First doctor visit

IT'S THURSDAY: today we had visit number 1 to my family doctor.  I'm happy to announce that it went as expected! We're PREGNANT! Confirmed by 3 tests (2 urine and one blood test).  I can certainly have a lot more fun with this blog now!  We are both very excited to be daddy and mommy to be.  I was so excited that on my lunch break at work I snuck out to Meijer and purchased "What to Expect When You're Expecting" by Heidi Murkoff.  Because it was a slow day at work, I was able to dive into the book a bit.  I found out what the light line on the at home pregnancy test means...if it shows then you're body is producing the pregnancy hormone (hCG).  It might be light early in your pregnancy and darker as you become further in your pregnancy.  Chapter 1 of the book is about planning to conceive - If I would have known that I would have purchased that book sooner.  I made my first OB appointment (intake) - FEB 27 at Borgess...that seems SO far away. I can't wait to bombard them with all my new mommy to be questions and choose between a doctor and a midwife.

Living differently:
So far I've made the coffee (caffiene) transition...I used to drink a lot of coffee. MMMmmm coffee! I drank so much to the point that my eye began to twitch.  I did it gradually, first decreasing the amount of coffee per day, then drinking a couple cups of half-caf, and then finally decaf.  I'll on occasion enjoy a cup of decaf coffee, which is not completely caffeine free. My doctor says not to worry if I'd like to enjoy a couple cups of decaf coffee in a day.  Even one cup of coffee every once in a while won't harm your baby.  I'm saving those treats for days when I might need it!  Anyway, the transition made me feel a whole lot better. No more eye twitching, and no more headaches. I'm hydrated and have no problem going to the gym after work due to fear of cramping. 

On another note with caffiene: chocolate is my FaVoRiTe sweet! Unfortunately it contains caffiene.  So, I'll have to watch my intake of chocolate. I'll eat a candy bar in between breakfast lunch and dinner if I had one (yikes).  Will will suprise me with a candy bar here and there, we'll see how I handle turning them away. 

I switched my deodorant!  I'm using the all natural TOMs brand.  I've used TOMs in the past, and didn't exactly love it.  But that was probably 5 years ago. Now, they have all types of scents that are completely natural. Until I get my first comment that I don't smell so good, I'll continue to use TOMs ;)

DIET: Lots of fresh fruits and veggies! YUM.  And what better reason to eat healthier than to eat for a baby growing inside of you. I'll typically eat a banana in the morning and once in a while eat a salad for lunch or dinner.  I'm not a huge salad person - I'd rather eat chicken, steak, or better yet venison. Now, my routine will consist of eating breakfast (at least a protein) before I shower and within the first hour after waking up. And I will focus on making sure I eat a mid morning and an afternoon snack. No more sushi! Booo!  No more cold lunch meat.  Doctor says everything has to be cooked.  I guess I can live with warm sandwiches.  Cooked shrimp and other fish: just in moderation.  I'm hooked on the juice brand Naked, currently - they are so yummy and so good for you!

I'm taking vitamins every day: Prenatal vitamins. I never used to do so. I would just, forget.  But, I haven't missed a beat since we found out I might be pregnant.  I bought the Pre-natal vitamins a couple of months ago, intending on taking them but I wasn't successful.  Will helps me remember, he'll set one out for me every morning with a glass of orange juice or milk.

No alcohol. Simple as that.

Let the planning begin:

I'm SUPER excited to publish this blog. I'm also super excited to find ways to tell our friends and family that we are pregnant.  I'll be as patient as I can be.

I found an app for my iPhone by The Bump (www.thebump.com) and it's great! It tells you need to know, makes your life easier with scheduling appointments, and prompts you on what you should be looking for and doing to plan for the arrival of your baby. It even tells you how big your baby is by comparing it to a food.  Depending on what week I am, the baby is either the size of a poppy seed (wk 4) or an apple seed (wk 5). That is SO tiny!

The EDD: 10/1/13
It looks like this baby is going to be an autumn baby and most likely an October baby! Not to mention that I could give birth on my birthday (10/4).  Will had a nice birthday present (1/27) a few days after his birthday: the news from the pregnancy test, and I'll have a nice one too this year: birth of the baby! OR, this baby could be born on our wedding anniversary (10/13).  Ahhh...I love October!

The pregnancy test

This morning I just had a hunch to take a pregnancy test, I am only a couple of days late... I set it on the back of the toilet, jumped into the shower, and when I got out, glanced at the test. Two pink lines, one was pretty dark and the other was lighter. AHH..what does that mean!?  The key at the side side indicated 1 line "not pregnant" and 2 lines "pregnant."  But, I needed more clarification because that lighter line was just not convincing.  Since I had thrown the box and directions away previously (it was a two pack, and I used one test a couple of months ago), I quickly grabbed my iPhone and Googled the phrase "First Response pregnancy test, one line dark and one line light."  A Q&A page came up with posts of other's who have had similar experiences. Almost everyone one who posted on the page confirmed that it means you're pregnant.  I walked downstairs to Will (daddy) while he was getting ready for work and handed the test to him with a big smile on my face.  He smiled back, kissed me, and held me close.  He told me he had a gut feeling ...about a baby...  Then while we drove to work (we work at the same location), we saw two bunnies pouncing through the snow.  Will's cousin, Jacee, is pregnant too and she told us once that she'd have dreams about bunnies before she got pregnant, and noted that bunnies are a sign of fertility.  I didn't think anything of it until today - because she also has bunnies as pets, maybe she is just dreaming about her pets?  Nope -how ironic!  

I made an appointment with my family doctor this Thursday 1.31.13, conveniently after Will's 8am allergy appointment, so we can share the experience (YAY! - DR visits make me queezy).  All day I just wanted to tell people that I was pregnant. But, I couldn't because we don't know that FOR SURE yet!  I'm confident enough I guess that I started this blog "Deer Baby," (mainly because "Dear" was taken, and of course it's fitting  <Mr. Willy the deer hunter and all>.) 

Will even grilled us an amazing venison lunch today at work (great way to celebrate-YUM)!  Will is already calling me "baby mama" and suggesting what I should eat, drink, and when I should be in bed. He skwaked that I had half a can of Dr. Pepper after dinner. mmm! 

Well... we weren't trying but we certainly weren't preventing (some of our friends laugh at this motto)- we were just going with the mindset not to stress about getting pregnant and allowing God to bless us when it was the right time (ahem...estimating the due date being during bow season...sorry Will)

I don't feel pregnant.
I don't have morning sickness or crave anything.
I feel a little plumper than normal.

Hoping to publish this thing soon...IF Thursday provides good news!  How do I sleep at all until then!?

On a side note: Jacee has inspired me to keep this blog. She's about 4 months along and adorable. Her blog www.ittybittybabybeck.blogspot.com is worth reading :) Just another plug for her: She's an amazing photographer: check her out at www.jaceebeckphotography.com.

WELCOME!

Thank you for taking the time to visit "Deer Baby,". This blog has been created to document our experiences during our first pregnancy and to share them all with our family and friends and ultimately with baby when he/she gets older.  We are excited to announce that our family of 4 will become a family of 5 in October this year!

 

OUR FAMILY:

10/13/12 MARQUETTE, MI

LAILA



SCOUT

ABOUT US: Will and I can be described as outdoor lovers. We enjoy spending time outside whatever the purpose may be: for leisure, projects, or exercise. Most of Will's time is spent working on the "Honey-Do" list I have for him ;).  You can find me doing some sort of craft in my spare time. We both enjoy doing house projects, and I'll have to say Will is quite the handyman. He sure does stay busy...he's not cutting wood with his new chainsaw for our wood furnace, he's installing wood floor into our new home, or burning our many piles of dead trees and brush. Or, if you can't find him anywhere, better check the creek in our back yard...he loves to go for a dip now and then on a hot summer day. We're loving our new home, we moved in July 2012. We live on a dirt road at at dead end, on 2.5 acres, which is surrounded by 10 acres of our neighbor's property. So, it's pretty peaceful and so beautiful. It's been fun seeing most of the seasons our first year. Will is full time in the Army, which brings in a lot of benefits, along with some stressors like every military family has. We experienced our first deployment between Sept 2010 and Aug 2011. I kept myself busy during that time and ran my first marathon. I'm sure you'll learn more about us through this blog! We've been through many changes this past year, which has been challenging for us but we keep growing closer together. We're pretty excited to start this exciting new chapter in our lives and share it all with our family and friends :)

The road we live on:

Pre-fall 2012

Fall 2012

Winter 2012