious. All i kept thinking was we dont belong here. I mean, as i walked in all i saw was tiny babies, babies that were fighting for their lives. My son was gigantic compared to them. Remember he was almost 9lbs.

Ill skip over the next few trying days. He spent a total of a week in NICU. I had to be discharge from the hospital without my baby. I never got the experience of having him in my hospital room with me. It was odd that people came to see him/me, and it was literally just me laying in my bed. Only close family and few close friends were able to actually see him in NICU. But it was literally the best day of my life when they told us he could come home with us!

matthews birth story part 1

Ive been meaning to write this for a while now. I dont want to forget any details of the day my precious lil boy was born. And since there are so many bloggers who have had babies recently, its made me really want to share my story. Its actually a pretty simple story, but nonetheless still very meaningful to me.

It started out on Sunday June 3, 2012. I woke up around 7:00am, which was actually quite early for me (ha, wish I could say that now). I had felt a couple of cramps, which I first alluded to a stomach ache, but later realized it was the beginning signs of labor. They werent really consistent and I didnt want to wake Matt up for a lil stomache. So I tried to go back to sleep.

After about 1-2 hours of tossing and turning, with so-called cramps about every 15mins that were starting to get a little bit more painful, I decided to wake Matt up. I wasnt sure how to explain it to him, and he really was kind of clueless when it came to this kind of thing. He kept asking, "well what do you want me to do?" In which case I would reply, "I dont know."

Well, if you dont know my husband, hes all about the "quick fix" with everything. If there is a problem, tell him how to fix it, and he will. But if not he gets kind of frustrated. So, since he didnt know exactly what to do, he called who he thought would be the best person in this situation, my sister. Who at that moment in time was at BJ's shopping. She told hubs to calm down and as soon as she was done she would head over to our house.

I continued to have these slightly uncomfortable cramps about ever 10-15mins. I would stop at the end of our bed and grasped tightly to the footboard. And then just like that, it would be gone. My sister showed up fairly quickly and basically took one look at me and quickly stated "Its starting!" I'll admit. I wasnt quite sure what to think. Id been wanted this baby out of me for a few days now. But the thought that today would be the day? I dont know. It kind of freaked me out a bit. Plus, I still wasnt sure if this was actually it. You hear people all the time having false alarms. And I hadnt really experienced any braxton hicks, so thats what this might be.

My sister reassured me it was ok, and that why dont we just relax a little. She actually suggested that we go down to my parents (only 2 blocks away) and just go hang out in the pool and bounce. Funny she says bounce, because that is exactly what we did back when I was in 8th grade the entire day before my nephew was born. I figured, heck, it worked for her, maybe it would work for me to. So I slipped on some clothes, still not completely sure I was indeed going in the pool, and we all headed down to my parents.

My mom wasnt home from work yet, but called and asked if we needed her to pick anything up for us on her way home. Im not sure whos idea it was, but when she showed up with fresh fruit popsicles, i swear it was like I had died and gone to heaven. Little did I know it would be the last thing I had to eat for the next 12+ hours.

I was getting extremely uncomfortable at this point. And couldnt talk through the "cramps." Instead I would just stop and basically hold my breath. You know, the one thing your NOT supposed to do. Thats why they always tell you to breathe. To help ease the pain through the contractions. My sis and hubs at this point had agreed it would be best for me to get in the pool and just "relax." I managed to get in my bathing suit and into the pool. Just hanging on to a raft that was floating in the water.

Now, I could be wrong, but if the rest of you are like me, the very last thing you want is to have visiters when you feel like a giant whale. Literally,  I mean come on, I was in my maternity bathing suit, no makeup, not able to control the pain, and just floating around in the water. And what happens? Hubs thinks its ok to have his sister and cousin stop by. And not like just stop by to drop something off and leave. But like stop by, chill with their feet in the pool, all while drinking some cool beverages, and basically staring at me going through contractions in the pool. Im sorry but to me, this is kind of a private time. I didnt mind my mom and sis, because Im extremely close to them. But with his sister and cousin there, I was extremely self conscious and waaay uncomfortable. I even made my sis bring out one of my dads shirts for me to wear to cover up while in the pool. And for gods sakes, STOP STARING AT ME! lol

Now, all the while, I was screaming that to myself (in my head), i actualy appeared quite calm to every else. The pool itself was a great idea. It made me feel buoyant. And the water was keeping me cool. Hubs was keeping count of the contractions. Telling me when he thought the next would come. They were now about 4 mins apart. Technically that was close enough to go to the hospital. But i chose to stay in the water a little longer. Knowing if I went now, they might send me home. Or I might be limited to those four walls they call a birthing suite.

It only took a few more contractions to convince me it was time to go. They helped me out of the pool, reality hit right then and there that I was indeed NOT buoyant. lol. I waddled my way to the restroom to change back into clothes and try to put some makeup on. Between hubs, my mom and sis, they were all laughing at me about wanting to put makeup on. Like they literally wouldnt let me. And kept telling me I didnt need it. Somehow they pushed me out of the house without even so much of mascara (my staple) and out the door I went. (man do i wish I had been able to put that makeup lol)

We got into hubs truck, just the two of us. My sis following behind in her own car. This was it. This was the last time it would be just the two of us. Last time we were just husband and wife. Next time we would be in this truck we would be mommy and daddy too.

The car ride there was actually not too bad. It almost felt like the contractions had slowed down. I was doubting our decision to to go to the hospital. But I figured we might as well see what the progress is. I had been dilated 1cm for almost 3 weeks, but I knew that didn't necessarily mean anything.

We pulled into the parking lot and found a somewhat decent spot. I remember walking in and thinking this is it. We weren't sure if we needed to check in at the front reception desk or just go straight to the third floor, the maternity unit. As soon as the lady at the front saw me stop in mid stride, she simply said "go on up." so that is what we did.

Thankfully, I had already preregistered with the hospital, so it didnt take long to get me into the triage area. Unfortunately, they wouldnt let my sister come in with us during this time, and also refused to let her stand in the hallway, so she was banished to the waiting area. I remember sitting on the bed, not knowing exactly what was going to happen. Even though they had went over all of this in our hospital tour.

Taking prenatals just got easier!!!

Calling all preggos, mamas, breast-feeding mamas, trying-to-conceivers, basically all women! Do I have some great news for you. I dont know about all of you but when I was first started trying to concieve my obgyn suggested I start taking prenatal vitamins. At first I was a lil confused. I had always thought you didnt start taking prenatals until after you got pregnant. WRONG. Since about 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned, some doctors and organizations, such as the March of Dimes, actually suggest any woman between 15 – 50 take prenatals every day.

So I took a little trip to my favorite place in the world, Target, and went to buy me some prenatals. I didnt exactly know the difference between the brands, so I did what any normal woman would do, I looked for the prettiest. lol. ok maybe not any normal woman, but what can I say? Im a sucker for good packaging. (that would be the designer in me speaking, btw)

Now let me just preface that Ive never been good at taking pills. For some reason I could just never swallow them, always opting for the chewable or liquid. As Ive gotten older Ive learned to be able to take pills, but the size of prenatals? Nobody warns you about those things! I like to call them horse-pills. But for the well-being of my baby one day, Ill do whats best. So I started taking them. Not everyday, but whenever I remembered.

I quickly learned that these horse-pills were not only gigantic and horrible smelling, but they also made me feel extremely nauseous. And hell, I wasnt even pregnant yet. I couldnt even imagine what it would be like to try and take these plus have morning sickness. So back to Target I went to try and find a smaller, better smelling, non-nausea, anything better prenatal option. After multiple attempts of which had no success, I basically gave up.

And then the best thing in the world happened. We found out I was pregnant! We were so excited and couldnt wait to tell everyone our good news. But in the back of my head all I could think about was the dreaded horse-pill I would have to take for the next 9 months. I even spoke with my doc about how to make the daily ritual a little less painful. She suggested eating something with or before taking it, taking it before I went to bed, or using the prescribed ones she gave me a prescription for. I do admit, out of those three suggestions, the one that worked the best was taking it right before I went to sleep. But that still was just not good enough in my eyes. Too bad I would have to just deal with it.

But ladies, you need not worry anymore, enter Premama! I wish, I wish, i repeat, I WISH, they had this product when I was pregnant.

Premama is your prenatal vitamin as a drink mix. You know, kinda like crystal light on-the-go packets? But get this, it has absolutely no flavor, this way you can add it to any of your favorite drinks! It tastes best with juice, fruit flavored beverages, iced tea and milk. You technically would be fine adding it to water, but there may be a hint of ginger taste to it. Note: You should not mix it with sodas or hot beverages. And get this, you can also sprinkle it on your breakfast cereal if you'd prefer. I personally mixed it with my Strawberry Orange Banana Crystal Light drink and honestly couldnt even tell there was anything added. Again, back to the wishing I had this long ago! But thankfully now that baby #2 is our our brains (not trying yet, but the thought is there lol) I can start taking this prenatal instead of those horse-pills.

Now you may have a couple question, and thats fine, I did too, so Ill try to give you a quick overview:

Prenatal Vitamin Powder Drink Mix

• Doctor recommended
• Nausea Relief
• Contains all the nutrients baby needs
• Gluten-free, Lactate-free, BPA-free
• 100% Natural
• Just 6 calories per serving

Premama is most effective if taken:

• While trying to conceive
• During pregnancy
• While breastfeeding

Key ingredients include:

• Biotin: May help support embryo growth
• B Vitamins: Help provide energy
• DHA Omega-3 fatty acid: Suggested to support fetal cognitive development
  and protection against postpartum depression
• Vitamin D3: Supports mom and baby’s bone health
• Proprietary Iron blend: Can help lower the risk of preterm birth and low birth-weight;
  gentle on the system
• Coenzyme Q10: May help protect against preeclampsia during pregnancy
• Choline: Used, along with folic acid, to help further protect against neural tube defects
• Ginger Root: Helps with nausea relief
• Folic Acid: Clinically proven to reduce the risk of some birth defects by up to 70%

Each daily serving of Premama may be consumed in two equally divided doses (dont worry, the each package is already split into 2 for your convenience). Processed in FDA-regulated facilities, Premama also contains USP Verified and Food and Drug Administration GRAS nutrients not typically found in combination with other prenatal supplements.

Now, for the best part of this little post, one of my lucky followers will be winning a 30-day supply of Premama! And as I mentioned before, you dont have to be pregnant to qualify ;) all women should be using this easy to take prenatal drink mix. Unfortunately, this post didnt post when it was scheduled, so you only have until tomorrow to enter (sorry).  And the winner will be announced in Fridays Letters. Also, the giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Theres lots of ways to enter, so you'll have lots of chances to win even if the giveaway is only open for a short time.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
But dont worry, theres more!! All of my lucky readers are able to save 15% off using the promotion code Sweepstakes2013. You can buy and learn more about Premama here.

I hope you all enjoy, and good luck!

I received this product free to review from Premama through MomSelect. All opinions stated are my own.

throwback thursday: baby shower

So let me first interrupt this normally scheduled blog post to say that my lil man is officially 4 months old today! I cant believe its already been 4 months! man time flies! If you follow me on instagram then you probably already saw this photo, but I still have to share it.

Since his 4 month checkup appointment isnt until tomorrow, I probably wont get around to doing a 4 months post till this weekend. Plus, I need to catch up on posting his 1-3 months posts. (yeah I know, Im a big procrastinator)

Now, back to this weeks throwback thursday, topic: baby shower.

 

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So I first want to give a huge shout out to my sister, mom, & awesome friends (you know who you are) You all did an absolutely fabulous job on my baby shower!

The theme was monkeys. My sis was the host but she let me pick out my theme and do the guest list. We invited almost 85people! I think about 45 showed. The location was already decided. Like all our other family events, it would take place at my parents house. Its a great entertainment/party house with plenty of space inside and outside for family & friends to be comfortable but still involved in the party. The date was set, it would be Saturday April 21st, (I would be 33 weeks pregnant) and the invites were sent!

Invites

I actually started off the morning by getting ready at a family friends house before the party started. They happen to be out of town due to a family death, but had told me I was more than welcome to use there house to get ready. You may ask why I wouldnt just get ready at my own house? Well, you see, I love taking baths, but unfortunately due to my height, I dont really ever fit into any baths comfortably. Now add a huge round belly and I really dont fit. And see, this particular friend of ours has an absolutely awesome renovated bathroom. With.....here it comes......a huge tub! So I figured Id pamper myself!

sorry if some of you think this is inappropriate, i thought it was cute of my tummy

Once I arrived to the shower, I was overwhelmed with all the friends and family that were able to come and help celebrate the anticipated arrival of our little one. My sis had organized lots of food, drinks, decorations, and CUPCAKES!!! she knows how much I love cupcakes, and these were absolutely precious!

cupcakes from sweeter days bake shop

And the flavors were even better!!! My favorite, which was what the giant cupcake on the top was made of, was orange creamsicle. omg.to.die.for. But we also had strawberries & cream, banana cream, carrot cake, chocolate banana, and I think 1 or 2 more, but the flavors slip my mind.

Then there was a surprise delivery. I was told to go to the front door. When I opened it, here was a flower delivery guy. You see, when my sister had her baby shower, my father was out of town, and his way of showing he cared while he was gone, was to send her flowers with a cute lil note. And even though my father wasnt out of town (he was actually in the other room at the time) he still sent me flowers. If you knew my father, this is a big gesture. Hes not normally the one to show emotions.

We are so lucky that we have so many people out there that loved Matthew even before he was born. The amount of gifts we got was just overwhelming. So many things. My mom went crazy (you can see her gift is the stroller with the blue "Grandma is simply the best" outfit). My sis went crazy (pack and play not pictured). And the rest of our family and friends went overboard as well.

One of my favorite gifts was actually a personalized rocking horse from one of hubbys childhoood friends. She personalizes it for each person she gives one too. You can see the image below.

There were so many wonderful people who came. Everyone had a great time. We played a couple games including the cant say baby game and celebrity baby names crossword puzzle. We ended up not playing the dirty diaper game because someone said it was gross. I actually find it funny, and convinced my best friend to play by herself once everyone had left. But we did have advise cards that everyone filled out, I loved reading all the things people wrote. My fav was actually one from one friend who wrote another friends phone number on it and simply "call her to babysit." lol.
And I think that basically sums it all up. I had a Great time and I'll never forget all the wonderful people who helped celebrate.
What was your baby shower theme? Who hosted it and where? Any favorite gifts or memories? I wanna here.

Next week Ill be talking about all of our ultrasounds we did. We got to do two 3D ones with lots of pictures!

throwback thursdays: gender reveal

This weeks Throwback Thursday is kinda short and sweet. Its about how we found out whether we were going to be playing with dirt and tonka trucks or makeup and barbies.

 

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As I've mentioned before, I am 1 of only 2 girls in the family. Growing up I loved having an older sister. She may not have liked have a tattle-tale younger sister who always told on followed her around, but eventually I realized that I would one day want 2 little girls to be able to share the same kind of bond my sister and I had. But for some reason, I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted a little boy. And I wanted a little boy first. (you know, the whole older protective brother thing). But then when I got pregnant, Matt and I were convinced that because we both wanted a boy first, then the baby growing in my belly had to be a girl. And we thought that since everyone else that we knew were having boys, then we would most likely be the one to end up with a girl.

Now please do not mistake my want for a little boy first, to mean that I wouldnt have absolutely adored having a little girl growin in there. I just had it in my mind that I wanted a lil boy first. And of course the hubby wanted a little boy too, for a multitude of reasons. But we were so convinced that we were going to have a lil girl that we even had a name picked out for a girl already (Emma Rose).

Now usually the earliest a doctor might, and that a big MIGHT, tell you the gender through an ultrasound is around 16 weeks. But my doctor said that I would just find out at the anatomy scan I had scheduled at 20weeks. Lucky for me, I have a close friend who I met at my first job at age 16, who now happens to be an ultrasound tech at a local hospital. She also happened to be pregnant, with her 2nd son, and was due only 3 weeks before me.

me 32 weeks  |  ciji 35 weeks

So when I first called and told her I was pregnant, she immediately said she would do a gender scan for me when I got to 16 weeks. So only 2 days after Christmas 2011, Matt took off work early and we went to the hospital she worked out to find out.

But, you see, during the previous 16 weeks (when I swore up and down it was going to be a girl) I had also been pinteresting away cute ideas for a gender reveal. Should I have her right it on a piece of paper and put it in an evelope? Have my sis take it to the bakery and get the inside of a cake dyed blue or pink? Have her fill up a box with pink or blue balloons? Oh so many choices! But see Im also very impatient. like.extremely. And hubby wasnt too fond of these gender reveal ideas (yes hes very impatient too). So after my friend did the initial scan and decided she wanted to take me to a different room to use one of the better ultrasound machines, just to make sure, I couldnt help but axiously wonder if it was a boy or girl.

We went to the other room. Where another tech just so happen to be, who also confirmed with my friends guess at the gender, and now both Matt and I are chomping at the bit. Knowing these two people who stand in front of us know whether were going to have a son or daughter, and we dont? omg I couldnt handle it. But also didnt want my sis to be upset that we wouldnt be doing one of the gender reveal ideas we came up with. At one point my friend even said, "Just blame it on me, tell you sis I slipped at told you, not knowing you wanted it to be a secret." We all laughed. But in the end, I couldnt resist. So I had her tell me.

Yes, my son may end up killing me years from now, but this is the first picture of his "lil guy" as my niece calls it. Hubby couldnt control himself when he found out. He was excited beyond belief. I just couldnt comprehend that it was indeed a little boy. What its not a girl in there? is all I kept saying. And my friend and the other tech just kept saying "Oh trust us, its a boy in there!" They even said that normally they wont say for sure (like 100%) if its a certain gender, but both of them said that from what they saw it was most def a little boy.

And a couple weeks later at our anatomy scan, the tech there confirmed as well. Now, I couldnt not imagine not having a little boy. He is so precious, and I cant wait for one day when I can give him another sibling, whether it be brother or sister!

Oh and for those of you who have been following along for a while now, I guess Suzanne's fertility reading was somewhat wrong. We had a boy, not a girl, but we did find out in October, however, it was before my missed cycle not after.

How did you find our the gender of your baby? Dont forget to link up! Next week Ill be sharing how my baby shower went.

 

throwback thursdays: dont jynx anything

This weeks Throwback Thursday is all about how we told family and friends about our great news.

 

   <a href="http://southernwifey.blogspot.com"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8171/7983096222_3d3cff74a4.jpg" border="0"></a>

When I was pregnant I was definitely one of those types that was scared to tell anyone just in case it might jynx something. You see, I have a very dear friend of mine who went through the excitement of finding out, telling everyone, and then suffering from a miscarriage. I saw how hard it was on her to have to tell people she was no longer pregnant. The sadness in her voice and her eyes was enough to scare the crap out of me if I were to ever get pregnant. So I promised myself that when I did get pregnant I would make sure to wait at least the 12 weeks before I went and told the universe.
However, my husband didnt quite understand this whole concept. He was excited beyond belief and didnt know why we wouldnt want to share this with our friends and family. I tried to explain to him that I was excited too, but god forbid anything happen to the baby I wouldnt want to have to talk about it with everyone. So we both agreed not to say anything. About a 3 days later, after an anxious husband pleaded with me, we agreed that he would be allowed to tell his mom and sister if I could do the same.

Now, for those of you who dont know me real well, my sister and I are extremely close. Like BFF's x1000 (ok a lil extreme but you get the point). So I knew I would have to tell her some way special. Since it was my neice's 5th birthday the following day and we were all getting together for dinner, I figured it would be a perfect time to give my sis a little present too. See when we were growing up our mom always made a joke on our birthdays that she was the one who deserved a present, because she was the one who had to go through 12+ hours of labor. My sis and I always used to make fun of her but I thought I could use it to my advantage.

So the next night at dinner I told me sis (and mom) to come out back with me because since she was the one who went through labor she deserved a present too! So my mom, sis, husband and I all went out back and I handed her a little bag. Inside was the pregnancy test with a little ribbon on it as the present. When my sis opened the bag and saw the stick she couldnt even control herself and burst out in tears. My mom didnt understand as she hadnt seen the stick inside and kept asking "What is it? What is it?" So I handed her the lil bag and told her to open it as well. Again here came the waterworks. Everyone was so excited. My sis was a lil upset that i didnt call her the minute I had peed on the stick, but we laughed about it. I let her know that I was planning on calling her the minute it was confirmed by a doctor at my appt the following week.

First ultrasound of our lil boy (we didnt know the gender at that time) at 6.5 weeks.

Then I let them know that this was to be kept a secret until Matt and I were ready to tell everyone else. Now you thought it was hard for me and Matt to try and keep this a secret? Well it was way harder for my overly excited mother and sister to do the same!

We then decided Thanksgiving would be a perfect time to tell everyone else. Since we were going on a family cruise we figured it would be a perfect time to tell my niece and nephew. And then everyone else we would tell once we were home from the cruise.

Family Thanksgiving Cruise 2011
(not picture is my mother-in-law and her boyfriend who also came but got on the ship later than us)

It was actually very interesting trying to keep the secret from my nephew. He knows Im the type to do adventurous things with him, so when I declined going on the tallest/longest over water zip line with him in Labadee, Haiti, he asked "But why Leah? I thought you wanted to go on it?" My brother-in-law actually came to the rescue in a split second, claiming  I had "lower lumbar back pain" and wasnt allowed to go on. I at first laughed, thinking is my 11yr old nephew even going to understand what his father just said? But then my BIL informed me they had just read the excursion descriptions back in their cabin and the 2 reasons it said people werent allowed to go on the zipline were being pregnant and lower lumbar back pain.

So that night at Thanksgiving dinner when we told the kids that I was pregnant, my BIL said to my nephew "now do you see why we had to say that about Leah and not being able to go on the zipline?" And my nephew goes, "so hold on, you dont have lower lumbar back pain?" All of us adults just burst out laughing. Between my nephews reaction and my neice getting so excited about having a baby cousin, Thanksgiving turned into one memorable night!

For the rest of our friends, they gradually found out I was pregnant. Mostly from finally realizing that I wasnt drinking anymore at any of our social gatherings.  It was great to see everyones surprising reactions. Everyone was so happy for us. Im glad I can look back and see that this was definitely a special time in our lives.

Dont forget to link up and tell us how you shared the news. Next week Ill be talking about when we found out the gender.

 

Throwback Thursdays: Telling hubby we were pregnant

No Im not pregnant again. But since I completely missed documenting basically my entire pregnancy I think Im going to start my own weekly post called Throwback Thursdays. This way I can recap special moments in my life from the past year and be able to share it with ya'll.

Im gonna start with how I found out I was pregnant and how I told my hubby the good news. 

It all started on Monday October 3, 2011.

We had been trying to get pregnant for about 3 months and for some reason Id been having this feeling that that month was different. So before I logged into work I did the unthinkable and peed on a stick. For those of you who have tried to get pregnant or are currently trying to get pregnant you know about the whole 2 week waiting period. Well if you thought 2 weeks was a long time to wait, think again. Those 3 mins of waiting for the results are even longer. I knew I could be setting myself up for disappointment, but as mentioned before every little thing during the 2ww felt like a definite sign. And technically I wasnt due for my period for another few days. Unfortunately once those 3 mins were up, I looked down at the test and only saw 1 line. That meant negative for those of you who aren’t familiar with the tests.

My heart ached for the rest of the day, but I kept telling myself there still was a chance that I could be pregnant. It may just be too early for the pregnancy test to recognize it. I didn’t want to bring it up to Matt either, as I didn’t want him to think I was crazy crush his hopes either. So I went on with my day at work and put it out of my mind. I promised myself I would not POAS until after I had missed my period (another 5 days away).

Guess how long that promise lasted? A whole 24 hours. The next morning I just couldn’t resist. I truly felt like it was different this time. Just little things I noticed. I had felt bloated the past couple of days. My breasts were soar.  Overly tired. All symptoms that could just mean AF was coming. I tried to hold out. I even made it to my lunch break without doing it. But I figured, why not try one more time, just to see. This time I wanted to try to use the digital test (I literally had a whole box of tests from doing the whole TLC: A Conception Story). So I POAS and brought it into my office and waited for what seemed like forever. Glancing over about every 10 seconds to see if the little clock had stopped flashing. Much to my surprise, the result I read off the test stated “YES+”

Wait. Hold on. Im pregnant? I looked at it again. No, my eyes weren’t tricking me. It clearly stated I was. OMG! IM PREGNANT! I just sat there for a couple of minutes. Maybe it was wrong. I should pee on another stick. Maybe the one with the lines. I heard even the faintest of lines still means pregnant. I have to see those two lines. (those who have been there are probably laughing right now, how many sticks did you pee on? lol)

So I did it again. POAS again. Waited again. Glanced a few times again. And then it appeared. Yes it was a very faint line, but indeed a line. Same result. Different test. That must mean its true right? OMG! IM PREGNANT! WE’RE HAVING A BABY!!!!

Immediately the next thing I thought of was how am I gonna tell Matt? I knew it had to be somewhat clever, but I didnt want it to be too completely corny either. I researched all day trying to come up with something cute. I actually found a maternity shirt that was a Dolphins shirt that said "future kicker" with little footprints over the tummy area. I thought perfect, were huge Miami Dolphins fans (yes, dont laugh, I know our team sucks, but we cant give up on them now lol). So I ordered it immediately and choose the fastest shipping possible. Which meant I had to wait another 2 days. How would I ever keep this secret from Matt? 

It was so hard the next couple of days, but somehow I managed to keep it a secret. And I also came up with the great idea that I would put a hamburger bun in our oven and ask Matt to go check why the over wasnt getting hot. The plan was for him to open the oven and say "Why is there a bun in the oven?" Then turn and look at me with my shirt that says future kicker. Clever, I know, however has anyone ever told you men arent as clever as women, yeah. We'll get Matts side of the story in a sec.

So the night that I decided to tell him while we were working on the kitchen during the remodel. I even tried to get in on video when I told him but for some reason the camera cut out right when it would have captured his reaction. Obviously things didnt go as planned, and hubby didnt realize what was going on and I had to explain it to him. It actually took him a few minutes to hug me because he didnt really know what was going on. lol. But once he did we were both so happy.

When I asked Matt to recap the story in his version this is what I got:

"We had been working on the kitchen and you had freaked me out but saying the oven wasn’t working. So I turned it on and opened the door to feel for heat. It was working perfectly fine. I did happen to notice there was a hamburger bun in there so i took it out and placed in on top of the stove and went back to what I was doing. You responded with “Think about what you just saw!” I didnt understand "What? A bun in the oven?" Stupid me, I still didnt get it. You then said something about look at my shirt. I read it and thought about it for a second, "What are you pregnant?" You shook your head. "Really?" I was so excited, I didnt really know what to do with myself. I was kinda quiet and you had to actually ask if I was going to hug you or not. I was so happy I wasnt even thinking."

If you want to see the footage I did catch play the video below.

Yeah sorry for the cursing and i wish it had caught the rest. But i guess Ill learn better for next time.


<a href="http://southernwifey.blogspot.com"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8171/7983096222_3d3cff74a4.jpg" border="0"></a> So how did you or are you going to tell your spouse that youre pregnant? Link up and tell us. Maybe one of your ideas will inspire me on how to tell hubby whenever baby #2 is on the way! Next week Ill share how and when we told our family and friends we were pregnant.