Exactly!

Why I keep a baby blog:

"If you are going to spend nine months making a miracle, you might as well document it!"

9 Weeks

9 weeks pregnant as of Sunday! I love that I haven't really been sick - I just get nauseous if I don't eat. Here are a few things I could do without:

1. Peeing every hour on the hour (sometimes more)

2. Not having any energy! I could sleep 20 hours a day and not feel guilty about it.

3. Feeling bloated

4. Mood swings (Oh I feel so bad for Bradly)

Besides that, pregnancy thus far has been bliss! I am already counting down until the day we get to find out if our bean is a girl or a boy! Everyone, and I mean everyone, has guessed a girl. My nephew, Payton, told my mom to take his old stocking (with Tow Mater on it) and make it into my baby's stocking. They are both so confident that I am having a girl that they put a little pink bow on Mater's head. So cute!

Hopefully the next 6 weeks fly...I doubt it, but a girl can hope!

Maternity Clothes

I thought for sure I'd be able to go without purchasing maternity clothes for quite some time...wrong. All day yesterday I sat at work and I wanted SO badly to unbutton my pants. They were digging into my lower tummy and it was very uncomfortable...all day long! As soon as I get home every night I throw on my sweat pants because it was the only pants that didn't dig into my tummy! Last night Brad and I went to the mall and bought me maternity clothes. It is nice because they are all so comfortable! I feel like I'm wearing sweats and I am in work slacks and high heels! LOVE IT! Hopefully I stay comfortable for awhile!

Bradly

From the moment I found out I was pregnant Bradly has been nothing but excited! He is constantly grinning from ear to ear and telling me how excited he is to be a daddy! I am so blessed to be married to him and our little baby is so lucky to have him for a daddy. Yesterday during the ultrasound was a very sweet moment for me...not only did I get to see my baby and hear the heartbeat, but I got to see the look on Bradly's face. It absolutely melted my heart! As we were walking out of the hospital he stopped me and just gave me the biggest hug and kept saying, "We are going to parents!" I absolutely adore my hubby and I love that he is SO happy about our BIG surprise!

Ultrasound

First off, I have to say that hearing my little baby's heartbeat was absolutely incredible!

Second, my doctor was WAY off about my due date. I am due July 24th which means I am only about 8 weeks along. Kind of exciting because Brad's birthday is the 23rd (no pressure, right?)

Anyway, we are SO excited and it finally seems real to me. I honestly can't wait to be a mommy! We love our little peanut so much already!!

This is the snapshot of our little peanut's heartbeat. A steady 152 bpm!! Healthy baby!!

Yep.

First Appointment!

This morning we had our first doctor's appointment and it went great! My doctor said everything looks great and I am perfectly healthy! Whew! I am 10 weeks pregnant and due on July 1st!! All of my brothers think I should "hold it in" until July 4th, but we'll see.

Now the cat is out of the bag. Last night we told Brad's family (Grandpa and Grandma Bowles too) and today I told people at work. It makes it so much more exciting to be able to tell everyone.

My next appointment is actually on Thursday morning, they are going to do an ultrasound and I cannot wait!!! Pictures to come!

Telling Katers

Katie finally got to check her mail on Saturday night around 9:00. She called me and opened the card while she was on the phone. She is so excited and wants it to be a girl (just like everyone else)! I loved that we were able to at least tell ONE person in my family in a fun way!

Now my appointment is tomorrow morning at 10:40am and I am so excited/nervous/anxious! I hope everything looks good and that our little baby is healthy! After work tomorrow we will go and tell Brad's family and after that we will spill the beans to everyone else! This week should be great!!

Woops

So we ordered a stroller and car seat and had it delivered to my parent's house. It was supposed to be delivered during the day when no one is home! Well...that wasn't the case. Last night at 9:15PM I got a text from my dad saying, "A stroller just got delivered here. Know something we don't? ;)" I was sad that I didn't get to tell them in a fun way so we just decided to head over there and get the box. We got there and they were all so excited! Payton's reaction was the BEST! He came upstairs because he had been asleep and I told him I needed to tell him something. He came over, sat on my lap and I said, "Guess what, I am going to have a baby." His eyebrow went up a little bit and then an enormous grin followed. He was so cute and so excited to have a new cousin. Couldn't have asked for a better response from a 5 year old!

After my appointment on Tuesday we will tell Brad's family...hopefully they don't figure it out before then!

People "In The Know"

So far we have told the following people:

1. My Mom

2. Aunt Lisa

3. My bosses (Carlene & Sally)

4. Brad's Dad figured it out on his own

5. Brad's Uncle Chris

Next on the list is my sister Katie. We have her for Christmas and since I can't wait that long to tell her, I am mailing her gift to her. It is a t-shirt that says, "Great Sisters Get Promoted To AUNT!" I also got her a Christmas card. On the outside it says, "Just a little note to say..." and on the inside I pasted a clipart of a baby in a bathtub and on the side of the tub it says, "Baby Bowles is on the way!"

On the envelope I put instructions and they are as follows:

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. I am a little bit excited for Christmas so you get to open ONE gift early.

2. DO NOT open this (even the card) until you are on the phone with me.

3. I love you!

4. I miss you!

5. I can't wait for you to come home!

Hopefully she will follow those instructions and call me before she opens it. That way I can hear her reaction to the news! I am definitely putting it in the mail tomorrow!!

After Tuesday we will tell both of our families and then everyone else can find out!

Change of Plans

The last two days have been a whirlwind! I found out that being on my parent's insurance will cover everything EXCEPT maternity care...so I went into a complete panic because I declined insurance through my work over a week ago and deadline had come and gone! Of course I went into the backroom and bawled on the phone to my mom. How was I going to pay 100% of my maternity care!?!? Well, after she calmed me down, I went down to HR to tell them my situation and, long story short, I will be able to have insurance beginning January 1st! I am currently double covered (through work and my parents) so I can take a huge sigh of relief!

Since I now have to use a different insurance, I had to cancel my Friday appointment and find another doctor. I now go in on Tuesday, December 6th and I can't wait!! I think my mom and Bradly are both just about as excited as I am! Tuesday can't come quick enough!

Checklist

Until we know the sex of our baby I will have to hold off on buying most things, but I am determined to get some sort of a head start.

On Friday I purchased a stroller and car seat online and checked that off my list! It is a Graco travel system and it is just your basic black, gray and cream. I wanted to stay neutral so it will last through more than one baby. I LOVE it! I can't wait for it to arrive so I can make Brad set it all up!

Today on my lunch break I went and purchased a new shower curtain and towels (monkey theme) to redecorate the bathroom that is attached to the baby's room. (Pictures to come)

I have also purchased a few onesies and binkies!

Brad's grandparents bought a really nice recliner that they ended up not wanting so they gave it to us! Little do they know, it is already in the baby's room! Hello comfy rocking chair!!

I refuse to wait until the last second to finish decorating and buying everything we will need because I am one to panic if things aren't done way earlier than they need to be! I even printed off a checklist that I found online so I know what I have and what I still need...I am pathetic.

Calculations

Since I was on birth control I had the ability to "skip" my period each month, which I did quite often, but it is a pain in the rump because I am not sure how far along I am! I decided to go online and calculate it (since I am too impatient to wait until Friday morning). According to the calculator, I should be around 9 weeks!! Although I am not sure if this is even correct, I am hoping it is! The estimated due date of our baby is July 4th (give or take a few days)!

Now I am even MORE excited for Friday morning's appointment! I want to see our little bean and hear his/her heartbeat for the first time!

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was a hard day to keep my mouth shut! I swear that everyone around me was talking about babies! After we ate dinner with my family my sister Katie told my mom that she thought for SURE I was going to announce I was pregnant. Oh my goodness, how does she know?!?! Then we went to visit with Brad's family and I was talking to his Aunt who is pregnant. Jantzen overheard me talking and yelled, "Are you pregnant?!!?" I don't know if I'll be able to wait until Christmas to spill the beans! Ahhh! My first doctor's appointment needs to come quick!

The Secret

It is SO hard keeping this a secret from everyone around me! I just want to spill the beans because I am so excited! We have only told my mom so far, so at least I have her to call and talk with! I couldn't wait to tell her so yesterday morning we drove over to my parent's house at 7:00am (on our way to work). My mom had gone back to sleep because she had been up at 3:00am making cinnamon rolls so I got to wake her up. She was shocked to see us and I'm sure she thought something was wrong. As soon as she sat up I told her I was pregnant and pulled out all three pregnancy tests out of my purse. She is so excited for us and gave us both such big hugs! I can't wait for my little baby to have her as a grandma!

We decided to wait until Christmas to tell everyone else (because I want to go to the doctor first to find out how far along I am). In my family we have Katie this year and in addition to her actual Christmas present we got her a shirt that says, "Great Sisters Get Promoted to AUNT!" Hopefully I can keep it a secret for another month!

We haven't quite decided how we want to tell Brad's family, but we'll come up with something good. I definitely want to tell his brother, Jantzen, before anyone else! He has been begging us lately to have a baby so he can have someone to cuddle with. Little does he know that in just a few short months he will get just that!

I am calling today to make an appointment with the doctor to see how far along I am...hopefully I am more than just a couple of weeks pregnant because I am so antsy to start telling people our big news!!!

Surprise of a Lifetime

The last month or so I have been extremely moody/tired/hungry and I have been peeing like a mad woman. I didn't really read too much into any of it because I was on birth control, there was no way I could be pregnant, right?

Brad kept noticing little things and thought I could be pregnant, he would bug me about it every now and then, but again, I didn't think anything of it! There was no way I could be pregnant!

Last night was a night that completely changed our lives. On my way home from work I bought a pregnancy test just to give me peace of mind. Ever since Brad began saying he thought I was pregnant I couldn't get it out of my head. I got home, ate dinner, hung out on the couch for a bit and then I had to pee. I figured it was the perfect time to take the test (9:00PM) and then I could tell Brad that I wasn't pregnant!

Not 30 seconds after I was done peeing two pink lines showed up on the test. I was in complete shock! How could I be pregnant? I was on birth control! I guess I am like my mom...the pill doesn't prevent a thing! I didn't quite believe the test was right, but I had to tell Brad anyway. He was downstairs finishing the cookies we had made when I asked him to come upstairs. He thought for sure he was in trouble so he hurried up the stairs, cookie dough on his hands and all. I held up the test and told him that I was pregnant - I think his jaw hit the ground. He then smiled and said, "I'm going to be a dad!" and gave me the biggest hug. I was still in shock so I Googled how often a false positive occurs, then about 45 minutes later I had to pee again so I took another test. Another positive! My heart was beating so fast and I was so excited and scared at the same time! This morning when I woke up I decided to take the last test just to be sure...and sure enough, another positive!

So it is official, baby Bowles is on the way!

We weren't exactly planning on having kids until Brad was done with school (a couple of years from now), but Bradly says it best, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."