Surviving the First Trimester

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So we’ve made it to the second trimester but not without a couple bumps in the road. I took notes along the way and here are a couple to share.

After having the positive pregnancy test there were many emotions stirring but no symptoms of being pregnant. I went downhill skiing and hiked 8,000 feet in Tahoe feeling just fine. But soon enough, around 6 weeks I woke up with nausea and realized there was something definitely going on! The nausea came and went, thankfully no vomiting, and no problem at work (for those that know my job, I was VERY lucky to not get nauseous at work). At 7 weeks I gave up my morning coffee, just the smell of it made me want to gag. However I did find something I loved… CHEESE! Macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, string cheese, any cheese and I was doing great. After eating macaroni and cheese 3 days in a row for lunch my coworkers were a little suspicious! But luckily I broke the news before they could question me further! And lucky me, an overnight trip to Vermont had us at a cheese factory, taste testing and me buying 6 BLOCKS of cheese!!!

Around 10 weeks Eric and I had a pre-planned trip to St. Lucia. Not sure if it was the sun and warm winds but my nausea disappeared and I hiked 2 Pitons (St. Lucia’s version of mountains), even one with ropes! Eric said I was smiling the whole hike, I think it was the rush of being 2 months pregnant and knowing I could still do the things I loved most! When we returned from vacation I was weary the nausea would return and I would have to go back to St. Lucia but I’m sad to say (for vacationing sake) that the nausea has stayed away and I’m back to my old self. Since then not much else to report. I haven’t gained any weight… yet… I’m sure it’s just a matter of time now that my appetite is back. I continue to hike Wachusett 3-5 times a week and we are planning a trip up to the White Mountains soon, hoping to stay active throughout the pregnancy!

That heart beat has a home…

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Yesterday we had our first ultrasound. It is hard to describe how much we were both in awe of the images we saw. From the first time the baby’s face was captured on screen to seeing it kick it’s feet up and move it’s arms. At one point I sneezed and I think the baby did a somersalt. How amazing to finally see the little miracle that is growing within! And it already looks like a beautiful baby! Too early to know the sex though, another 6 weeks or so and we should know!

Here are a few of the images (head to the left side of the image, feet to the right side) the wonderful ultrasound technician gave us, she was great, constantly saying “oh, how cute!” But she probably says that with them all, huh? But we’ll pretend ours was extra cute!

Below is my favorite image, if you look close you can see little hands by the face and the legs are crossed with a little foot showing! The second image is one of the feet kicking and you can see the little toes! I say soccer player, Eric says hiker…

Below is Eric’s favorite image. We could see the baby opening and closing his/her mouth and the ultrasound tech was able to capture mouth wide open! Eric said the baby was laughing at all the poking and prodding going on. Or maybe we’ll have a singer!!!

A Tiny Heart

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So somehow I managed to delete this post by accident….

On Friday, March 23th we skipped out of work early for a visit with the doctor. We were very excited because we were heading there to hear our baby’s heart beat for the first time.

Once we got there they shuffled us into the exam room and propped Ally up on the table. After a few minutes of searching with the doppler scanner there it was, our baby’s heart beat. Pumping away like a choo-choo train. It was the most amazing sound ever. One we will certainly never forget.

We captured a quick clip to share.

Spreading The Word

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Basically nobody knew we were even considering trying to get pregnant, so we thought it would be fun to capture the moment we told everyone (me being a photographer and all). We came up with sneaky excuses to use to get everyone together for a photo.

Here are the results….it was fun and surprisingly everyone was unusually very cooperative. Thanks everyone for indulging us.

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^^^Obviously surprised…we told them I was taking a class and needed to show off my lighting skills, so I had this elaborate set up with my flashes and tripod.

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^^^Mike seemed happy. Quote of the day came from him “Hey Eric, it works…..” Thanks Mike.

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^^^Ally’s mother wouldn’t give in, she thought we were joking. After she realized we were serious she was so happy.

Hello World!

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Believe it or not, we are pregnant! Ally and I are so excited for this new life that we have created. Rusty is looking forward to having another person to love too.

Funny story, that faint little line is actually a positive test, looked even lighter when we first saw it. We were a bit skeptical at first, so we had to rush out to the store and get a digital test with a “Yes/No” readout. There was no question with that test, a clear “Yes” was on the screen. We couldn’t believe it, and couldn’t quite figure out what to do next…