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Hey ya'll! I found these notes that I took about my first pregnancy with Lincoln. Just some fun facts about finding out about the pregnancy, how I told hubby, family, and friends, food aversions, etc. I will do a similar post for baby #2. Enjoy! xoxo, ILA CONGRATULATIONS!! IT’S A BLUE LINE Where and when I took the home pregnancy test: at our condo in Georgetown the day after my birthday. I was feeling extremely tired and nauseous the past few weeks. Ryan and I were SURE that I wasn't pregnant, but wanted to be positive. He went to CVS in Georgetown and bought the Clear Blue Pregnancy Test. First reaction when I realized it was positive: TOTAL SHOCK. Ryan and I were not planning on having a baby. In fact, we just got married a few weeks ago! I guess I felt like I had my life planned out a certain way in my head, which meant waiting a few years to start a family.... PLUS I had just started business school. However, after the initial shock wore off, I grew excited. Extremely excited! How I told my hubby: So after Ryan came home with the tests, I quickly went to the bathroom to take them. Ryan was snacking in the kitchen when I returned with wide eyes and an elevated heart rate! He looked at me and asked, "So, did you take it?" I sank into our ottoman as the reality set in, "I'm pregnant." I said meagerly. Reaction: Ryan broke out into the LOUDEST laugh! We then sat on the ottoman together and pondered the thought, mostly in silence. We both grew excited after the reality set in. Who we told right away and their reactions: Ryan and I waited to tell a single soul before we saw the doctor and had him verbally confirm the pregnancy. I went to the doctor around 8 weeks for a checkup and sure enough, I tested positive. During the visit, I was also able to hear the baby's heartbeat! Also during the visit, my mom called... ah (mother's instincts!) I called her on the way home and still did not tell her. I wanted to so badly, but first had to talk with Ryan. That night, we told my parents and told Ryan's shortly after. When I told my friends/coworkers: I told my friends and co-workers at about 3 months. Doctors say you are in the clear at that point and the chance of miscarraige goes down significantly.  THE FIRST PRENATAL VISIT My OB-GYN is: Dr. Wulf-Gutierrez at Georgetown Hospital. At first I had a male doctor, simply for the fact that I wanted to just SEE a doctor. He then left the hospital for some God-send of a reason and I had the opportunity to see Dr. Wulf, who my sisters-in-law highly recommend (both are currently med school students/residents at Georgetown). Dr. Wulf is wonderful. She is a teaching physician, so I am hoping she will be present at my delivery - ah! With school and being a wifey, it is so hard to find the time for a new doctor. Plus, I believe I am in good hands! Our due date: May 14th, 2015 My current weight: 135lbs. (ah!) I'm thinking about delivering the baby:
Other notes from this first visit: I was able to hear baby's heartbeat and to see the first ultrasound. It was so special. HONEY, WILL YOU HOLD BACK MY HAIR All the fun and gory details about morning (noon?) (night?) sickness: I had no idea I was pregnant, but I did know that I was oh-so-nauseous!! After I found out, it really was no surprise if I paid attention to the signs and added it all up. I had pretty bad morning sickness. It was probably the worst in the mornings when I woke up and did my makeup. Sitting in class sometimes helped get my mind off of it, but also sometimes aggravated it. I didn't throw up EVER, thank goodness. However, I did have the feeling like I was going to throw up. Times of day when I feel the worst: morning and anytime I didn't eat!! If my stomach was empty, it was BAD. My stomach churns at the mere scent of: coffee - yuck! Meat. Really all food gives me food aversions except juice, fruit and refined carbs. Shucks! No wonder I put on 6 lbs. in the first trimester! Foods that generally calm my belly: juice, fruit and crackers! CRAVINGS & AVERSIONS Cravings: juice, fruit, crackers, bread, english muffins, pasta with butter, popcorn. I don't really have too many cravings. These were really the only foods that I could swallow without feeling ill. Aversions: Everything except the above! My philosophy when it comes to cravings:
The weirdest food craving I've had so far is: a hamburger. Sounds pretty standard, but normally I would never order a hamburger when dining out. During the first trimester, I ordered hamburgers twice because it sounded really good.... despite my food aversion to meat. Weird! POSSIBLE DATE OF CONCEPTION Possible date/occasion of conception: So we took our honeymoon in Kauai in early August and I started my lady business at the very end (YES I remember! It was my honeymoon!) Also, when we were buying tampons at the Hyatt, someone stole Ryan's $20 bill. We told hotel security and they ended up comping us $100. Those kinds of stories you don't forget! Ultimately, we thought the culprit was a little girl. That being said, I believe we conceived some time when we got home during my opening term of school, although I don't know how! We were both SO busy - Ryan with his new job and me being on campus from 7AM to 11PM. It must have been around mid to late August. My earliest pregnancy symptoms (if any): nausea and fatigue. BIG TIME. My current disposition:
My energy level has been:
My pants:
Music that we have been listening to: Taylor Swift's new album!! Mostly "Blank Space", "Style" and "Welcome to New York". Baby also loves "Wildest Dreams." Other favorites are anything by Jubel. Recent movie I've seen: How to Train Your Dragon! Book I'm reading: "Happiest Baby On the Block" Top news story at the moment: Racial police officer shootings. It is so sad that people think the police office was being a racist and now they are starting fires everywhere!! What the heck!
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 Hey ya'll - looking back on some of my journal entries, I found this piece that I wrote talking about the moment I found out I was pregnant with my first baby, Lincoln. I wanted to share my story here because it ties into figuring out when the RIGHT time to have a baby is. What I found through this experience is that, sometimes, there is no "right time". I think Hayley and I can agree that our unplanned pregnancies (though different stories) with Lucca and Lincoln, have ABSOLUTELY changed our lives for the better - and are (without a doubt) God's miracle and God's gift. While in the moment, I'm sure both of us worried (for different reasons) that these babies would change our lives before we were ready, we both couldn't have asked for our little angels in a more perfect time and way.
Now that I face a similar (yet different) story recently finding out that I am pregnant with baby #2 - somewhat unplanned - I know that God's timing is absolutely perfect and that our baby is meant to be. I have different fears now than I did with Lincoln. With Lincoln, my fears were about my career and the idea that I wasn't ready for a baby - or that it didn't measure up to the so-called "plan" I had created for myself. I also feared that Ryan and I didn't get enough time as a married couple - just the two of us. With baby #2, I fear that I didn't spend enough time with just having one - my baby Lincoln. I fear that he may feel left out or unloved when we have baby #2. I fear that I will be overwhelmed with a new baby, and may not have the energy or time to give Lincoln all the love he needs and deserves. At the same time, I know how much my life changed for the better when Lincoln came into my world. With baby #2, I expect the same; I anticipate that my heart will grow even bigger and a new place of love will be created for this sweet little kiddo. Check out my story here about my experience, thoughts and feelings when I found out I was pregnant with Lincoln: So, Ryan and I were recently married on July 19th, 2014. After getting married, we honeymooned in Kauai then came home to the whirlwind of what was our day-to-day life. Ryan began his new job, transitioning from the US Attorney's office to working in the criminal tax division at the Department of Justice. On the other hand, I started opening term at Georgetown University, kicking off the start to my MBA program. To my surprise, opening term was one of the hardest few months of my life. I transitioned from not working much, planning the wedding of my dreams and marrying the man of my dreams - to being thrown into hours and hours of nonstop classes with unfamiliar faces, all of whom were insanely smart and competitive. What did I get myself into? I thought. Opening term was coming to a close and I was counting down the minutes. For whatever reason, I was more tired than usual and my stomach was nauseous all of the time. I know what you are thinking... she is pregnant, duh. Well no, I wasn't. That kind of thing doesn't happen to me. An unplanned pregnancy? No way. I'm too much of a planner! It didn't yet fit into my life plan. The "plan" at the moment, was to finish school at Georgetown. Kick butt. Graduate at the top of my class. Get an awesome job out of school OR start my own company, even better. Work for a few years... THEN, consider having a family. Having a baby was far down the line. As such, I attributed my feelings of fatigue to being overworked in school and nausea to my newfound relationship with acidic coffee. However, the fatigue and nausea were starting to get the best of me. In fact, my parents were visiting us in Washington, DC over my birthday weekend and I had zero energy, which is abnormal given that I don't get to see them often. It wasn't until my birthday, September 20th, that I woke up feeling extra worn out that I knew something was up. Usually, I am the type to jump out of bed on my birthday, feeling extra good, and plan a day of festivities - maybe mimosas in the morning, then shopping around Georgetown topped off with a nice dinner. However, I woke up at 9:30am (what?) and was anything but excited on my 27th birthday. I walked into our living room and found Ryan greeting me with a specialty latte from Dean and Deluca, and a good morning/birthday hug. But I wasn't having it. I looked at him with a pout on my face and collapsed onto the couch. I was drained. The following day, after my parents left, Ryan approached me with a stern look on his face and said, "I am worried about you," he sincerely told me. "I didn't meet you like this - tired and unenthusiastic about life - we need to figure out what is wrong with you because this is no way to live your life." I gave him a sad look, however, I was too tired to fight back, so I shook my head and agreed that I needed to seek help. Whether I was anemic, or what, I need to find out what was making me not want to get up off of the couch everyday. We continued brainstorming ideas with our final conclusions to go see a doctor to have some blood-work done, but first to take a pregnancy test to check that off of our list. "I am not pregnant," I thought, but might as well cross it off of the list. So that night, Sunday, September 21st, Ryan ran over to CVS in Georgetown and picked up a Clearblue Pregnancy Test. He arrived home to find me relaxed on the couch, no surprise. Right away, I took the test into the bathroom and did what us girls do to find out the inevitable. Was I nervous? No, not really. To be honest, I had been in this situation before and the outcome was never "pregnant." So I was relaxed, really for the first time while taking one of these tests. After putting the cap back on the applicator, I waited and watched without anticipation or anxiety. Then, shock and horror came over my face. There is NO way, I thought. It can't be. It's wrong. I'm reading it wrong. I mean, the line is really faint. It can't be right. I checked and double checked the directions - was I reading this correctly?? I swallowed with wide-eyes and walked outside into our living room, beginning to pace. Ryan, who was casually starting to snack in the kitchen glanced over and naively asked, "Did you take it?" I stared at him wide-eyed. My mouth opened, but no words came out until I said it, soft and confused, "I'm pregnant." "I don't know how this could have happened. I'm pregnant." I kept repeating the words and tracing thoughts of how this reality could have came to be. What in the world was happening to me right now? My train of thought was interrupted by my husband's loud, boisterous laughter, something he does when he is reacting to a total surprise that becomes almost comical. I stared at him blankly. "But this wasn't part of my plan," I said softly. I sat slowly onto our ottoman, when he came and sat right beside me. "How do you think it happened?" he sweetly asked. "I don't know, I mean we were both so busy and I just don't know." I said. We looked at each other stunned and confused. However, Ryan's stunned and confused lasted for about 10.5 seconds until he got up from the ottoman and proceeded with normal life, heading to the kitchen to continue snacking. It always bewildered, yet inspired me that he looked at life so freely. "Well," he said, "We are going to be parents!" After the initial shock had worn in, my stun and bewilderment continued, but slowly I became a little excited. I am going to have a baby, I thought. At the moment, I didn't know what that really meant, but I knew that it was good. I knew that I was excited and I knew that it was meant to be. Everything leading up to this moment was right, and I could feel it in every way. I had worked my entire life so hard, and especially now, with business school. I had aspired to be so much and it was so hard. I had tried and tried to be this student and career woman and fought against the grain, learning things that complexed and challenged me, sometimes in the best way possible but also sometimes to a fault. In this moment, I knew that I was on the right track and all of the sudden the thought of long hours I needed to spend on business school homework became unexplainably not as intimidating anymore. My load had been lightened in a weird way. I was going to bring a life into this world, and nothing could top that, nor stop it.  As a destination wedding in Aspen, Colorado, Ryan and I wanted to create a weekend of festivities beginning with an authentic, western Welcome BBQ and ending with a modern, black tie, mountain wedding. The country-themed Welcome BBQ was held at the Sopris Mountain Ranch Equestrian Center, a tranquil property featuring beautiful pastures and spectacular mountain views. Cocktail hour started on a grassy knoll, where we were able to take advantage of the site’s natural décor using their trucks, tractors, hay bails, horses and epic western scenery, while adding our own rustic décor. Dinner transitioned into a large hay barn featuring naturally decadent wooden architecture. The barn was decorated with hanging café lights, Navajo rugs, and two long dining tables displaying burlap linens and navy runners, complimented by custom birch wood and copper vases, filled with ivory and light blue hydrangeas, and deep maroon wild flowers. Hickory House Ribs, southern style BBQ, grilled in front of guests, while Colorado-favorite bluegrass band, Tom Paxton and the Buffalo Joes, performed country tunes, bringing guests to their feet to “do-si-do” during square dancing lessons (one of my favorite moments of the night). An Authentic Western Experience with a Contemporary Mountain Feel  As a destination wedding in Aspen, Colorado, Ryan and I wanted to create a weekend of festivities beginning with an authentic, western Welcome BBQ and ending with a modern, black tie, mountain wedding. The country-themed Welcome BBQ was held at the Sopris Mountain Ranch Equestrian Center, a tranquil property featuring beautiful pastures and spectacular mountain views - see more photos here! Cocktail hour started on a grassy knoll, where we were able to take advantage of the site’s natural décor using their trucks, tractors, hay bails, horses and epic western scenery, while adding our own rustic décor. Dinner transitioned into a large hay barn featuring naturally decadent wooden architecture. The barn was decorated with hanging café lights, Navajo rugs, and two long dining tables displaying burlap linens and navy runners, complimented by custom birch wood and copper vases, filled with ivory and light blue hydrangeas, and deep maroon wild flowers. Hickory House Ribs, southern style BBQ, grilled in front of guests, while Colorado-favorite bluegrass band, Tom Paxton and the Buffalo Joes, performed country tunes, bringing guests to their feet to “do-si-do” during square dancing lessons (one of my favorite moments of the night). While searching for a wedding venue, we hoped to find a location that provided an authentic mountain feel, where natural elegance met ethereal romance. When the Roaring Fork Club, a member’s only lodge situated in the heart of the Roaring Fork Valley, was presented to us as an option, Ryan and I immediately fell in love and decided this was the perfect location to tie the knot. We chose black tie attire; Ryan and his groomsmen dressed in navy Hugo Boss tuxedos, complimenting the bridesmaid's Monique Lhuillier floor length chiffon gowns, in champagne. I chose Monique Lhuillier's ivory re-embroidered lace strapless sweetheart neckline, fitted trumpet gown, paired with a lace rimmed mantilla veil, and Jimmy Choo’s ‘Caitlin’ Peep Toe Pump. The evening began with a mountaintop ceremony, incorporating Aspen logs and indigenous bouquets with lush greenery, ivories and pops of coral. Federal Judge O’Connor of Dallas, Texas officiated the ceremony, as a former Late Night with Jay Leno saxophone player debuted his version of Ho Hey (originally by the Lumineers) and A Thousand Years (originally by Christina Perri) throughout the processional. Cocktail hour transitioned into the main lodge, the entryway draped in white fabric welcomed guests as they took pictures in-between our floral initials, "B" and “R" made of white garden roses and greenery. Our Aspen Kiss specialty cocktails, tray passed hors d'oeuvres and vintage lace envelopes displaying escort cards awaited their arrival. Outside, the dining tent was fully draped in white fabric showcasing crystal chandeliers and Aspen trees dispersed throughout. Tables alternated between rustic farm tables and round tables to give the space dimension, topped with alencon lace linens and lush, organic centerpieces, mercury glass votives and ivory candles. Elements of lace and crystals adorned the table our four-tier wedding cake was placed. A seamless white dance floor, placed over beautiful flagstone provided the perfect foundation for guests to dance the night away. Our dream wedding was truly made a reality, and it will be a day we cherish forever. Congrats mama! You're pregnant!!! Get ready for the time of your life.  |
