1st Trimester

In case you were wondering......

When I found out: October 2nd

How I told Justin: He had always wanted to be there, but in this circumstance, I found out the day he was leaving to go duck hunting in Canada and we wanted him to enjoy his trip without this HUGE brand new news on his mind, so I waited to tell him.
I found out the morning that he was leaving, so I simply went about my day and helped him. When he goes on trips, I usually put notes and treats in his bags to find later, but this time he left 5 hours early, so I didn't get the chance. I decided that I would have to give him something after he came home. After he got all settled in, a week later, I gave him a present and said that since I didn't get a chance before he left, this would be something we could use next hunting season. He opened it and it was a camoflauge blanket. He said, "You made me a blanket!" Then he heard it rattle and looked at me confused, I just stared at him until he unwrapped the blanket and found 2 rattles inside. Then I said, "It's not for you." . . . . . .

How I've felt: Thank you for your concern, but I have felt just GREAT! Except for the constant wanting to have a nap. I was SOOO tired the first few months. I could NOT stay up past 8 or 9 and fell asleep numerous times grading papers. In Justin's words, he had to PEEL me off the couch all the time! I did feel nauseous around week 7, but only for a few days, and pills helped cure that and I haven't had to use them hardly at all! My stomach has felt funny sometimes, but nothing I felt like I need to compain about. One thing I didn't know, the pregnant lady stereotype of constant going to the bathroom, it's starts immediately! I didn't think that would start until baby weighed at least a pound or so! And of course, you know me, I eat all the time anyway, and that got worse at the beginning too!! When I told my Cooperating Teacher, she said she kind of wondered because she noticed that I had gotten "ravenous," hehee. That's terrible, n'est-ce pas?! But SO ME!! Although, I don't eat as much at one sitting, so I think I'm doing well! I've gained about 5 pounds, that's not bad for over 3 months is it?

How we told our parents: The Sunday before Thanksgiving (I was 11 1/2 weeks), we went and visited them all. We took a little folder of pictures and told them it was pictures of "all of our little ones." There were pictures of each of our dogs and a few of the litter of cute puppies and finally an ultrasound pic. of our 1st fur-less child!! Each of them were surprised by the last picture.

Will we find out the sex?: YES! JANUARY 20th!! We weren't sure at first, but then Justin decided that it would be more convenient and I know myself and I will want to BUY STUFF!! However, the nursery, stroller, car seat, playpen, etc. will all be generic for multiple uses. Oh, and our Nursery will be a Jungle theme, a pastel jungle.

What do we want?: To be 100% honest, Justin wants a boy and I want a girl! I think he wants to not be surrounded by girls and isn't sure what he'd do with one, but he can put a boy to work. I just want to puts bows in her hair!! I have no idea one way or the other, except that Justin had a dream shortly after we planned this, but before we knew, that I walked into the room and put a little baby girl on his chest, so if that's a sign..... His parents have put in an order for a boy because Colleen has 4 granddaughters and Justin's half brother, who still keeps in contact with Steve (his step-dad) had a little girl last year, so they are ready for a grandson and have the cowboy boots picked out!

Names: No idea! We do know that we will probably use a family name for the middle name and have a better time agreeing on those than first names. We have a few, VERY FEW that we both like, but we will probably pick 2 or 3 and use the most fitting one for when he or she arrives!

One last thing: We have been VERY BLESSED with this pregnancy!! We gave ourselves a very small window because of how my school year will work as a teacher and luckily things worked out easily for us. I know there are many out there for whom that is not the case, and I feel very blessed for us to have been able to start our family so readily. Also, I know that many first pregnancies end in miscarriage (most of the reason we waited a while to tell people), but this has been a dream and Baby seems healthy to this point! I had my second appt. on Mon. and got to listen to Baby's heart and it sounded GREAT!! That was such a comforting sound!!!