Matt and I have always talked about one day having a family
and all the fun and excitement it entails. We have been thinking of names for our unborn children since our days at TCU, when we began dating seriously. The prospect has always been exciting for us. We decided to let nature take it's course after we were married in April, and only 7 months later, we found out that we were finally expecting an addition to our family! We are having so much fun planning for our little one!
HOW WE FOUND OUT...
Matt and I hosted a baby shower for a dear friend of ours on November 19th. Unfortunately there was a Barnaby event scheduled the same night so we made a short stop there, with every intention of returning to our friends at the baby shower. I can't tell you how exhausted I was at 10pm! That never happens to me, I can always stay out with friends! Matt and I arrived home and he was in bed while I got ready for bed. Mother nature wasn't suppossed to visit for another couple of days, but I felt quite different the last 2 weeks so I took a home pregnancy test. It only took about 1.5 seconds for the little plus sign to arrive - I was surprised and a little shaken. I quickly went into the bedroom to tell Matt, he saw the look of panic and surprise on my face - he thought I might have lit something on fire accidentally.... When I showed him he almost popped out of bed, I've never seen him with a bigger smile. Already a proud dad! It was such a great feeling to see him in a state of excitement and helped me to calm down. Like all first-time parents, we were laughing with happiness and kind of scared at the same time.
WHEN WE TOLD FAMILY....
We were really good about keeping our secret hidden from our family, though we thought many times that people were on to us. We had to go through Thanksgiving tight lipped and unfortunately I had an aversion to food so I didn't eat a whole lot. Also, My sweet parents always make 10 times the amount of food we can actually consume in a long weekend so that we have leftovers to take home. Unfortunately, left overs gross me out now. What a pity- I used to LOVE leftovers! Anyhoo, on Christmas Matt and I invited my parents and brother to come to Fort Worth to spend Christmas with the Opitz's. It was a little crowded in our house, but the look on everyone's faces when they all opened 'the gift' from us was priceless. We had made ornaments, glass globes with snow in the bottom that had a picture of the sonogram, and a note that read, "expecting our new addition on July 23, 2011." It had cute little baby feet prints too! It was a really special time together! Shortly after the new year, we invited friends to a local favorite, Michaels, to share the news with them, and an email to friends out of town.
MILESTONES....
-We found out about the baby when it was 3 weeks old!
-Our 8 week appointment was the first time we saw the baby, he or she looked like a tadpole!
-Nausea dissappated after week 9. Thank Heavens!
-Week 10, while my parents were visiting, I had a dream that I was holding and nursing our baby, it was so real - I could see what the baby looked like and what it's name was (but i dont want to give that away just yet :)
-We shared our news with family on Christmas Day 2010, the baby was 10.5 weeks old.
-Week 12, we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. We were able to see the fully formed baby, legs, arms, fingers, toes! It was precious!
-We shared the news with friends, the same day as our 12 week appointment.
PROGRESS.....
The baby is now 12.5 weeks (10.5 fetal age) and has all of his or her arms, legs, fingers and toes! That was so exciting to see on the Sonogram. Hearing the baby's heartbeat was another really great experience! Now that the nausea and complete exhaustion passed, about week 9, (I'm still tired, but not as bad) it is hard to relate to the pregnancy because I can't feel anything yet. This is the first week I have had to use my BeBand, which means my abdomen is definitely growing! I look forward to sundresses this summer which, hopefully will allow me to forego purchasing any maternity pants!
Looking forward to posting more about the little one!
