365 Days Ago....

Exactly 40 weeks pregnant on my due date

365 days ago (well 366 since I meant to write this yesterday) two really awesome things happened:

1. It was my Sister's due date - she didn't have baby Maddie that day, but it was super exciting nonetheless.

2. Ian and I found out that I was pregnant!  I can't believe that it's been a whole year, and today we are celebrating our son's 4 month birthday.  How time flies!

We had been trying to get pregnant for awhile, and had become really frustrated with the whole process.  So, we decided to take a break from all the worry and just not think about getting pregnant.  Well, we sort of lost track of time, and when I started to feel SUPER tired and things were a little late, we decided to take a pregnancy test.

Ian was super sweet and went to the store to buy one.  I had taken so many tests in the past 1.5 years, and the digital ones would blink and blink for the requisite amount of time, and then show "not pregnant."  Well, this time, it blinked a few times, and up popped "pregnant."  I was shocked! I immediately went out to tell Ian who was waiting in our bedroom. I tried to play it all cool and make another "wellllp, not this time" face, but I couldn't hide the truth!  We looked at each other and said "holy S4!&!"

I think I always imagined this moment to be more "hollywood" like - with tears of joy and happy embraces, but we were both SO shocked!  Totally happy, but in total disbelief!  It was so hard not to tell the whole world right away, but we wanted to play it safe and wait awhile.  We also waited to tell our immediate family for awhile since my Sister's baby was due any day and it was her time to shine!

We told my Mom and sisters (they were both in Georgia after the birth of my niece) over FaceTime by taping a sign on my belly that said "Maddie's cousin, Coming February 2013!"  We told Ian's mom over the phone, and my Dad who was back home in Seattle over the phone.

And, to tell our extended family and close friends, I made this silly little movie.

My pregnancy was really rough for the first 18 weeks or so.  I was SUPER nauseous and really exhausted. It was really hard to act normal and keep up with work, especially since my job involved quite a bit of travel over the summer.  We also had a little scare and a trip to the ER at 16 weeks due to Placenta Previa - luckily that resolved itself.

Once I hit the half way mark, we were in the clear.  I just LOVED being pregnant.  Feeling that little wiggly baby kick around was just the best and most amazing feeling. I also loved looking pregnant - and totally embraced the whole process. Never in my life have I loved horizontal stripes as much as I did while preggers.

I can't believe that it's been a whole year!  And now I'm sitting home while my adorable little Graham takes a morning snooze.  I feel so incredibly thankful and blessed to be given the gift of a baby.  I know that many people struggle with infertility, and for us, the wait and the difficulty getting pregnant made us appreciate the miracle of life even more.  Being a mommy is the BEST job i could ever imagine.  It's exhausting and hard sometimes, but being there for every new discovery that Graham makes and each new milestone that he achieves makes it all more than worth the tough stuff.  I love this little guy more than I ever thought possible, and know that his Daddy does too.