This may be the most excited I’ve ever been about sharing something with you and it’s definitely the most exciting thing that happened since we got married…in October. Ha. After months of keeping this secret and no, it wasn’t easy – it feels so good to share the news! We’re Having a Baby!

We’re Having a Baby!

I realize how lucky we are that it happened right away for us and don’t take that for granted for a single second. My doctor told me to expect it to take anywhere from at least 4 months to a year, and at 35, I just expected it to take a while. Less than a month after our wedding, we found out we were expecting. Still can’t believe it.

How I found out and how I told Conor

I took a test earlier than I should have but my friend Gina had a feeling (I was like calm down you can’t do this to me every month) so I went for it even though I was SURE it couldn’t be positive. She was right. I called Conor into the room, told him I was pregnant, and we both just kind of smiled, laughed, and stared at each other in complete disbelief. Then I walked around saying “we’re having a baby” for a couple days or weeks. I took 4 more tests that week because I was sure I wasn’t actually pregnant and I was a bit of a nervous wreck at the beginning. Fortunately, I calmed down at around 8-10 weeks.

The first trimester hasn’t been the most fun

There’s been some nausea (usually at night) the past few weeks and I’ve learned that I’ve never really known the meaning of tired until now. It started early on and has started to die down around week 13. It has forced me to slowed down a lot – fewer plans, workouts, blog posts…everything. My weekdays consist of working and sleeping – so many naps. But it’s obviously so worth it.

Seeing the heartbeat at 6 weeks was the most incredible experience and probably the best moment for both of us. When asked about their preferred sex, pregnant women always say “I just want a healthy baby” and until now, I was always like “yeah, duh” having no idea how real those feeling would be, and answered that way every single time. I just wanted to know that this little one was ok. The early genetic testing took place at 10 weeks and a week later, we got a call confirming everything was ok.

When we told people

We told our immediate family and close friends pretty early on (around 6-8 weeks, in person as we saw them, but called everyone out of state, of course) and everyone else at Christmas (12 weeks). The 12 week ultrasound took place a few days after Christmas and featured what looked like a real baby (moving around!) vs a little gummy bear.

Buddy knew very early

I’m not sure if any of you remember this, but not long after I found out, I posted something in instagram stories about Buddy snarling at Conor whenever he came near us, not knowing Buddy could sense that something was going on with me. I got a few messages from people I didn’t know asking if I might be pregnant which I ignored because no one knew at the time and I didn’t know what to say! Sorry to those few people! Tuck has been completely normal but if Buddy is near me (and he almost always is) he growls when Conor comes in the room and it gets a lot worse worse as he gets closer to us. He’s normally the sweetest dog. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?!

Bump photos

There probably won’t be weekly bump photos or updates because each week has felt same, it seems like too much work, and I think it’s just not for me. I’ll definitely share more about each trimester and when there’s something exciting to share I promise I’ll share it – like the cute baby brands I’ve found! I’m going to wait until I know something about this whole having a newborn thing so I can really share what actually worked for me.

Designing a nursery

I’m excited to design a nursery (I designed my friend’s nursery last year and plan to finally share that soon!) but we’re currently in a one bedroom, so we need to move in the next few months. Neither of us need a lot of space but it would be nice to set up a little room for the baby and to have a work space since we both work from home a good portion of the time, so we hope to find a 3 bedroom in the city. And yes, I’ll blog home and nursery updates as soon as I have them!

Going through it with a friend

It’s been really fun to go through this with Katie, and to get advice from my friends who have had babies over the past few years. I’ve been really relying on them to tell me what works, what doesn’t, and what I don’t need (we don’t want a ton of gear!). I will share some of their favorite baby things and advice at some point.

I’ve been blogging since 2007 and life has changed so much the past (almost) 11 years! From moving to Chicago and figuring out my career to dating, traveling, and marriage, it’s always exciting to share a big announcement but this definitely feels like the most exciting life change to date. I’m so excited to be a mom and can’t wait to meet this little one!