Last October, I had just enjoyed my first 1.5 months of marriage! My husband and I were living in Atlanta at the time. He was finishing his PhD at Georgia Tech while I was just being a wife and not working. At that point, we were a little uncareful and our child was conceived. Although, it would be another month before I found out that I was officially pregnant.
A week before Thanksgiving, my husband and I flew to Vermont to look for apartments. My husband had accepted a job at IBM in Vermont and we would be moving there in January. Before we got there, my husband told our realtor that we were interested in a one bedroom apartment. So of course, the realtor starts showing us one bedroom apartments. As soon as we saw our first apartment, I quickly told her that we wanted a two bedroom apartment. At that point, I thought there was a potential that I could be pregnant so a two bedroom apartment would suit our needs better. Our realtor was great in finding us a two bedroom apartment that we settled for because it seemed like slim pickings up here.
For thanksgiving, my husband and I spent our time with my family in Georgia. For the past few years, my uncle and his family have been traveling from Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving with us. His family has four girls who I love dearly. Every thanksgiving we go Black Friday shopping to catch all the latest deals. The night before Black Friday, we plan out all all the places we want to go and make our plan of attack. This past Black Friday, my husband and I found a GPS we wanted to get at Target. So of course, we woke up at the crack of dawn to stand in line. As soon as we got to Target, I started feeling bad because I had not eaten breakfast. I managed to make it okay and we got our GPS. After our success, we went to the mall to meet up with our other family members. We quickly made a beeline to Chick-fil-A in order to get breakfast as I was still feeling bad. After finishing breakfast, I quickly made a beeline to the trash can in order to throw up my just consumed meal. At that point, I began to wonder if that was my first bout of morning sickness. So, unbeknowst to my family, I began to take copious amounts of pregnancy tests in order to determine what was going on. The lines on the test were a little inconclusive to me because I thought they were too faint.
After Thanksgiving was over, my husband and I returned to our apartment in Atlanta and proceeded to buy even more pregnancy tests. This time, we got the pregnancy test which said either pregnant or not pregnant. And of course, the test I took said PREGNANT. I was in shock! Although I had thought for some time there was a possibility of me being pregnant, I did not really think that I could actually be pregnant. Very soon after taking the test, I made an appointment to confirm my pregnancy with the doctor. After peeing in a cup, the doctor confirmed that I was indeed pregnant.
Sometime in December, I believe that my husband and I told both our families that we were expecting. I can't exactly tell you when we told them but we eventually got the news out.
In January, my husband and I moved to Vermont. We were quickly met with lots of snow and a harsh winter. After moving, I had to find an obstetrician to deliver my baby, I, of course, knew nobody at that point and had no clue which doctor to pick. I decided my best bet was to pick the first place that my insurance listed as being in-network. So, I happened to pick an all-women practice and have been happy with my selection. The practice is a mix between doctors and midwives. I equally enjoy seeing both a doctor and a midwife. Since the practice is a group practice, I am not sure who the lucky doctor will be that gets to deliver my baby but I am sure that anyone of them will be fine.
Sometime in January, I had my first ultrasound and was able to hear my child's heartbeat. The heartbeat was the best sound in the world and it was surreal to see my baby growing inside of me. This was one of the first times were my pregnancy began to feel real to me.
In March, I flew back to Georgia and went on a trip to Florida with my mom, her friend Felicia and my friend Christina. We went to Disney World, Sea World and a Water Park. At this point in my pregnancy, I was beginning to show and develop a belly. Also, I very quickly learned that some rides would be off-limits to me because of my pregnancy. I followed some of the signs but sometimes I rode the ride even though it said for pregnant women not to. But, I am sure that my baby loved the rides.
In early April, I had my second ultrasound which my husband went with me. We were asked by the doctor if we wanted to know the sex of the baby and we said yes. In my mind, I figured that we had already waited 20 weeks to find out the sex of the baby and I did not feel like waiting any longer. I also thought that we would be having a girl while my husband was hoping for a boy. It turns out that my husband was right and we were expecting a BOY! My husband and I were over the moon. At the end of our ultrasound, the doctor told us that she saw a white spot on the baby's heart which could indicate that our baby had Down's syndrome. She told us that she didn't think it was likely but for us to have a follow-up ultrasound at the hospital. My husband and I left the ultrasound feeling crushed. At that point, I no longer cared that the child was going to be a boy instead of the girl I had hoped for. The only thing that I wanted was for our baby to be healthy and whole.
My husband and I spent the weekend wondering about our baby. On Tuesday, we were able to have our ultrasound at the hospital. The ultrasound took about an hour and the technician looked at everything about the baby. In the end, the doctor said that there was a 1 in 500 chance that the baby could have Downs but that he did not see any other markers which would indicate that our child had Downs. Since I decided not to have any genetic testing done, we would just have to hope that everything was fine with our baby.
In Mid-April, I began to feel the baby move inside of me. To me, it felt like an alien was growing inside my belly. But of course, it was just a baby that was trying to make himself known :)
In May, my husband began to feel the baby move and was overjoyed to experience that.
In June, my husband's parents passed away rather suddenly. Before they passed, they did send us a swing for the baby and I cannot wait for the baby to use it. Although it is hard to imagine my child growing up without his grandparents, I know that they were thrilled to meet him and that they would have loved him with all they had. I just hope that my husband and I are able to teach our child about how wonderful his grandparents were and about how they loved the Lord.
Although my husband and I had to make an unexpected trip to Georgia for his parents funeral, I had already planned on visiting Georgia in order to see family and to have a baby shower. At the end of our trip, my husband and I were able to stay for the baby shower which was thrown by my mom, sister-in-law Erika, and my other sister-in-law Jessica. The shower was attended by family, friends, and church members. It was a wonderful shower and I was blessed to have it. It was definitely a bright spot in the midst of sorrow.
In July, I celebrated my 24th birthday and realized that I would become a mother at 24. Also, I had my last ultrasound and found out the the baby is perfectly positioned for birth.
It is now August and I am just waiting for my baby to arrive.
