Days 12-14: St. Louis Vacation

Christmas has come and gone...we had such a great time opening gifts and just spending time with each other. Ben got me some wonderful gifts that I will write more about on our photography blog, but one that I thought was SO cute, was a pair of Winnie the Pooh baby shoes. One in pink, and one in blue. :) They are so adorable!!

December 26th, very early in the morning, we took a flight to St. Louis to see Ben's family for a few days. It was a very short trip, but we had a good time hanging out with them. The flight over there was a little rough for me, but I felt ok. It was when we landed and taxied over to the terminal that I got a wave a nausea hit me. It pretty much lasted the rest of that day. Smells would make my stomach turn and just seeing food would make me feel nauseated. It wasn't like a, I-think-i'm-going-to-throw-up kind of nausea, just an uneasiness in my stomach. I was hungry, but didn't want to eat anything. So that was not fun. I was able to take a few naps during the day, and I think that helped a lot. Thank you to Mama Jo who was very helpful in making sure I was comfortable and feeling good. You're the best!!

The weekend went well, and now I'm back at work. It was very hard because our flight landed in Houston at 11:30, so we were probably in bed around 12:30am. YUCK! So getting up at 6:00am was very hard. But I'm here, and not feeling very well to tell you the truth. Feeling very exhausted and nauseated again. Hopefully that will go away soon.

We were officially 6 weeks on December 25th! Hooray!
AW

Day 11: Christmas Eve!

Yesterday was a very crazy day for me. Tons of work to finish up before the holidays and finishing my Christmas shopping last minute was definitely not a good idea. The stores were packed and people were desperate. Not a good combination. With all that excitement and all the work that needed to get done, my body felt so exhausted from the day. It was 9:30pm when I finally called it quits, and it felt like it was midnight! I felt my first bout of nauseau and then I burst out crying lol. I think it was more so because I was more tired than anything. I think that Ben will get used to the emotional part soon haha!

Well, I don't know how much of a chance I'll get to write during these next few days...the day after Christmas, Ben and I are flying to St. Louis to visit his family. (I heard that its safe to do so, but that your symptoms get amplified a little bit...we will see) We will be staying pretty busy, but I will try to keep you posted!

Everyone have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!!

AW

Day 9: First Dr's Appointment

It's official! I'm pregnant! ;) haha The Dr. did a check up on me and says that so far so good. She was nice enough to do an ultrasound to see if she could see anything. We saw the little bubble that will be my baby's home for the next 8 months and we saw the little black dot that is our baby right now! So cool. There were a lot of tests done on me, so most of that was uncomfortable, but that didn't stop the excitement :)

We got our first baby present from my friend Priscilla. A cute white baby blanket that says "Little Angel" and the cutest little baby shoes! In white of course, because we don't know what it is yet :)

I'll post pics soon!

AW

Day 8: The Big Announcement

Last night my very large family got together to have a pre-Christmas party- party. For those of you that are hispanic, you understand! :) haha Hispanics like to have parties! Anyways, last night Ben and I got up in front of the family and announced that I was pregnant! Cheers errupted! The family loves children and it was around this same time last year that my close cousin Donna was announcing the same thing! So it was very exciting and everyone was happy to hear that we were finally adding a baby to the ever-growing family. Everyone is happy for us and to tell you the truth, we were very surprised that there were still family members that didn't know the good news! News travels fast in our family, so it was a shock that some people apparently kept it quiet!

Sunday was a long day for me, and I came home pretty exhausted. The overwhelming need for sleep hit me pretty hard mid-party, so we came home early and crawled into bed.

By the way, I have the best husband ever! He has been SO amazing in taking care of me and making sure that I am always comfortable, safe and happy. He's put up with my gripes, my random bouts of tears and emotional ups and downs without complaining :) Babe--you're the best and I love you!!

AW

Day 7: Water weight

So the swelling has definitely started.  Last night, my wedding ring started hurting my finger;  I struggled pulling it off my obviously swollen finger.  I was not able to put i back on :( boo.  Shoes that used to fit me perfectly fine are feeling a little snug.  Not that I'm complaining!  I would rather have the swelling and fatigue 100 times over nausea!!

This morning I woke up feeling like I'd been hit by a Mack truck.  Its kind-of funny, because several parts of my body feel like they are bruised, but my mom says that's probably just the swelling.  Mostly, my body is just sore.

I don't want to use this blog as a way to complain and make people think what a horrible experience pregnancy is, because it most certainly is NOT! I got an email last night telling me that this was my 5th week, and my baby is the size of a sesame seed!  Little tiny thing :)  The brain is in the process of developing.  So early!!  Its amazing really.  Despite all the strange feelings and the aches and pains going through my body thanks to the influx of hormones, there is also this butterfly type feeling in my tummy that gives me a thrill.  I'm not saying that it's anything physical that I feel, it's an emotional feeling of excitement.  Kind-of like that feeling when you meet the love of your life, the moment of your first kiss, the first time he tells you that he loves you.  Those are the butterflies I'm talking about!

Anyways, I've spent the day relaxing so far, trying to get the swelling and aches to go down.  I feel much better, but am definitely getting cabin fever!!  So I will probably be begging my honey to take me out here in a little bit :) :)

AW

Day 6: From a male's point of view...

Well, Amy has been "hinting" at me to post so here I am. Not that I feel obligated or am doing this because she wants me to be a part of the blog, but because I wanted to post a few thoughts and experiences.

As most of you know, this pregnancy was not planned but rather a blessing by God. Amy struggled with the thoughts of not being able to reproduce so this blessing brought us tears for numerous reasons. After the initial shock, my jaw is still sore from hanging open for so long, we were flooded by excitement. I cried most of the day (tears of joy I can assure you) and would cry the following few days when the thought came to mind. Do men start getting in touch with their feminine side during this process? I mean, I'm crying all of the time, people at work are beginning to look at me funny...of course they've always done that :)

So far Amy isn't craving any funky foods. As a guy, I'm waiting for all of the strange things to happen to her that you see in movies. Cravings for pickles and ice cream, onions and peanut butter, etc. Fortunately that hasn't happened and fortunately she isn't getting sick, however, she has horrible gas right now which makes me think she IS eating onions and peanut butter behind my back....sorry to divulge that tidbit of information however I'm just warning other guys who may go through this. Trust me fellas, your dutch oven jokes on your wife at night will be paid in full when she is pregnant. Of course, even our dog had a lot of gas....but that's pretty normal.

All jokes aside, we are very excited and I love seeing my wife walk around with this glow on her face. From a husband's standpoint, there is nothing better then seeing your wife glowing. The thought of having a baby has consumed her and even her Christmas list is changing with the addition of a Coach Baby Bag...please keep me in your prayers.

I will try to drop in with some posts from a man's point of view (I'm sure you are excited). Until then, stay classy

Ben

Day Five: Dreary Day & Tight Pants

I think it hasn't helped that this whole week has been foggy and dark and gloomy. Even though the fatigue is said to be normal, I'm really just wanting to sleep and cuddle on days like this!!
Lately, my little Sophie (as bratty as she can be) has been really cuddly. She seems to just want to lay near me, or on top of me, or just as close as possible. Maybe she's feeling something...but its been kind of nice. She can still push my buttons though!! But I love her anyways :)

Already today, I had trouble finding a pair of pants that would button up without feeling tight and uncomfortable. It's definitely not because I'm showing already! but due to some bloating that is pretty normal. The pants I chose are not exactly the most comfortable. *sigh* oh well...

Ben and I have been trying to decide on a OBGYN that we will be happy with. We went ahead and made an appointment with Dr. Chohan, but have been considering this other Dr. as well. Even though I had been very resolute that I would never go to a male Gyno, I have heard many good things about an older gentleman that really knows his stuff. The most important thing to me is that I have someone that is really informative to us and gives us plenty of tips/ideas to make this pregnancy easier. We might try him as well. I will definitely be nervous with that one!!

Its only been 5 days that I've known about our little baby, and I'm already looking at names!! I guess that's pretty common, because as soon as we started telling people, their first question is: Do you have any names picked out?? Mostly I've been the one looking, but Ben has been very dutifully sifting through my choices :) I love his input!! If anyone has any ideas or favorites, let me know!! :)

Thank you to everyone that has been so excited with us! We love having family and friends involved! Keep us in your prayers, as you all are always in ours.

Lots of love,

AW

Day Four: Prenatals

Last night Ben and I went to go get some prenatal pills for me to take, at least until Dr. Chohan tells us otherwise. It felt so weird buying them! haha I'm telling you, it still doesn't quite feel real, but I can't wait until Monday!! My cousin Donna also suggested that I take this stuff called Expecta Lipil DHA Supplements that are full of Omega-3 fatty acids that are very important for the baby's brain development. And since I don't like fish (which contains these Omega-3's), this will take care of that.

I'm feeling a little dizzy/light-headed today...but also read that those were some of the symptoms of early pregnancy, so I'm not really worried. It's just sort of an annoyance...

So, I definitely have a lot of questions about what I can and can't eat, and what I SHOULD eat. I really want to maintain a healthy diet so that I don't get outta control and pack on uneccesary weight. But my main concern is of course, the health of my baby!

I think its funny because I'm only a few weeks into this and I'm already dying to buy maternity clothes and baby clothes!! haha I won't even know what our little one is for months!

Day Three: Feeling Lazy

So the nurse called me back from Dr. Chohan's office and set my appointment for Monday December 22, so that's exciting that I don't have to wait long to talk to the doctor. There's somewhat of an uncertainty when all you have to rely on is a little pee stick. They say that they are 99.9% accurate and there are of course undeniable signs from my body that something is obviously happening...but still.

I have so many questions regarding my body and this pregnancy, mostly because for one, I have hypothyroidism, and need to find out about medication and the safety of our baby. Also, I have a question regarding the Rh Factor. The Rh Factor is an antigen found in the red blood cells of most people...those who have Rh factor are said to be Rh positive, while those who do not are Rh negative. As in, I am A negative blood type. Which means that I do not have the Rh factor in my blood. Problem is, my husband is Rh positive and if our baby inherits the positive Rh, then my body might try to reject the baby's blood. It sounds scary, but there are a lot of preventatives to make sure this doesn't happen. Again I will remind myself: Faith, not Fear. Either way, it is a definite question for the doctor as to what will need to be done.

So far, the day has felt really long and drawn out to me...I'm feeling extra tired. It doesn't help that I didn't exactly go to bed early last night, but still, my body feels that fatigue that is said to affect you around this time. I just want to lay down and zzzzzzz. And it doesn't help that the day is gloomy and cloudy and dark. A warm cuddly blanket and my hubby sound so good right about now :)

A few cramps here and there still, but they're getting better. Other than that, I feel great! No nausea or anything like that, so that's nice. I am feeling super thirsty, but have been drinking plenty of water. Which explains my upteenth trip to the bathroom! Oh well, such is life.

AW

Day Two: Excitement Hits!

So all the scary feelings and shock have worn off, and now I simply can't wipe the smile off of my face! I am so excited at the idea of having a little baby to call our own! Someone that is a part of the both of us! Its is just so, well, exciting! ahhh! haha

I called the OBGYN that I have been using to set up and appointment. I've only used her once, so I will have to see how comfortable Ben and I are with her and where their office has moved to, as well as what hospital I would have to go to....have to start thinking about those things!

Today I've been getting lots of light cramps, and not knowing what they mean, can sometimes be a little scary...but God has been teaching me that Faith, not fear is the answer. So instead of flipping out right away, I decided to do some reasearch. It turns out its pretty common and apparently just my egg attaching to my uterus wall. (maybe I should have given a warning that I might get a little graphic in this blog! ha)

So far so good though, and other than the light cramps and a little back ache, I feel great! No nausea or fatigue. God is going to bless us with a happy, healthy pregnancy!

AW

Day One: Pregnancy Test

After feeling kind-of strange for the past few days, I woke up this morning thinking I've GOT to be pregnant. Having been pretty quiet about the changes I was feeling in my body, I decided to tell Ben what I thought was going on today!

He woke up not long after I did, and after talking about random things, he looked me in the eyes and said, I want to have a baby with you. Is that awesome, or what?! So of course I said,welllll, I think I might be. After talking a little bit more about what I was feeling and calculating out my last cycle, we decided I was around 3 days late. So we went out to get a First Response Pregnancy Test.

After figuring out how to work the little thing...I went in the bathroom...not even a minute after, 2 little pink lines appeared in the screen! Meaning I was PREGNANT! I sat there in total shock...Ben, after thinking that I was taking too long in the bathroom, came bursting in...I simply handed him the little stick and we started hugging and crying from the shock and happiness of it all!

It's been SO much fun telling family and friends and hearing their reactions. The shock is still definitely there, definitely happy, but mostly scared. Plans are definitely changing and there are so many more questions. One thing is certain...

We are having a BABY WATSON!

AW