Consider this one of your 1st birthday gifts from your dear ol' mama. I feel compelled to take a trip back down memory lane for your benefit...and slightly for my own. Ya see, I didn't have a handy blog or even a journal during my pregnancy with you. About the only thing I have to remind me of each month of change are pictures of my belly. No words written down, no reminders about every funky food craving or the dreaded back pain and cankle experiences. And while it may be easy to remember every little detail right now, I'm sure in a few years and a couple more kids later my mommy brain will be mush and keeping track of your names may be my major challenge at that point. I hope you enjoy my tale of how you grew to be my most favorite thing in my world......
On Saturday, November 28 of 2009 we discovered some very exciting news. It was two days after celebrating Thanksgiving in Enid with Grammy, Gman, Aunt B and the rest of the Detrixhe gang. We had been waiting in anticipation for a couple months to see if we would be having a baby. Here is a pic of your daddy and I (along with your canine friends...and you are in this pic as well but your were probably the size of a gnat at this point) that holiday.......
Pregnant and didn't even know it yet
I remember jumping up and down holding "the stick" that told us we were expecting. After showing your daddy that I was indeed pregnant, we couldn't stop smiling and he wrapped me in the biggest hug until he realized I was still holding "the stick" and it was resting on his shoulder. Lol. After taking a picture I quickly threw it in the trashcan......
The "stick"
We kept our little secret for awhile.....about two minutes to be exact. I got on the phone with Grammy and Riley was across the room calling Nanny. Aunt B and Gman were in the room with Grammy and heard the big news that day too. Riley gave Aunt Kylie and Aunt Katie a call to spread the word. We decided to just tell our immediate family until I was further along since at that point I was only four weeks pregnant. Grammy was at the point where she was ready to be a grandma....her prerequisite was that she had to be 50 years old. That meant the ball was in my court and I needed to get her a grandbaby. Darling, you have no idea how happy I am that I didn't wait to have you....everything works out for a reason and Grammy was able to meet you and give you all the love she had in her heart for seven months.
Christmas was a very special time for us that year. Not only was it our first Christmas in our house but the thought of your arrival made Christmas extra Christmasy. Your mama went crazy decorating and putting a Christmasy magical touch on the house.....
Your dad was a bit nervous about me climbing the ladder pregnant and all
Your first item of clothing...we made it for him
You even helped me Christmas shop that year....thanks for cooperating and being a good baby-in-the-making (well besides making me need to find a bathroom every ten minutes) for our girl's shopping weekend in Dallas.....
You are in there...just really really tiny!
That Christmas was one we won't ever forget. Mostly because we missed out on it. A huge blizzard passed through and we were snowed in for the 25th...and the 26th and the 27th. Here's proof.....
A very careful walk on the ice through the neighborhood over to the pond
Pictures don't do the snow drifts justice at all
We were planning on waiting to spill the beans until after our first doctor's appointment which was set for January 10, 2010. Grammy couldn't hold it in any longer and talked me into spreading the word at our annual New Year's Eve party....
Just 6 weeks pregnant....this was merely a food belly from eating party food!
So at that point most my side of the family and most of Riley's side knew as well as Auntie Heather and Auntie Ashley. Oh yeah, and my coworkers too. My coworker, Josie, was looking through my camera at some pictures and came upon the one of my pregnancy test. The moment she saw it she yelled " you are pregnant?!?" There was no hiding it at that point!
We were able to "see" you for the first time at our first OB visit with Dr. Engelbrecht. Your daddy joined me for the appointment. We had been counting down the days til we would confirm that you were in fact in my belly and baking away. As the doctor was "checking things out" she got a peculiar look on her face. You can imagine the thoughts running through my head....oh geez, am I growing an alien on the outside of my uterus or something?! Well, not quite what she was thinking. Instead she said she would like to bring the ultrasound machine in to check something out. And then she said the word twins. Yes, twins. Inside I was bursting with excitement....I had been secretly wanting my own set of twins and have had this desire for nearly my entire life. My odds were high considering my mother's a twin. So Dr. E wheeled the ultrasound machine in, gelled up my belly and took a looksy inside to see how things were cooking. Just one bean in the oven. Just one? Are you sure doc? Why did you get my hopes up? Sheesh. She explained that I seemed to either be further along than what I'd thought or I was growing two babies. Turns out my calculations were skewed. We left her office having seen your little heart beating on the screen...it was just pounding away and it turn so was mine. My baby. We were on cloud nine from that moment on. A week later we were able to get a real ultrasound and see your squirmy little 13 week old body and found out your due date was August 19th (Gman's birthday).....
I should have known you were going to be crazy after seeing your activity level this day
After our appointment that morning was the day I let the world know we were expecting. In other words, I made it FBO (Facebook Official). Honey, ask me and I'll explain that because when you are reading this and actually able to understand it Facebook may be a thing of the past. Oh my goodness let's hope not though. :)
Pregnancy was very nice to me...and so were you. Thank you sweet baby for sparing me that nasty morning sickness and headaches. I love you for that! There were a few mornings that brushing my teeth didn't set well with my stomach but this quickly passed. If not for my belly growing by the week I'd have never known I was even pregnant...well except for my sudden obsession with Jamba juice! Cravings were very evident and well established during our 37 week journey. You wanted fruit, any kind of juice, lemon slushes from Sonic, Mexican food and smoothies. And if I got an idea in my head for dinner there was no stopping me. I'd drive a thousand miles and back for a certain meal. And don't even get me started on cookies.....oh cookies!!!!!
After our first appointment began the waiting game.....were you a he or a she? We both had strong feelings that you were a he. We had boy names picked out and had not one girl name nailed down since we were so sure it was a boy. Truth is sweetie pie, I wanted a girl so badly but just planned for a boy because I knew with my luck daddy would get his boy first. When we went for the big appointment at 20 weeks I made sure to drink a big glass of orange juice along with the twenty gallons of water that they tell you to drink beforehand. By the time your daddy and I were finally in the ultrasound room with the tech squirting gel on my belly I was about to pee my pants....from anticipation and from being overloaded with fluids. She started rubbing the wand around and it didn't take but a minute for her to tell us the news: "it's a GIRL!" Yes!!!! I immediately looked to see your dad's face and he looked thrilled to hear the news. From that point we got to see all of your internal organs and watch your heartbeat. I'll be honest, between feeling like I would pee my pants and picking out nursery wall colors in my mind I can't really remember the rest of the visit. I returned to work with my coworkers waiting for me huddled in the therapy room. I had told them I would return wearing either a pink or blue shirt. As I turned the corner they stared at me as if to say "aaaaannnnnnnddddd?" It turns out my shirt was a little too purply and not a clear cut pink. But you did not make your gender ambiguous at all....you were flashing us the girl parts right away during the ultrasound....and I embarrass you enough on this website so I'll spare the picture of our proof that you were in fact a girl!
I don't want to be a complete liar and leave out all of the non-so-glamarous pregnancy symptoms. For example: nose bleeds. I can't even count the number of times I was driving to work in the morning struggling to breath through my nose when all of a sudden blood would start dripping down onto my scrubs. Detour back to the house to change on most days...somedays I was too far to turn back around. Also the whole "pee your pants laughing" problem. Yes, it happened. You made me pee my pants girl. Just wait, it will happen to you someday my dear. :) Oh yeah, and I can't forget the cankles and swollen piggies. By the end of my work day (or sometimes just thirty minutes in) my legs looked like tree trunks. And the back pain and spasms.....O.M.G! I became fairly good friends with a massage therapist who specialized in prenatal massage. Your daddy also helped out a little bit on occasion...usually this is when my whining got so bad that he would do anything to stop it. There were days at work when I would take breaks every five minutes and consider calling the massage place to make an "emergency" appointment....and yes, those do exist because I tried it once. :) These all sound very unpleasant but the entire pregnancy was pretty harmless and mostly comfortable...that was until you decided to play kick boxing with my bladder. But it's not like you were working with a lot of room in there so I let it slide.
You and I took walks everyday of that 37 weeks (I think I can count on one hand the number of days I skipped a workout). I started out getting a gym membership to avoid the cold weather that winter. Once my belly started bulging through my t-shirts I admit I got a little (a lot) self conscious and took my workout to the neighborhood streets. I was bound and determined that I was going to do everything I could to have an easy labor and delivery. That brings me to the part about my obsession with reading pregnancy books and studying every page as if my life depended on it. Looking back I could have gone without reading any of that stuff but it seemed really important at the time. And the thing about working out during the pregnancy didn't even come from my book....my momma taught me that little tip. Wouldn't ya know it worked...but we will discuss that "pleasant" part later.
Baby girl, I couldn't wait to see my family each month to show off my growing belly. It meant we were that much closer to meeting you. Meeting you? Oh yeah, you weren't just a squirmy swimmy little bean...you were our daughter who would be arriving very shortly. We needed to get your room ready! This meant cleaning out "the junk room." Your pretty pink room was once a room that held everything we didn't know what to do with. The door remained closed so that we didn't have to remember the mess waiting in that room. During my Christmas shopping trip to Dallas your wonderful daddy cleaned out the room. Whew! Big relief! I got busy shopping online for bedding and decor for your room. This was not so simple. I could not decide to save my life. I knew I wanted it to be perfect. So my final decision ended up being the bedding I was first drawn to. My taste was not so cheap so we ordered things week by week and once everything started to arrive your dad knew he couldn't avoid the painting process any longer. I masked up and helped paint your walls (despite your dad telling me to get out of the room to avoid fumes) and tape for the stripes. He did such a great job paying extra special attention to detail. Here is a little bit of the fun during the nursery process.....
Mask was a must
First coat before the stripes
Not only was dad busy making my vision come to life, but was in the middle of a project of his own. The dresser in your room was actually your great grandma Virginia's. He decided to take on the task of remodeling it and I must say I had to eat my words when he was finished. Once he puts his mind to something it will get done.....
The Before
The After
My project
Perfect match!
We are ready for you!
Here are the always exciting belly pics as you were busy growing......
12 weeks
16 weeks
20 weeks
24 weeks
28 weeks
32 weeks
34 weeks
35 weeks
Daddy felt a little left out!
Here's just a look at some of the fun you had while in my belly....
Baby registry time!
Your first "tacky Christmas" with mama's friends"
You watched Julia get married!
You witnessed this brilliant man's graduation...and he wanted to pose with "just" you....
You partook in a girl's weekend with Auntie Heather & Auntie Ashley
You celebrated Easter in Woodward with the Fannings
Gman and I compared bellies
As we inched closer to your due date your dad and I could be found chatting about what you might look like, what color your hair would be and just trying to imagine what it would be like to finally meet you. Your dad (as well as the rest of my family) made predictions that you would arrive with fiery red hair. Baby girl, I'm not even lying, but I imagined your exactly how you are....blonde hair and blue-eyed. You were the baby of my dreams (literally)!
I'm nowhere near done with Tummy Tales...after all, ten months seems to last a lifetime when you are eating for two, walking with two and sleeping with a squashed bladder. To be continued......
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