It's Been a While, Baby! (FAQs About Our December Arrival)

You, dear readers, have probably been wondering where I've been and I'll confess that I've been feeling so guilty for not posting sooner and it sort of feels like I'm coming crawling back to you.  I want to thank you first of all for your patience.  I am touched to see that you're still checking in with the blog and leaving comments.

Now for the big news, which you've probably already guessed from the picture:  WE DONE GOT KNOCKED UP!!!  Yes, that's right!  We were lucky (Trust me, I know just how lucky we are!) enough to be able to plan the little one's arrival to coincide with my least busy time of year at work (because very few people buy houses over Christmas) so I'll be able to take a few weeks to recover and start back at work in time for the spring market!  Such is the life of the self-employed, right?  On the other hand, Corey is so excited to take on the role of Super-Dad when I go back to work, so our non-traditional setup will end up working out quite nicely.

Now I feel like I'm talking to a friend I haven't seen in ages!  There is so much to tell you and to share about the past few months and we've had some other developments in life (Which I'll share in other posts.) but for now I want to tell you all about what it's been like for us since April... and, trust me, there have been some ups and downs!  Since we've already shared the news with our family and friends, I'll do this "FAQ Style" since everyone seems to want to know the same things.

Was it planned?

Ha!  Everyone seems to be curious about this because we're getting married in August!  While technically in the realm of "none of anyone's beeswax" we are pretty open about answering this question.  In truth, it was planned (some would say SUPER-planned) but still unexpected.  Here's what I mean:

Corey and I have known for a long time that I wouldn't want to take much time away from work.  When we discussed actually having a baby, we decided that August and December would be the two best times of year for me to deliver.  Back in March we discussed our limited window for conception and we decided on a whim to start trying that month if we were going to only give ourselves a couple of months a year.  I had seen many close friends battle with fertility issues and I had a sinking feeling that we may have trouble too, so I figured we'd give ourselves every extra chance that we could.  Well, the rest is sort of history.

How did you find out?

I found out at only 3 1/2 weeks, which is really early, but I was already starting to feel funny.  I think the turning point for me was when I cried all the way to work one day, feeling like a failure for absolutely no reason.  When the mood swing passed, I realized that it had been really out of character for me, so I bought a test and took it while Corey was at work.

I actually didn't read the instructions and threw the test in the garbage when I didn't immediately see a second line.  It wasn't until later that I went back to check on it.... and called my mom in a daze!

How did Corey react?

I told him in the car that day after I had picked him up from work.  His face turned bright red and a vein started popping out of his forehead.  He also couldn't really discuss it for the rest of the day because he was just in shock.  I think we both were.  His reaction worried me for about a millisecond but I quickly learned I had nothing to worry about.  By the next day, he was even more excited than I was!  It's really sweet!

What about your wedding dress?

Luckily, I hadn't found a wedding dress yet when I learned our news.  Even more luckily, I have an amazing dressmaker who is willing to do most of the work very close to the wedding... so we can correct for my changing shape!

So the wedding is still on?

It depends on how I'm feeling when you ask me. ;)  Seriously, Corey has heard me promise to call the wedding off about a dozen times during hormonal outbursts.  The day I could no longer zip up my pants was BAD!  However, Corey's been picking up the wedding planning slack so that I can focus on my two jobs (my actual job and growing a person) and it looks as though we're going to make it.

Have you had a lot of morning sickness?

Yes, and I wish they'd re-name it to reflect the all-day spontaneous vomiting hell that it really is.  Thank goodness for prescription anti-nausea meds, because I don't know how I would have continued to function without my little pills.  People always say that nausea is a good sign of a healthy baby, but I'm beginning to think that's just a fairytale they tell crazy pregnant chicks so that we remain calm.

What about other symptoms?

Soooo many that I never knew were even symptoms.  Every time something weird happens with my body now, I'm on Google just to make sure it's normal.  HOW HAD I NOT HEARD ABOUT ALL THESE MESSED UP SYMPTOMS???  Basically, the answer is that people don't mention them because they're gross and weird and I suppose once the baby comes you sort of forget how much pregnancy sucked.  It's basically like having some other person's body on loan for several months.  And that other person is a disgusting hairy fat man who has a beer gut and yet cannot drink beer.  Also he's constipated and gets nosebleeds.  Sometimes he yells at complete strangers and he's also a terrible driver who likes to eat weird food (think CRAZY cravings) and take naps.  Basically, this man is the worst and nobody should want him around but instead EVERYONE loves him and wants to pat his belly and comment on his massive man-boobs.  Yes, that's how I feel.

My pregnancy has also come with the rare symptom of sudden onset depression.  This doesn't affect me most of the time (never while I'm busy or occupied with something) but it has come in outbursts and it was really scary for both of us until it was diagnosed and I was told that it's linked to hormones.  I'll write more about this in another post, but I feel it lessening in the second trimester so I'm optimistic that it will be easier to cope with once my hormones are more in balance.

These symptoms have meant that after a long day at work, I haven't had much energy left over to blog.  I'm starting to feel better though so I'm excited to resume one of my favourite pastimes.

Have you enjoyed any aspects of being pregnant?

Yes, of course it hasn't been all bad.  Friends and family have been really excited and supportive and we are lucky to have several friends who have (or will soon have) 2014 babies so there's tons of excitement around us.

I think my favourite thing has been taking time each day to go for a long walk with Corey.  It's good low-impact exercise for me and it gives us time to talk about our days and discuss the baby.  Seeing Corey so excited to become a dad has been amazing and I think the experience has brought us even closer.  I loved when he covertly videotaped our ultrasound (until he got caught) and I see him watching the video all the time.

I also love how thick my hair is getting and how sweet strangers are when we tell them.  When I'm not puking my guts out, or feeling depressed, the world seems to be filled with cupcakes and rainbows.  Speaking of which... I feel like a cupcake right now.

Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?

Everyone says they'll be happy either way and I suppose that's true in a way, but I've always pictured myself having a girl.  I don't know why, and it shouldn't matter, but I'm sorry to say that I was sort of hoping for a little girl.  That's not to say I wouldn't adore a boy to cuddle with... it's just not the picture I had in my head, if you know what I mean.  To compensate, I've been trying to get myself excited about having a little boy and I find that it's not as hard as I thought it would be.  We don't know the gender yet, but we did verify that it's just one baby (there are twins in both families) so we're calling it Singleton.

When will you find out the gender?

We'll probably wait until after the wedding.  If I find out now, it will be hard to focus on anything wedding related because I'll just want to plan for the baby!

Have you thought of names?

We have a girl's name but we're still in negotiations over our top boy's name. ;)

Have you thought about the nursery?

Oh, we chose our nursery colours last year when we painted the living room and have been planning it for ages.  I can't wait to start work on it this fall!

Are you showing?

It's so hard to say.  I've definitely been bloated for ages but my stomach muscles sort of gave up a couple of weeks ago and this ginormous gut sort of popped out.  People say it's carrying like a boy but I keep laughing and just telling people it's hamburgers.  I seriously wonder if it's all the carbs I ate to curb my nausea in my first trimester but the bump feels pretty solid so it's possible that some of it is uterus.

I don't know.  People are really complimentary to pregnant chicks but when they say I'm glowing, I'm about 90% sure it's just sweat.