Yes, we have been diagnosed with pregnancy!
It was recently brought to our attention by Nana (a.k.a. Peggy Hardwick) that we should write a blog about our pregnancy experience. Nana is convinced the child will enjoy reading this later in his/her life.
We agreed a blog is a great idea to capture the experience of life… So here we are!
Currently, we are ending our seventh week of pregnancy, so we believe. I say “believe”; because we have not been to the doctor (first appointment is scheduled for October 15th). However, with the great invention of the iPhone app What To Expect (from the author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting) it has calculated us to be in our seventh week with a due date expected on May 14, 2011.
Now, we have seven weeks to catch you up on… (Queue the “going back in time” sound bite.)
From the beginning:
It was a mild summer evening and we just returned home from a romantic al fresco dinner at a local establishment where we shared a bottle of imported red wine and dined on lavishly prepared….. <a screeching interruption>
It was a mild summer evening and we just returned home from a romantic al fresco dinner at a local establishment where we shared a bottle of imported red wine and dined on lavishly prepared….. <a screeching interruption>
(Jill): Jarrett, we are not starting at the very beginning.
(Jarrett): Why? It’s part of pregnancy.
(Jill): Just NO!
(Jarrett): Okay. Okay.
(Jarrett): Why? It’s part of pregnancy.
(Jill): Just NO!
(Jarrett): Okay. Okay.
Okay, well I think you get the idea. I will just skip to when we found out the big news.
We were in Kentucky for the first UofL game of the season against state rival UK and visiting family. It was during this weekend (and before any tailgate drinking began) that we learned the joyous news!
We decided to keep it a secret for a while. For the weeks to follow we shared together in the enjoyment of planning for what is to come.
And what is the first thing any woman wants to do when she learns she is pregnant (or any other time for that matter)? You got it… SHOPPING!!!
On our way back to Pennsylvania we stopped at the Prime Outlets near Columbus, OH for some shopping at Pottery Barn Kids and Motherhood Maternity. This is where the first pair of maternity pants were purchased along with a pant extender/I still want to wear my regular pants/my pants are unbuttoned but this black band holds them together thingy.
While at Motherhood Maternity the overly friendly, loud speaking sales clerk gives us a quick tour of the store after learning we have never shopped there and shows us what becomes Jarrett’s favorite aspect of the store… the strap-on baby bump women can use to see how the clothes will look when they are greatly showing their own baby bump. Yes, Jill did try it on! After making clothing selections, but continuing to browse the store the same overly friendly, loud speaking sales clerk from across the opposite side of the busy store shouts to Jill… “We have Shea Butter over here; you need to be using lotion on your stomach and breasts like yesterday.” We kindly nod trying to disguise the fact she is talking to us.
During the next week, we begin to gather nursery ideas. We e-mail each other ideas throughout the day and begin to devise a plan. First, we have to get what will become the nursery free of boxes and miscellaneous items from our move earlier in the year. Immediately it is determined a yard sale is in order (planned for the first weekend in October).
The next weekend we make trips to USA Baby, Target, and Babies R Us. We have decided to buy the bedding and furniture ourselves and be most determined not to buy anything else until after the baby showers…. Right Jill?
Nursery Theme: Dr. Seuss
We looked at many nursery and bedding themes, never getting very excited about anything we saw. Last Saturday, we decided to look at Pottery Barn Kids online and immediately we both knew it was the “one” (kind of like I knew Jarrett was the “one” when I first met him at Miller Hall on UofL’s campus our freshman year --- just to note Jarrett added this comment) when we first saw the picture. The colors are more bold and uni-sex which was our goal to achieve. It’s made even better that the theme is all about reading, which ties directly with our strong believe about the power of education (okay I had to get a little philosophical). We purchased the bedding immediately and it arrived this week.
Names.
This has been the easy part. For a while, we have had both a girl’s and boy’s name chosen.
Lillian Marie Stull (will be referred to as Lillian and/or Lilly)
Jarrett Mills Stull (will be referred to as Mills)
Jarrett Mills Stull (will be referred to as Mills)
Where did we get these names? Jarrett’s great grandmother was named Lillian and Jill’s middle name is Marie. Jarrett wants to use his name, as it is a family name. His great great grandfather was named Jarrett. Mills comes from Jill’s family; it is her mom’s maiden name.
We quickly found ourselves referring to our child as “it”, “he”, or “she”. It was decided in place of using generic terms to describe our incubating child that he/she will be referred to as LillyMilly – I think you get the combination of names.
We have also been exploring child care options for LillyMilly. Any family members want to move to Pittsburgh and become a baby sitter? Wow, child care is very expensive and comes with many options. For one child the monthly cost appears to be somewhere between $800 and $1,200. Child care is as much as or more than most mortgages. I never realized my option was to have a kid or buy a vacation home. Soon we will begin to do site visits with private sitters and educational child care centers. Most centers have a waiting a list; therefore we need to add our name to a list soon.
Pregnancy Week 6: I am not in control of my body. (Want to see what the iPhone app says is happening this week just click on the link “Week X”.)
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| Week 6 |
Beginning at week six (right on queue with what the iPhone app says will happen in week six) I become and stay nauseous. At the end of week seven the nausea is still much the same. Constantly eating and I literally mean constantly. Food helps relieve the nausea for a while. I never realized you could literally become tired of eating, but this is the feeling experienced by the end of the day from snacking in the morning until I go to sleep.
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| Week 7 |
This week the iPhone app only discusses all the changes I should experience with my breasts…. And trust me I am feeling the pain. Jarrett insists on calling me Boobs McGee. I think he is trying to see how much he can get away with or test how hormonal I am. So far, he is still allowed to sleep in the bed.
