I found out I was pregnant on February 17, 2011. He was planned for, so that was the reason for my taking the pregnancy test. I took the test that morning before work. I rushed out to Justin to let him know it was positive and we were having a baby! We then went to work for the day and it was so weird. Everything seemed different to us, but to those around us, it was just business as usual.
In the beginning, I was so exhausted. Work was really busy and it was almost unbearable. We were in the midst of a renovation and move at the office, which required a lot of meetings and running around. By noon, I was ready to curl into a ball and sleep. Sometimes during lunch, I would just doze sitting at my desk, pretending to read email. A lot was required of me during that time and since I wasn't telling anyone about the pregnancy yet, I just had to grin and bear it. After work, I'd return home, eat dinner and then pass out on the couch for the evening. I definitely wasn't very productive during those first months! I didn't experience any morning sickness, but I did go through a period of being hungry but nauseous at the same time. That was annoying and luckily wasn't long-lived.
Our first doctor's appointment was on March 16th, when I was about 8 weeks along. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat and get the official confirmation. The baby's due date was October 27, 2011. We determined that we did not want to know the sex of the baby. We went back to the doctor two days later and got our first ultrasound!
We told our families and closest friends shortly after that, but requested that they keep the news to themselves until we were 12 weeks along. I think almost everyone was able to follow that rule. The grandmas-to-be were just too excited and had to share the news! I didn't plan to tell anyone at work until I was 12 weeks along, but I ended up cracking and telling my closest coworker/friend at work, Nancy, at 9 weeks. I really needed someone there to know and I knew she'd be excited.
We went back to the doctor on April 12th and got our 12 week ultrasound. The heartbeat was a good pace and everything looked to be progressing as it should.
Our doctor's appointments were pretty much monthly with some blood work and ultrasounds mixed in. On May 25, when I was about 18 weeks, we went in for another ultrasound. Two days later we flew to Raleigh, NC to visit our friends Dan and Hien for Memorial Day weekend.
Summer was a good time for us. I was obviously getting bigger, but I kept up my walks with Justin and Butters and worked in the gardens. In July we went to Cape Cod for a vacation with Justin's dad, Brigid, Aunt Wendy and Philippe. That was a lot of fun. We took a long walk out on a beach and saw a ton of seals. I was glad I was able to make that trek, but boy was I huffing and puffing! I slept so well that night. We also went whale watching which far exceeded my expectations. We saw so many whales! I was a bit worried about seasickness because they had been warning about how rough the sea was, but that didn't turn out to be an issue at all for me.
In August I had my gestational diabetes test, which I passed just fine. That drink was pretty nasty though and I can see why it makes some people get sick. That month we also went to Flemington, NJ to visit our friends Jordan and Jen and their baby boy Wesley, who was born in April 2011. It was good to see a little baby and also see how well Jordan and Jen were functioning after having a baby. Very promising!
My baby shower was on August 28th. It was a decent day, weather-wise, though not as warm as we would have liked and it was a bit breezy. My mom, sisters and Sarah threw the shower for me and it was a great time. It wasn't a big shower, but it had a lot of my close family and friends, which was all that I wanted. It was great to visit with everyone, play some games and then open gifts. Everyone was so generous and we were very thankful for that. It helped a lot!
While I was in Eden for the baby shower, Hurricane Irene was affecting CT and the surrounding areas. We were very worried about Justin, but our neighborhood fared just fine through the storm. Just a few flickers of the lights and lots of downed sticks and branches. Other areas were not so lucky and experienced devastating flooding.
I left Eden to return home to Farmington at 11:00 am on Monday, August 29th. When I got on the thruway, I noticed a sign that said the thruway was closed at some exits that were very far away from me at the time. I thought I would be able to get off the thruway and find another route before I reached that section. That was a mistake. I should have turned around and gone back to my mom's.
Instead, I continued on, excited to get home and see Justin. I got off at the service area in Syracuse, filled my tank and checked the map to figure out an alternate route closer to the thruway closure. I considered getting some food, but decided to wait and get something at a later time. I got back on the thruway, drove a short distance, and discovered that they were in the process of closing the thruway at that point, which was much sooner than the signs had previously indicated. There were no detour signs posted, so I tried to follow my GPS, which obviously wanted to send me back to the thruway.
I eventually ended up on a detour route. It was scary and horrible. We went through the tiniest towns and were at a standstill most of the time. Town residents were sitting at the end of their driveways watching the line of cars go by. We didn't pass any restaurants, gas stations or stores. It was just farmland and woods. I was starving and kicking myself for not getting food at the service station. All I had was two bottles of water, 4 chocolates and 2 bags of Sour Patch kids. I was really worried about the baby being affected by my hunger and all the candy I was eating.
Finally at 11:00 pm we came to a more populated area. As we entered that town, a group of young teenagers ran from the woods and banged on the windows of some cars in front of me. Since we were barely moving, that group of kids walked along with us, harassing us. It was so scary!
Eventually we made our way back to the thruway. I stopped at the first service area, got some food and filled up the tank again. I finally got home at 3:00 am on Tuesday. A drive that normally takes 6 1/2 - 7 hours took me 16 hours while pregnant and by myself. I'm pretty sure it was the worst roadtrip of my life so far.
The last two months of my pregnancy went by without any problems. We prepared the baby's nursery, which we painted blue, even though we didn't know if it was a boy or girl. We figured if it was a girl we'd add touches of pink. Doctor's appointments turned into every other week and then every week at the end. We had our final ultrasound on September 16th. I'll be honest, we didn't find the pictures particularly cute and the technician didn't help by saying that the baby was doing something weird with their lips.
I worked until the very end, though I did work from home the week of October 24th. Jay's birth story will be the next post. To end this one, I'll show pictures of me throughout the pregnancy. I put on 35 pounds by the end.
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