The First Appointment: 8 weeks, 6 days

Written Friday, September 12, 2014

The day finally came. I actually wasn’t as anxious as I was anticipating because again, I still feel like we are playing house over here. Thankfully, harvest has not started and it was raining so Andy was able to sneak away without raising any red flags. Having that seed business on the side really helps, because he just told his dad he was meeting with his partner for the afternoon, which is what he’s actually been doing most of this week anyway.

I don’t work on Fridays, but Andy got home at noon. He took a shower and we left our house at about 12:30 after deciding to grab lunch at Avanti’s before our 2:15 appointment. It actually worked out perfectly since I have a love/hate relationship with lunch and cooking lately.

We got to Avanti’s maybe at 1:10. Since it was the middle of the day on a Friday we had pretty fast service so were out of there at 1:45. The office is not far away so we were there with nearly 25 minutes to spare. I’ve been to this office before pre-pregnancy, so I didn’t really need to fill out any paperwork and didn’t have the “first visit” nerves that I might have had otherwise. Thankfully after checking in, they called me back right away anyway.

I don’t think the first nurse said her name, but if she did I wasn’t paying attention. She was a younger, cute, extremely friendly black woman who made me feel at ease right away. We went into the closet-sized weigh room that has a scale, chair for me, and a computer desk for the nurse. She asked some basic, quick questions about my cycle, where I plan to deliver, and had me sign a waiver for the HIV test and trans-vaginal ultrasound. I was really hoping to skip that part and go straight to the standard belly kind… Then she took my blood pressure (101/61 I believe – average for me) and my weight. Then she led me down the hall to the bathroom to leave a urine sample and sent Andy to the exam room.

The office is a little older so the room is what you expect it to be. It was plenty spacious, but not giant. There was a decent size desk and two chairs and another small cabinet section with a sink and some supplies. Obviously, there is also an exam chair with a small computer monitor next to it.

Dr. Emm came in pretty much immediately and asked me some questions about my symptoms. I said I pretty much feel the same, no morning sickness or nausea, but definitely feeling tired. Then we got started right away with the ultrasound. Thankfully, she was really great and the wand was pretty painless. Right away the little dude popped up on the screen right next to my head. You could see the little heart beating away. She took a few quick clicks, printed out some pictures, and we were done. She said I was measuring 8 weeks, 6 days (only a day behind what I expected so no one can say I don’t know my body well). The heartbeat was 176, which she described as perfect. She pretty much said everything looked as it should, to keep taking my prenatal vitamins, do moderate activity, not eat too much, and a general run-down on the series of appointments to come over the next 8 months. Then she was on her way. I really like her. She is cute and friendly, and always appears laid-back and non-judgmental. Andy agreed.

I stepped outside and waited in the back waiting area with Andy when they immediately called me in to get my blood drawn. I want to say this lady’s name was Tracy, but I’m pretty sure I’m wrong. She was very friendly, and the draw was pretty painless. She then told me it was good that I came to my appointment early, because Dr. Emm was just leaving to go to a delivery. Perfect! I now think back that Dr. was pretty prompt and efficient with time, but I never felt rushed like she was in a hurry. “Tracy”, like everyone else, congratulated me on the news and sent me on my way. We stopped by the check out desk to set up my next two appointments, and the woman was again very friendly. Although, I assume it’s kind of a necessity to be pleasant when you work in an OB/GYN office…

We were in and out of there in just over a half an hour (only 15 minutes after our scheduled start time)!

I did expect that the news would “sink in” more after seeing the babe today, but I can’t really say that it has. I definitely felt relief and reassurance when I could see the heartbeat and know that things were okay, but I think I’m still in disbelief that this is all happening. I figured today would make me want to shout out the news, but I’m still sitting pretty keeping this secret to ourselves. It’s so crazy to see other pregnancies with April due dates being announced.

I go back already in a week and a half to do a more thorough appointment. I guess this is where we will detail our entire family history. Things are going well!

4-8 Weeks

Written Saturday, September 6, 2014: 8 weeks

Although the first few weeks after finding out when by very slowly, time seems to be picking up, which I’m quite thankful for.  Since harvest will definitely be under way by the 19^th (day of the my first scheduled appointment), I called and rescheduled to Friday, September 12 when I will be 9 weeks. I’m grateful it will be one less week to wait, and also grateful that Andy should have no problems being there.

I’m still pretty much in denial. We talk about my being pregnant, but I forget most of the time and feel like my normal self. At this point, I’ve almost convinced myself that we’ll go to the appointment and they’ll tell us it was just a joke. I’m probably putting too much stress on myself worrying about a healthy heartbeat.

I have had no morning sickness to speak of. Since neither of my sisters were sick I shouldn’t be surprised or worried, but it’s just one of those things. Food doesn’t always appeal to me, but it could be much worse. I know I’m not eating enough because of it, but I also don’t eat very much typically. Chicken is off the table, and I’m definitely queasier the longer I go without eating, but for the most part I’m fine. I did make Andy run into DQ to get me a chicken strip basket and when he came home I had to force myself to eat half of it. Food seems to sound good until it’s in front of me. And I have no urge to cook.

The cooking thing is really due to the exhaustion.  Cleaning isn’t happening either – our house is actually kind of gross sometimes because I’m doing the bare minimum. The past few weeks have been rough, because all I want to do is nothing. Sometimes I think I won’t make it home from work, I’m just so tired. The other night I walked in the house and immediately went to bed (it was 5:30). Since we’ve had such great summer weather, I’d gotten into the habit of walking a 1-1.5 mile loop around my building at work during my lunch break. That has stopped and been exchanged for naps in my car.

I had pretty consistent cramps and sore boobs from weeks 4 to 7, but those have stopped pretty much entirely. At week 7 I thought I could see a semblance of a bump forming, but nothing anyone else would notice. I haven’t gained any weight and my clothes fit the same. This is a good thing I guess, since we don’t plan on spilling the beans anytime soon.

Speaking of that, I have had absolutely no urge to share the news. It has been so easy, probably because we haven’t gotten confirmation of the heartbeat yet and I still feel like we’re playing house. It was kind of ironic that a few weeks ago my sister Taryn announced her pregnancy and will be due 2.5 weeks before me. It’s just funny that all 3 of us sisters are pregnant and will have kids in the same class at school, yet Andy and I are the only ones who know. It is kind of fun to have your own secret. We’ve even continued to get the “when are you having babies” comments and have refrained from giving anything away. Actually, that gives me more motivation to wait as long as possible to share the news. Maybe that makes me a bad person.

However, I am actually most excited about telling my work. It actually is a secret that I don’t like my job and I can’t wait to stay at home. I pretty much hate it so much that there will be no way that I could stay until my due date, so I’ve been daydreaming about when to just do it already. At the moment, I think I’ll give notice after my third appointment and work until the holidays in December. I’ll probably talk myself into sticking it out longer, but 3 months seems like a long enough wait from now to then that I hope I have the guts to just get it over with. The want and need for me to work is at about a zero, so why torture myself? I know Andy will appreciate not hearing me talk about it.

My apologies for the photo quality. Andy cannot operate a camera to save his life and I'm no photo editor.

4 Weeks                                                                                                            8 Weeks

We have six more days until I can relax a little about this kid’s health status. Let’s hope it’s a fast week and we get good news!

The First Update

Written Friday, August 15, 2014: 5 weeks

I swear I’m really not planning to write weekly, but figured I’d just note things as they happen.

I called my doc first thing Monday morning to see what the next steps were. They didn’t really believe that I was only 4 weeks along, so they ordered a blood test. I went to St. Joe’s over my lunch break and everything was pretty easy. The tech was very friendly and really good – I hardly felt a thing. I got results later that afternoon that pregnancy was confirmed (about 4 weeks as I suspected) and they wanted to re-test for progesterone.

On Tuesday, I got another call with those results and they said my progesterone was a bit low (17.9 when they wanted at least 18 – so close!). They prescribed a supplement to kick that, but I was still supposed to get another blood draw on Wednesday to confirm everything was heading in the right direction.

So, first thing Wednesday I went to St. Joe’s again. This was an even quicker experience, but had a bit more sting.  I was thankful I didn’t see anyone I knew either day – that would not have happened in Pontiac (current: I have since found out that was not the case). I picked up my prescription at Walgreens before heading to work. 

That afternoon the office called and said my HCG levels had more than doubled from 800 on Monday to more than 2000 on Wednesday, which was a good sign. Prog went down to 17.4, but she wasn’t concerned because we were already set to start my prescription – 1 pill morning and night until I hit the 12-week mark. We set my first in-office appointment for Friday, September 19 at 2:15 (I’ll be 10 weeks exactly). Ironically, this is my sister Allyson’s due date. I am hoping that harvest has not started because if so, there is no way Andy will be able to get away from the tractor without raising major red flags, and I definitely don’t want that to happen. I am mentally preparing myself for the fact that he probably won’t be able to make it, but trying not to dwell. It is what it is.

It’s only been a couple of days, so my symptoms are the same.  My appetite isn’t as great, but that’s because I’m trying to force myself to eat more and that just always backfires. There was one morning where I felt particularly queasy, but it was nothing I could even complain about. 

Baby is the size of an orange seed! Stay tuned...

This Is Happening...

Written Sunday, August 10, 2014: 4 weeks, 2 days

Well, I guess if I’m posting this it means it’s really happening. We’re going to be parents.

On our second month of “trying,” I was pretty sure this wasn’t the month. But I have always charted my temps, so when all signs pointed to PG, I took a test on a whim yesterday.  I grabbed the test while it was loading to head to the living room where Andy was. I went to set it out and saw the word “Pregnant.” Stopped dead in my tracks. We both just kind of looked at each other and I said “I guess we’re doing this!” And then we went about our day…

I have to say, as soon as we pulled the trigger on our baby plans, I heard about a million stories of people I know not being able to conceive. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating, but there were some pretty frightening cases (like couples who have been trying for 2-3 years).  That definitely terrified me into putting all hands on deck for this operation; because Lord knows when I make up my mind I follow through.

Depending on whom you ask, some friends or family may say they expected us to start a family immediately after the wedding. We have definitely heard our fair share of comments (and nagging). I have been pretty anti-into sharing details about our personal plans, so much so that those who know how much it annoys me assumed that meant that kids weren’t in our plans anytime soon. But that’s not really the issue. Whether we were planning to have a baby in a week, a year, or ten years, I don’t think it’s anyone’s business… (seriously, Taryn, you should have smacked me years ago for being annoying). 

Moving on.

Due Date: Saturday, April 18, 2015

Baby is the size of a poppy seed!

I feel pretty much the same, except for cramps are pretty consistent. Nothing I can’t handle. There have been a few moments I’ve felt on the border of queasy, but I haven’t tossed my cookies or anything.  I know it will only get worse.

I am of course looking forward to hearing the heartbeat and actually getting a view of the Nug. And of course finding out if we are having a boy or girl. (Andy thinks we are going to have all boys, I envision us starting off with a girl – who knows). I’ve had nursery items selected for like a year (thanks, Pinterest secret boards!), so I’m looking forward to buying all of the things!

As far as worries, I am quite calm and collected about the actual parenting part, probably because I feel like we are pretending and that the positive test was just a joke. I’m mostly concerned with having a healthy pregnancy. I’ve never in my life been a big eater, so it will take a lot of effort on my part to eat enough and gain the right amount of weight. I also woke up about 8 times last night and felt awkward while stretching in fear I would hurt the little dude. I’m sure I’ll get over the fear of moving.

We are planning to keep this little nugget to ourselves for as long as possible (our goal is to find out the sex before spilling the beans – think we can do it?). Although there are a handful of people that I would want to tell, I really don’t think it will be that hard.  I very rarely drink alcohol and luckily, the weather will get cooler the more I start to show, so I’m planning to hide this sucker with sweaters and hoodies like an unwed mother in the 50s if it really comes to that. I think the sooner we spread the word, the longer the pregnancy will feel. And we are just not interested in the comments and unsolicited advice that is inevitable with expectant parents.  

Anywho, we are pretty stoked for this chapter of our lives (even if it hasn’t really sunk in). Four weeks down, 36 to go…

Current: As of today, I am exactly 19 weeks along. Bear with me as I have a lot of previously written posts to publish! I am trying my hardest not to back-edit...

I missed a calling as a financial planner..

This post is extremely random. But the more I see people spend recklessly, the more I want to share this information with the world.

I confess that I am a very strange young adult. I actually really, really enjoy planning our finances. (I've talked a little bit about it here.) It motivates me like nothing else can. I've always felt that I acted older than my age and I think this little hobby of mine proves it. 

In college, I was the ultimate cheapskate (seriously, definitely the annoying kind). From day one I had the mentality that I was supposed to be poor, so I lived like I was poor. I never went out to eat or to get coffee unless I had a gift card, and could live on $15/week of groceries. I rarely went to bars so those expenses were nearly non-existent. I worked as close to 20 hours as possible at the daycare (since I was a University student at a University job, 20 hours was the max) and came out of college with more money than I did going into it. 

Andy and I were fortunate enough that we had hardly any debt going into our marriage compared to the norm - most of that was because we both have families who were also financial planners. But it was basically high priority number one that we pay off any debt we had ASAP. Although Andy was not accustomed to living simply for the sake of saving money like I was, and joining our two philosophies has been interesting (we definitely fit the saver-spender titles), we have found a balance and both come a long way. 

I lightened up on the spending part (or lack of), but the obsession with growing our savings continued. Andy became more interested, too. And then a few years ago Dave Ramsey came into my life and has been feeding the obsession ever since...

I honestly don't remember how I came across Dave's infamous Baby Steps, but they are like the 7 Commandments of being a grown up. They basically confirmed all of my philosophies and financial life choices leading up to this point. If everyone lived like this, the world would be a much better, happier place. I have scoured Dave's website and read most of the articles posted to his Facebook page.

Here are the Baby Steps in order:

1. Start a $1,000 emergency fund

2. Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball (this is a good one if you have debt)

3. Set aside 3-6 months of expenses in savings (keep this up to date)

4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs (do this every year)

5. Start a college fund for children (Dave says best ways are ESAs or 529 plans)

6. Pay off home early

7. Build wealth and GIVE!

There really is no point to this post, other than to encourage other people to worry about these things. It has not been hard for me to do this because I run on logic rather than emotion. Self control and behavioral change is not difficult for me if I know the benefits. 

Know your priorities. I would rather have a few high ticket items than go out to eat frequently or have a bunch of cheap crap. If it were up to me we would solely eat at home, but Andy thoroughly enjoys dining out so we have to meet somewhere in the middle. I also don't really buy clothes or "things" for myself. I don't go to Target for fun. I know the difference between need and want. I also consider myself to be a minimalist so this is how I choose to live.

The world of financial planning can be empowering and fun. Now go to Dave's website and start saving, darn it.

 

Nashville 2014: Part 2

Yes, I'm still alive. I forgot I hadn't posted this, so in case you need a recap here is Part 1

We ended up napping a solid 2 hours on Saturday and didn't wake until close to 7 pm. We had scoped out a place to eat, so the boys woke everyone up and went to put our names in while Sylvia and I got dressed and ready.

The wait time for Puckett's restaurant was 2 hours so the rest of the family decided to try to find something shorter. Since it was Saturday night in downtown Nashville, of course wait times were going to be long everywhere. We ended up waiting the same amount of time at Rock Bottom. We ended up sitting down to eat at like 9:30. 

We got loaded nachos to start, which was good because service was slow. I got some type of fish tacos, but they were cold so I ended up not eating much of them. After dinner, Eric, Sylvia, Andy and I went out for a while. We listened to a set by the Travis Mann band at some whole in the wall place, which reminded me of Elvis. Afterward we went to try out Coyote Ugly. What a disappointment and a waste of time (and $5 cover for the guys). We were there for less than ten minutes before walking back to the hotel around midnight. 

The next day, I met Andy's parents, Eric, and Sylvia for breakfast at the Frothy Monkey. I got a simple breakfast of a bagel and fruit (pretty hard to screw up) but it was good and the place was cute. I would go back.

We planned to leave the hotel at 10 to go tour the Ryman. We saw a short video and got to tour part of it at our own pace. Since it's basically a museum, this was right up my alley. I might've taken the longest since I actually read plaques and signs. We also did the backstage guided tour, which was interesting. 

Afterward  it was probably 12:30, so we split up to grab a snack/lunch. Andy and I grabbed jimmy johns and met up with everyone at the Country Music Hall of Fame at 1:30. This was again right up my alley and I tried to take my time. Andy was actually quite patient with me considering he is not into this stuff. It took a few hours and by the time we got to the end (which obviously had the more recent famous singers who I'm most familiar with) I was tired. We unfortunately went through the last room a bit quickly, but again it was interesting to me at least. 

At this point it was probably 4pm on Sunday. We took time to go in all the boot stores on Broadway, and Andy got himself a nice pair. We stopped in a few boutiques, but I wasn't interested in anything, so we went back to the hotel for a short rest before dinner at Puckett's. It was more BBQ type place, so I got a salad and pulled pork sandwich - pretty good. The atmosphere was good and of course there was live music. Afterward we went to Tootsie's, then another bar to hear the Gin Blossoms (hey, jealousy). They played well but we only stayed for a few songs before going to Honky Tonk Central. I didn't care for the performers there as much and was really ready to sleep. We still stayed out till close to midnight.

Monday morning, we woke and met in the lobby where a few were eating breakfast before hitting the road around 10. We killed time by playing a 4 person game of monopoly on the iPad but it seemed to take forever. We were really cramped and hungry by the time we got to BWW in Effingham around 3. That queso and wings were a life saver. We pulled into our house around 6 pm. It felt good to be back.

A Lovely Laundry Room

It's been a while since I first shared about our laundry space here. Obviously now it is finished, so I thought I would update.

When planning a home, I assume that laundry spaces are typically low on the priority list and that's why they get put into a random spot or cramped space that nobody likes. For us, the laundry area just kind of landed where it is, as we had a lot of space in the middle of the house that we could fill. I've mentioned before that having the laundry attached the master closet is the best thing ever. It really is. That was probably the single smartest idea we have ever had...

But let's get to the pictures, shall we??

Hallway - Laundry room is the first door on the left

View from the doorway

You can see straight ahead our cubby cabinet for baskets. We do also have a "half" closet seen in the left side of the picture above. This is intended to be the linen closet but it's a complete disaster. One of these days we will get to that project..

Front view of cubbies

The cabinetry in this space was actually kitchen cabinetry in the old house. It was really high quality, solid wood that was probably made from the Amish or something. It was a shame to have them all go to waste, so Andy sanded and painted some sections. The cubby above actually held the built in stove and microwave! You would never know that they weren't intended for the space. (Read about that process here.)

Each cubby's basket is for a particular type of laundry - top is for lights, middle is for darks/colors, and bottom is for Andy's grummy work clothes. We also have a basket in the master closet that is for delicates, and a basket in the master bathroom for when we get in the shower. Since our closet is attached, most of the time we put our dirty clothes into the appropriate bins as we change, but I round things up every day or two. It's a pretty hassle-free process.

The WASH letters were plain wood ones from Hobby Lobby that were just painted and hung with 3M strips. Pretty much the most simple project ever.

View from the master closet - notice the other doorway on the left side of the picture

I swear I rarely buy cleaning products. With the exception of toilet bowl cleaner and Swiffer sheets, I don't think I've purchased a thing. All of this was either in the old house, at my college apartment, or was gifted to us at one of our wedding showers. I can't wait to downsize.. I use vinegar and water for a lot of things now anyway.

We have a nice, deep sink for cleaning. I also have a really great space for folding. I can sort and lay everything out so it's simple. I still need to find a solution for lonely, leftover socks, but it's pretty handy!

A spot to tuck away the garbage bin is convenient.

I love my shelf. It's easy to get to everything and is just the right about of space. You see that stupid middle support that's off center? It bothers me like crazy. Andy was insistent that we needed 3 supports and that they all had to be in studs, so one had to be off center. Curse it! It would look so much better with two. Oh well, there are worse things.

We're really lucky to have this space!