I just dropped the bomb on Facebook, Instagram and the blog. Here are the links to easily catch up on our baby news!
Announcement
2 Pink Lines
The First Few Weeks
First Doctors Appt
Still Hiding
The Big Reveal
Now That Everyone Knows
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Now That Everyone Knows
Finally! Everyone knows. I can openly talk about being pregnant. I don't have to make any more fake drinks, pretend I am not starving, or hide my tiny growing bump. I was pretty good about taking pictures but most of them I don't have a top on so I won't be publishing those on the world wide web. Here are some bump picture that I can show you...
As I type this, I am currently 18 weeks and 3 days. I start a new week every Friday. In the 18 week picture, I think I look pregnant but Kyle said strangers still won't be able to tell.
I have not been sick 1 time and really haven't had many symptoms. I have been working out since the day I found out. Probably the worst symptom I have experienced is a very sore lower back. I have been craving Mexican food! I could eat Mexican food everyday before I was pregnant but it is almost the only thing I want now.
And even though most people say that they don't miss drinking, I am going to be completely honest here and say that I really do miss it. While I am not saying that I want to be 18 weeks pregnant and drunk, I miss having a cocktail at dinner or wine while Kyle and I watch a movie. It also drastically changes certain events. I still go to anything and everything that I would have before, but I either don't end up staying as long or I get a little bored when everyone is drinking and I am sipping on water (or my new friend, ODoul's). I have made almost every combination of sparkling water and some type of mixer/juice you can think of and I have been enjoying it. My favorite is sparkling water with peach sangria mix from Williams Sonoma.
So there ya have it! The last 18 weeks of my life all wrapped up for you. I have every intention of blogging regularly from here on out, but I was finding it hard to blog when I was keeping this secret.
Jan 10th welcomes 20 weeks, halfway for us!
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| 12 weeks |
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| 17 weeks |
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| 18 weeks |
I have not been sick 1 time and really haven't had many symptoms. I have been working out since the day I found out. Probably the worst symptom I have experienced is a very sore lower back. I have been craving Mexican food! I could eat Mexican food everyday before I was pregnant but it is almost the only thing I want now.
And even though most people say that they don't miss drinking, I am going to be completely honest here and say that I really do miss it. While I am not saying that I want to be 18 weeks pregnant and drunk, I miss having a cocktail at dinner or wine while Kyle and I watch a movie. It also drastically changes certain events. I still go to anything and everything that I would have before, but I either don't end up staying as long or I get a little bored when everyone is drinking and I am sipping on water (or my new friend, ODoul's). I have made almost every combination of sparkling water and some type of mixer/juice you can think of and I have been enjoying it. My favorite is sparkling water with peach sangria mix from Williams Sonoma.
So there ya have it! The last 18 weeks of my life all wrapped up for you. I have every intention of blogging regularly from here on out, but I was finding it hard to blog when I was keeping this secret.
Jan 10th welcomes 20 weeks, halfway for us!
The Big Reveal
The time was here. November 26th, 2013. 71 days after finding out we are having a baby. 71 days of hiding my hunger, my non-drinking, my ultrasound pics. 71 freaking days.
The Gatewood's arrived on Monday around 2pm. We invited my parents over for dinner on Tuesday night. We used the excuse that the Gatewood's wanted to have them over to thank them for hosting Thanksgiving in 2 days. Here was the plan:
Kyle made a video of our NYC pics on his Mac. He put it to music and at the very end, he slid in a video of Dr. Butler doing the doppler on my stomach at 12 weeks. I wanted to show the video practically the moment my parents walked in but Kyle told me to be patient. Yeah, 71 days of patience was wearing off. We opened a bottle of wine and I waited. Eventually we sat down to dinner and now I was back into hiding mode. I even poured a little wine out in the bathroom sink. Once dinner was over, Kyle casually mentioned that we should watch the video he made. As far as I could tell, no one had a clue what was about to happen...
My parents sat on the couch, Kyle's parents sat in our large recliner. Kyle discreetly put the iPad on record and started the video.
You can hear my mom yell, " I knew it!" I asked her if she knew and she said that she had been suspicious for a few weeks. There were a few things that tipped her off but she didn't want to say anything because she didn't want to ruin any surprise that I had planned. I can't thank her enough for that! I had a very specific plan on how to tell the parents and I would have been so sad if it was blown before my plan fell apart.
It was such a huge relief to finally tell our parents. I almost felt lighter and refreshed afterwards. Now we had so much to talk about!
Up next...telling the rest of the family at Thanksgiving on Thursday.
We weren't really sure how we wanted to tell and we threw out a few ideas but it seemed like showing the video to a large group of people would be difficult so I decided to let my dad announce it during the prayer before the meal. This would be the only time that everyone was quiet and paying attention.
I wish I had video of my dad doing the prayer and choking up almost immediately. No one but my mom, Kyle and myself knew what was going on. As soon as he got out the big part "thank you for Baby Gatewood that is coming in May" the room went crazy. My aunt was crying and ran to me. I really have no idea what else was going on in that moment! I finally made it over to my brother and his family and got plenty of hugs and the sweetest part of all, my 4 yr old niece pulled my shirt up and put her hand on my belly.
Now it was time to celebrate, talk about all the things that had been going on, and EAT!
The Gatewood's arrived on Monday around 2pm. We invited my parents over for dinner on Tuesday night. We used the excuse that the Gatewood's wanted to have them over to thank them for hosting Thanksgiving in 2 days. Here was the plan:
Kyle made a video of our NYC pics on his Mac. He put it to music and at the very end, he slid in a video of Dr. Butler doing the doppler on my stomach at 12 weeks. I wanted to show the video practically the moment my parents walked in but Kyle told me to be patient. Yeah, 71 days of patience was wearing off. We opened a bottle of wine and I waited. Eventually we sat down to dinner and now I was back into hiding mode. I even poured a little wine out in the bathroom sink. Once dinner was over, Kyle casually mentioned that we should watch the video he made. As far as I could tell, no one had a clue what was about to happen...
My parents sat on the couch, Kyle's parents sat in our large recliner. Kyle discreetly put the iPad on record and started the video.
It was such a huge relief to finally tell our parents. I almost felt lighter and refreshed afterwards. Now we had so much to talk about!
Up next...telling the rest of the family at Thanksgiving on Thursday.
We weren't really sure how we wanted to tell and we threw out a few ideas but it seemed like showing the video to a large group of people would be difficult so I decided to let my dad announce it during the prayer before the meal. This would be the only time that everyone was quiet and paying attention.
I wish I had video of my dad doing the prayer and choking up almost immediately. No one but my mom, Kyle and myself knew what was going on. As soon as he got out the big part "thank you for Baby Gatewood that is coming in May" the room went crazy. My aunt was crying and ran to me. I really have no idea what else was going on in that moment! I finally made it over to my brother and his family and got plenty of hugs and the sweetest part of all, my 4 yr old niece pulled my shirt up and put her hand on my belly.
Now it was time to celebrate, talk about all the things that had been going on, and EAT!
Still Hiding
After OSU homecoming, I still many more weeks to go of hiding. The reason I was still hiding this amazing little secret was because Kyle's parents were coming into town for Thanksgiving and I wanted to tell our parents together. There are only a few times when we get our parents together and I just had this vision of revealing this wonderful piece of news to them together!
At the end of October, we had my grandma's 80th birthday party at our house. My whole family would be here and I had purchased all kinds of liquids that I could make into fake drinks. My plan was to tell no one.
But my cousins, Zach & Kristin, got there first with their baby girl, Dylan. I was holding her and talking to them and I literally couldn't keep it in any longer and I just blurted it out! Took them completely by surprise!
I had called my cousin, Katie, a few weeks prior and told her over the phone since she wouldn't be able to make it to Deeya's party.
I was glad that my mom and aunt were preoccupied with my grandma and too busy to keep an eye on the fact that I wasn't drinking the delicious rose champagne we opened.
Once the first of November was upon us, I was on serious countdown mode. It was becoming increasingly harder to not tell...
Nov 16th, I took my mom to the Harry Connick, Jr concert for her birthday. Still hiding....
Nov 23rd, we went to the last OSU game before the reveal. I was starving the entire day and I had to pee about 15 times before we went into the game. We ate at Hideaway Pizza before the game and I tried not to inhale the food. The Baylor game was freezing and I took a pair of snow pants that were already a little snug and when I slipped them on at the game over my 2 layers already, they wouldn't button.
After the game, I only had to wait 3 more days until the reveal to our parents.....
First Doc Appt
My first appt with the doctor was Oct 11th. At this point, I had know I was pregnant for 4 weeks and it was really hard to have to wait so long to see the doctor! At my first appt, she just gave me some prenatal vitamins, brochures and did an exam. Oh and then the blood work. Kyle wasn't able to get off work for this appt so I was there by myself. I don't like to have my blood taken and I usually get a little woozy and then pull myself together. But this time was bad, they took 6 vials of blood. 6!!!! I had no idea how many she had to take and about 2-3 vials in I started to sweat and get really light headed. She kept asking me if I was going to throw up or pass out. I told her neither because I knew if I made her stop we would just have to do it all over again.
Once the 6 vials were taken I had to wait in the room for about 30 min before I could get up. I was drenched in a cold sweat and was shivering. And I was white as a ghost. I had to go home and change my clothes and blow dry my hair. I was a mess!
I spent that weekend at Hudson Lake with Sammi, Elaina and Harlan celebrating Sammi's 30th birthday. I drank lots of sparkling water and lots of relaxation.
The following Friday, Oct 18th, was my second doctors appt. Kyle went with me this time and they did an vaginal ultrasound (I was 8 weeks pregnant). It was so surreal to see that tiny little fish looking baby with a tiny beating heart! The heartbeat at 8 weeks was 162, that little thing was moving!
At this appt we met our OB (I saw the PA on my first visit). I have gone to the Women's Health Group since my first gyno appt at 18 years old. Jennifer Butler is new to the practice and will be our doctor. This appt only lasted a few min and we just asked her a few questions and then we were on our way with the knowledge that our little one was growing as expected and had a strong beating heart (with pictures to take home!)
I hid those pictures on my nightstand for the next 6 weeks....
The day after our 9 week appt, we went to OSU homecoming with my parents. After the game, we went to eat at Mexico Joe's. Kyle went to the bar to get drinks for everyone and forgot to get me a fake drink. I will always have a margarita at a Mexican restaurant but once I told him he had to get me a fake drink, he really dropped the ball. After we sat at our table, he comes walking up with a pina colada. Not that I won't ever drink a pina, but I really would never order one. I was hoping this wouldn't tip my mom off that I was hiding something!
Once the 6 vials were taken I had to wait in the room for about 30 min before I could get up. I was drenched in a cold sweat and was shivering. And I was white as a ghost. I had to go home and change my clothes and blow dry my hair. I was a mess!
I spent that weekend at Hudson Lake with Sammi, Elaina and Harlan celebrating Sammi's 30th birthday. I drank lots of sparkling water and lots of relaxation.
The following Friday, Oct 18th, was my second doctors appt. Kyle went with me this time and they did an vaginal ultrasound (I was 8 weeks pregnant). It was so surreal to see that tiny little fish looking baby with a tiny beating heart! The heartbeat at 8 weeks was 162, that little thing was moving!
At this appt we met our OB (I saw the PA on my first visit). I have gone to the Women's Health Group since my first gyno appt at 18 years old. Jennifer Butler is new to the practice and will be our doctor. This appt only lasted a few min and we just asked her a few questions and then we were on our way with the knowledge that our little one was growing as expected and had a strong beating heart (with pictures to take home!)
I hid those pictures on my nightstand for the next 6 weeks....
The day after our 9 week appt, we went to OSU homecoming with my parents. After the game, we went to eat at Mexico Joe's. Kyle went to the bar to get drinks for everyone and forgot to get me a fake drink. I will always have a margarita at a Mexican restaurant but once I told him he had to get me a fake drink, he really dropped the ball. After we sat at our table, he comes walking up with a pina colada. Not that I won't ever drink a pina, but I really would never order one. I was hoping this wouldn't tip my mom off that I was hiding something!
The First Few Weeks
The first few weeks after finding out were interesting. Three days after, we drove down to Dallas for a wedding where we would see my brother and sister in law and my cousins and my aunt and uncle for breakfast the next morning. Kyle and I had a plan for him to order me fake drinks all night and luckily, for me, there ended up being no booze at the wedding. During the 36 hours that we were in Dallas, my aunt and sister in law both asked questions related to me being pregnant. I dodged the questions like a speeding bullet!
I also had a work happy hour event that I needed to sneak my way through and then the big one, a bachelorette party in Austin. My 3 best friends would be on this trip and I was going to have to reveal. Due to the nature of a bachelorette party (lots of drinking), I knew I wouldn't be able to hide it from them. I didn't reveal the secret on the first night which meant I had to fake drink. I made friends with a bartender and she would fill my beer bottle up with water. In the hotel room on Saturday morning, we were getting ready for brunch in our room and I told the girls that I brought us cookies. Each cookie had a pink or blue stripe on it and instead of being really cool and collected, I just awkwardly stood in front of the beds holding the bag of cookies with my shaking hand. Once they realized what was happening, lots of happiness (and a few happy tears) followed. Now I had my 3 besties on board to help me hide my soberness all weekend.
Following that trip, we went to Baltimore for a wedding. At this point, I was 6 weeks pregnant and I had only told my 3 friends. We decided that we wanted to tell our best Pittsburgh friends, Dante and Erin, on this trip. I told Kyle that he got to tell them anyway he wanted. So we joined them for lunch and as soon as the first round of drinks came, Kyle made a toast to his "pregnant wife". Later he told me that he planned to say something different but got nervous and just blurted it out. After Baltimore, we departed on our anniversary trip to NYC!
Since we hadn't told anyone in the family and I knew they would be following the pics I put up on Instagram, I decided I had to order some fake drinks to throw them off.
I experienced the tiniest amount of nausea on the flight to Baltimore but I just drank a ginger ale and was golden. I also was starving the entire time we were in NYC. We would eat, walk around for a while, and then I would be ready to eat again. I remember sitting in the Phantom of the Opera thinking about how hungry I was and hoping we could get to some food very quickly.
While I certainly wish that I could have had a glass of champagne at our anniversary dinner, we will always be so happy to have celebrated our very first anniversary in NYC with our little one growing with us.
I also had a work happy hour event that I needed to sneak my way through and then the big one, a bachelorette party in Austin. My 3 best friends would be on this trip and I was going to have to reveal. Due to the nature of a bachelorette party (lots of drinking), I knew I wouldn't be able to hide it from them. I didn't reveal the secret on the first night which meant I had to fake drink. I made friends with a bartender and she would fill my beer bottle up with water. In the hotel room on Saturday morning, we were getting ready for brunch in our room and I told the girls that I brought us cookies. Each cookie had a pink or blue stripe on it and instead of being really cool and collected, I just awkwardly stood in front of the beds holding the bag of cookies with my shaking hand. Once they realized what was happening, lots of happiness (and a few happy tears) followed. Now I had my 3 besties on board to help me hide my soberness all weekend.
Following that trip, we went to Baltimore for a wedding. At this point, I was 6 weeks pregnant and I had only told my 3 friends. We decided that we wanted to tell our best Pittsburgh friends, Dante and Erin, on this trip. I told Kyle that he got to tell them anyway he wanted. So we joined them for lunch and as soon as the first round of drinks came, Kyle made a toast to his "pregnant wife". Later he told me that he planned to say something different but got nervous and just blurted it out. After Baltimore, we departed on our anniversary trip to NYC!
Since we hadn't told anyone in the family and I knew they would be following the pics I put up on Instagram, I decided I had to order some fake drinks to throw them off.
I experienced the tiniest amount of nausea on the flight to Baltimore but I just drank a ginger ale and was golden. I also was starving the entire time we were in NYC. We would eat, walk around for a while, and then I would be ready to eat again. I remember sitting in the Phantom of the Opera thinking about how hungry I was and hoping we could get to some food very quickly.
While I certainly wish that I could have had a glass of champagne at our anniversary dinner, we will always be so happy to have celebrated our very first anniversary in NYC with our little one growing with us.
2 Pink Lines
Sept 17th turned out to be a very interesting day for the Gatewood's. I expected to start my period on Sept 16th and I went to bed thinking that I would wake up the next morning to find Aunt Flow had come to visit. When I woke up, I went to the bathroom to find nothing. Nothing. I am never late. Ever since I got off the pill, I had very precise cycles. So I ran to our upstairs bathroom and took a test. I waited the 3 min, and looked. Yep, there was definitely a second pink line. Holy crap. Even though I knew this could/would happen, it is still surreal to see that line. So the next step was to take another test. Yep, that second pink line again. I was feeling so many emotions. Pure joy, excitement, nerves, happiness. Kyle wasn't home so I was just staring at the wall for a minute or two. I went downstairs and ate a little breakfast and called the doctor to make an appt. I had recently mentioned to Kyle that Sept would have been a interesting month to get pregnant because I had so many things going on: destination bachelorette party, Baltimore wedding, trip to NYC. All things that I had been looking forward to for a very long time and would be changed by a pregnancy. But who cares, I'm pregnant!!!!!
After I made the doctors appt and ate some breakfast, I did the only logical think next. I took another test. I took a digital one this time and it immediately said "pregnant". Holla. I didn't want to tell Kyle on the phone and I had to work a wine tasting that night so I had to wait all day to tell him. I was completely distracted all day long. I kept thinking I would do something creative to tell him, but when it came down to it I didn't. I left the tasting around 7:30 and headed to the house. I found Kyle on the couch watching tv. I discreetly went upstairs and got the "pregnant" test. As I walked back into the room, he said "I'm glad you're home. I was bored". I handed him the test and said "well you won't be bored anymore". Shock. His face was unforgettable. He sat up and stared at me. Then he got up and hugged me. I told him all about the morning and how many tests I took and I called the doctor, blah, blah, blah. We sat there for quite some time talking about everything. You know, having the conversation that you always imagined you would have at a time like this.
The next few days were odd. You don't feel pregnant but apparently you are. Can I drink this coffee? Guess I should pour out the open bottle of wine. I've heard things about cheeses and deli meats, what is the deal on that? I'll google it (bad idea..there is some really crazy stuff on the internet about pregnancy).
Here is the the story of how we started our journey of pregnancy...
After I made the doctors appt and ate some breakfast, I did the only logical think next. I took another test. I took a digital one this time and it immediately said "pregnant". Holla. I didn't want to tell Kyle on the phone and I had to work a wine tasting that night so I had to wait all day to tell him. I was completely distracted all day long. I kept thinking I would do something creative to tell him, but when it came down to it I didn't. I left the tasting around 7:30 and headed to the house. I found Kyle on the couch watching tv. I discreetly went upstairs and got the "pregnant" test. As I walked back into the room, he said "I'm glad you're home. I was bored". I handed him the test and said "well you won't be bored anymore". Shock. His face was unforgettable. He sat up and stared at me. Then he got up and hugged me. I told him all about the morning and how many tests I took and I called the doctor, blah, blah, blah. We sat there for quite some time talking about everything. You know, having the conversation that you always imagined you would have at a time like this.
The next few days were odd. You don't feel pregnant but apparently you are. Can I drink this coffee? Guess I should pour out the open bottle of wine. I've heard things about cheeses and deli meats, what is the deal on that? I'll google it (bad idea..there is some really crazy stuff on the internet about pregnancy).
Here is the the story of how we started our journey of pregnancy...
Looking Forward to 2014
We are having a baby!
Kyle and I are so thrilled to announce that we are expecting a baby in May! I have waited quite some time to share the news so I will be catching you all up with several blog posts (because I know you are dying for all the little details).
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