We're Gonna Have a Baby!

Pee-on-a-Stick, Over-the-Counter Pregnancy Test, Times Two

On July 5th, Brad and I realized that our lives were about to change forever after I took the very official and almost always accurate pee-on-a-stick, over-the-counter pregnancy test, times two.  Obviously, the result was positive and we were both overjoyed... and overwhelmed!   It is pretty amazing how those two little words, "I'm pregnant!" can change everything!

I was so thankful that school had not yet started because I spent the rest of the morning researching doctors and hospitals and reading What to Expect When You're Expecting, which was given to me by my sister-in-law, Christina, before I even knew I was expecting.  I eventually settled on OBGYN of Atlanta and Northside Hospital, thanks to several glowing recommendations from friends and a very nice woman named Kathy at the Northside Hospital doctor referral hot line with whom I had a 30-minute conversation.  Yes, I really can talk to anyone... and apparently, so can Kathy!

We had our first appointment with Dr. Wooten at OBGYN of Atlanta on July 27th.  We found out that I was about six weeks along and that my due date would be somewhere around March 18th.  The most fun part of the appointment was definitely our first ultrasound.  We were even given three pictures of our little Peanut to hang on the fridge.  Peanut is our nickname for the baby because that is exactly what it looked like at that first appointment.  In fact, my exact words after laying eyes on the little guy (or girl) for the first time were, "It looks like a peanut!".  Brad enjoys reminding me that the baby still had a vestigial tail when we saw it for the first time, but I prefer not to think about it.  Dr. Wooten was fantastic!  He did a great job of answering ALL of my questions and I had plenty of them.  Brad and I were both elated when we left the appointment and we celebrated with dinner at our favorite restaurant, Stoney River.  After dinner, we called our parents and my brother and sister-in-law.  It was so much fun to spread the news a little after keeping it a secret for three weeks.  My mom cried and we ended up talking for about an hour.  Brad's parents were also thrilled.  His mom was so excited that she couldn't stop talking about it and his dad just kept repeating the phrase, "That is such wonderful news!".  We didn't tell anyone else for several more weeks.  It wasn't easy to keep such a big secret from our friends and extended family, but we thought it was a good idea to keep things hush-hush for a little longer.

For the next several weeks after that first appointment I began to feel totally and utterly exhausted, especially once the school year started.  Thankfully, the exhaustion subsided around week twelve, right about the time that we had our second appointment and started letting more of friends and family in on our secret!