There's so much to write about Samuel's first few days (and about the day he arrived), but for now, I'll just share a few of the pictures that I have from right after Samuel was born. We are so in love!!
Hanging out with Daddy:
The grandparents seeing Samuel for the first time:
Nana and Papa holding Samuel for the first time:
Samuel with his Grandma's:
Grandma Kock:
A few pictures after getting to our room on the Mother/Baby floor and sleeping for a few hours (but not many!):
How many weeks to go:
As many days as baby chooses, I guess!
Baby size:
A Pumpkin
Approximately 20+ inches
Baby milestones:
She should be just about done in there, I would think!!
Maternity clothes:
YES... I've outgrown all of my shirts now... This weekend I accidentally shrunk my one shirt that was long enough that I didn't have to worry about my belly hanging out the bottom. So that's fun...
Stretch marks:
You betcha...
Have you started to show yet:
Affirmative
Belly button in or out:
Out
Symptoms:
Same ol'... A huge belly, a bit of a sore back, sore fingers, larger than normal feet and fingers, and a sore pelvis. I haven't had any real bad heartburn, acid reflux or breathing problems when I sleep for the past few weeks, so that's good! I'm excited to give my body a bit of a break here pretty soon, though!
Movement:
She's still moving around in there, letting me know she's having a great time right where she is...
Labor signs:
I've got nothin...
Mood:
I'm in a good mood, I just tend to get a little frustrated at times, but it's only my due date, so it's not like I have a ton to be frustrated/discouraged about yet!
Sleep:
It's not bad other than being really sore when I get out of bed. It takes a little convincing to get myself to muster up the energy to get myself rolled over or sitting up so I can get out of bed. And that happens at least 3 times throughout the night and then in the morning, so that's super fun.
Dreams:
I had one last Tuesday that our baby was going to be born on the 14th and that it was a boy. Obviously that dream didn't come true!! :)
Miss anything:
Not being in pain or feeling like I have to pee every time I walk. Having clothes to wear. Being comfortable wearing pants...
Gender prediction:
Boy
Names:
Same story - We have names, but middle names aren't 100% decided.
Best moment of the week:
Same story here. We're just living every day anticipating our baby's arrival, so there's nothing too exciting going on. We worked like normal during the week and then spent the weekend at home. We went out to eat on Friday night. Another "last date" perhaps - I think we've had several "last dates" by now. (I think of everything as possibly being my last before baby comes... last meal, last time washing my hair, last day at work, last time getting gas, last time seeing our families, last weekend, last time peeing in a cup at the Dr's office with this big belly (never knew that'd get to be such a hard task) etc... so far none of them have been the true last.) On Saturday, I slept in again and then I tried to stay active during the afternoon on Saturday to try to get baby moving towards the exit, but I'm not so sure it did anything other than wear me out. I went and got my "last pedicure" (I thought the one before that was going to be the last) and then picked up Chipotle for supper and we watched "What to Expect When You're Expecting". Sunday, I was super lazy and watched a lot of Criminal Minds and Forensic Files... I went on about a mile walk in the evening and did some stretching and sitting on the exercise ball as well, so hopefully baby is getting the hint that we're ready!! I can't wait for my "best moment of the week" to be that baby has come!
Nursery Things:
Nothing going on in there... The room is just waiting for its occupant to arrive. Looking forward to:
Having a baby!! Sometimes when I feel her little heel or something stick out of my belly, I imagine what it will look like when she's really out here and we can see her for real! I can't wait to hold our little baby!!
Other things:
At our appointment last Friday, baby's heartbeat was 160, which was a lot faster than normal. The doctor said it was probably because baby was moving and then we could hear it slow down again, but she didn't give us a new number. I'm assuming it's the same mid to high 140s.
Look at that belly!! That shirt sure is getting a work out!
Date:
August 10, 2015
How far along:
39 Weeks!!
How many weeks to go:
SEVEN DAYS!!! (ish)
Baby size:
Watermelon (they said "mini-watermelon" in the weekly email... but I think we've got a full grown one!!)
Approximately 20+ inches
Baby milestones:
She is continuing to build a layer of fat to help control her body temp after birth.
Maternity clothes:
YES
Stretch marks:
Yep. It looks like my belly is going to burst open right above my belly button now, too. Trent assured me last night that that isn't going to happen (but he did say it'd be pretty gross if it did), so I hope he's right :)
Have you started to show yet:
Affirmative
Belly button in or out:
Out
Symptoms:
The biggest symptom I have of being pregnant is a giant belly! That has caused some back pain in the last few weeks. The cramping and tightening that I feel in my belly has really picked up in the past few days, and I am soooo hoping that it's a positive sign of things to come! I'm still having finger pain at night and my feet got pretty swollen again at the end of last week, but they deflated over the weekend since I was able to stay off them for longer periods of time.
Movement:
Still moving around in there and trying to show off her legs and arms by sticking them out of my belly!
Labor signs:
I couldn't tell you what's a real labor sign or not, but in the past 24 hours, the cramps and tightening have been more of a pain than just a pressure... so maybe that's something?
Mood:
Just fabulous!
Sleep:
I still get up at least 3 times a night to go to the bathroom and flip over to my other side. I'm pretty stiff and sore when I get out of bed, but I just need to walk it off usually.
Dreams:
I had a dream on Saturday night that I don't remember much of but I told Trent that I thought our baby was in it and wearing a Nebraska shirt. He assured me that our baby would never wear a Husker's shirt in real life, though :)
Miss anything:
The space between my crotch (sorry if that's a bad word!) and my stomach where my pants used to sit comfortably!
Being able to get up off the couch without having to scoot forward a few times and really push myself up with my arms! And I miss being able to just throw on a t-shirt to wear around the house... my belly hangs out of all of mine and Trent's t-shirts.
Gender prediction:
Boy
Names:
We have our girl and boy name and we have two middle name options for each one right now as well.
Have you told family and friends:
Yep - Everyone knows!
Best moment of the week:
Nothing too exciting happened this week (other than I had a flat tire last Tuesday, so I got to be that helpless pregnant lady standing by her car in the parking garage waiting for her husband and a tire-fixer-guy to come to her rescue while everyone in the area came by to ask if I needed help... good times) - it was another week just waiting to have a baby!! We had another nice weekend at home together. We really are trying to enjoy our time together and I really am trying to relax before this baby decides to make his or her entrance into the world. Friday night we made a trip to the grocery store together and then Saturday night we watched two movies (A Million Ways to Die in the West and Top Gun) and had popcorn with M&Ms. We slept in both Saturday and Sunday and got a few little things done around the house. Even though part of me would love to be out and about doing something with our free time, it's been nice to just be able to hang out and rest as well!
Who knows, maybe that was our last weekend without a child for the rest.of.our.lives!!! Nursery Things:
Nothing happened in the nursery this week. It's as done as it can be!
Mattie has enjoyed hanging out in the chair in the nursery as she's waiting for a new sibling as well!
Looking forward to:
Having a baby!!
Hoping this is my last Monday at work for a while! We shall see!
Other things:
At our appointment last Friday, baby's heartbeat was between 144 and 147.
Baby milestones:
She may have an inch or so of hair (I'm hoping our baby has hair!), she has been working on her grip (can't wait for little baby finger holding!) and her organs are most likely fully developed and ready for life outside the womb.
Maternity clothes:
Same ol' thing here... of course I'm wearing maternity clothes
Stretch marks:
You betcha... I don't see how they could have been avoided with how big my belly is! (especially the part below my belly button now that baby has dropped down there)
Have you started to show yet:
Uh... ya. Why do I keep asking myself this question?!?
Belly button in or out:
Out
Symptoms:
I don't feel like I've had as many Braxton Hicks this past week (but what do I know). The only time I've noticed them is if I've been up and moving around too much or if I have to pee... My fingers are still hurting at night and then some days as well when I straighten them out. My back hurts some when I get up and walk and when I wake up in the morning (and in the middle of the night) it takes a little while for me to be able to walk straight.
I hate to talk about things that are negative about this pregnancy, but I'm just being honest... I know it's all going to be worth it in the end. I guess if there's a next time that I'm pregnant, I will try to do things a little different to see if that helps... who knows, though.
This is pretty much what I think (and I wouldn't even classify how I feel as "feeling like crap":
Movement:
She goes pretty crazy at times and my belly really moves a lot. I think that sometimes it probably is noticeable to people sitting around me in meetings at work and stuff. There are times where it has started to hurt when she moves, it even surprises me sometimes and I think I make funny faces because of it, She also gets her feet up in my ribs at times as well! I still don't think I'm used to feeling her move in there!
Labor signs:
I don't feel like there have been any unfortunately.
Mood:
Good for the most part. I let myself get discouraged at times that the baby isn't here yet, but then I remember that I really am only 38 weeks along and it's not time yet, so I just need to cool my jets!
Sleep:
I, thankfully, got to sleep a lot this weekend, which was nice. It made going to sleep on Sunday night not so easy, though... so when that happens, I just go hang out with the dogs in the living room and read and bounce on the birth ball for a while... I have a little bit of trouble with some restless leg syndrome at times and I have the weird breathing issues keeps me from sleeping as well, but it hasn't been too bad. By the end of the week, I usually can sleep pretty well cuz I'm so tired except for the whole getting up at least 3 times to pee.
Dreams:
Nothing baby related that I remember, but I had one on Friday night where I was doing something with recording equipment and then when we were done doing whatever it was we were doing in the dream, Kellsey wanted to sing "A Whole New World" from Aladdin with me. I woke up before I found out if I was going to sing the girl or the boy part - I'm sure she was going to make me sing the boy part, though!
Gender prediction:
I think it just HAS to be a boy... I seriously will be surprised if it's a girl!
Names:
We still haven't talked about it for a while, but I think we have it pretty narrowed down to one boy name and two possible girl names.
Best moment of the week:
Nothing too exciting happened this week. We're just patiently waiting :)
My mom came on Friday night for a while and we went out to eat at Tanner's (I've wanted some chicken strips and cheese balls ever since I saw in the Westside Socials that my mom, brother and Kenzie went to Bloomer's in Carroll for Kenzie's bday a few weeks ago) before going to Hallmark and getting a baby book (which I think is the last thing on my list to get!!) and doing some other little shopping.
She also brought a few things that my aunt had made and/or printed for the nursery, so we got those hung up!
Saturday we had a nice unplanned visit from Mel and Russ and the girls! They had been out hiking in the morning in the Loess hills and so they stopped by. It was fun to hear about their trip and see them one last time before baby comes! I love talking with Taylor and Jenna about the baby and about whether it's going to be a boy or a girl and what they think we should name the baby! Jenna sat on my lap for a while (after I assured her there was room and I wouldn't let her squish the baby) and she would put her hand on my belly and told me she could feel the baby kicking. Jenna also told me that she liked my belly and it had grown since the last time she saw me (which it very much has!) Makes me smile! I can't wait for them to meet their new cousin!!
It was also nice to relax most of the rest of the weekend (even though I'm about over staying home every weekend since this is our third one in a row... it's so unlike us but I'm sure Trent is loving it!). We slept in late both days and just hung out around home. It got pretty old by the end of Sunday, but it was still nice. We, unfortulately, had to miss the Bell Reunion this year due to my pregnant state... the whole traveling when the baby really could come at any time and the fact that it was SO.HOT and the reality that I probably would have gotten pretty worn out made up our decision to stay home. I think this is maaayy be the 3rd Bell Reunion I've missed in all my 28 years (and that might be a high number) so it was sad to think about not being there. But NEXT YEAR we'll be there with our little one! :) Who knows, it may even be her birthday when we're there!
Nursery Things:
No big changes. We just got two more things put into frames in the room and continue to wait! :)
My Aunt Doreen made the print above from 1 Samuel and then I got the heartbeat print made from a seller on Etsy of the baby's heartbeat from our 36 week appointment. After the baby is born, we'll get it reprinted in a color depending on whether it's a boy or a girl.
Looking forward to:
Having a baby!! Someday soon...
How far along:
37 Weeks!! How many weeks to go:
3 Weeks! (or less, I'm guessing!)
Baby size:
Winter Melon (WTH is that?) or a large cantaloupe
18.9-20 inches long
Baby milestones:
She's considered "full term" now and is just in there practicing her skills of inhaling, exhaling, sucking, gripping and blinking. (We saw baby practicing breathing during the ultrasound last Friday!)
Maternity clothes:
It goes like this... I wake up for work, put on one of the three maternity dresses that I have or force myself to put on pants (this only happens once a week... maaaybe twice) I go to work and sometimes put on nice shoes, but end up wearing my Nike flip flops most of the day - especially if I'm not going to see any of my superiors. I come home - If I'm wearing a dress, I might just keep it on for the evening, otherwise I change into yoga pants or my PJs and a shirt... one that may or may not cover my stomach at all times... When it's time for bed, I wear my PJ pants (most of the time - sometimes I just say 'screw the pants' altogether) and a light shirt to bed, which usually doesn't stay over my belly most of the night... wake up and repeat. 98% of my closet doesn't get worn right now. It's sad.
Stretch marks:
Still there and multiplying...
Have you started to show yet:
Showing it off for everyone to see!
Belly button in or out:
Out
Symptoms:
Random tightening of my belly (contractions, maybe?) stronger at some times more than others... still have pain in my fingers throughout the day and it's definitely worse at night (which is what they say is common), my feet aren't normal size, but I'm still able to get them to deflate if I stay off them, which is a slight bright spot!
Movement:
Yep - she stays pretty active in there most of the time. She was pretty still for a while on Sunday which I let freak me out a little (and I made the mistake of getting Trent freaked out as well) but after laying down and eating and doing some kick counts, she was back at it. She must have just needed a little nap ;)
Labor signs: I don't know what you consider a "labor sign" at this point... I don't feel like there's anything, but maybe some of these Braxton Hicks are doing some good and getting us closer to meeting this baby!
Mood:
Pretty good, I think. There's plenty I could complain about, but I hope I'm doing a pretty good job of not being a whiner!
Sleep:
I have a feeling that it's going to be a good 10-15 years before I'm able to have the same relationship with sleep that I did just a few months ago! I used to LOVE sleep and loved sleeping in, but it's just not the same anymore! I have troubles getting to sleep a few nights a week and have started to get a little restless leg syndrome stuff going on occasionally. And I don't like that at all! I have to get up every few hours just to turn over (which is a lot of work these days) or to go to the bathroom. And I can't really sleep in because I am pretty hungry by the time morning rolls around. And then, during the day, I get so tired at times that all I want to do is take a nap! If only I could just sleep at night and then I wouldn't have to be so tired during the day! :) Luckily we've been having some pretty low-key weekends that are good for sleeping as much as I can in the morning and then taking naps in the afternoon, if needed! So I'll just keep taking advantage of those as long as I can!
Dreams:
Saturday night, I had a dream that I was in labor at the hospital. I don't remember much about it other than there was a big black snail there and I was trying to get it or kill it or something. And then when I told Trent about the snail, he told me that he wished it was a tan snail... Whatever that means!
When I woke up, I kept thinking/hoping that was a sign, but obviously it wasn't :)
Miss anything:
Not having back pain, being able to fit into more clothes, and just not hurting when I'm walking around.
Gender prediction:
I really can't change my answer now, so I'm going to stay with boy. But I can't wait to find out!
Names:
We haven't talked about them much this week. I think we're still pretty set on first names (we might have two girl options at this point) and middle names are still to be decided, but I have my top picks for those, too.
Best moment of the week:
The best moment of the week was probably seeing our baby one last time by ultrasound. It's pretty crazy how much the baby has grown since our 20 week ultrasound. At that time, they could get the baby's whole body on the screen and we were able to see all of her at once. Now, they aren't even really able to get the baby's whole face on the screen!
The pictures that we did get of the baby's face were pretty comical this time. Baby looked pretty grumpy!! If she's really that unhappy in there, she should just come out and be with us, I guess!! ;)
The weekend that we had was also pretty great, in my opinion. We had another nice weekend at home getting things prepared. We had a list of things we wanted to get done and I am pretty sure we got it all finished! Trent washed and sanitized all the bottles and things. I got my pump on Friday, so I washed and sanitized everything that came with that. We cleaned the bathrooms so Trent could move back into our master bath when the time came for us to have guests and we cleaned and got the guest rooms ready for company! I got pretty worn out with all the cleaning, which made for a not-so-fun day the next day, but I'll be alright!
Trent also got the car seat put in the car. It's still strange to look in my rear view mirror and see it back there! :)
We found time on Saturday to go to see Ant Man in the theater. It was a good movie! And then we went to eat at Chipotle. (I think I could eat there every day... or at least several times a week!)
Nursery Things:
I think that we're as ready as we can be in the nursery now! I got everything hung up on the walls and all the clothes that we have is washed and put away. Now we just need a baby to go with the room.
There are a few frames that are still empty because I'm either waiting to receive what I am going to put in them or because they are going to have pictures of the baby in them, but the hard part of getting them hung straight on the wall is done. Now it should be pretty easy to put whatever needs to go in the frames in there and then put them right back in their place!
Here's the book ledge wall all done:
Below is a cross stitched prayer that my mom made when my sister was a baby (she's pretty sure that's when she made it anyway!) and I can remember it hanging up in my room pretty much my whole life. I had it reframed to go in our baby's room and just got it back this weekend and hung it up right away. I love having it in the room! The frame ended up costing more than I wanted to spend, but if it stays framed and used for another 30 years or so, I'd say it was a pretty good investment!
And here's the whole wall that you see when you walk in the room:
Looking forward to:
Meeting our baby whenever he or she decides to join us!
Also looking forward to wrapping up our birth class on Wednesday and having weekly appointments now!
Other things:
At our ultrasound, the tech told us that our baby was estimated to be about 9lb 6oz or so, which is crazy! That means that the baby would have grown about 4lbs since our last ultrasound 4 weeks ago. The measurements obviously aren't a fact, but it sure does get everyone all riled up! (I really don't see how the baby could have gained 4lbs in 4 weeks because that's pretty much how much I've gained in 4 weeks, so that would mean that I would have had to gain all baby... doubtful)
After the ultrasound, we had our regular appointment. Baby's heartbeat was in the high 140s and then shot up to the 150s as she was moving around! (During the ultrasound, the heartbeat was in the 130s, which is the lowest it's been the whole pregnancy!)
How far along:
36 Weeks!! Our baby would officially not have to go to NICU if born today and everything looked good!! (per our hospital's guidelines)
How many weeks to go:
4 Weeks!
Baby size:
Head of Romane Lettuce/Honeydew Melon (it said that last week, too)
17.2-18.7 inches long
Baby milestones:
She's very close to being able to breath on her own without any issues. Her skin is getting smooth and soft. Most of her systems and organs are good to go!
Maternity clothes:
You betcha... Just wearing and rewearing the same things. Comfort over style these days! I've gotta be extra careful to not show too much skin at work cuz my belly tends to stick out the bottom of some of my maternity shirts now...
Stretch marks:
Unfortunately... And they are getting worse, I'm afraid...
Have you started to show yet:
Yes... Enormously
Belly button in or out:
Out
Symptoms:
A few belly cramps here and there, a big belly, big feet, feel like I have to pee ALL the time (even when I really don't), constricted breathing at times, what I think is slight pregnancy carpal tunnel (yes, that's a thing!)... Still happy as a clam, though!
Aversions:
None really... I just can't eat as much these days, so not everything sounds good at times...
Movement:
I feel her move around quite a lot. Sometimes she gets little twitches or hiccups but other times, she's just tumbling around in there (with what room she has left anyway)
Labor signs:
None that I'm aware of
Mood:
My mood is good, I just feel tired and like my body hates me at times and I'm sure that shows on the outside occasionally.
Sleep:
Getting up every few hours to pee most nights (I did sleep the whole night one night last week, though!) Sometimes my breathing still gives me issues, but most nights I can fall asleep pretty well. The mornings come way too early, though!
Dreams:
I had one that had a bunch of random people in it... our auditors at work, Trent, people that I haven't talked to since college, etc. I was at work and then we were in some desert-type place... none of it made sense...
Miss anything:
Wearing comfortable clothes, not feeling like my belly is going to burst open at times, being able to move without it being a huge effort!
Gender prediction:
I think a boy still, I think, but we've been talking about our girl name so much lately that that gets me thinking that it's a girl!
Names:
We have names but have recently started discussing our girl name again because we aren't sure if the one we picked is going to work...
Best moment of the week:
We're still getting packages of things I've ordered about every other day, so it's been fun to really feel like we're getting ready! The car seat base for Trent's car came this week as well as some bottles and our monitor (which Trent set up on Friday when he was off work!!). I already feel like our house is being taken over by baby stuff, but I am pretty sure that's just going to be the way our lives are from here on out! (And that's just fine with me!)
I also got to be pretty darn lazy on Saturday, which was pretty nice. I slept in real late and then continued to lay on the couch for most of the next four hours or so... The dogs and I had a nice, restful day! Nursery Things:
Trent helped me to hang up our book ledges (there was no way I would have been able to do that on my own like I had thought!) and I got other things hung up on the walls and ready to go! I'm still working on what's going on the shelf above the dresser and have more things to hang on the wall with the book ledges, but it's coming along!
Looking forward to:
Our ultrasound and appointment on Friday. Looking forward to seeing how the baby has grown and hear what our doctor thinks about everything.
Also looking forward to getting our to-do list done (well maybe not actually doing what's on the list, but I'm excited to have it all done). We've got a pretty good list going of things that we need to do to get ready for the baby to arrive like put the car seat in the car, wash bottles and things like that, finish hanging what I have already in the nursery, wash the rest of the baby clothes, and get the guest rooms ready for people to come to town when baby arrives!
I've officially been working on this post for probably six months... and I'm finally finished with it now that it's almost time for this baby to make his or her appearance! I'm just happy I got it done before the baby decided to join us!
If you don't want to see pictures of plastic sticks I've peed on, you can stop reading now :)
This is a compilation of how Trent and I found out we were having a baby and a few short stories of how we told some of our family!
Trent and I found out on a Tuesday morning (December 9 to be exact) that I was pregnant. We had decided the night before that the next morning would take a test. For some reason, I went to Target the night before and, while I was there, I decided to just pick up another pregnancy test or two (I must have just had one at home). I stood there in the aisle with the pregnancy tests and just stared at them all for a while, a few people came and went from the aisle while I stood there and picked up and put down several of the boxes. One girl in particular walked down the aisle and picked up something then walked behind me and left around the corner. A second or two later, she popped back around the corner and said, "Just buy the digital one. You won't regret it." I laughed and thanked her for her advice, picked up one of the digital ones, and was on my way!
Tuesday morning, Trent and I woke up like normal. He went downstairs to handle the dogs and I woke up and went into the bathroom to get in the shower. I took the non-digital test and took it (because I decided it would be less devastating to just not see a pink line rather than have the words "NOT PREGNANT" stare back at me!). After I peed on the stick, I laid the test on the counter and stood over it and watched as the control line darkened up and then slowly - oh so slowly - I watched the faintest pink test line show up. I did a little hop-skip and jumped in to the shower with a huge smile on my face!! I said a huge thank you to God because I know that this was all His doing!
After a few minutes in the shower, I had to check the line again, so I jumped out in the middle of the shower to take another look. It was darker by that time and I couldn't believe it! I pranced right back into the shower to finish. (And the test is still sitting on the shelf in the bathroom - before this, I would have said that's kind of gross, but I love seeing it every day and remembering how that moment felt!!)
I don't think I have ever showered so fast in my life. I washed my hair and shaved (and got out to check the test) all in ten minutes! (And if you know me, you know that's super fast!) I was just so excited to go down and tell Trent the news!
After I was all out of the shower and dried off, I put on my robe and scurried down the stairs to tell Trent. He was in the kitchen leaning on the island eating some cereal. I stood in the doorway between the dining room and the family room and said with a big smile on my face, "I'm pregnant!" I think he said something like "no way" or "you're kidding" or something! (I wouldn't kid about something like that) So I went up to him to show him the test so he could see it for himself!
We both just kind of laughed and he gave me a cute shocked/happy/what did we just do? face...
Then I ran back upstairs to finish getting ready for the day - smiling the whole time!
Before I left for work, I had to pee again, so I decided to use one of the digital tests I had bought the night before. Before long, there was the word "Pregnant" EEEEE!!!
I sent a picture of it to Trent as I was leaving for work just so he had more confirmation that this was real! His reaction made me smile again!
I called the doctor's office as soon as they opened at 8 to make an appointment for blood tests and to make our first prenatal appointment.
Throughout the day, it was kind of crazy talking to people at work - we'd just be talking about normal, every day things, like we would do any other day and I would be thinking in my head, "They have no idea my whole world just changed!" That was a pretty crazy feeling and it went on like that with everyone we talked to for a few months before we felt comfortable to start telling people!
It's been a pretty crazy, fun and exciting 7 months since we found out, but I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever loved Trent more than during this time!! He's such an amazing husband and I can't wait to experience being parents with him!
The first people we told here Trent's parents and we actually didn't even mean to tell them! We had decided that we weren't going to tell our parents until about mid-January, after we had our first OB appointment, but we knew it might be difficult to do that since we'd be with them for many days at a time during the holidays. Despite the challenge, we decided that would be the best thing to do.
We got to Trent's parents' house on Friday night and by the time Monday rolled around, I had turned down wine and Dr. Pepper and then actually accepted some wine at Trent's grandma's but then had Trent chug it for me while hiding out of site from everyone!
We sat down for supper on Monday evening and the conversation turned to kids for one reason or another. Trent and I instantly looked at leach other and couldn't stop smiling. Then something was said to the effect of "What do you think the timeline is on that?" and after a few moments of hesitation, Trent stutters out "....uh... August?"
Then there were a few confused looks exchanged by Trent's parents followed by one of them saying "What? Are you pregnant?" and me hitting Trent on the arm and saying "Did you really just say that?"
After that, there were hugs and tears and smiling and lots more to talk about!!
Later that night Trent asked me if telling them was all I had imagined it to be and I told him that it was even better than I had imagined! I love surprises and that was the biggest and best surprise that I was able to be surprised about while being able to surprise other people at the same time! There was no anticipation or nervousness going init to, it just happened and it was great!
Since we let the news slip to Trent's parents before we had intended to, we made a plan to tell my mom as well while we were visiting for Christmas. We didn't want to tell her until we were alone with her, so that meant we had to wait several days until everyone else was gone from her house.
Finally, on Sunday, right after Kellsey and Wade left to go home, we had a chance to tell her, so that's what we did with the first chance we got. We had her come to the table and said we had one final present for her. She asked if it was going to make her cry. I don't remember if I said "probably" or "maybe" but really, I knew she was going to... :)
In my mom's newspaper, she does a little section called "Grandma's Brag Book" that has a picture of a grandma with her grandchildren and a little caption explaining who's in the picture and things like that. Since this will be my mom's first grandchild, I decided to make my own little "Grandma's Brag Book" column to give to her since she'll be in the "Grandma Club" now.
I was planning on doing it up nice and making it look like it would in the paper, but since our plans to tell our parents got moved up by a few weeks, I had to improvise. I just used a piece of paper and on the front put "Grandma's Brag Book" and then on the inside, I put our ultrasound picture in there along with a caption that I made up. Since it's been six months since this happened, I've had my mom make up what it may have looked like had I been prepared:
When my mom opened it she looked super shocked and asked if it was for real and started crying. We couldn't tell if it was a happy cry or a mortified cry or sad cry or what... she assures us it was a very happy cry - she was just caught off guard haha.
I also had wrapped up a Christmas bulb ornament that we had found at my Grandma and Grandpa's a few days before when we were out there. It said "Grandma's Make Every Day a Holiday" on it. I just thought it was appropriate since that pertained to her now too!
It was nice to be able to have my mom know so she could understand when I had to leave the kitchen to go lay down or know why I didn't want to eat some things. I don't think she loved having to keep the secret, though!
We had to be sure to make a trip home to see my brother and his girlfriend in person to tell them our good news because we didn't have any get-togethers planned. We were on a tight time frame and we actually had to go out to out to their house and pry them out of bed to get them to come out to the living room with us so we could tell them the news.
I didn't have any real big clever way to tell them (and I think that coming out and saying it is a little awkward in itself) so I was nervous to have to actually say it out loud.
So, after we were all sitting in the living room, I said, "A few months ago, Trent and I decided we were going to try and have a baby... So we tried... And now we're having one"
And that was that!
Both of their first words were "I knew it!"
I'm not convinced that they really "knew" at the right time, but I'm sure they had their suspicions. :)
We stopped and told Nick and Doreen our news right before we had gone out to tell Jared and Kenzie.
My mom said she wanted to bring along the "Grandma" ornament that we had given to her when we told her and use that to tell them the news, so when we walked in, she stood by them and said, "Do you want to see what Trent and Kendra gave to me?"
Then she got the ornament out and showed it to them and as soon as they had a chance to read what the ornament said, the celebration began. I'm pretty sure they had their suspicions because it was kind of random that we had made a point to be sure they were going to be home and ready for us to come see them that early on a Saturday morning (and they kept looking at me and smiling when my mom asked them if the wanted to see what we got her), but it was still good to get the news out in the open!
Towards the end of January, all of Trent's family gathered at our house to celebrate Trent's parent's anniversary, so that was the perfect opportunity to tell Trent's sister and her family.
I had just recently finished a gallery wall that is on our dining room wall that has our parents' and grandparents' wedding pictures on it. It also had a current family picture of us and then I had one leftover frame. I decided to put one of our ultrasound pictures in the extra frame before they arrived at our house and just wait until someone noticed the picture.
Right after everyone arrived, we all sat down for lunch at the dining room table. Towards the end of lunch, I saw Trent's sister look at the wall for a little bit, she then looked at Trent's mom and then back to the wall and then she looked at me and asked "What is that picture of?"
I smiled and kind of nervously laughed and then said, "That's a picture of our baby."
After the initial shock wore off, there were tears and smiles and happiness and much more to talk about!! We even got to go to Pottery Barn Kids that day and look at cribs and chairs and other fun stuff like that! :)
Grandma and Grandpa Kock (and Uncle Dan and Alex, too!)
We made a trip one Saturday to tell people that we hadn't seen since Christmas time because we didn't want to wait any longer to share our news! Our first stop was in Westside where we had breakfast at my mom's with Grandma and Grandpa Kock, Dan and Alex, and Jared. We ate and then before it was time for us to leave and go to our next stop, we gave Grandma and Grandpa the card below.
I don't think they saw it coming either so I think they were surprised and excited :)
The second stop on our trip was up to Webster City to tell Trent's Grandma. She thought we were just coming up to have lunch with her, which, of course, would always be a good enough reason to make the trip, but this was extra special!
We arrived and chatted for a little while at her house and then right before it was time to head out to eat, Trent gave me that "Well... just tell her already!!" look. I don't know why I get so nervous to tell people, but I think it's the whole just coming out and saying it thing that makes me feel all weird about it!
So finally, I just said, "We have something to tell you." (Or Trent said it, I don't 100% remember - I was too nervous!) and she guessed it right away!! There were hugs all around and she was super excited for us! It gave us plenty to talk about over lunch and definitely made it okay that I mostly just had cheeseballs at lunch :)
Our final stop on our trip around the western half of Iowa was to see Kellsey and Wade. We were supposed to have supper with them, but there was a bad storm coming (which we ended up driving home in) and I really don't think I could have ate any more that day anyways after a big breakfast in Westside and lunch in Webster City! So we just ended up stopping by their apartment for a little while to tell them.
I knew since Christmas time how I wanted to tell Kellsey because I knew that she would really appreciate it and get it. :)
Around Christmas, Old Navy had a commercial with Julia Louis-Dreyfus where she has what she thinks should be her nieces' and nephews' "favorite present from their favorite aunt" and it's a horse named Esteban! Kellsey and I quoted that commercial a few times over Christmas, so I then knew what I was going to do to tell her we were having a baby!
You can see the commercial here if you don't know what I'm referring to:
I bought a little white horse and wrapped him up with a ribbon and a tag that said "Esteban" on it and gave it to Kellsey with a note that said, "So you can try to be the favorite aunt in August."
I think it's safe to say that she was pretty surprised when she opened the gift and realized what it was for. I was so happy that she was surprised because I was afraid she was onto us!! (Wade said he knew, so I'm glad he didn't tell either! haha)
We usually have lunch with Joce once a week, so we were going to use that time one week to tell her the news. The week that we planned on telling her, Betsy (her roommate) was going to come and have supper with us as well. We weren't quite ready to tell people outside of family yet, so we had to try to figure out a way to tell Jocelyn alone.
We decided we'd invite her over for supper the night before our official "family supper" was planned for that week. We told her Trent was making enchiladas and that she should come have some. She got kind of suspicious and said she felt like she was being trapped and we were going to tell her some bad news. She said she thought we were going to tell her we were moving or something like that.
So, when I got home from work and told Trent that Jocelyn was onto us and suspecting some sort of news, of course he played right into that. When she got to our house, he told her that we were moving. He said he got a job in Wisconsin and was moving in two weeks and that I was going to stay back in Omaha until we sold our house and then join him. Trent did all the talking because there was no way that I was going to get anything out without ruining it. So I just stood there and watched her get really sad and upset and then finally just say, "Well, let's just eat so I can go home cuz I don't like this." or something like that!
It didn't take long for us to tell her we were just kidding and to tell her that we DID have some news to share though. I then told her that we were going to have a baby!! Of course, there was some hesitation in her believing us since we had just got done tricking her into thinking some other big news was real, but soon enough, we got her to believe us and she was super excited!
I did feel a little bad about the little roller coaster of emotions we had brought her on :) But it was still fun!
I decided to tell my Aunt Barb and my cousins on my mom's side at our annual girls weekend that we had in February. We all met in Des Moines at a nail place and I had my mom show up with a T-shirt on that read "Great Moms Get Promoted to Grandmas"
As soon as she walked in and took off her coat, my cousin, Molly, noticed it and asked which one of us was pregnant, either Kellsey or myself! She sure has eagle eyes :)
We had a fun weekend all hanging out together and I even got to do my first shopping for some maternity clothes! Turns out my cousin's wife, Steph was also pregnant at that time! I'm sure that wasn't a fun secret for her to have to keep while we were talking about me being pregnant too!
The last family members that I got to tell were Grandma and Grandpa Jons. Millie and I actually made a stop to see them at the nursing home one weekend and told them the news.
It was nice to see them both smile when we told them! It isn't always easy to get a smile out of Grandma, so that really made me happy. She even told us a little about what she remembered about being pregnant. :)
I am still hoping to see them one more time before the baby arrives so they are able to see how big I've gotten, but we'll see if I make it out of Omaha before then!!
There were several other family members and friends that we wanted to be able to tell ourselves, but we just didn't have the chance to see before we thought the news would get out, so we either texted them or called them or sent them messages to share the good news. Everyone was very happy for us and it was always fun to share it with more and more people!
And now, here we are, a month away from the date when this baby is due to join us out here on the outside of my belly and then we'll have some even better news to share with everyone!! I just can't wait :)
There's so much to write about Samuel's first few days (and about the day he arrived), but for now, I'll just share a few of the pictures that I have from right after Samuel was born. We are so in love!!
