1 year later...

It's been exactly one year.  A year since we found out on a late Thursday night. A year since we realized that our lives were about to change forever. I was left today with a slight sense of bittersweet reminiscence.  Though it's hard to explain, put simply, I  miss being pregnant. Is that strange? Maybe it's because I, for the most part, had a pretty easy pregnancy. But more than that, I miss feeling my little man's kicks and trying to guess which body part was sticking out my ever-growing belly.  I especially miss lying in med in the morning and feeling him roll and tumble. And the hiccups!! Oh, the adorable, make me smirk every time hiccups!! And, crazy as it may be, I actually miss my baby bump!!! But then I look at our Ethan, who is already full of character, and I'm reminded that his being here with us now makes my remembrance of being pregnant that much sweeter.

The home stretch...

I am finally in my third trimester! Though I say finally as if it's been a long, arduous journey. The truth of the matter is that I think, compared to some, I've had it pretty easy. Short of a couple weeks of backaches and the occasional heartburn, I've had a pretty smooth ride.  However, I can already tell that this last leg of my pregnancy is going to be no piece of cake. I am already starting to feel more pressure and the weight of my little guy and all his surroundings leaves me unable to be on my feet for long periods of time. Everything I eat lately seems to give me heartburn, though, the good news is that my appetite seems to have calmed down...for the time being. We are still busy working on the nursery, which is nearing its finishing. Ethan's crib came in this week and after my husband put it together I said "How strange is it that we have a crib in our house". I guess it just makes it all the more real.....as if the constant tossing and turning from the little life inside of me weren't enough to drive that home!!! Our birthing classes are coming up soon, as is our tour of the hospital. The day is getting closer and closer...and yet, somedays, it feels, still, so far away.

26 weeks...

This week came with lots fun, new milestones. I felt Ethan hiccup for the very first time! It was, quite possibly, one of my favorite things experienced in pregnancy so far!!  Equally as exciting, Gabe was able to hear our little guy's heartbeat through my belly this past Friday night. It makes me feel like he's getting so big. And he's not the only thing growing. My appetite seems to have kicked into overdrive. In fact, as I sit here typing, I realize that I have just concured almost an entire bag of goldfish. Normally a healthy eater, I devoured an entire small pizza by myself the other night. Gabe was shocked....I think we both were. While I rarely let myself induldge to this extent, it was wonderful at the time!!! My back pain seems to have eased up this week, which is a relaxing change of pace from the past few weeks. I had my one hour glucose test for gestational diabetes this week, and we're keeping our fingers crossed for good results. Either way, my focus is completely on Ethan and whatever it takes to keep myself healthy for him. He's still tumbling around and "exploring his space", as his daddy says. Each day he feels a little bigger...and so does my belly. Oh yeah, and another milestone this week...I finally had to order maternity clothes!!!

25 weeks...

Every day is a toss up. Some days I wake up and feel fantastic, other days...not so much.  My energy comes in phases and I take full advantage of it while it lasts. Bedtime comes around 8:30 these days and I'm wide awake at 5:00 a.m.  Though my back is still bothering me, for the most part I feel pretty good.  I still get the occassional heartburn, but I'm sure that has just a teeny bit to do with my love of spicey foods. Ethan is still moving around like a little gymnist. In fact, I'm convinced that he never sleeps. Sometimes, early in the morning, I just lay in bed and feel him toss and tumble and it always puts a smile on my face!

Starting to feel the effects...again

While it's nothing new, my backaches, when they decide to come on, are coming on stronger and stronger.  Last night was spent in an uncomfortable state for about 3 hours. Sitting on the couch is becoming increasingly hard for me. I just can't seem to get comfortable! When we finally made it to bed, my wonderful husband helped me move my pile of pillows in every direction possible to try to find a comfortable spot for me to sleep. I slept okay for about 2 hours and then woke up, only to find myself in more pain. I tossed and turned until finally my body was just so exhausted it gave in and I fell back asleep. I woke up this morning and knew immediately that I needed to do my yoga, which I normally do every evening after a stressful day at work. I am convinced that it, along with my trusty bean "sock", is the only thing at this point that keeps me from feeling that my back is tied in knots. Still, I know that the pain is worth it and I'm really trying to focus on that...as hard as it sometimes may be.

23 weeks...

This week has brought about a lot of new, but familiar changes. After reading that our little guy now weights approximately a pound and is around 11 inches, it explains why I can tell a difference in my body weight. I suddenly feel "big". With a big growth spurt under way this month (he'll double his weight!!) I can tell that my body is working overtime. I suddenly have a drop in my energy, even though I'm getting lots of sleep at night (well, when I'm not getting up every 2 hours to use the bathroom, that is!) In addition, my appetite seems to have kicked into overdrive! Rarely do I give into my pregnancy cravings, but last night I downed an entire pint of chocolate ice cream. Healthy? No. Delicious and necessary at the time? Absolutely. Ethan is still very active, which continues to tickle me pink on a daily basis. He spends a lot of his time rolling around in my belly. The treadmill and yoga have now become my best friends. I find that without them every day, my back aches (a sign of things to come, I'm sure) and it's harder for me to get a good night's sleep. Still, despite being a little more tired than usual and feeling like I'm already the size of a bus, I am loving each and every moment. And boy is it nice to have an "excuse" to eat an entire pint of ice cream!

Getting settled in...

Pregnancy seems to bring something new every day. A twitch here, an ache there. Energy one day, none the next. And even our little Ethan seems to be discovering new places to stretch in his mommy's belly. From last night through this morning he seems to be streching and pushing his little body against my belly. In fact, last night, Gabe was sure he could feel his head and his little bottom, though we weren't really sure which was what. At this point, I think he twists and tumbles so much that it's hard to keep track of where he is!!

What I miss most...

I was never a heavy coffee drinker until about 2 years ago. Then, one day at a time I slowly found a new love in my life. I loved waking up in the morning and brewing a fresh pot. For me, there was nothing better than a quiet, dark, early morning with a nice cup of hot coffee. Before we started trying to get pregnant, I began to wein myself off of the morning awakener slowly. Hearing awful stories about caffiene withdrawals was enough to make me quit early! Walking into our office every morning with the smell of a fresh pot of coffee was a tease! After we found out we were pregnant, that smell every morning hit me like a ton of bricks. Now, that's not to say that I haven't enjoyed a cup here or there. In fact, around my 15-16 week mark, I was having horrible headaches that could only seem to be cured by a small dose of my liquid energy! With the doctor's ok I would enjoy that cup of coffee and make it last as long as I could. Now, with my headaches mostly gone, I'm back to pretending that coffee doesn't exist. Somehow, a cup of decaf just doesn't get the jobs done on those mornings when you could use a good kick in the pants.  Oh coffee...I miss you the most!

Skipping ahead...

As I started this blog a little behind schedule...I'm jumping ahead. At 20 weeks I had felt him kicking for about 3 1/2 weeks! I say he's the next David Beckham! It wasn't until this time that I actually "felt" pregnant. Until then, I knew he was there and could feel little flutters, but the onset of full-on kicking proved that there really was a baby growing in that bump of mine. Late on a Sunday night, while Gabe and I were on the couch, watching an intense Pittsburgh Steelers game, I felt a movement that I had never felt before. I quickly said to Gabe "put your hand on my belly, I think he's going to kick". Call it a mother's instinct, but shortly after that, he kicked...and kicked HARD! Gabe's face was priceless. Ever since then, our little man has not stopped moving! I am loving every minute of feeling him move. From the smallest movements, to the big tumbles and twists, it tickles me pink!

Because we are impatient

We heard it more times than I can count..."You're not going to wait to find out?" Simple answer: No. Between the 2 of us, Gabe and I have the patience of a 3 year old. We knew, from the get-go, that there was no way we'd be able to wait it out for 9 months. We both had our predictions. In fact, everyone had their predictions. The odds of having a girl were in my favor (well, I say my favor because out of a good 35 people, about 32 thought we were having a girl). When the day came for the "uh hem" impromtu ultrasound, I was nervous and exciting. First, we heard the heartbeat and saw the little pea pod moving about, which distracted me from what was about to come. And then she said it.............IT'S.................A.............................BOY! Gabe quickly replied "Are you sure?" Let's just say there was no second guessing! Gabe was ecstatic. I was....unsure. To be quite honest, I got in my car and sobbed. I was convinced, for whatever reason, that we were having a girl. I had already planned in my head all the things that we would do.

The beginnig of the bump...

Call me crazy, but there was a part of me that couldn't wait to see my bump. Around 14 weeks or so, I decided that it would be a good idea to chronicle my expanding middle with photographs. Because I am lucky enough to have 2 uncles who are, well, let's just say handy with a camera, we snapped a few shots. And this is one of the shots....14 weeks and counting...

A little scare...

Around 8 weeks, we had a little scare. I was at work and saw, what I'm sure no new mommy-to-be wants to see...bright red. Being that it was a Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., my doctor's office was closed, thus leaving me to bath in my panic for the entire weekend. Thankfully, 2 ultra sounds of seeing the little one move and hearing the heartbeat confirmed that the baby was just fine. My trouble was coming from a polyp on my cervix. And so being paranoid and pregnant began.

And then there were 3...

It didn't take long. In fact, it happened so soon that it caught both of us by surprise. We had always planned on starting our "trying" adventure in September of 2009. Little did we know that just a few short weeks later, we would be handed the best news of our lives. It was late on a Thursday night. I must have stared at the unopened package for the entire evening. It seemed like I had one eye on it no matter where I was in the house. I was beyond anxious, as I knew Gabe was. When he finally got home, a little after 11, I ran into the bathroom, did my business, and then we waited...for what seemed like an eternity. When the 3 minutes was up...so was our patience. Gabe calmy walked into the kitchen and grabbed "the stick". I, not feeling well [and in hindsight know why], was laying on the couch. When he brought it in, he had it covered with his hand. He knelt down next to me and said "Are you ready"? and slowly moved his hand. Sure enough...there were the 2 pink lines!!! For a good minute, I couldn't breathe. I rode a wave of emotions; happy, scared, nervous, anxious, excited. In a matter of 3 minutes, the 2 became 3 to be!!!! And so this journey begins.