The BIG News

Pregnant. What? Yep. Wow! Really? Wow! 

That pretty much sums up December 3, 2012. That's the day my world changed. That's the day I found out my biggest wish was coming true, I was going to be a mommy! Mr. B and I hadn't really planned this. Our one year anniversary was in October and we knew we wanted to start a family but we hadn't quite wrapped our brains around it yet. Summer 2013 seemed like a good time to start "trying". I wanted my body to be rid of any wackiness that my birth control might be causing so I decided to say goodbye to my pills at our one year anniversary. Surely, I wouldn't get pregnant if we weren't "trying". 45 days later, I was pregnant.

I should have guessed something was up when I inexplicably spent the entire month of November looking up birth stories and cornering moms at parties to find out about their experiences. Or maybe when I jumped down a stranger's throat for cutting in front of me at Costco. I thought I was just a little cranky. I was two days late when Mr. B told me I should just take a test "in case". I had one at the house, so why not. Here's the thing, if you find yourself taking a pregnancy test, do yourself  a HUGE favor and get the kind with the digital read out. The one I took was the standard "pink lines" type and to be honest the second line was SO faint, I thought for sure I was imagining it. This did absolutely zero to help ease my mind. I rushed down to Targé and found a nice 5 pack of the digital tests. Oh, and here's a fun coincidence, the woman who checked me out looked like she'd be going into labor that night. She looks at the tests then looks at me and says "So, what do you want?". This question floored me. What do I want?!? How about an answer! Boy or girl?!? Oh my gosh, this is CRAAAAZZZYYY! After dinner, I anxiously took the second test. This time there was no denying it...

 My head was spinning. I couldn't believe I was actually pregnant! I had somehow convinced myself that I would be one of those women who tried for months or even years to conceive, but that was not to be. I called Mr. B upstairs, somewhat hesitant to see his reaction. You hear these horror stories of men who freak out when they hear their wives are pregnant. I knew he wanted a family but this was kind of not planned. He walked in, took one look at my face and knew. Next, he gave me a high five. HA. That's right, ladies, a HIGH FIVE. Then he gave me a huge hug and we laughed and prayed and maybe even cried a little. And THAT is why I married the man. He's simply amazing. 

BB at 8 Weeks Old!

Um, guess I "popped" a little between 11 and 12 weeks!

I'm now 13 weeks and entering my second trimester. It's already flying by! I have been SO blessed. I never got sick. I had a touch of nausea here and there and was definitely tired but never really got sick. Around 10 weeks, my energy came back and since then, I've felt fantastic. I'm still in my regular clothes but yoga pants are kind of my best friend right now. 

I miss being able to drink wine but it's been surprisingly easy to pass it up. I REALLY miss sushi and beef tartar and Bikram yoga and oysters and Caesar salad but hearing that little, swooshing heartbeat is SO worth every "can't".  

Speaking of that little heartbeat, the best investment of my pregnancy thus far has been a hand held Doppler. I didn't realize you could buy these little ultrasounds that project the sound of BB's heart and if I had, I would think they were SUPER expensive. I was wrong on both counts. A friend of mine who's currently prego with her third, clued me in to this awesome technology and I am forever in her debt. It's my absolute favorite thing to do now. Every two or three days, I can "check in" on the babe. It's wonderful! If you are pregnant or know someone who is, I HIGHLY recommend snagging one of these. Just don't get obsessed, because I could see that happening with some women. Here's a little video from this week!

Aw, isn't that lovely? 

As for my birth plan, I've decided to have my baby at home. Yes, you read that right. At. Home. No, I'm not crazy and no, I'm not some crunchy-granola type who will chant their way through the birth then have a placenta smoothie afterwards (yeah, women do that). NO, Mr. B will not be playing bongos during my labor, either. But I have decided that I want to bring this child into the world naturally and in the comfort of my own home and I'd like to use this blog to chronicle my journey (don't worry, there'll still be plenty of crafts and recipes too!). One thing I've found in my research, so far, is that our culture/generation is still coming around to the idea of natural, home birth. Almost every baby reality show and a lot of the blogs I've seen are all about the medicated hospital birth. I have nothing necessarily against that but I do know (barring any unforeseen complications) it's not for me. My hope is, that through my experience, I'll be able to share my story and encourage other women who have considered an alternative birth to look into it for themselves! 

XOXO,

Mrs. B (and Baby B)