We're having a baby!

I know this really isn't new news to anyone anymore, but I haven't recorded anything here on this blog so far about being pregnant and I think it's about time.

I wanted to wait to tell people we were pregnant until we had informed our family and until we were out of the clear of miscarriage (well, I guess you are never really out of the clear when it comes to things going wrong in pregnancy, but you know...) so we waited to tell our families until I was about 9 weeks pregnant, and then started to slowly leak it around 12 weeks and then didn't "go public" aka facebook and Instagram until I was 15 weeks along.

As a result, I have not been the best at documenting things--because heaven knows my poor journal has been gathering dust leaving my only current motivation to document things these days as this blog, which by its very nature is not meant to document things-which-should-not-yet-go-public.  So here is my (not so) little recap so far.

We found out that we were pregnant on May 11th (which was why this Saturday was so glorious).  We were already pretty sure, so the pregnancy test seemed almost more like just a formality.  I waited until a Saturday came so Aaron and I could both be home and be relaxed.  I peed on the stick (there's really no way around saying that), waited the three minutes, walked in to the bathroom with my eyes clothes to grab the test and then took it out to Aaron.  We counted to three and turned it over to discover the proof. Needless to say, we were elated.  And then I proceeded to make Aaron take these cutesy, posed pictures with our evidence.

^^don't worry, the stick has a cap on it--I had always wondered before why people actually touched the stick they had just went to the bathroom on^^

When 6 weeks arrived, I anticipated waking up with morning sickness and throwing up immediately, but nothing happened.  I was feeling so blessed that morning sickness seemed to be passing me up. However, exhuastion set it like I couldn't believe.  Before being pregnant, I thought morning sickness=throwing up.  For me though morning sickness=exhaustion at 3 pm on the dot, hunger, nausea if I haven't eaten and a generally feeling of being "off."  Luckily though, I mostly felt okay if I took a long nap (aka 2+ hours) at 3 pm, went to bed early and ate all the time.  The long nap and early bed time were difficult in the midst of trying to wrap up the school year and training for a half marathon, but I made it.

School ended and I wasn't feeling nearly as tired.  In fact, I felt like my only real pregnancy signs had evaporated.  I started worrying that something had happened and I wasn't pregnant anymore (darn you What to Except when You're Expecting! You do things to my mind).  Thankfully, at 8 weeks, we finally had our first apartment and our doctor Dr. Broberg (he's great!) confirmed we were indeed pregnant!  It was also a major relief to learn that I was looking really healthy and that my chances for miscarriage were now very low.  We had an ultrasound where we got to see our little nugget (literally just a dot on the screen) and see the flicker of the heartbeat.  It was real!  And we were on walking on sunshine.

^^We don't know who Melendez & Aagard are (ha!) but we can assure you that this is our sonogram^^

Two days after my 8 week appointment, I ran the Utah Valley Half Marathon!  I was really grateful that I was feeling healthy enough to finish my training and run it.  I loved being able to start out my pregnancy feeling healthy and strong.

^^No bump to show for it but I wanted to document nonetheless :)^^

We waited to tell our families that we were pregnant until Father's Day because we thought we could really surprise them through their father's day gifts.  I was 9 weeks along at that point and feeling good. We got some pretty good reactions from everyone, but there were some on both sides of our families that had kind of guessed it before.  I think the whole story of how we told them deserves another post with some classic pictures.  Coming soon! :)

We headed to Hawaii with Aaron's family at about 9 1/2 weeks along and between not getting enough sleep, not eating a regular meal and a plane/shuttle ride my stomach just couldn't take it anymore.  I made it to the bathroom of the car rental place and threw up in a stall--not the classiest experience of my life.  I was okay the rest of the Hawaii trip, but had to be more careful than normal to eat regularly and sleep well.

My 12 week mark was on the 4th of July and we had our next doctor's appointment a few days later.  I was expecting another exciting appointment like our 8 week one; however, it was much more of a just a "check in."  We did get to hear the heartbeat though, which was quite incredible!  The doctor jokingly (but also kind of seriously) mentioned that with that heartbeat we would be having a boy.  This stuck in the back of our heads (especially Aaron's) until I went to my 16 week appointment where a different doctor checked the heartbeat and said that, according to theory, we would be having a girl.  I am having my doubts about this whole "heartbeat theory" thing.  Both appointments though confirmed that things are going well and that the baby is growing!

I am 17 weeks along now and feeling great.  I still have more exhaustion than when I am not pregnant (still waiting for the 2nd trimester energy to kick in) but the nausea is pretty much gone.

I have the startings of a true baby bump, but the maxi skirt I'm wearing in these photos is really the only item of clothing I've found that shows it.  In general, my clothes are tight and I feel wide but a stranger on the street could easily mistake me for chubby and not pregnant when I'm wearing pants (major bummer).  I haven't felt any kicks yet, but I can't wait for that to happen.  It will be wonderful to feel proof that someone is growing inside of me.

I will have my 20 week appointment on August 26th to find out the gender and see all our baby's measurements!  I really have no clue if we are having a boy or girl, we're just praying to find out that our baby's healthy!