Sunday, December 29, 2013

Christmas merriment and the big Baby Reveal!

Get ready, this is going to be a long one.  It's been two weeks since I last posted and although I have read most of your posts I was usually on the go, reading from my phone and didn't leave any comments.  I have time today to go through and comment on all of your posts so don't think I was ignoring any of you!   The last two weeks were a whirlwind of activities and preparations as I'm sure it was for all of you.  I for one am so happy to be back in my own home, decompressing from all the family craziness and junk food and over stimulation!

Lets start with important baby updates.  I am 11 weeks today!!!!  Two more weeks and I can officially say I'm out of the first trimester!  The last time I posted I had just come back from the Dr. after a spotting scare.  You can read about it here.  Baby was fine, heart beat was 171 and we could see him/her moving it's big ass head.  I continued to spot a brownish CM from Mon-Thurs.  Friday I was back in the clear.  I had another (our 4th) US on Friday with my Dr. and the baby was still looking fabulous.  Heart beat was 186 and everything looked perfect.  I was beyond relieved.

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My Dr. told me the hematoma (small pool of blood by my cervix) was smaller than when I had my US the previous Sunday so it was very likely the brownish CM was the hematoma draining out slowly.  She told me that I might even pass the hematoma as a clot (holy shit, why didn't they tell me that sooner???) so if that happens I SHOULD NOT freak out.  If that had happened between Sun and Fri I would have been crashing through the doors of the nearest emergency room at 500 miles per hour in a blind panic!  That's the LAST thing a spotting pregnant lady wants to see is clots for Christ's sake!  Dr. also told me the fibroid looks to be about an inch which at the time was about the same size as the baby so it looks huge but in reality when the uterus and baby are gigantic, as long as the fibroid doesn't grow (which can happen) then it should be insignificant and not cause a problem. 

B and I had a meet and greet appointment with a midwife and we have decided to go with her for the birth.  She is very laid back and doesn't come off as very militant about home birth.  Some midwives are super militant about avoiding modern interference or are super religious.  I want to avoid both.  Our midwife just wants us to have the best birthing experience possible whether it's at home, at a birth center or if we end up having to be transferred to a hospital.  I already knew someone who had used her and loved her but then my husband just found out that his best friend at work used the other midwife in the same practice (they are partners and back each other up at labors) and loved her!  If that wasn't enough he also found out that another couple from work had her as their midwife and a current couple who is due in may are using her too!  It makes sense because she accepts my husbands insurance and they are located fairly close to where his store is.  But it's nice to know so many people who are telling us how great the two midwives are!  We decided that we want to deliver in a birthing center because our dogs are just too obnoxious and over excited when people come in and out of our house.  Also I want the option to use the birthing tub and the birthing center has awesome tubs!  I have my first official appointment with the midwife on Fri Jan 3rd.

So then there's Christmas.  Remember my family didn't know anything about our pregnancy except for one of my sisters because of her wedding being the same week as my due date!  She has since changed the date of her wedding and hasn't even signed the paperwork to book the venue because she is having issues with her finance....but that's another story altogether!  My plan to reveal to my family that I am pregnant went perfectly!  I had calenders made for my mom dad and each sister.  The calender was filled with cheesy pictures of me, B and our dogs.  Photos of us in Hawaii, canoeing with the dogs in the boat, etc.  I knew my family would be laughing at us and rolling their eyes at how conceded we were for making a calender with our pictures all over it.  Until they got to the July.  July's picture was a giant picture of our latest US, the one I posted above actually.  The caption underneath said: Shhhh, it's a secret!  Introducing Baby Hanawalt!  And on July 20th it said DUE DATE!!!

I wanted to have them open the calenders as soon as we got out of the car, I was soooo anxious and excited to have everybody know but I also wanted to not be suspicious about it.  So I ended up having to wait forever to do it.  We got to my parents house around 6:30pm and everyone was trying to make dinner so it didn't make sense to make people open a present then.  We finally got dinner on the table (not easy with 12 people) and were finishing up around 9:30pm when some neighbors of my parents dropped in!  GRRR!  Apparently my mom thought it would be nice to invite neighbors over for dessert!  Obviously I didn't want them to be part of the big reveal so I had to wait longer.  They finally left around 11:30 and luckily my dad had a white elephant type game planned for us to play.  He often creates elaborate games for the family to play when everyone is together.  They are usually bizzare (one game was all about our significant others judging which sister had the worst childhood! WTF?) and endlessly hilarious because of his mannerisms that are so quintessentially our dad.  I was in tears laughing while he was explaining the instructions how to play.  Without going into detail the name of this years game was Pass, Pass off or Piss off!  Lol!

Anyway since the game involved opening presents I had a good excuse to get the calenders for everyone to open.  I told them they were all opening the same thing so open them at the same time.  Everyone immediately started laughing at us as they looked through the first several pictures.  One sister who I was siting next to was really flipping through it quickly and I thought for sure she was going to get to July when everyone else was still on March but she slowed down a few times to make fun of some of the pictures.  She was still the first one to get to July but she had a good reaction.  It took her a second to process what she was looking at and then she gasped and was like "is this real??"  At that point everyone was on July and then everyone started freaking out.  It was perfect.  I have two videos of the reaction, my sister has one on her phone that I don't have yet.  Both have shitty lighting but I will post the one I have.  I am sitting right in front of the big orb of light so it's hard to see my facial expressions.  Keep your eyes on the sister next to me in the center of the video, she's the one who figures it out first.  Also shortly after everyone realizes what is going on you can hear my mom tell me she "knew" I was pregnant because she had a premonition last week about us telling everyone at Christmas.  I predicted that would be the first thing she would say in my post a while back, I can prove it here.  Then all of us erupt into laughter because she always claims to "know" things after they happen or are announced.  It's classic.

                                                   



It is such a relief to have everyone in our family know.  B got a little loose lipped this last week at his work so a lot of his friends at work know already.  I have still only told a handful of people.  I am trying to make a lunch date with a close friend of mine to tell her tomorrow.  I am annoyed with her though because she hasn't really called me, texted me or hung out with me since I went to her Halloween party.  I have been best friends with her since the summer before our freshman year in college.  A loooong ass time.  I danced in her project all of last year and saw her every week because of rehearsal.  We are both super busy so we tend to see each other more when we are rehearsing together regularly.  Since the dance project ended in Aug. I have only seen her a few times.  Other friends who supposedly are not as close to me have made more of an effort to ask me how I am doing and send a nice "I'm thinking of you" text or FB message.  I don't know if she just doesn't know what to say to me about IF and our situation depresses her or if she is just wrapped up in her own life and just doesn't realize that we haven't talked or hung out in the last three months.  Either way I have been feeling super bitter about it.  I even contemplated not telling her unless she called me or until she finds out on FB....when and if I decide to post something on FB.  B thought that would really hurt her feelings and that it was too passive aggressive and mean hearted.  He's right.  So I am the one making an effort to set up a lunch date with her.  I just feel annoyed that people who I feel haven't equally shared in our struggle and been there for me when I was really down get to share in the joy and elation.  But that's probably because I am a bitter, petty person.  Right?  And it's not like this friend hasn't been there for me.  That's probably not fair.  I had some very emotional times during the time I was dancing in her project last summer and there were several times she held my hand or hugged me while I sobbed.  So I am trying to just get over it and be nice.

I also have to tell my other very close college friend (the three of us have been a triad for the last 12 years), the one who is pregnant and I have pushed away for the last 9 months.  I am sure that will be a whole other story.  I don't feel as bitter towards her because I know I am 80 percent responsible for the distance between us in the last year.  I still have to give her her baby shower gift (little baby Tom's shoes...so stinkin cute!) so I will have an excuse to get together with her.  She might have her baby first though, she is due in a couple of weeks.

Christmas didn't go by without any drama of course.  There was a fair share of sister bickering, ie. calling each other bitches and worse.  I didn't participate in the name calling but with five sisters in the house there is always a cat fight happening.  There was also a tearful intervention with some of my sisters yelling at my parents about their health and weight issues....so that was fun.  And then on Christmas night I started spotting again.  I managed to not freak out about it.  If you want TMI here it is.  I needed to take a shit.  So I went to the bathroom and my efforts weren't as productive as I felt they should have been.  I felt like more had to come out but it just wasn't happening.  So I gave it my best effort and needless to say there was some straining and extra pushing involved.  When I finally gave up and wiped there was blood.  And not from the poop hole.  There wasn't a ton and it wasn't bright red so I forced myself to believe that I strained to hard and made more of the hematoma leak out.  Spotting on Christmas right after announcing your pregnancy to your family is no bueno.  I stayed calm though and although I did continue to have brown CM again for a few days it's gotten lighter and lighter and I never had any cramps of any kind.  So there it is.  If you are preggo and have previously spotted be aware that should you be a little to enthusiastic about your bowel movement you may experience more spotting.  The more you know....










11 comments:

  1. So happy for you guys! Your reveal brought tears of happiness to my eyes!! What a creative and fun way to announce!!

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  2. I cried! What a great Christmas!! I hope that from here on out the spotting stops and you experience nothing but nausea and fatness! I say that all with LOVE, too!!

    Hugs, friend!

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  3. Wow how exciting! It makes it feel even more real when its out in the open, doesn't it? Congratulations Mama :)

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  4. How fun! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

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  5. Oh that is awesome. So glad your big reveal went so well!!!! What a great idea.

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  6. oh my gosh I am still crying! After watching it 3 times! What did your parents say!? They are in such a good position. They get all the credit for offering to pay for IFV and in the end they don't have to! haha! I love the reactions- so great, I am so so happy for you! I am so glad that you found a reputable midwife! We will have to be in touch more directly because it looks like we are headed back to SEA before our baby arrives!

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    1. Holy shit!!! That's amazing! How about you moving to a state that gives you free IVF, getting knocked up and then blowing town! I'm sad you have to leave paradise but so happy to get to meet you IRL! Exciting!

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  7. What a beautiful ultrasound picture! I'll have to watch the video later-- my controlling IT department doesn't allow us to watch videos at work ;)
    So happy for you!

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  8. I love your baby reveal. Classic just love it. Sorry your friend is being unsupportive... I had the same thing happen with one of my bridesmaids. I asked over and over to catch up various different methods, but her never replied. I wanted to share my good news. In the end I never heard back so we announced and I'm sure she would have heard by now and still nothing. I had a SCH too which cleared up without losing clots, hope yours does too!

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  9. LOVE the reveal! It is truly so special that you have it on video so your baby can watch it in the future. I'm sorry that your friend hasn't been there for you. Even though she was there for you sometimes, she may have just felt uncomfortable bringing it up and asking you how you were doing in case that was going to make you feel worse. Sometimes it's hard to know when it's the right time to say something and when it's the right time to hold back. But yes, it totally does suck and you are allowed to be petty and tell her LAST! :)

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  10. I love the reveal and the video. I hope that the spotting stays away fro the rest of your pregnancy, it's no fun to be scared and stressed during such a happy time!

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