I was talking to Eric about this yesterday evening and thought it worthy of blog post. I really don't feel like I'm pregnant yet! I clearly know that I'm pregnant and I'm very thankful that I didn't have crazy morning sickness for 13 weeks, that I don't feel tired all the time, and that I can still button my pre-pregnancy jeans (although with some challenges after about 3 PM), but I'm just wondering...when does this start to feel real? I guess I always expected to feel more real once I heard the heartbeat or had our first ultrasound, and while it felt very real at the time and both those occasions were incredible experiences, it doesn't feel real on a daily basis. Other than giving up drinking and my coffee on the weekends (never really drank coffee during the week), and having to eat something small before I workout in the mornings (I used to go to the gym first thing on an empty stomach - eating before used to make me sick!), nothing in my life has really changed that much.
I'm definitely not complaining about all of that - I think I'm actually pretty lucky that things have stayed close to normal. However, I think that I'm just excited for the time when I really feel pregnant. I'm just not sure when that will be - Will it be when I start having a real bump? Will it be when I start to feel the baby move on a regular basis? I know that I'm going to completely melt into a million pieces once I actually see and hold this child, but until that happens, I'm just wondering when it actually sinks in that I'm growing a human inside of me!
Maybe this lack of sinking in is nature's way of making sure I'm not freaking out on a daily basis or stressing about all the changes that are going to happen soon, because as Eric can attest, I've definitely had crazy freak out moments when I've thought about it too much. I know everything is going to work out - people with a lot less than us manage to do it, so I'm sure we'll be able to as well, but when I stop and really think about it, my mind starts racing in a thousand directions. I'll end with a question for all the moms out there...when did you start to feel pregnant? Was it right away? Was it never? Sometime in between?
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Baby on My Birthday?
In one of our earlier posts, I mentioned how Eric was hoping that the baby would be born on my birthday. Well, the past few weeks I feel like I've been seeing so many signs that the baby might actually be born on my birthday. For example, take the clock - about 3 or 4 times in the past 3 weeks, I found myself looking at the clock around 4 PM and when I checked it said 4:18 (which happens to be my birthday). And then, when I was at Nanima's (my grandmother) house I was talking on the phone to my mom, and when I hung up, the timer on the phone said 4:18. And again today when I went to make a call at work, the time on my phone said 4:18 PM. Now this could just be a coincidence and maybe I'm more aware of the times now that Eric mentioned something about having the baby on my birthday, but still...it seems like it's happening way to frequently to not be a sign of something! Plus, even with the difference in due date estimates 4/18/2011 is perfectly reasonably for both...it would put me at 41 wks 5 days if I'm due on April 6 and 39 wks 5 days if I'm due on the April 23...both completely within the normal realm for a first time mom (I heard that the average first time mom usually goes to about 41 wks, but that it is also normal to deliver 2 weeks on either side of your due date). I know at first I was completely not looking forward to being in labor on my birthday if it happened, but now that I'm thinking about it, it would be kind of cool. I mean, it would probably not be the way I'd choose to spend my birthday every year, but how amazing would it be to be reminded every year of my wedding, honeymoon, and the amazing love that I have with my husband that created a new life on each birthday when I look at our child and celebrate it's birthday as well?? I guess we'll just have to wait and see...
Monday, October 25, 2010
So am I 14 weeks or am I 16 weeks?
This weekend, Eric and I enjoyed some much needed R&R in Pennsylvania with some awesome friends. Our good friends Cindy and Chris had rented 2 cabins just outside of Breezewood and got a group of 14 people together for an amazing weekend .We arrived on Friday night for a fun filled trip that included bonfires, mountain pies, jungle gym obstacle courses, and a trip down memory lane as we finished the weekend with a costume decades party with music commemorating each decade from 1950-Present. So in a word, AMAZING. I forgot how completely awesome it is to be completely disconnected from cell phones and the internet for 2 days. To put the cap on a perfect weekend, Eric and I managed to watch the first 6 episodes of Mad Men Season 4. Like I said, a fabulous weekend.
Seeing as how awesome our weekend was, I expected today to start out equally as fabulously. Big mistake. I was supposed to go in for part 2 of my blood work associated with the NT scan and my appointment was really early. I thought I'd still be able to sneak in a quick workout but no such luck. Then, halfway to my appointment, I realized I left my cell phone at home. Once I got to the Maternal-Fetal Health Office, I ended up waiting for 30 minutes for the nurse to take me back and tell me that they couldn't do the blood work today b/c according to their records, I was only 14 wks 4 days and I needed to be at least 15 wks. Well, my doctor hasn't changed my due date, so according to him, I'm 16 wks 6 days. WTF!! This is so frustrating and I'm actually just really mad at my original OB's office b/c they didn't bother to do an ultrasound early in the first trimester to date the pregnancy (which I've since found out is pretty normal now), and also because they still haven't sent over my medical records to the new OB...I was supposed to have those records 2 weeks ago and they keep giving me the run around. So glad that I switched practices, but alas, I digress. So back to the blood work, now I have to go back to get it done in a couple of weeks. At least I was able to schedule it for the same day as my next pre-natal visit with my current OB, so no extra trips to the office:) I cannot wait until our anatomy scan so they can final resolve this due date issue. I never realized how annoying a couple weeks difference could be! All in all I suppose it could have been worse, but somehow all the hormones amplify all the little things that I used to not even think about and make them a huge, earth-shattering deal. Oh well, at least I can recognize when I'm being slightly neurotic (thank you honey for being so awesome when I fly off the deep end for really stupid stuff:P).
In other news, I am sad to report that I think my 4 inch heel wearing days are nearing an end. For the first time ever I am noticing a slight dull pain in my lower back. Now I know that this probably mostly my uterus is pushing down on something in a funny way, but I have also noticed that my general body alignment seems to be off a bit when I'm wearing super tall heels. I'm definitely not giving up heels all together, but I do think the time has come to start investing in a couple of pairs of lower heeled shoes to take me through the next couple months. I think this weekend I'm going to go on the prowl and see if I can find any cute shoes for work and life that are around 2 inches..I think that's a fair compromise! If you have any suggestions for cute brands or shoes that fit the lower heel, non stiletto requirement, let me know!
Seeing as how awesome our weekend was, I expected today to start out equally as fabulously. Big mistake. I was supposed to go in for part 2 of my blood work associated with the NT scan and my appointment was really early. I thought I'd still be able to sneak in a quick workout but no such luck. Then, halfway to my appointment, I realized I left my cell phone at home. Once I got to the Maternal-Fetal Health Office, I ended up waiting for 30 minutes for the nurse to take me back and tell me that they couldn't do the blood work today b/c according to their records, I was only 14 wks 4 days and I needed to be at least 15 wks. Well, my doctor hasn't changed my due date, so according to him, I'm 16 wks 6 days. WTF!! This is so frustrating and I'm actually just really mad at my original OB's office b/c they didn't bother to do an ultrasound early in the first trimester to date the pregnancy (which I've since found out is pretty normal now), and also because they still haven't sent over my medical records to the new OB...I was supposed to have those records 2 weeks ago and they keep giving me the run around. So glad that I switched practices, but alas, I digress. So back to the blood work, now I have to go back to get it done in a couple of weeks. At least I was able to schedule it for the same day as my next pre-natal visit with my current OB, so no extra trips to the office:) I cannot wait until our anatomy scan so they can final resolve this due date issue. I never realized how annoying a couple weeks difference could be! All in all I suppose it could have been worse, but somehow all the hormones amplify all the little things that I used to not even think about and make them a huge, earth-shattering deal. Oh well, at least I can recognize when I'm being slightly neurotic (thank you honey for being so awesome when I fly off the deep end for really stupid stuff:P).
In other news, I am sad to report that I think my 4 inch heel wearing days are nearing an end. For the first time ever I am noticing a slight dull pain in my lower back. Now I know that this probably mostly my uterus is pushing down on something in a funny way, but I have also noticed that my general body alignment seems to be off a bit when I'm wearing super tall heels. I'm definitely not giving up heels all together, but I do think the time has come to start investing in a couple of pairs of lower heeled shoes to take me through the next couple months. I think this weekend I'm going to go on the prowl and see if I can find any cute shoes for work and life that are around 2 inches..I think that's a fair compromise! If you have any suggestions for cute brands or shoes that fit the lower heel, non stiletto requirement, let me know!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
No more high heels:(
This afternoon we had our second visit with our new OB, Dr. Tchabo. Couple pieces of good news:
1. I didn't gain any weight (yay! i gained a good amount of weight in the first trimester b/c I couldn't work out and because all I could really keep down was massive amounts of bread. I am hoping things even out weight-wise from here on out)
2. LGR's heartbeat was so good - 153 beats per minute. S/he was hiding from the doppler and kind of gave both me and Eric a little scare, but the doctor found it after a little searching:)
In addition to the good news, we got some bad news (well, not we so much as me)....the doctor told me no more high heels! I told him that I literally owned no flat shoes outside my tennis shoes. Good thing Eric was there b/c now I have a doctor's orders to go shopping for shoes! And since all my pants are long so they work with heels, I'll also have to replace those. Eric's exact words for the doctor were "Well I guess you just gave her a reason to go shoe shopping!"
We also talked to the doctor about how I was measuring at the NT scan, since that was my first ultrasound. He said that even though the baby was measuring about 2 weeks behind that it wasn't really a concern so he wasn't going to move the due date. That means that I am currently 15 weeks 5 days pregnant and we are now due on April 6. The exciting part about this is that we'll get to find out the sex of the baby sooner than we thought! We're in the process of scheduling the anatomy scan, which can be done anywhere from 18-22 weeks. We are so excited to find out what little LGR will be, and I am so excited to finally be able to start picking things out for the nursery (and if it's a girl, go and buy that GORGEOUS black and red dress I saw at the Gymboree Outlet for next fall/winter :P)
1. I didn't gain any weight (yay! i gained a good amount of weight in the first trimester b/c I couldn't work out and because all I could really keep down was massive amounts of bread. I am hoping things even out weight-wise from here on out)
2. LGR's heartbeat was so good - 153 beats per minute. S/he was hiding from the doppler and kind of gave both me and Eric a little scare, but the doctor found it after a little searching:)
In addition to the good news, we got some bad news (well, not we so much as me)....the doctor told me no more high heels! I told him that I literally owned no flat shoes outside my tennis shoes. Good thing Eric was there b/c now I have a doctor's orders to go shopping for shoes! And since all my pants are long so they work with heels, I'll also have to replace those. Eric's exact words for the doctor were "Well I guess you just gave her a reason to go shoe shopping!"
We also talked to the doctor about how I was measuring at the NT scan, since that was my first ultrasound. He said that even though the baby was measuring about 2 weeks behind that it wasn't really a concern so he wasn't going to move the due date. That means that I am currently 15 weeks 5 days pregnant and we are now due on April 6. The exciting part about this is that we'll get to find out the sex of the baby sooner than we thought! We're in the process of scheduling the anatomy scan, which can be done anywhere from 18-22 weeks. We are so excited to find out what little LGR will be, and I am so excited to finally be able to start picking things out for the nursery (and if it's a girl, go and buy that GORGEOUS black and red dress I saw at the Gymboree Outlet for next fall/winter :P)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Babies Cost a Lot
The past week has been kind of hectic for both me and Eric with lots of things going on at work, and of course, in life! We've both been a little bit overwhelmed by all there is to do in terms of preparing for a baby - what do we have to buy before the baby is born? how much does it cost? where are we going to store it? how far in advance to do we have to buy? and many more of those types of fun questions I'm sure every first time parent has. Being the planners and researchers that we are, we went to work trying to find answers. We started with Baby Bargains which several colleagues and acquaintances suggested. This is quite possibly the.best.book.EVER. No joke - it goes through everything you could possibly imagine from car seats, to cribs, to diaper bags to the layette it takes Consumer Report findings, plus reviews and feedback from actual parents and reviews nearly every single brand out there in every category. Then, they even make recommendations based on price, lifestyle, etc.
Eric is pretty awesome and got cracking on the research pretty much as soon as we got the book. He looked up cribs, car seats, strollers, bedding and so much more and really narrowed it down to the top brands so that I didn't have to do too much research. Now, I know that I tend to have expensive taste in things, but I had no idea how expensive some of these baby items could be until we started looking. $1000 for a crib? $250 for bedding? $800 for a stroller? Ummm I don't think so. I don't even have bedding that expensive and I'm a grown adult that can appreciate high thread count sheets! Luckily, after a little bit of digging we were able to find some very nice options that were much friendlier on the wallet. I think narrowing down our top choices to three or so per category will definitely make it less overwhelming when we set foot into the crazy baby stores, and help us not spend crazy amounts of money on things we'll never need/use (or at least not now).
We've got a fun start to this week, with tomorrow being my next OB appointment! We'll go over the results of our NT scan and find out if the doctor is going to officially change my due date. At my NT scan, the baby measuring about 2.5 weeks behind where it should have been which lead the doctor overseeing the ultrasound to suggest changing my due date from April 6 to April 23. So tomorrow I'll find out if I'm actually 13 wks 3 days or 16 wks! Also exciting news (at least for me) - I finally got to eat eggs this morning! I've been really put off by the look/smell of eggs since right around the time I left for Rwanda, but for some reason this morning after my work out, I really wanted an egg and cheese sandwich. I made one, and not only did it NOT gross me out, I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. I'm so excited I get to have one of my favorite breakfasts back:)
In other news, we finally found a boy name that we both like! We had a girl name picked out even before we got engaged, but the boy names were the ones that stumped us. I had been seeing really cute girl clothes and nursery items, and this weekend I also managed to find some really really cute boy ones. Which brings me to my next point...who wants to place bets on whether we're having a boy or a girl? In light of our upcoming appointment with the doctor, we decided to do a little polling. So far Mama Skrzypek thinks its a boy, my dad thinks its a boy, and the daddy-to-be thinks its a boy. I, on the other hand am leaning towards a girl. So what do you think? Leave a comment below and let us know! Or, if you have thoughts on how to tell before the anatomy scan, let us know:)
Eric is pretty awesome and got cracking on the research pretty much as soon as we got the book. He looked up cribs, car seats, strollers, bedding and so much more and really narrowed it down to the top brands so that I didn't have to do too much research. Now, I know that I tend to have expensive taste in things, but I had no idea how expensive some of these baby items could be until we started looking. $1000 for a crib? $250 for bedding? $800 for a stroller? Ummm I don't think so. I don't even have bedding that expensive and I'm a grown adult that can appreciate high thread count sheets! Luckily, after a little bit of digging we were able to find some very nice options that were much friendlier on the wallet. I think narrowing down our top choices to three or so per category will definitely make it less overwhelming when we set foot into the crazy baby stores, and help us not spend crazy amounts of money on things we'll never need/use (or at least not now).
We've got a fun start to this week, with tomorrow being my next OB appointment! We'll go over the results of our NT scan and find out if the doctor is going to officially change my due date. At my NT scan, the baby measuring about 2.5 weeks behind where it should have been which lead the doctor overseeing the ultrasound to suggest changing my due date from April 6 to April 23. So tomorrow I'll find out if I'm actually 13 wks 3 days or 16 wks! Also exciting news (at least for me) - I finally got to eat eggs this morning! I've been really put off by the look/smell of eggs since right around the time I left for Rwanda, but for some reason this morning after my work out, I really wanted an egg and cheese sandwich. I made one, and not only did it NOT gross me out, I thoroughly enjoyed every bite. I'm so excited I get to have one of my favorite breakfasts back:)
In other news, we finally found a boy name that we both like! We had a girl name picked out even before we got engaged, but the boy names were the ones that stumped us. I had been seeing really cute girl clothes and nursery items, and this weekend I also managed to find some really really cute boy ones. Which brings me to my next point...who wants to place bets on whether we're having a boy or a girl? In light of our upcoming appointment with the doctor, we decided to do a little polling. So far Mama Skrzypek thinks its a boy, my dad thinks its a boy, and the daddy-to-be thinks its a boy. I, on the other hand am leaning towards a girl. So what do you think? Leave a comment below and let us know! Or, if you have thoughts on how to tell before the anatomy scan, let us know:)
Monday, October 11, 2010
Successful Shopping Trip...Kind of
This weekend, Eric and I had a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather with our families. On Friday evening, we headed down to Aunt Cindy's to hang out with some of Eric's family. We got to see his cousins Frank (who we hadn't seen since the wedding), Duane (who we hadn't seen since before the wedding), and Laura and her son Jordan (the ring bearer at our wedding). It was a gorgeous evening and we got to relax by the fire. The guys enjoyed some cigars and beer and I enjoyed a nice glass of water:) It was so nice to catch up with everyone and the perfect way to start our weekend.
On Saturday we started the day at my parents house and then headed to the outlets to do some shopping. I had been complaining for a while about how none of my clothes really looked right anymore - I'm kind of in an in-between stage right now where everything still technically fits, but nothing looks quite right. So to remedy the situation, we went shopping! We got to the outlets super early (like 10 am) and even got parking right up front! We explored Old Navy for a bit and I found some cute leggings and a long sweater in normal sizes that I think will work for a while. I did get quite frustrated though because I have no idea to shop for my current body. After Old Navy, we went to the maternity store where I tried on a bunch of tops in the hopes that I would find something more suited to my current shape. Two problems with this: 1. I was drowning in the tops - even the small, 2. All the tops and clothes looked like they were designed for 40 year old women. Just because I am pregnant does not mean that I suddenly forgot about fashion or that I don't want to look/feel attractive and stylish! Luckily after the maternity store, the shopping got much better:) I found a very cute purse and wallet and got a couple more very nice (and stylish) sweaters at Banana Republic. We finished off the day with dinner at my parents' house with my brother, Waheed and my Nanima (grandmother), and Khati Masi (aunt).
All in all, a very fabulous weekend! Definitely not ready for another week of work, but I'm crossing my fingers that next weekend will get here quickly:)
On Saturday we started the day at my parents house and then headed to the outlets to do some shopping. I had been complaining for a while about how none of my clothes really looked right anymore - I'm kind of in an in-between stage right now where everything still technically fits, but nothing looks quite right. So to remedy the situation, we went shopping! We got to the outlets super early (like 10 am) and even got parking right up front! We explored Old Navy for a bit and I found some cute leggings and a long sweater in normal sizes that I think will work for a while. I did get quite frustrated though because I have no idea to shop for my current body. After Old Navy, we went to the maternity store where I tried on a bunch of tops in the hopes that I would find something more suited to my current shape. Two problems with this: 1. I was drowning in the tops - even the small, 2. All the tops and clothes looked like they were designed for 40 year old women. Just because I am pregnant does not mean that I suddenly forgot about fashion or that I don't want to look/feel attractive and stylish! Luckily after the maternity store, the shopping got much better:) I found a very cute purse and wallet and got a couple more very nice (and stylish) sweaters at Banana Republic. We finished off the day with dinner at my parents' house with my brother, Waheed and my Nanima (grandmother), and Khati Masi (aunt).
All in all, a very fabulous weekend! Definitely not ready for another week of work, but I'm crossing my fingers that next weekend will get here quickly:)
Friday, October 8, 2010
The Meaning of LGR
I finally remembered to scan in some of the sonogram pictures and post them! Yay for checking one thing off my list! Hope you all enjoy them:)
On another note, yesterday Eric was reading through the post and realized that I hadn't actually explained what LGR means or how that nickname for Baby Peks came about (Hussein Mama also asked, so he gets credit for reminding me too:). So, I figured I would take the time to explain this great little nickname now, before we get too far along:)
First, LGR stands for Little Grain of Rice. A very random and arbitrary thing for it to stand for until you hear the story. Probably a week after I found out I was pregnant (right before I left for Rwanda) I was having pretty bad morning sickness, that was basically lasting all day (I hadn't figured out the eating every couple of hours or as soon as I got up thing yet). While I didn't actually get sick, I was feeling really nauseous and just not like myself - I couldn't even make it through a 30 minute workout, and as Eric will tell you, I am not fun to be around when I don't get my gym time! In any case all these changes were going on inside of me and one night I said to Eric "I don't understand how something smaller than a grain of rice could be causing all of this!" To which he replied "Yeah, I don't know either...that's pretty small to be causing all these issues." From then on whenever Eric would ask me how I was doing, he would also ask "How is our little grain of rice?" and whenever I would feel sick or just off, I would say "I think our little grain of rice is not happy with me." We then got tired of saying "little grain of rice..." I mean, it is kind of a long nickname, so Eric shortened it to LGR and the name just stuck! So on this blog you'll probably see us using LGR and Baby Peks interchangeably, but at least now you'll know what it means!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
We're Having a Baby!
In case you haven't heard, we're having a baby! Eric and I are so so excited for this new chapter in our lives and feel so lucky that we're going to be parents soon.
Just for some background, Eric and I got married on July 17, 2010. We met in September 2007 through match.com. My girlfriends and I were tired of meeting the same types of guys over and over at happy hour and clubs so we decided to give Match a shot. I decided that since I was young and hot, I wasn't going to settle for just anyone, so I made up a list of all the superficial criteria I wanted in a guy (at least 6 ft tall, blue eyes, and of course drop dead gorgeous). I didn't respond to a single person that didn't meet all of my criteria, and since I only had pictures to go by, I didn't respond to anyone that didn't have an amazing picture (I know this sounds shallow, but it gets better). One day, I stumbled across a wink from Eric so I looked through his profile. On the surface, he met all of my criteria, but the only thing that had me on the fence was his pictures. He had one stunning picture, and one not so stunning picture. As I debated responding to him, my friend Anna weighed in - she told me that he looked so much more interesting than all the lawyers and political types I had been going out with and that I should give it shot. I figured all I had to lose was a free drink or two, so I said yes. We went on our first date on September 19, and the rest, as they say, is history:)
Now, back to the present. Before we got married, Eric and I discussed having kids and we both knew that we wanted them pretty soon. After figuring out how we could juggle work, grad school and finances, we decided that we wanted to start trying as soon as we got married. We thought it would take a couple months (well, I thought it would take a couple months - Eric was pretty confident we'd come back from our honeymoon pregnant), and we (I) were (was) completely shocked to find out we were expecting. We found out in mid August - right after our 1 month anniversary and just a week before I was scheduled to go on a 3 week business trip to Rwanda! We of course told our parents right away, but swore them to secrecy until I got back from Rwanda and had a proper appointment with the doctor to make sure everything was OK. I think Eric's mom and my dad get the award for best grandparent reaction - Dad sounded like a kid at Christmas that just found out he was going to Disney World and Mom (Eric's mom) was so happy she was in tears!
On Monday, we had our second prenatal appointment and accomplished several major milestones! First, we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. That was probably one of the most amazing things ever and it made everything feel so real ( the nausea and motion sickness and bloating made it real too, but in a different way:P). The other big milestone was our first sonogram! Seeing the baby inside of me was so incredible and so reassuring. It's really hard to imagine that there is an actual living being growing inside of you, but being able to see that just makes it that much more real. And, we definitely know that this baby will take after me in one way - it loves the camera! In the sonogram pics, LGR was waving it's hand! We'll post those in the next day or so once I remember to scan them! The sonogram technician said that LGR was very well behaved..we're crossing our fingers it will be well behaved when it arrives as well. After reviewing the sonogram, the doctor came in and talked to me and told me that my due date was wrong - originally, they thought I was due on April 6, but after checking the baby's growth, we are now expecting LGR to arrive on April 23 , 2011 (that should put to rest all questions about conception prior to marriage from a *certain* individual - you know who you are:P). Eric always joked that it would be very convenient for him if the baby was born on my birthday since that would mean he wouldn't have to memorize a new birthday...looks like now that might be a possibility! I on the other hand, am hoping not go be delivering a child on my actual birthday - I mean I think having a child is going to be an incredible experience, and if it so happens that I have LGR on my birthday I'm not going to complain, but from what I've heard about childbirth, I think I might just prefer a romantic dinner with my husband. But if LGR does decide to come on my birthday, I think diamonds would be a great replacement for said romantic dinner (just giving you some ideas honey:) - it would definitely compensate for not being able to eat and you know, delivering a baby!
Our next prenatal appointment is on October 19. At that point, I should be nearing the end of my first trimester (I'm 11 weeks 5 days now), and according to my book, Your Pregnancy Week by Week, I should be less fatigued and many of the uncomfortable symptoms experienced during the first trimester should have dissipated. Plus, then I get to take my flu shot and go to the dentist - I think I'm long over due for both of those things! In the meantime, I think a shopping trip is in order...I think leggings, some long sweaters and some waist defining belts (while I still have a waist) are a definite must for the next couple months.
Just for some background, Eric and I got married on July 17, 2010. We met in September 2007 through match.com. My girlfriends and I were tired of meeting the same types of guys over and over at happy hour and clubs so we decided to give Match a shot. I decided that since I was young and hot, I wasn't going to settle for just anyone, so I made up a list of all the superficial criteria I wanted in a guy (at least 6 ft tall, blue eyes, and of course drop dead gorgeous). I didn't respond to a single person that didn't meet all of my criteria, and since I only had pictures to go by, I didn't respond to anyone that didn't have an amazing picture (I know this sounds shallow, but it gets better). One day, I stumbled across a wink from Eric so I looked through his profile. On the surface, he met all of my criteria, but the only thing that had me on the fence was his pictures. He had one stunning picture, and one not so stunning picture. As I debated responding to him, my friend Anna weighed in - she told me that he looked so much more interesting than all the lawyers and political types I had been going out with and that I should give it shot. I figured all I had to lose was a free drink or two, so I said yes. We went on our first date on September 19, and the rest, as they say, is history:)
Now, back to the present. Before we got married, Eric and I discussed having kids and we both knew that we wanted them pretty soon. After figuring out how we could juggle work, grad school and finances, we decided that we wanted to start trying as soon as we got married. We thought it would take a couple months (well, I thought it would take a couple months - Eric was pretty confident we'd come back from our honeymoon pregnant), and we (I) were (was) completely shocked to find out we were expecting. We found out in mid August - right after our 1 month anniversary and just a week before I was scheduled to go on a 3 week business trip to Rwanda! We of course told our parents right away, but swore them to secrecy until I got back from Rwanda and had a proper appointment with the doctor to make sure everything was OK. I think Eric's mom and my dad get the award for best grandparent reaction - Dad sounded like a kid at Christmas that just found out he was going to Disney World and Mom (Eric's mom) was so happy she was in tears!
On Monday, we had our second prenatal appointment and accomplished several major milestones! First, we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. That was probably one of the most amazing things ever and it made everything feel so real ( the nausea and motion sickness and bloating made it real too, but in a different way:P). The other big milestone was our first sonogram! Seeing the baby inside of me was so incredible and so reassuring. It's really hard to imagine that there is an actual living being growing inside of you, but being able to see that just makes it that much more real. And, we definitely know that this baby will take after me in one way - it loves the camera! In the sonogram pics, LGR was waving it's hand! We'll post those in the next day or so once I remember to scan them! The sonogram technician said that LGR was very well behaved..we're crossing our fingers it will be well behaved when it arrives as well. After reviewing the sonogram, the doctor came in and talked to me and told me that my due date was wrong - originally, they thought I was due on April 6, but after checking the baby's growth, we are now expecting LGR to arrive on April 23 , 2011 (that should put to rest all questions about conception prior to marriage from a *certain* individual - you know who you are:P). Eric always joked that it would be very convenient for him if the baby was born on my birthday since that would mean he wouldn't have to memorize a new birthday...looks like now that might be a possibility! I on the other hand, am hoping not go be delivering a child on my actual birthday - I mean I think having a child is going to be an incredible experience, and if it so happens that I have LGR on my birthday I'm not going to complain, but from what I've heard about childbirth, I think I might just prefer a romantic dinner with my husband. But if LGR does decide to come on my birthday, I think diamonds would be a great replacement for said romantic dinner (just giving you some ideas honey:) - it would definitely compensate for not being able to eat and you know, delivering a baby!
Our next prenatal appointment is on October 19. At that point, I should be nearing the end of my first trimester (I'm 11 weeks 5 days now), and according to my book, Your Pregnancy Week by Week, I should be less fatigued and many of the uncomfortable symptoms experienced during the first trimester should have dissipated. Plus, then I get to take my flu shot and go to the dentist - I think I'm long over due for both of those things! In the meantime, I think a shopping trip is in order...I think leggings, some long sweaters and some waist defining belts (while I still have a waist) are a definite must for the next couple months.
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