11 Weeks...and Back to School

Preplanning started last Wednesday, which is hard to believe. Summers seem to be getting shorter and shorter nowadays. I was in class for the entire month of June, went on vacation the week after it ended, and spent the last two weeks cleaning house and preparing for the baby. I feel like I blinked and my summer was over. I'm enjoying being back at work though. I like being at home and doing things in my home, but I like working too. It's been nice to catch up with my friends from work and get things ready for the new school year.

On the first day, the faculty always has breakfast together and then meets for about three hours to discuss the school procedures. It's also a tradition of ours to share anything we want about our summers, like getting a degree, great vacations, births, etc. Well as soon as my principal asked if anyone had anything to share, two of my coworkers looked at me. I just smiled and nodded at my principal, so then she made the announcement. Everyone was really happy for me.

And you know that expression, you reap what you sow? (Or, what goes around comes around?) Well, it's definitely true. Many people have been so nice to me and looking out for me. I was hanging some things on my bulletin board in the hallway, and there was a step stool next to me for those hard to reach spots.

One of the janitors came by and said, "I know you aint standing on a stool, is you?"

I laughed a little and said, "Only a few times."

He gave me a parental look. "You know why I'm saying that, don't you." I nodded. "Alright now. You be careful, Mrs. Sherrod."

Another janitor saw me on a different day when I was going to use the restroom. She said, "You might not want to go in there. I just put bleach in there."

One of the secretaries offered to do something really nice for me last week, which ended up saving me hours of work. And today, a different secretary fussed at me for going to lunch late. In a very parental tone of voice, she said, "You don't need to be starting out this way. You know why I'm saying that, don't you."

Tonight was open house, which meant I stayed at work until 7:00. Many of my students have already heard about me being pregnant--news travels fast in a small town--but I decided to wait until Wednesday to let all of them know. They were so well-behaved when I had my foot surgery; I can't wait to see their reaction to this kind of news!

And now, after working until 7:00, I am wiped out. I think I might actually go to bed before 10:00...

10 Weeks and Counting...

It is now week ten, which means my first trimester is nearly over. That is really hard to believe! People say that they still can't tell that I'm pregnant, but I can. I finally broke down and bought some maternity pants last week. Most of my pants no longer fit.

We had our first ultrasound last Wednesday. That was wonderful, getting to see the baby for the first time. The doctor said, "Well it looks like there's only one in there."

I said, "Thank God...I don't know what I'd do with two babies!"

The doctor said the baby is developing normally and everything is fine though. We were able to see the heartbeat. It was amazing, seeing it flicker so fast. It was beating at 177 beats per minute! Some people told me that means it's going to be a boy. I've heard all kinds of ways you're supposed to be able to tell--everything from how you carry the baby to how much morning sickness you have to how big the head is. I don't buy into all the old wives' tales though. It all seems a little silly to me.

And just a side note. Three questions that I have been asked over and over recently: "What are you having? Do you want to find out? Which do you prefer--a boy or girl?" The answers are: We won't know until I'm 20 weeks pregnant; Yes, we definitely want to know what we're having; We'd love to have a boy, but we'll be happy either way.

After the appointment, we had time to go home, make a copy, and frame it. I knew the picture would get passed around quite a bit at church and didn't want to risk messing it up. Wes told the kids, "Well I'm going to pass around this picture, because I'm a proud Daddy. This is our baby. Today he is one inch tall!" As the kids passed it around, they smiled and the girls oohed and aahed over it. All the ladies in the church were really excited to see it too.

Our moms enjoyed seeing it too. Wes's mom looked at the picture, turned it different ways, and studied it. Then she said, "It should say, 'Hi Grandma' on there." When I visited my mom at work the next day to show her the picture, she just went around to everyone's office saying, "Look, my daughter came to see me at work today to give me a picture of my grandbaby!" Then she proudly showed it off to everyone.

And now, what you've all been waiting for...

His head is the largest thing in the picture, on the bottom right. According to the books I've been reading, all major organs have started to develop. Brainwaves can be detected. Legs and arms have formed, along with eyes, ears, nose, fingers, and toes. And to think, he is only one inch tall!

9 Weeks Pregnant!

So I went in for my first prenatal visit last Thursday. Wes and I met with the midwife for about an hour and a half. She asked a ton of questions, and answered all of my questions. I'll meet with the doctor this week, on Wednesday. That's when I'll have my first ultrasound. We can't wait! Assuming they've calculated my due date correctly, all of the major organs started forming last week. This week, brainwaves are supposed to be detected. How exciting!

We've been very busy getting the nursery ready. We decided to turn our reading room into the office, and make the office the nursery. In the process, we've been sorting through papers and decluttering the house. It is unbelievable how much stuff we have accumulated in the last five years! At times the task feels overwhelming, so we've been dividing it up into smaller, more manageable pieces instead of thinking about everything that needs to be done. Hopefully by the end of this week, the old office will be completely cleared out so we can start putting the baby stuff in there.

Well, that's all for now. I am too exhausted to type anymore!

8 Weeks Pregnant!

Today marks the eighth week of my pregnancy. It's hard to believe that time has gone by so quickly! We were on vacation last week, which is why I did not update yesterday evening. I think I may start updating on Mondays, though, because that is more convenient.

So there's this commercial that shows a newborn baby and his parents taking care of him. At the end it says, "Having a baby changes everything." I am definitely finding that to be true! While we were on vacation, there were many things that I would normally do that I had to refrain from this time. No horseback riding, white water rafting, or soaking in the hot tub, just to name a few. I told Wes that I'm really glad we found out that I'm pregnant when we did. I wouldn't have wanted to uknowingly do something that would have put the baby in jeopardy.

My sense of smell has become very keen. I've never enjoyed being around people who are smoking, because the smell is awful and lingers for a while after they're gone. Now it's especially important to avoid that, as breathing in second-hand smoke is just as bad for the baby as if I was the one smoking. Well, while we were away, my nose detected smoke even when the smoker was nowhere in sight, and it was a strong odor. When I was walking down our hallway last night, I could tell that Wes was eating an orange before I saw him. Even the hot pavement irritates my nose at times.

I've also been experiencing different emotions. Fear, elation, and everything in between. A friend of mine told me, "What a fortunate child--to have you two for parents." I really appreciated that, and I hope that we do a good job with parenting. I know everyone makes mistakes, especially with the first child, but there is just so much to think about. Thankfully, I already have fairly good eating habits and exercise regularly. But there are other things to consider, from things you shouldn't inhale (harsh chemicals) to the way you sleep (the left side is supposed to be the best) to the way you ride in the car (as far away from the airbag as possible).

On the other hand, Wes and I have both been really happy thinking about the arrival of our baby. We've imagined everything from what he/she will look like, to what talents he/she will have, to what college he/she might want to attend. Yes, we've even thought about college. Already. More than anything, though, we can't wait for the baby to be here. There will most likely be many nights of interrupted sleep, but the baby will also be so cute! We can't wait for our little bundle of joy to arrive.

Many people, upon hearing the news, felt compelled to share their horror stories with me about how they had morning sickness every day for nine months or they were in labor for 36 hours or they were up every hour on the hour after the baby was born. That is a little nerve-wracking, but I just smile and nod. I'm sure they mean well. Every pregnancy is different. Just because those things happened to them doesn't mean they will happen to me.

My first prenatal appointment is this Thursday. It seems a bit odd to me that they wait this long to see you, because the purpose is to get your history and educate you about pregnancy. In the meantime, I've been reading a few books. The one I spend the most time in is called What to Expect When You're Expecting. I'm very thankful that there are people who took the time to write something like that. I've been learning so much.

Wes is already talking to the baby every day too. He'll kiss my stomach and say, "Daddy loves you so much!" among other things. It's adorable. I couldn't imagine going through this pregnancy alone, and I'm glad that I have such a sweet husband by my side. There's no one else I'd rather walk with through this journey.

News Travels Fast!

After I told Wes the news, it was all we could do to keep quiet about it. We wanted to be 100% sure though, so we waited until after the doctor's office confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. The appointment was on a Friday morning. I remember looking at a side view of my stomach in the mirror and thinking, Well if I'm not pregnant, then I am going on a diet!

The secretary told me the office opened at 8:30 and that I could come anytime before 9:00. I was there by 8:25. The nurse took a urine sample, which confirmed that I was pregnant. I breathed a sigh of relief and a huge smile broke out on my face. According to her calculations, I was already 5 weeks and 5 days pregnant, which surprised me. We weren't even trying the last month. How ironic.

Wes told me to call him "as soon as" I knew something, so after finishing up at the doctor's office, I called him at work. He answered the phone on the first ring, almost as if he was anticipating my call at that very moment. Our conversation went something like this:

"Hello?"

"Hey, baby."

"Hey. You're already through?"

"Yea."

"Well?"

"Well..."

"Well, what did the doctor say?!"

I laughed. "They said you're going to be a daddy."

“Really? Wow, I can’t believe it,” he said. I could imagine him on the other end, grinning from ear to ear. “I’m telling everyone in the office now, as soon as we get off the phone.”

We agreed to tell our parents in person, though, so we didn’t call them. We decided to tell them by giving them a gift, like I’d done with Wes on Wednesday morning. I found the perfect things too. For our moms, I got a coffee mug and a pillow that said, “#1 Grandmother” with a place for a picture. Instead of a picture, though, we put a note in there that said, “We thought you might want this on February 18, 2008.” For our dads, I got a matching coffee mug and picture frame that said, “My Grandpa is the bestest.” We put the same note in there too.

Well, we’d already planned to go to Wes’s Aunt Connie’s house that evening for his cousin Jared’s 26th birthday party. So out of his family, Aunt Connie was the first to know. The interesting thing about that was that Aunt Connie dreamed two weeks ago that I was pregnant. When she called Wes to invite us to the birthday party, she told him about the dream and asked if I was expecting. So telling her was pretty fun too.

Wes said, “Aunt Connie, you remember that dream you had? Well, guess what? Jennifer is pregnant now.”

Her eyes got so wide, and she put her hand over her mouth. “Oh, I’m just so happy for you!” was what she must have said at least half a dozen times before we left.

Out of my family, Aunt Suzie was the first to know. She happened to e-mail to ask how things were going, and I couldn’t keep it in. She was ecstatic too. And how ironic, that with both our families, our aunts were the first to know.

After we left Jared’s party, we drove to Wes’s parents’ house. Wes’s brother, Doug, was at the party, so he’d heard the news. Wes told him to go home and keep his parents up. When we arrived, we tried to make small talk for a couple minutes, but then Wes said to his mom, “You need to get Dad to come in here.” Still very clueless, despite the late hour, his mom went to get his dad.

Wes said to them, “We have something for y’all.”

I said, “But you have to open your presents at the same time.”

They exchanged a confused look and said, “OK.”

They figured it out at exactly the same time. They both looked at us, eyes wide, mouths dropped open. And then there were shouts of joy as they hugged both of us tightly.

After the initial shock and excitement, Wes’s mom said, “The only problem is it’s so late that I can’t call Aunt Pat.” She looked at the clock, then back at us, then back at the clock, then at Wes’s dad. She was squirming in her seat.

Wes’s dad looked at her and said, “She’s probably at the studio. Just call her. She’ll be mad if you don’t!”

A couple minutes later, we could hear her in the other room shouting into the phone, “I’M GOING TO BE A GRANDMA!” Everyone laughed.

We told my parents and sister the next night. We’d made plans to drive to their house and then eat dinner with them. When we got there, they saw us carry the boxes in and asked what they were for. I told them that we wanted to give them something before they went out of town the next day. (They were leaving the next afternoon to go to Las Vegas for a week.)

Before we left for dinner, we gave them the same instructions we’d given Wes’s parents. I found this out later, but they’d already figured it out, so there wasn’t the same shock element that we’d had with Wes’s parents. But they were still very excited for us. They hugged us and told us congratulations.

Then my mom said, “We need to celebrate. Let’s go to Olive Garden.”

Olive Garden is in Savannah, and it’s my favorite restaurant. Since it’s farther away and the wait is always so long, I normally only go there for my birthday. My parents treated us to dinner, so that was really nice. While we were waiting for our table, my mom was on her cell phone calling everyone in her family. Meanwhile, my dad was on his phone calling his family. Everyone was very happy for us.

On Sunday, we told our church family. We decided not to tell the kids in our Sunday School class, for fear that they would spill the beans. During praise and prayer time, Wes told everyone, “Well, I have a praise that I just can’t hold in anymore. Jennifer and I are going to have a baby.” Again, there were shouts of joy, and everyone started clapping. On the way out, they all congratulated us too.

On Sunday evening, I sent out the mass e-mail, and several of our friends were happy for us too. So I think it’s safe to say that this is going to be one loved little baby! Not just by us, but by friends, family, and church family. What a blessing.

In the very near future, I am going to start posting some pictures. Wes took a picture of me at 6 weeks and 5 days pregnant, and as soon as the film is developed, that will go up. Our first ultrasound is on July 18th, so assuming the pictures turn out well, I may post one or two of those also.