Our Little Bundle

Mark and I are expecting our first little one!  Our little bundle of joy is expected to come July 6 and we couldn't be happier!  We have been so excited to let everyone know our exciting news...because we are pretty thrilled ourselves :)

This whole experience has definitely been a whirlwind of emotions, as I am sure it will continue to be.  Mark and I are so happy to be starting our family together.  I love that boy more and more everyday.  We are so grateful for this little bundle to be on their way.  There are days when it truly doesn't seem real to me at all.  It is hard to imagine that another little person is growing inside of you.  What a blessing...

The only downer is that me and the little one's bodies seemed to take awhile to "get along" with each other.  I hit six weeks and I felt pretty much useless to the world.  Pretty much all I could do was move from the bed to the couch.  It was kind of a miserable experience.  Any movement at all was no fun and, well we'll just put it this way, I am fairly positive I watched EVERY movie we own (thank goodness we have a lot!). 

To be completely honest, there were definitely days when I didn't quite know if I ever wanted to do this again.  I hated having those thoughts but it is hard to keep your motivation and optimism when you've gone days without even drinking because you can't keep anything down.  It was pretty sketchy for awhile but we made it through. 

Mark was such a trooper.  I can honestly say that I never heard him complain once.  I couldn't do anything to help him with his life (no lunches to take to school, no dinners, no grocery shopping...I think you get the picture) and I felt guilty that he had to worry about preparing for his finals and take care of me.  What a guy!  He was so sweet about everything and tried so hard to help make me feel as comfortable as I could be.  I definitely couldn't have done it without him. 

One of the best Christmas presents I received was the restoration of my good health.  Ever since Christmas night I have felt so much better.  It has been such a blessing to be able to interact and just do things once again.  It has given me such a different perspective on things and I am so grateful for good health once more.  And at least now I know there is an end to the all-day sickness, weeks 6-12 = no fun, but I am completely aware that it will be ALL worth it.  I wouldn't trade this little one for the world. 

Another great early present that we received was to see and hear our little one for the first time.  Before we left for Utah we had our first ultrasound and were able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time.  What an experience...I don't really know how to describe it other then it was a pretty amazing.  We did have to laugh because our little one was bouncing all over the place!  To describe it in one word, it was adorable!  Maybe I won't think it's quite as adorable once I can feel them moving, but it was pretty cute watching them.  The most important thing is that our little one is healthy.  That's exactly what we want. 

Unfortunately, after we have told our family we then almost immediately have to follow up on all of the little "fibbs" we have said over the last couple months.  The biggest fib of all is my "work life."  The day after I got my job, Mark and I found our this wonderful little person was coming.  I had been feeling fine and didn't have any reason to think that it wouldn't continue.  However, within a week I was already feeling pretty queasy but it was bearable.  But after working six days - yes, I said six days - I could barely even sit up, let alone walk around to the different classrooms I worked in.  I had called in sick - with the "flu" - for two days and was only getting worse, so Mark and I decided it would be best to let them know the situation.  I wanted so badly to be able to at least go down to the school and talk with them because they had done so much for me already, but it just wasn't a possibility with how I was doing.  So I ended up talking with the vice principal (whom I had been working with mostly) and she was supportive.  She had just had her first child this last summer so understood the situation and just said to take care of me and the baby and not worry about the rest.  Such a blessing to have them be so nice about it all, but it left me feeling pretty guilty for awhile still. 

Mark and I laugh about it now, but it is funny how things work out.  I tried for three months to find a job with no luck and then I had three different positions open for me within a week.  I accepted one, and within another week and a half I was unable to perform the job!  Uggg...kind of cruddy timing, but it was an interesting and definitely "eye-opening" experience, however short it was, and I am grateful for that. 

We were able to tell our families for Christmas about our little bundle of joy.  This will be the first little grand baby in my family and the nineteenth in Mark's family.  Unfortunately, Mark doesn't have anymore grandparents on his side but I still have most of mine.  It will be the first great-grand baby on one side and the twenty-third on another.  Crazy crazy!

I could probably ramble on and on about all the different aspects of our excitement for our little one but I will close it up for now.  I am excited that we can finally talk about what's really going on in our lives once again.  Thirteen weeks down, twenty-seven to go!