AW: 10 Things about My Pregnancy

[joymseattle]

I wouldn't have posted this except for TT's comment the other week.

1. I'm out of the first tri this week and off the progesterone supplementation as of last night (woot! woot!)

2. We're taking an out-of-hospital childbirth class series with the founder of the doula movement. Best part, our registration is a gift to us from her so it's free!

3. We finally picked our home birth midwife! She's queer, I've attended a home birth with her, her assistant is a doula and midwifery student I respect, and C felt she was most comfortable with her out of the midwives we met.

4. Not directly related to pregnancy, but relevant: Christine got a promotion to a new full-time and well paying position. It's going to be a big transition and learning curve but it will be a great career step for her and a great financial relief for our family.

5. Number 4 makes Number 3 even more tricky as C's training schedule is intense for the next week or two and the midwife is pretty booked up for initial appt slots (they're longer). This means we may not have an appointment until 16 or 17 weeks. That's longer than I wanted to wait.

6. I can't wait to hear the heart beat, but I'm not willing to do so without C.

7. I've been sharing the news with local friends and colleagues. Everyone's excited, but in my line of work there are even more questions!

8. We're going to a (vegan, potluck) dinner with our close local friends tonight and we'll share the news with them. After that we don't really have anyone else to announce to and anyone else with find out through the grapevine, when we run into them, or if they ask.

9. I am so grateful that I have my part-time, mostly work-from-home job. I enjoy it in so many ways and it gives me income that allows me to not be on-call and to prioritize self-care and studying (prereqs and exam prep for my LC boards).

10. My nana is going to make us a baby quilt and we picked out the pattern and a bunch of fabric while we were staying with her. I'm going to look for a couple more patterned fabrics and then send them all down to her so she can get started whenever she wants. My great-aunt (my nana's sister) said she'd start knitting right away. I love handmade stuff for babies and that these will have sentimental value. It also makes me want to start some projects too!

[twotrue]

Oh sure, blame me for your AW ways

I LOVE this post! So many awesome things.  Congrats to Christine on the promotion!  How did the trip go? I'm sure your family must have been thrilled to hear the news.    

[joymseattle]

Road trip recap:

Telling the family about the pregnancy was so, so fun! We told my good friend from H.S. and her boyfriend in Portland during a dinner stop. Then on Friday evening we told C's brother's family at dinner. We handed our 6-year-old niece a card that said "How do you feel about being a big cousin?" with the u/s pic. They were very excited for us!

Then on Monday we went down to LA and had dinner with my (gay) uncle who I'm very close with. We told him by me saying "We have a little bit of news" (with my fingers the approx size of the baby) and then C said, "I'm pregnant!" It was funny. He was so excited and it was good timing as he's been dealing with a friend passing of cancer this week.

On Tuesday we had dinner with my family (dad, three sisters, two boyfriends, two nephews, a baby niece and some family friends). It took forever for everyone to be in the same place at the same time. Finally, after dinner we did photos and then I said we have some news. One of my sisters got it first and then my dad pretended not to know what we were talking about. Then he asked me if it was true and when I confirmed he teared up and gave me a huge hug. My youngest (closest) sister was so cute in her excitement and was rubbing my belly. My nephew, who just recently had another auntie with a baby in her belly, was patting and talking to the baby. So cute! My dad kept giving me hugs and making plans to come visit before and after the birth.

On Friday we arrived in OR at my nana's and somehow the conversation came around to other people we know being pregnant -- either easily or with difficulty. I said to my nana "you know who can get pregnant?" and she said "who?" and I said, "me." She was very happy and started talking about making the baby a quilt. We then called her sister who lives in England and she wants to come over this year, so my nana was saying "how about August or Sept?" Then when I talked to her I said if she waited to Sept she could meet our baby. She asked if we were already pregnant (haha) and then said she's start knitting next week!

When my uncle and his family (wife and 4 y.o. son) came over on Saturday afternoon. We told them right away because my nana couldn't wait for them to know. They were very happy and when they told their son he was really cute about it too (later he asked if C was a boy!).

There were a few awkward moments when my uncle's in-laws came for dinner and her step-father asked if we were happy about it. Who says that?! Even if this was an unplanned teen pregnancy, that's not an appropriate question. Oh well, he's old, odd and was drinking so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

We ended up staying an extra couple nights due to weather on the pass, which was great because it gave us more time with my nana. We used it just hanging out, went into the quilt shop in town for fabric for the quilt she's going to make our baby, and enjoyed each other's company.

We got home relatively easy (needed to chain up on the pass), with a stop in Portland. All in all it was a great trip, and even with the long hours in the car, frequent stops, and gas costs it was so, so worth it to see everyone and share our news.

[twotrue]

Okay I'm all teary eyed. What a cool experience. Sounds like you have a wonderfully supportive family. Ive never been able to tell family about the pregnancy in person(because of distance), skype is the closest ive come. I wonder if it would have been a similar experience.

sent by phone

[2brides]

Joy - What an amazing experience! YAY!!!!!

[thiswillbe]

Wow, lots of great news! :Y:

[tattooedmeegs]

I love everything about this post! What an amazing trip, and what awesome pregnancy news!

[seattlekari]

Oh Joy, I'm so happy for you and C! What a fantastic trip, so awesome to get to share your news in person with so many people. And congrats to C on the promotion, woohoo!!!

[ct]

its your time

[joymseattle]

Thanks for all your sweet support!