Pregnancy Tag

This week’s post schedule is going to be a little off due to a death in my family that shook me up quite a bit. Thanks so much for your patience and support as I took the day off yesterday. So today, I’m back with a more personal post about my pregnancy so far. In case you missed last week’s post, Baby Chaulk is coming this November! Mike and I are so grateful and cannot wait to embark on this adventure. I thought it’d be fun to do a pregnancy tag to fill you guys in on what’s been going on on my end!

1. How and when did you find out you were pregnant?

We actually underwent a fertility treatment in February after a year of trying with no successful pregnancies. Not going to lie, the last year was really, really hard. My patience and faith were tested beyond what I imagined I could endure. So, finally, we decided to see a specialist and try out an option and it worked on the first try! For those of you experiencing infertility, I want you to know I feel for you so hard. I remember crying on the floor after every negative test and thinking it would never happen. But stay hopeful. Miracles happen every day! I followed along other bloggers’ infertility journeys and it really helped to make me feel not so alone. Check out Eleni and Kelly’s stories. I don’t want to go into more detail on here about what we went through, but if you have any questions at all, I’m an open book! Feel free to email me anything at all to [email protected]. So, back to the question, we found out at week 4 because we were told when to test based on our treatment. I couldn’t believe it when I took my first positive pregnancy test, so I took about 10 more after!

2. How did you feel?
I couldn’t believe it when I first saw the positive. I kept telling Mike I think I might be pregnant. We didn’t fully believe it until the fertility clinic confirmed it with a blood test. Once someone else said it outloud that I was pregnant, I was overcome with every happy emotion there is. We’re so grateful that we’re given this blessing and cannot wait for November.

3. How old were you?
I am currently 28, and will be 29 when I deliver.

4. How did you tell your partner?
Because we underwent treatment, it kind of takes the surprise out of it. But, once the doctor confirmed my bloodwork, I made a drink for Mike for when we got home for work and told him he’d be drinking for two for a while! I cried and we hugged in our kitchen. It seems everything amazing for us happens in the kitchen (fun fact: we got engaged in our kitchen in our old house!).

5. Did you wait three months to tell people? Why/why not?
We announced after our 12 week appointment. Because of how hard we had to work to get and stay pregnant, I am still incredibly nervous of miscarrying. I wanted to wait as long as possible to tell, but we’ve had many healthy scans so I feel more comfortable in celebrating this now.

6. Is this your first?
Yes!

7. Do you want more?

We’re so thrilled to have this pregnancy. If I were to get pregnant one more time, that’d be amazing. I don’t think we want more than 2, though. We both come from 2 kid families and love the dynamic of having a sibling.

8. Your biggest craving?

Ugh, nothing. See question 10. 🙂

9. What’s the best part of being pregnant?

Knowing that I get to be a mom is the greatest blessing. I knew my whole life I wanted kids and while it didn’t happen how I thought it would, getting to bring a life into this world with Mike is such an incredible feeling. Hearing that little heartbeat or seeing our nugget dance around in my belly never fails to make my day.

10. What’s the worst part of being pregnant?

My hyperemesis. Since around week 5, I have been terribly sick. I throw up multiple times a day and sometimes even have a hard time keeping water down. In fact, I’ve lost 15 pounds! While that sounds like a good thing, being so sick has been miserable and literally sucked the life out of me. I’ve even passed out from dehydration because of it and had to be hospitalized. All I’ve eaten these last few months is saltines, ginger ale, gatorade, applesauce, and popsicles, and often I can’t even keep that down. I’m dreaming of the day when I can eat without getting sick and actually have cravings! I’ve also had some headaches as a result of the dehydration which are brutal. I tried Diclegis, Zofran, and Phenergan, and nothing worked so I’ve just been silently suffering over here. I’m praying I get some relief here in the next few weeks so I can actually enjoy this pregnancy!

11. Will you find out the gender? What do you prefer?

Yes we will. Hopefully here soon! We have no preference. We just want a healthy little nugget!

12. Do you have names picked out and what are the stories behind them?

We’ve talked about names in the past and I think we have a few more girl options than boy options. But, we’re going to wait until we know the gender to talk more seriously about it. And we won’t be sharing until it is born. 🙂

13. What’s your birth plan?

I am not sure yet. TBD for now?

14. Will you breastfeed?

I hope to! I plan to listen to my body and my baby and hopefully be able to do what’s right.

15. Do you plan to work or be a stay at home mom?

I will continue to work at my job and run my blog! I can’t wait to incorporate mommy and baby content!

16. Will you make your own baby food?

I will try to! I can’t promise I’ll keep up with it, but I look forward to experimenting.

17. Do you have nursery ideas/themes?

We have a pinterest board full of ideas! Once we know the gender, we’ll be able to explore that a little more.

18. What have you purchased since becoming pregnant?
I honestly haven’t bought too much but this pillow has been my saving grace! We bought this and this first thing and they’ve been pretty helpful. I got this onesie for our announcement and I’ve been using this belly butter so far and really like it! My skin, which pre-pregnancy was pretty good, has become super dry and prone to breakouts 🙁 So, I’ve called in my holy grail and it’s helped a lot. These prenatals are one of the few that haven’t aggravated my illness. Taking them right before bed also seems to be the best bet. I’m sure we’ll buy a ton more once we know gender! I haven’t bought any maternity clothes yet either because of my weight loss, but I’m sure that won’t last long.

So there you have it! Again, I am an open book and willing to answer any more questions you may have, so don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m hoping to do a bumpdate maybe once a month so let me know what you’re interested in hearing about!