and baby makes three...

When I found out I was pregnant, I really felt like I had won the lottery. I literally ran down the street as Craig was walking to work, waving the positive pregnancy stick in the air, shouting his name. After years of trying, I honestly had resolved to thinking it just wouldn't be in the stars for us. We were well on the adoption route, a year and a half into the process, just in the waiting phases, and were very excited by the prospect of getting matched up with a little baby in the world. Due to adoption rules, we will have to put it in hold. (You can't adopt within a year of having a baby). I think the rules are fair, it gives the new adopted baby a chance to bond with the family without there being so much distraction.

I have the incredible luck of being pregnant at the same time as two of my close friends - we are all due within 7 weeks of one another. It's been wonderful being able to ask them tonnes of questions as the pregnancy progresses and share in this experience together.

I had borrowed my friend's Clearblue Fertility Monitor and within the first month of using it, I got pregnant. The same thing happened for her. I highly recommend this product. I can't guarantee that it was the magic solution or if I had finally relaxed knowing the adoption was close to wrapping up, but if anyone out there is struggling to get pregnant, I think this product is a must try. At my age, and after trying for so long, my doctor said my prospects of getting pregnant naturally (without turning to IUI or IVF) was around 5% a month, so you can imagine how amazed I was that this product helped the first go round. It's easy to use, you simply pee on the ovulation sticks and put them in the monitor and it calculates your precise days of prime fertility. I had used regular ovulation predictor sticks in the past, but this product is more technically precise at pinpointing your exact timing.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I literally couldn't stop smiling. I remember a woman stopped me in Safeway to say, "You look so happy, I've never seen someone smile so much. " I thanked her and told her I had just found out I was pregnant and she congratulated me. It was funny that I revealed my secret to a stranger before our friends and family even knew. I just was caught up in the feeling of it all. 

In the early stages, I went on a hike with some friends. At one point, I was in a section of the hike, with some friends ahead, and some behind, and for a few moments, I was in a beautiful grove of trees on my own. I stood and looked up at the trees and thought, but I'm not alone -I'm sharing this beautiful moment with my little baby inside. It was just one of those great moments that stood out for me.

I have to admit that once the 7 week mark hit, the nausea kicked in big time. I mean, I could have been a double for the girl in the Exorcist whose head spun around as she projectile vomited. There were some days when I couldn't move without vomiting, sometimes six or seven times a day, and was ordered by the doctor to stay home for one week. During those days, I wondered, how do moms look after young toddlers if they are so nauseated in their second pregnancy? My hats are off to those women because I was at a point where all I could do was sleep. Functioning was at an all time low. But I really can't complain, the morning sickness has eased up substantially, to every three days or so now that I'm past the 12 week mark. I know some women who have endured a lot worse than that. They are definitely troopers. 

At this stage of the pregnancy, my food aversions are at an all time high. I can't seem to hold down vegetables yet, and am living off a steady diet of cereal, sandwiches, simple pasta, pizza, sushi (everything but the raw fish), fruit, milk and juice popsicles. Hello carb overload! It's not a well balanced diet by any means at this stage but I'm just focussing on what I can keep down. The other thing I've noticed is an incredible sense of smell. I feel like I could moonlight as a detective's bloodhound. If someone at work puts on hand lotion, I have to go for a walk, the smell almost makes me vomit on the spot. If my hubby puts on cologne, I have to open the window or leave the room. It's crazy how much the sense of smell is heightened. Restaurants are still tricky because of all the different smells. But one thing is for sure, it's all an adventure. 

I find the most fascinating part so far is reading up on what is happening with each stage of the baby's development and what my body is going through. It is really amazing, for example, at this stage of 12 weeks, the baby is already touching their hands together, touching their feet, touching their eyelids, their liver and kidneys are already functioning, it blows my mind that something so tiny already has all of its organs formed. We even got to see the little bean move its arms during the ultrasound - definitely an amazing moment. It really has put me in a position of awe when I think of how amazing the human body is. 

Thank you for taking a moment to read this - it's definitely something I've wanted to share for awhile now. Dreams really can come true. xo