Joy Amidst Chaos: Pregnancy

At just 7.5 weeks!

I had a pretty easy first trimester (October 26-January 25). Other than feeling miserably bloated my body did not really change that much so I did not take any belly pics. I did make Nic eat many hot dogs in the first trimester and about halfway through I found out that he "didn't like hot dogs until last year". Lies. Poor thing had been struggling through my obsession (though he denies it). There were several instances throughout my pregnancy where I tried to either cook or eat chicken only to end up gagging over it (once in the middle of a restaurant :/). Chicken was a staple pre-pregnancy so it was hard to figure out what to eat. It didn't help that I did not have much of an appetite for anything other than hot dogs! ;) The other things I wanted throughout pregnancy were pickles and ice cream!!

In the first trimester Nic and I celebrated our first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Nic's birthday as a married couple. We decided to share our exciting baby news with our families over Thanksgiving since we would be seeing everyone. We wrapped a onesie that I had stitched "COMING AUGUST 2014" onto and pretended like it was an early Christmas gift for those we would not see at Christmas. So fun! My siblings did not seem surprised but after catching on to what was being unwrapped my mom's jaw dropped and both she and my dad were very (pleasantly) surprised! Nic's oldest brother, Brandon, and his wife, Becca, were not surprised (they actually announced their pregnancy the same night and were due a week before us) and admitted that they thought we may have an announcement! but I think Adam, Jackie, and Nic's parents were all surprised. There was a lot of cheering and Adam may have jumped on the couch in excitement. :) Corey and Sara announced at the Adamson Christmas gathering that they were expecting and due just 4 days after us!

Nic and I went on a fun trip to Asheville from 12/27-12/29 (9 weeks:))

The second trimester (January 26-May 4) brought new growth for baby and me! I started feeling flutters around 17 weeks. I looked forward to this feeling everyday and each time it passed I sat extremely still, willing it to come back again. :) My waistline started expanding and I started wearing maternity pants. Though comfortable at first, I soon learned that maternity clothes are just a nuisance. There is so much cramming and so much situating that goes on...for months and months. And the cramming gets harder and harder. And there is less and less fabric to help situate. And it grows more and more frustrating. Anyway. Maternity clothes are awesome. ;)

2/15/14 (16 weeks)

3/1/14 (18 weeks)

3/22/14 (21 weeks)

3/29/14 (22 weeks)

On March 6 (18.5 weeks) we had our gender ultrasound. We had the last ultrasound appointment of the day so the tech spent extra time with us. It was SO cool and sweet to see our little one kicking around. She was wiggly the whole time and it took the tech several attempts to get some of the measurements! Nic thought he was having a son first so when the tech told us she was 95% sure we were having a GIRL Nic told her he needed her to be 100% positive in order to believe her! She showed him proof. :)

The third trimester (May 5-JULY 23!) was busy! Nic and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary. Nic surprised me with a night at Proximity Hotel and dinner at Printworks. He brought along our wedding guestbook to look through and we were overwhelmed all over again by ALL of the people who love and support us! We spent a weekend in Tanglewood with family, we celebrated my birthday and a wedding (we love the Berry's!), we moved and said goodbye to our first home, went to birthing classes every week for 6 weeks, went to the beach twice, were gifted with a few sweet and special showers, and grew a LOT!