Ohhhhh BABY! (first trimester summary)

What a summer it has been! One week after school let out for the summer, Bruce and I found out we were expecting! I had felt different that Friday night but was busy helping Bruce pack for his trip to Haiti that next morning, so I didn't have time to think about it. However, when I wope up the next morning (at 4:00 am to take him to the airport) I decided to go ahead and take a test before he went. We could not believe the results and Bruce ended up leaving some very important things at home due to the excitement (like his malaria medicine for example).

After I took him to the airport, I made my solo journey back to the mid west and could not wait to share the news with our families. The trip was planned, the news was not! I still cannot believe my enormous family kept it quiet until we were ready to share the news with the world! Great job everyone!

Once Bruce finally came home, we began thinking about what our family will look like as a family of 3. There was obvious excitement, but I had an overall sense of anxiety and worry. Due to our prior losses, it was difficult for me to become excited about something I wasn't sure I would get to keep (I still struggle with these feelings but have come a long way in understanding them). Needless to say, when we saw our little peanut during my 10 week ultrasound, I had a complete joyful meltdown. It was the most beautiful and amazing thing I have ever seen. Because my ultrasound tech remembered me she decided to treat us to a 4D ultrasound which was incredible!

Next stop......morning/afternoon/evening and night sickness! I truly believe I have thrown up in every possible place in public and in our home. I think my favorite was going 70 mph on I40 throwing up in a cup during rush hour ( I got a ton of strange looks that day). It helped to know that the reason for my sickness was for a great cause, but let's be honest, after 10 solid weeks of puking I did not have the greatest attitude. Bruce has been amazing throughout the entire process and is in charge of making sure the freezer is always stocked with popsicles. The great news is that I woke up last Friday and felt like a completely different person and have been feeling great ever since.

Back to current day, I am now 15 weeks pregnant and am loving every minute of it. I'm not showing yet, however the clothes are beginning to get tight. I am finding it slightly difficult to teach 25 kindergarten students for seven hours a day, but going to bed at 8:30 every night has solved many of those problems. We are finding out what we are having on September 21st, Bruce's birthday! The worries tend to arise now and then but I'm learning how to let go and trust, I'm hoping to continue this philosophy when our child is out in this crazy world.

Because of the difficultly we have faced trying to conceive, we are going to put as few updates on facebook as possible. We know our fair share of couples dealing with the same issues we have dealt with and are not looking to cause them anymore hurt at this time. However, because Bruce and I are super excited and want to share all of the big and little updates with our friends and family, we decided a blog was the best place to share all of our baby news. So, feel free to come with us on our baby adventure, we hear its a crazy but amazing ride!

love and peace,

Renee

(here is baby Puckett at 10 weeks and I believe it is sucking it's thumb, even though the nurse said it wasn't likely :-)).