More thoughts on being knocked up*

*again, I think the term is funny...

Some random mini-posts I drafted but never published along the way... and now that the cat is *finally* out of the bag...

9-18-10 12 weeks! We drove to Maryland so we could tell DH's parents in person. My parents traveled to FL, so we would've had to tell them by phone anyway. We left after work and so, even though the drive went well, we didn't arrive until 11:30 pm. We had a snack and hung around, checking out my father-in-law's new 3D tv, so didn't mention anything. Saturday morning I poured a little coffee, since my MIL knows I drink it... but of course it tasted awful to me and I made a face. She sweetly asked if she'd made it right because she just makes it for my FIL and doesn't drink it herself. I played it off but once breakfast was ready and DH and his dad had quieted down from their tv/computer talk to eat, I said, "Yeah, coffee has tasted funny to me ever since I got pregnant." It took her a good 10 seconds to react, but then she lost it and hugged us and cried. LOL She's wanted grandchildren forever. My FIL is very low-key, so he just grinned really big.

We called to tell my parents and then my brothers. I made everyone promise not to put it on Facebook (my MIL would've done so immediately, otherwise) because we wanted to tell people ourselves. So we've spent the last week now trying to get in touch with friends and family by phone or email to let them know. There are still a few that we've either missed or are harder to get because of different time zones, but it's fun telling people.

9-21-10 We went to the doctor's office yesterday to meet with the prenatal nurse and kind of get things started. I'd met with a doctor at two different OB/GYN practices and emailed multiple midwives and Bradley instructors as we were trying to decide how to go about this whole thing. After a good long talk with our GP we decided, this being the first time, to go with the OB practice I liked better** but to take Bradley classes with the goal of giving birth naturally, without medication, and with as little unnecessary 'routine' interventions or interferences as possible. The nurse drew blood for testing and then we were able to hear the heartbeat via Dop-tone. Such a sweet sound! It was much faster than mine, which the nurse found first, and it rang in my ears for hours. I was SO glad that DH was able to be there with me.

9-27-10 Back to the doctor to meet with the first if five (I think) OBs in the practice and to finish up the initial exams and review my blood work. I actually had the same doctor for the appointment that I met during my 'consultation' visit during my 11th week, before I'd decided on a practice. My iron is a tiny bit low (not really even officially low) so they want me to take an additional supplement, separate from my prenatal multi-vitamin that includes a lot of iron in itself. Doctor said everything else looks good and he sees no reason I can't work toward an unmedicated birth. He mentioned doula support, which is a consideration just in case labor takes a while and DH (as my main coach) needs a backup. I heard the heartbeat again, still that same lovely fast-paced little swishy thumping sound!

10-4-10 On Friday (10/1) I had to put a rubber band on the button of my jeans. They buttoned fine, but sitting at my desk all day made the waistband just a little uncomfortable. Saturday was officially 15 weeks, so I wasn't really surprised. I definitely have a little bump goin' on. :)

**We ultimately decided the OB was not for us and switched to the only free-standing birth center in the state.