**I’m posting some old posts very late and out of order because I don’t want them to die and disappear in my drafts folder! This one should’ve been posted the week of November 3rd, 2019. **
WE’RE HAVING A BABY GIRL!!! And somehow I haven’t published a single post about it. I’ve been adding to a draft since the day we decided we were ready to start trying, but that’s more of a raw post that probably won’t ever see the light of day. So for the sake of looking back, here’s our last few months in a quick summary!
We decided to stop taking birth control in April, spent a few AMAZING weeks in Norway in May, and then found out we were pregnant on June 21st! I still can’t believe it happened as fast as it did, but I don’t think anyone was more surprised than Brian, who told the midwife at our first appointment that he thought it was going to take 3 years! Brian was developing some film from the summer this weekend, and in the same batch, he developed one roll that had a photo of me taking my last birth control pill, and another roll of me holding the positive test.
Margaret and Jack were the first ones to find out the next day, totally by accident when they were making fun of me that my carsickness was morning sickness… but they kept the secret better than I ever expected. We were definitely on a high for those first few days, so we called Paige the day after and told her too! It’s only fair 😉
Right in the middle of all of this, we signed a lease on a new house and a giant renovation, which turned out to be a really terrible idea. My first trimester hit us like a ton of bricks and the renovation work that we were supposed to be doing together ended up being 95% Brian while I laid on the couch at our old place and went through waves of sleeping, puking, and buying renovation materials online. It was a miserable few months for me, and I felt so so guilty the entire time about how much work Brian was doing and that I couldn’t help out.
It didn’t help either that my sense of smell was beyond everything imaginable, and I could barely get within 5′ of the new house without gagging. The actual severity of the smell is still up for debate, but it was too much for me to handle.
The 2nd trimester was a major turning point, and I was finally able to stay awake past 7pm each night. I got my appetite back and I could finally pitch in to help out with the last few pieces of the renovation. My mom came to Seattle to visit and help finish the work too, which was great because we had reached our breaking point with all of the work and she pushed through to help us finish painting, put up drapes, and get the place to be livable. I don’t know what we would’ve done without her, but I guarantee the stairway hallway still wouldn’t be painted 😉
It’s hard being so far from everyone while we’re going through so much exciting new change. I bought my first thing for the baby yesterday (a super soft swaddle), and I can’t wait to get it and start a cute collection of baby things. I didn’t think I’d be looking forward to the baby shower, but I really am! I think it will be so fun opening all of the cute baby stuff and being surround by our family and friends while we celebrate our new baby.
We scheduled our ultrasound to find out the gender just a few days before our trip to Chicago, but I bumped the date of the ultrasound up a day so that Brian and I could find out and keep it to ourselves for a bit without feeling like we had to share the news with everyone right away. It’s the one part of the pregnancy we’d been looking forward to the most, and I really wanted us to be able to enjoy it by ourselves. We were soooo anxious going into the ultrasound, and we really wanted to find out the gender right away, but our little babe wasn’t cooperating! The umbilical cord was hanging right between her legs, so the tech couldn’t see anything. She kept going back to see if the baby had shifted positions, but it wasn’t til about an hour into the ultrasound (and two bathroom breaks later) that she even gave us her best guess. She wasn’t 100% positive, so she ran out to get a second opinion from the other tech who agreed with her that it’s a GIRL!!!! We were so surprised, especially after everyone guessing that it was a boy. I listened to my Ruby playlist on Spotify on repeat, I was just so excited!!
I’m at 21 weeks now, and our little Ruby is 10.5″ long (a big banana!) and she’s kicking me allllll day long. She’s especially active right after I get done with barre class and before bed, so Brian has felt her kicks too. I love feeling her move around, its such a reassurance to know that she’s still in there haha. My stomach is really starting to grow more quickly now, and I’ve bought two pairs of maternity jeans and gotten over 10 new shirts in the mail from my mom! It’s pretty crazy to imagine how big I’m going to be if this is only halfway….
I’m 21 weeks and I feel like I’m HUGE. Someone offered me their seat on the bus, and people are starting to stare at my stomach. My mom (your Lovie!) sent us a new vest to wear that has a special little zip up pouch for you with a fuzzy hood! you’ll be so toasty on our walks through Ballard 🙂
I’m constantly hungry, I can’t zip any of my pants or jackets, my back and ribs hurt SO MUCH, and you’re kicking me all day long! Our bike ride to work just got 5 times longer, and I’m very winded by the time we get home. Your daddy rides slow with me and we get passed by everyyyonnne hahah. I LOVE YOU!!
veronimama 