Big News!

So, first of all... THIS happened:

Then, THIS happened:

And THIS happened:

(Can you see the bump?! It's there!!)

And pretty soon, our little guy will be wearing THIS:

Yep! We're finally pregnant!! (I know it seems like we just got married... but it feels like we'd been trying forever!)   :)

We just found out this week that we're having a boy! I would have been thrilled with either a boy or a girl, but I knew from the moment we were pregnant that it was a boy. I just had a feeling.

We are excited to have him join our family in July. (My due date is the 10th). 

On November 9th, I woke up and decided that I would allow myself to take a pregnancy test. I suspected it would be negative- like the many pregnancy tests I had taken in the past. To my surprise (more like shock!), it said I was pregnant! I didn't know what to do! This was a big deal! The biggest deal!! I wanted to wait until Matt got home from work to show him the test, but when I got to work that morning, it had been obvious I had been crying. The school nurse was the first to see me and asked me what was wrong, I knew I couldn't tell her without first telling Matt. I also couldn't contain my excitement!! So, I shut the door to my office and called Matt. I had him worried because I don't normally call him at work that early in the morning. I could barely speak, but somehow managed to squeak out (through my tears), "I'm pregnant!" Then, Matt had some trouble speaking. (Don't tell him I told you.) It was a very exciting moment. After that, I ran in to tell the school nurse- I knew she would keep my secret. But, I just had to tell someone! My life had been changed forever and I couldn't just pretend that it hadn't. She acted like she was just as excited as I was! She was the perfect person to tell.  

The first few weeks were very strange for me. I somehow convinced myself that I wasn't actually pregnant, but that my body just thought I was. I had absolutely zero symptoms of pregnancy. Then, every now and then, I'd get a very mild symptom or two, but then they'd go away. I was so confused. I thought I was supposed to be spending some quality time hunched over the toilet... or something. I finally called the doctor's office because my nerves were keeping me up at night. They told me to come in so that they could just confirm my pregnancy. What resulted was the first picture (above). I was only 7 1/2 weeks- but, we saw the heartbeat! Up til that point- that was the most amazing moment of my life.  Since then, I've been back to the doctor for regular checkups a few times. This past week we had a gender check... which took over for the most amazing moment. I couldn't believe that little guy- rolling, kicking, punching, and moving was IN me! How did that happen?! (Don't answer that... I actually know.) 

So, now that I'm into my second trimester, I can officially say that I had a very mild first trimester. I didn't feel great all the time, but overall- I felt pretty normal. I didn't have much of an appetite and the only thing that sounded good to me for dinner was cold cereal. So, Matt and I enjoyed cold cereal every single night for a couple of weeks. Every now and then I'd slip a soft pretzel covered in mustard, or a cheap Totino's pizza in there. But, I never felt too much nausea- at least never to the point where I lost a meal. I was EXHAUSTED at the end of each work day beginning at about week 9. I'm still often tired, but a lot of my energy has returned. Do you know what else has returned? My appetite. I am constantly hungry. It's very annoying. I'm also very interested in what everyone else around me is eating. I often wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning, thinking about chicken fajitas, or spaghetti, or pizza, or... you name it. I occasionally have to get up and make myself a small bowl of cereal if I want to even think about falling back to sleep. I will say that having a healthy appetite is much better than having no appetite- those first weeks were hard. I knew I had to eat... I just didn't want to. 

I've tried to get up 3-4 times a week and walk on my treadmill. Sometimes that's easier than other times. Also- I can't button up any of my pants or skirts. And my stomach (which used to be soft and squishy) is now hard! That's a weird sensation! A few people have noticed my baby bump- but my clothes often hide it. It all depends on what I'm wearing. It's weird not being able to "suck it in". The most frustrating part of being pregnant for me is that I have yet to sleep through the night since finding out I was pregnant. I'm sure it's nature's way of preparing me for many sleepless nights after the baby comes- but I sure do miss my solid sleep! I've been told that I can look forward to a good night's sleep in about 35 years. I can't wait! But more importantly, I can't wait for July to meet this little fella!