I'm back!

Well, sort of. This is going to be a quick post but at least its something!

For anyone who can't get enough Guinevere photos (and who can, really?) on facebook and is unaware that I also have flickr, you can check out more photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethextraordinaire/

Freezer Meal Weekend

Over the summer we bought an extra freezer from a friend's estate sale with the intention of making lots of food before baby arrives. It sat out on our back patio for months before Paul-John finally cleaned it, and then sat out on the patio a little longer before he managed to bring it into this basement earlier this week.

Friday my mom and I went to Costco, Saturday she made a quick stop at Stop&Shop to pick up a few more things and then came over and helped me get started, and today I did some more cooking. This is what we have so far:

I know the picture isn't really that exciting and I probably should have taken "in progress" photos, but it just seemed like too much of a hassle so this is what you get. I still want to make some soup for Paul-John for easy work lunches but I am really impressed with how much we were able to get done without actually spending too much time working. Saturday we probably got started around 11 or 11:30 in the morning and we were done by 4, and we that includes a lunch and quick shopping break. Today I got started only slightly before 11 and stopped for lunch at 2, which then led to also hanging out with Paul-John, going out for coffee and to look at cameras (more about that later this week). I spent about another half an hour working before dinner and maybe another hour and a half to two hours after dinner, and that's it. I'm sure if I had started early in the morning and didn't take such long breaks I maybe could have gotten it all done in one day.

What I really like about what we bought and made is that its a nice split of big meals we can either make for when we have guests (since I know we'll be having a lot of them!) and meals that are portioned for just me and Paul-John. For big meals, we have:

• 4 whole chickens
• 2 casseroles: one is a basic mac and cheese with chicken and spinach, and the other is chicken spaghetti but with onion, peas, carrots, and celery
• 1 meatloaf
• 1 pork roast with apples, sage and rosemary

For smaller portion meals we have:

• Enchiladas: 6 packages of 4 enchiladas each, plus one more with just 2.5
• Stuffed Peppers: 6 dinners (of two each) plus an extra one
• Pork Chops: 10 bags of 2 pork chops each. Two bags have a liquid sesame ginger marinade, four bags have a liquid balsamic herb marinade, and four bags have a dry garlic pepper rub. We also have a bag with three pork chops and the scraps from the end of the pork loin that we plan on using for pulled pork.
• 4 bags of already browned and seasoned ground beef for tacos
• 4 bags of 2 chicken breasts

We also have a bag of leftover ground beef that we haven't decided what to do with yet, and hopefully tomorrow I'll be adding in 8 (2c) containers of clam chowder.

Considering this was my first go at this, I think the way we went about it really helped with time management. Saturday I mostly just did prep - chopping the potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, peppers, etc. Mom started with prep - grating the cheese - but then did all the ground beef stuff. She browned some up for tacos, made the meatloaf and the stuffed peppers. We also boiled the chicken and shredded it. So today for the enchiladas and two casseroles all I really had to do was boil the pasta and everything else was ready (or could have been ready, I did end up needing to cook more chicken and grate more cheese, but luckily those were both easy). All the ingredients for tomorrow's soup are ready as well!

What else went really well is a lot of the ingredients are in multiple dishes but I think all the dishes are really different. There is cheddar and onion in pretty much everything. The two casseroles both have chicken but totally different veggies. There is apple in the meatloaf and the pork roast (and two jars of applesauce in the fridge). There is spinach in the enchiladas and a casserole, etc.

The only thing that I sort of didn't like about this whole process is I ended up getting a lot of other things at Costco that weren't for the freezer meals so it was a little hard to calculate the cost per meal. But it was all great stuff to get (with the exception of one "treat" item for Paul-John) like stocking up on toilet paper, or foods I'm not counting in the whole freezer thing like English muffins or butter. I spent about $100 on other stuff so when I first tried calculating the cost per meal I was nervous I spent too much. Luckily I saved the receipt so I was able to take a better look and I spent about $30 on freezer supplies - big boxes of the quart and gallon size freezer bags as well as a 30 pack of foil tins. Necessary but an expense we won't have the next several times we do this. I then spent about $105 on the food for the freezer meals. The next day my mom spent about another $50 at S&S but not all of this was for freezer stuff, but lets say about $45 was (I didn't save this receipt). And then today I had to pick up just a couple more things for another $10 So thats $160 on food and we have 8 big meals, 31 small meals, and (hopefully) 8 lunches, or 47 meals at $3.40 per meal. If you add in the cost of supplies, it is still only $3.83 per meal. Granted some of these will be complete meals with leftovers, and some are just parts of meals that will still need other sides, but I'm feeling a lot better about how much I spent!

I could probably write more but I think for one post this is enough. I'll be sure to write about each meal once we start eating them!

More photos!

I have been pretty inconsistent taking the profile bump photos but I finally got around to taking another one! This is one day shy of 36 weeks.

Another thing I am bad at doing is finishing knitting (or crochet) projects. I always get really excited about starting the next project. And I like the act of knitting and crocheting, while I do not like sewing buttons, tucking in yarn ends, or seaming. Once I get around to actually doing it its never as bad as I think its going to be, with the possible exception of seaming which at least is pretty easy to avoid. Anyways, this evening I finally got around to putting the finishing touches on two baby cardigans, which you can check out either on flickr or Ravelry. Tomorrow I am hoping to finish and photograph one more cardigan and maybe some mittens, so stay posted!

Cuddle Bump

Countdown

With less than six weeks to go, we've officially entered countdown mode. We've made a countdown checklist of all the projects and shopping we want to get done in the next few weeks and so far we're making pretty good progress. (I prefer "countdown mode" to "nesting" because it feels more accurate and less cheesy, not to mention that since I've made the checklist I've had The Final Countdown/visions of Arrested Development stuck in my head, which is fun.) I can't wait for everything to be ready. Only a week or two after we finally moved the hutch and the rocker out of the dining room and into the nursery, the dining room is once again filled up as our default storage space, now with all the items from the baby shower and a newly painted dresser.

Last week my main focus was washing all the clothes and linens we got at the baby shower. I've done most of it, but stopped when I ran out of room for all the clean items since the dresser wasn't finished yet. Paul-John painted the dresser yesterday, so now that its dry we should be able to get it upstairs fairly soon. Hopefully this weekend we can get all the furniture and everything else in place and we can put up all the wonderful decorations we got at our shower!

In other news, I am now going in for non-stress tests twice a week! It just started last week, and I'm lucky that my schedule is pretty flexible but it still is time consuming. At least I'm able to bring my knitting, there aren't any extra co-pays and it is always nice to know that everything is going well. This week I also have another ultrasound to check on baby's size. I had one just after I was diagnosed with gd and she was measuring fine. Now its been 5 weeks and since I've been managing my blood sugar levels, hopefully she should still be a normal size! Although I have heard from a lot of people that their weight guesses aren't very accurate, I'm still looking forward to checking in on her size.

Baby Shower!

Saturday we had our baby shower! It was really, really, really great. The only thing I would have changed would be to have someone taking more photos - below is one of the only photos of the guests! The rest are of me opening presents, and if I'm not holding something directly in front of my face then I either have red eye, a strange expression, or am super blurry - it is so hard to look good in action shots. We got a lot of baby clothes and linens, a lot of the decorations for the nursery, and almost all of the big items we registered for like the stroller and high chair. We also got some great handmade itms - a super adorable quilt from one grandmother and a knit blanket and crocheted hat and sweater from my other grandmother. Overall I don't think I was surprised by any one item, but I was certainly surprised at the volume of presents compared to how many people were there. We are so lucky to have such generous friends and family!

We didn't have any games but we did have a bunch of plain white onesies and bibs along with fabric markers for people to decorate and I think it was a big hit. At first I was just thinking that this was something that would be fun for the guests to do and practical for us since we'll get to keep them. It wasn't until we started looking through all of them after the shower that I realized how special it will be to put our baby in all these things made by the people closest to us.

Here we are with the cake. I didn't get to have any but I thought it looked great! It matched the decorations, which of course we don't have any photos of. I also got lots of compliments on the dress and I have to say I think I rocked it pretty well. It is one of the many clothes I have borrowed and I felt great in it.

As promised

As promised, here is a timely follow up to my last post.  In fact, I have two very exciting things to post about today!

The first is to share Threads of Compassion New Britain which is a local chapter of a charity that I have been working on opening for the last couple months.  Our website and facebook page just went public last week.  The staff at SACS were all very supportive of the idea when I proposed it, and since everything went public I have gotten even more positive feedback which is encouraging.  We already have a couple scarves (thanks mom!) and I am so excited to see how this goes.  I am hoping that by January we will have enough people interested to do a monthly knitting/scarf packing night.

The second is to share some photos of our nursery!  We've gotten a lot of the work done but we still have some finishing touches left - we have a dresser we want to paint, the hutch needs different knobs, we have some things to hang on the walls, some furniture still needs to be moved around - but it feels really good that we've gotten so much done already, and the room has a really good vibe so far.  Almost as good is the dining room and upstairs hallway are finally without lots of random furniture!

The crib we bought new, but on sale with reduced shipping and a free mattress.  So far we are really happy with it and there isn't too much else to say about it...  

The changing table/hutch we bought used on Craigslist and I absolutely love it.  A lot of people just put changing pads on top of dressers but we will be using a tall dresser so that wasn't the best option, and buying a new table seems silly when you'll only use it for two years.  What I love about the hutch is I think it'll still be a great piece of furniture even when we're no longer changing diapers.  I also like that the shelves on top will be easier to reach mid-changing than the shelves below the changing station on most changing tables, and there is a spot we can put a diaper pail so its not just out in the open.  Really, everything about this piece of furniture is perfect (or will be, once we buy new knobs).  Next to the hutch is a quilt rack we also bought used ($10!) with the first quilt my grandmother every made.  I think we may end up moving the hutch fully in the corner and putting the quilt rack on the other side.  

The dresser, once painted, will go where these two rockers are and the rockers will go on the wall with the windows, but there is still one last piece of craft room furniture there right now.  Paul-John's meme (whose middle name will be baby's middle name) made the mini rocker and it says "Paul" across the top.  The glider we bought with the hutch, we got both pieces for $125.  I kind of want to get a new slipcover for the glider, but I have no idea what brand it is.  Slipcovers are also much more expensive than I anticipated, so we'll probably keep the blue for now, I don't mind it.  The footstool does sag in the middle - it turns out it is cracked and so Paul-John just needs to get some wood glue and hopefully it will be as good as new.  The bookcase we had already but we painted, doesn't it look great?  

So I've gotten some flak for not updating this nearly as often as I should be, so get ready for a long post!

The biggest pregnancy-related news is that I have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes about three weeks ago.  I am now testing my blood sugar four times a day and I have to be very mindful of what I'm eating - in addition to being low in sugar, it is also low in carbs.  I also have to eat smaller meals with snacks in between, which also took some getting used to.  The first week was very challenging, but now I've mostly figured out what works and what doesn't, and so it is getting much easier to manage.  And there are two pieces of good news - at my last appointment we went over my numbers, and my doctor thinks I am doing a good job of managing my sugar levels.  Otherwise I would need to go on medicine and go in to see the doctor every week!  So I am really glad I don't have to do that.  I also had an ultrasound, and so far the baby is still measuring within a normal range, so as long as I continue to manage this well she shouldn't get too big.  I have another ultrasound coming up in a few more weeks to once again check on her size.

The only bad news, which really isn't bad, I guess, is that they now want me to deliver between 39 and 40 weeks and if I get to my due date then they will induce.  So we'll see what happens!

Lots of other baby stuff has been happening as well.  We have started on getting the nursery ready and over the next couple weeks we are hoping to get everything done in there.  We painted it this weekend, and all it needs is some touch-ups which hopefully Paul-John will finish tonight.  We also have to paint a couple pieces of furniture, and move a ton of stuff around.  Right now the glider and changing table/hutch we got off Craigslist are hanging out in our living room, and the crib should be arriving either at the end of this week or early next week.

We have already had our childbirth preparation class, which turned out to be a total letdown and as soon as I work up the courage I'm going to be calling to ask for our money back.  That's a long story that I've already told most people, but if you want to know, just ask.  This weekend we have a cloth diaper class and then on Monday we have our infant care class.  I'm really hoping these next two classes are a lot better, we are both really looking forward to both of them.  The diaper class was free to sign up for and we'll be leaving with a coupon, so even if its not informative at least it won't be a waste of money.  While there is a lot of information about cloth diapering online, there aren't any local stores to go and see anything in person, so I am really looking forward to this.

In non-pregnancy news, I got laid off from one of my three jobs.  It sucks to be making less money, but I think we can manage.  One job had just started to pick up around the time I got laid off (from 3hrs/wk - 6hrs/wk, but still) and now that school is back in session I should be seeing more hours doing prevention ed, so I'm staying optimistic.  I also cut off all my hair and am opening a local chapter of a charity, so I've managed to stay busy.  You'll be hearing more about that last one soon.

Bump!

Today was the first time a person I didn't know asked if I was pregnant, so I decided it was finally time to take one of those iconic profile bump photos.  As of my last appointment, which was about two and a half weeks ago, I hadn't gained any weight.  It really has only been in the past week that I think I've had any noticeable bump.  It seemed normal that people who see me on a regular basis would notice, I was really surprised someone I didn't know noticed it.

Weekends!

We have been very busy here the past couple of weekends.  Two weekends ago, I went to New York to see my cousin Sara on Saturday and my friend Danielle on Sunday.  I didn't take any photos on Saturday but we went shopping, walked through Central Park, and ate at an excellent Italian Restaurant on the Upper West Side.  I also finally got to meet her boyfriend (he's great!) and hang out in her apartment. The only thing I didn't get to do was see her yarn bombs since they were gone but we did a lot of knitting talk.  

Sunday Danielle and I went to Coney Island for a couple hours which was great.  We walked along the boardwalk, listened to some awesomely bad karaoke, ate a lot of food, and went on two rides.  Luckily we didn't go on the roller coasters, because I was unaware that they are one of the many things pregnant ladies are supposed to abstain from.  The ferris wheel was definitely safe, and the second ride was ok, but I probably wouldn't go on it again pregnant.  Here are some photos from the Wonder Wheel:

This past weekend we painted our bedroom and the den and probably some time next week we'll start painting the nursery.  Friday we did the ceilings and primer in both rooms.  Saturday we finished the bedroom completely and just had to do the second coat of cutting in on the den.  Sunday Paul-John had a shooting match in the morning and afternoon, and I wanted him to do the final touch-ups on the edges just because he is so much better at it than I am.  By Sunday night he was able to do the touch-ups in the den and we put the bedroom back together, but the den is still a little crazy looking.  

Photo below is more color accurate than photo above.  

In baby news, I had my follow-up ultrasound today and they were able to get the view of the heart they needed.  I also found out that my placenta is anterior, which explains why I have been feeling some movement but not a lot.

Halfway

So today I am 20 weeks, or halfway through pregnancy!  In the first couple weeks of my pregnancy, we both definitely felt a sense of urgency of needing to get stuff done, which dwindled once we realized how long nine months really is and because I was a lot more tired during those first three months.  Now that I am in the easy trimester, with more energy and no baby belly yet, I am once again feeling that sense of urgency which I think is slowly starting to rub off on Paul-John.

Over the next three weeks or so we hope to get the majority of the work done upstairs that we will need to do, at least before we start getting baby stuff.  Since we will be combining the den and craft room into one room, we need to figure out what will be staying upstairs and what will be going into the basement.  Next weekend, we will be putting a bunch of stuff from both our bedroom and the den into the craft room so we can paint both rooms.  The following weekend, once everything is put back into their respective rooms and the now nursery will be practically empty, we will paint that room.

I was telling Paul-John that I keep feeling conflicted about doing this.  One of the reasons I think I have put it off until now was definitely because of cost - we will be painting all the trim and ceilings along with the walls because we know if we don't do it now, we never will and we want to do this right.  We both use Mint on our phone to keep track of our bank accounts and it also keeps track of how much you earn and spend in a single month.  While this is helpful because of course it is important to usually earn more than you spend, it can sometimes be misleading because one month is such a small timeframe.  Several months ago we made a list of the major extra expenses we would have throughout the pregnancy and have been specifically setting aside money in savings in order to use it for these expenses, with painting the upstairs being one of them.  So its funny, on the one hand I feel very anxious about making sure we get everything done in time, and on the other hand I want to wait until I feel we can afford it, which probably would be never.

I've also signed up for a childbirth preparation class, infant care class, and breastfeeding class at UCHC and have started to look into getting a doula.  I also finally told another job, which honestly I was kind of nervous about.  I had told SACS a while ago, which was easy, but I was a little more nervous since I was just hired at Lincoln.  However, it doesn't seem to be a big deal so that is one less thing to worry about.

Baby Names

On Monday we had our anatomy ultrasound and we found out that we will be having a baby girl!  Of course, we are both very excited.  Everything else looked good and we got to hear the heartbeat again (153) but there was one view of the heart they needed and weren't able to get, so I'll be going back in three weeks.

Interestingly enough, before the scan we were nearly 100% on the name we had picked out for a girl and had no ideas for a boy.  That has since changed dramatically.  The first possible name was Sophia Theresa.   Theresa after Paul-John's grandmother, or meme, who died last year and to whom he was close.  Personally I didn't actually like the name Theresa (and it turns out neither did Paul-John) but I liked why we chose it.  Then Monday night, when we were driving to our celebratory dinner, Paul-John mentioned that his mom and had suggested Meme's middle name, Adrian.

Paul-John was first hesitant about Adrian because he didn't want everyone to pronounce it like Rocky when they said it.  But considering that it is only a middle name, not to mention the age of her peers, this seems unlikely outside of situations of older adults.  We both like the way Sophia Adrian sounds, and her initials would be SAM which we both like as well.  So once again, we were nearly 100% on a name.

And then today I was reading through a forum on Rav for people due in Nov, and two other people had mentioned using the name Sophia.  That in and of itself wouldn't bother me, but it made me curious so I decided to search how popular a name it is.

It turns out in 2010, Sophia was the 2nd most popular baby name, with Sofia at 26 and Sophie at 59.  This was very unexpected.  We like Sophia mostly for the meaning but also because we thought it was slightly unique.  If not unique, maybe common, but certainly not the second most popular name given to baby girls last year.  So now we are reconsidering the first name.  At this point I have no idea if we'll keep it or change it, but luckily we have some time to figure it out!

If you have a lot of time you feel like wasting on the internet, I highly recommend looking stuff up here.  For instance, it is interesting that the number of babies with the most common names have been decreasing.  For example, in 1950 the most popular female baby name was Linda with 80,408 babies.  In 2010, the number of Sophia, Sofia, and Sophie combined was only 31,139.

Reality setting in

Well I am finally posting like I have been telling Liz that I would. I have never had a blog so I kept telling her I was unsure how to start. Well after seeing the last ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat of our child I was inspired.

Even though the ultrasound was only a few weeks after the first one Liz had, the baby had grown so much and now it looks more like a baby. When the woman first started the ultrasound the baby was flipping and moving around like crazy and that was so exciting for me. It is still sinking in that Liz and I are going to be parents soon and I am excited for times that it becomes more real for me, and this last ultrasound was one of them. When Liz started to have some symptoms it started to be more real, but there is something about watching the ultrasound that is completely different. I have always wanted to be a Dad and looking at that ultrasound and seeing our child is something that I still am comprehending.

As we start to tell more people that also makes it seem more real to me and probably the reason that I have been more anxious to tell people than Liz has been. I have told a couple coworkers and one of them reacted in such a super excited way that it really made my day.

Some people have told me that it won't really sink in that we are parents till the day the baby is born. Until then I look forward to all the small and large events that will help me to realize that I am going to be a Dad, and I cannot wait.

Hello!

So apparently one of the drawbacks to having a blog that only one person knows about is it means you will probably forget you have it and thus, forget to update. 

But my lack of updating was also partly due to the fact that up until about weeks 8 and 9, I really had very little pregnancy symptoms and had not yet been to the doctor, and so a part of me definitely wanted to play it safe after the initial excitement faded.  (Of course once the food aversions, nausea, and constipation kicked in, I felt relieved but also pretty silly for wishing for symptoms.)  Our first appointment was three weeks ago and despite what the receptionist told me on the phone, my doctor did do an ultrasound.  After measuring, I came out to be exactly 9 weeks pregnant, which was the same as counting from LMP.  We got to see (but not hear) the heartbeat which was really exciting.  Even though most people wait until 12 weeks to start telling people about the pregnancy, we read that once you see a heartbeat the risk of miscarriage goes way down, and so we started telling some of our friends.  He still set up an appointment for me to have an ultrasound in radiology, since those tend to be more high-tech than the one he used.

I had that appointment a couple days ago, and this time when the ultrasound tech measured she put me a few days later than before, now with an EDD of 11/6 instead of 11/3.  When I asked which date was more accurate, she said hers was - not only are the machines more high-tech, but she's been doing ultrasounds longer than my doctor has been alive!  This time we got to hear the heartbeat as well as see it - it was 154 beats per minute which is exactly where it should be at this point. 

So stay tuned and maybe eventually I will be able to get Paul-John to follow through and actually post one of these days like he keeps saying he will!

So another week has gone by but there really isn't much to update. Aside from feeling a little extra sleepy and forgetful I don't really have any pregnancy symptoms and my first appointment still isn't until next week. I read somewhere that pregnancy hormones can make your nails grow faster so I have decided (for the umpteenth time) to grow out my nails.

Whenever I decide to do this I always start out super into it but I really do have a good feeling about it this time. I had just been applying a clear polish every day that is supposed to also help grow nails as well. However, whenever my nails get a certain amount of white I feel the need to but solid polish on because otherwise I want to clean them 5,000 times a day. Technically I know short nails get dirt under them but it just looks different. So I bought a shade today, since I don't actually own polish, that was I was hoping to be a pretty, pinkish nude tone but I don't like the way it looks on. I also bought some cuticle cream that I am really excited about.

Obviously my life is pretty boring if I am blogging about nail polish. Going to Rite Aid to buy it was super exciting and the highlight of my day. Even with two jobs I am only working 2 or 3 days a week and only for a couple hours at a time. I have been applying to jobs like crazy and am really hoping to get one asap. Initially I was hopin to get one before my first trimester ends, which gives me another 4 weeks or so. On top of that we haven't been too social becuase its just easier with us not telling friends. St. Patricks's Day was exhausting especially with having to lie about why I wasn't drinking. I think depending on how things go at my appt next week we may start telling friends even though we'll only be 9 weeks. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Buying baby stuff

This weekend we did a little bit of baby shopping. Although it certainly isn't necessary yet, we are both so excited it helps to get some of the pent up energy out of our systems. I think it also helps to make things feel more real. I still don't have a lot of pregnancy symptoms which I mostly think is lucky but sometimes I wished I felt more pregnant. I have been feeling more tired, and I have turned into a total flake.

So back to shopping. Our first stop was Kohl's since I had gotten a gift card for my birthday. They had some maternity clothes on clearance so I scooped some up. Being due in November means I am going to need both summer and fall clothes and I figure if I slowly start buying clothes now it won't seem as expensive as if I were to wait until I actually needed them. I bought a pair of shorts, a pair of jean capris, a pair of regular jeans, a pair of tan corduroys, two 3/4 sleeve shirts, a lightweight cardigan and one slightly heavier cardigan. That's 8 pieces of clothing that would have cost us $300 if we had bought it all a full price. We only paid $65! We also opened a Kohl's card while we there and our cashier put our total on the card before we were able to tell her we had a gift card. She offered to redo it but it seemed like a hassle, and so this week I think I may scope out another Kohl's to see what they have on clearance.

Next we went to a Border's that was closing, hoping to score some books, but surprisingly the entire children's department had been sold. At least books for the littleist kids. I found one baby book, one of the ones that has just one word and matching picture per page. So that was a bust, but at least we still have plenty of time before we need any of this.

For my birthday I also bought some yarn for baby items, so hopefully soon I will have a baby knitting update!

To Tell or Not to Tell?

Today I went to a baby shower for my friend Doreen.  Within the first five minutes I was there, after I declined the alcoholic punch, the woman sitting next to me immediately asked if I was pregnant.  I don't mind being evasive but I hate having to flat-out lie, but I did.  Later, I was talking with my friend Heather who is also pregnant, and she asked if Paul-John and I would be starting a family anytime soon and I had to give some sort of wishy-washy answer.  And then later, when several of us were discussing food and drink that are verboten for pregnant folk, and I made a comment about how soft cheese will be (not is right now) one of the most difficult things to give up, someone else asked me if I was pregnant!  The whole ordeal was a little frustrating, but I have decided to take it as a good sign if I am giving out pregnant vibes.

Later in the afternoon I did end up telling Heather that I am 5 weeks preggo.  I felt a little guilty, since I want to be more secretive that Paul-John, and I have been convincing him why we should wait to tell friends, and I was the one to spill the beans pretty much the first time I left the house.  However, the people that Paul-John wants to tell are mainly male, and there is a huge difference, at least to me, to telling a guy and telling a pregnant female.  Even though Heather and I aren't super close, she is someone I would feel very comfortable talking to if anything should go wrong, and that is not something I can say about all of our friends.  (At least not right away.  After a certain amount of time I am sure I would tell all of our friends).

Last night on the phone my MIL said that the 9 months tend to go really fast, but I think the first twelve weeks go by super slow.  I am really looking forward to getting over this first hurdle.

Pregnancy Progress

Considering its only been about 5 days since we've found out, I think we are making excellent progress.  What we've done so far:

1.  Bought books on pregnancy - so far just two, although a couple of Borders are going out of business near us, so I think I may try to scoop up some more books, either on pregnancy, or books or about babies, or books for babies, or all three.  We'll see!
2.  Scheduled first appointment with obstetrician, March 31st.  This will be week 9.  The first appointment I made was a week earlier, but then realized that Paul-John wouldn't be able to go because he will be in Pheonix on business.  I'm really excited but wished the first appointment was sooner.
3.  Told my parents and my sister.  I am waiting to tell my brother in person next week when I see him for my birthday.  To tell my parents, I wrapped up a frame that said "Grandkids" on it and said I forgot to give it to dad for his birthday.  He totally didn't understand when he opened it, which was pretty funny, especially considering thats exactly what I told Paul-John I thought was going to happen when we were driving over there.
4.  Took a tour of the UCONN Health Center Family Birthing Center.  I thought this was a great idea but it turned out to be a little embarrassing.  We were pretty sure we wanted to go with UCONN, at least the website looked nicer than New Britain, but we weren't sure.  Both hospitals are super close, so when we saw on the website that they offer free tours we thought it would be great to check it out to see if we liked it or not while we still had plenty of time to change our mind.  We got there a little early, and were soon joined in the lobby by four more couples - all of whom were due in either March or April!  We felt so silly when the nurse giving the tour asked when everyone was due and I had to say "November."  Aside from feeling like I looked silly to everyone else, I am still really glad we took the tour because now we feel a lot more confident that this is where we want to go when the time comes.
5.  Paul-John told both of his parents as well, and is planning on calling his brother tomorrow.

Not bad for the first 5 days, if I do say so myself.  Over the next couple of weeks I think the big focus is going to be on rearranging all of the rooms to get ready.  We want to clean our room and paint it and rearrange some furniture, and then we have to combine the craft room and the den.  I told Paul-John now would be a great time to repaint every room in the house just because I can't help!  I love painting but really, really suck at it.  I don't even know if its true, but I'm sticking to I won't be able to help paint because I'm pregnant.  Makes sense, with fumes and all, right?  And its winter so we can't open any windows...

And of course, we can't forget baby knitting!  I've started looking over patterns so hopefully you'll see some updates soon on that front as well!

Introductions, etc.

Today I am 5 weeks pregnant*.  Paul-John and I have known for about two and half days, but we haven't told anyone yet.  Once we start telling family and friends we will direct them here.  It will be nice for them, in the future, to be able to read about details that I am sure I won't remember as clearly, and it is nice for me right now to have a place to sort of get stuff out - it is kind of weird not being able to tell anyone.

While I am very sure about the decisions we have made on when we will start telling people, it feels a little weird keeping it a secret.  Take for instance yesterday: my mom came over for dinner, only two days since we found out.  During the course of the evening she had me watch not one, but two online videos of babies laughing, and had a long conversation about how if she had to choose, she would rather be blind than deaf because babies laughing is one of her favorite sounds in the world.  Needless to say, I was feeling pretty awkward.

One thing that I know many people will wonder, but probably not everyone will ask, is whether this was planned or a surprise.  It is sort of in between.  Last month (yup, just last month) we decided that we didn't want to start actively trying to conceive, but that we would stop trying not to.  Only several weeks later, and here we are.  Surprising, but not a surprise.

Paul-John and I are both still trying to absorb this information.  We are both happy and excited, but shocked.  For me, I think one of the things contributing to the surreal feelings of this experience is the fact that I have yet to have any pregnancy symptoms beyond not getting a period and seeing the "+" on a stick (twice).  Not that I am looking forward to nausea either, but I just don't feel pregnant yet.

Stay tuned for more updates!

*5 weeks, in the standard way of counting from the beginning of the last monthly period, meaning that the first 2 weeks of those 5 weeks, I was not actually pregnant.  This makes no sense to me.