It's a....

I mentioned in my last blog that prior to finding out I was pregnant, that I had a dream that I was pregnant and it was a boy. Upon finding out I was pregnant, I just KNEW the whole time that this little thing growing I my tummy was a little dude.

From the get go, I felt pretty good overall. Throughout the day I didn't have much of an appetite, but I wasn't sick. I could stomach a few things (applesauce, Cheerios, tortilla chips) but really, that was all I wanted. I lost nearly ten pounds in the beginning of my pregnancy just because I really wasn't hungry. My evenings were a different story. It was like my body knew I was on my way home from school, and when it was I started feeling like poo. Every day I would come home to my couch nest and just crash. I'd be exhausted, and I usually was just super nauseous. I can't tell you how many times I told Jack just to go get Zaxbys- it was all I could stomach for dinner. You can see I looked trim and tone at the start! The only thing big was my boobs. Ohhh pregnancy boobs.

Come to find out, my sister Carly actually craved Zaxbys. This confirmed even more what I suspected- BOY! I even began calling the baby by the boy name we had picked out and referred to the baby as "he" or "him." Jack did NOT like this because he's been Team Girl from day one! Other things that confirmed my suspicions were that I only craved salty foods! (And still do- hence I've had onion rings for breakfast the past two days!) Believe it or not, a whole bag of Hershey kisses sat in my desk drawer for three months without being touched. I KNOW. And even then I gave them away to students. I craved vegetables, pickles, French fries- salt salt salt! I also craved some sour things- sweettarts and sour punch straws. (Carly also craved those with Jonah!) My skin was beautiful! Glowing! Never looked better! My hair was lush, shiny, and full of body. My newly appearing bump was forming low. Even the pencil test performed early on indicated boy. I literally convinced myself and everyone it was a sweet little boy!

The first weekend in March I was just over 15 weeks pregnant. My family and Jack's family came in to town so that we could all go to the ultrasound place together and find out if my suspicions were in fact correct. A couple of days prior to this though, I started to have my doubts. I even texted my mom and told her of these doubts.

The morning of March 5 we went to Nashville 3D/4D Baby Ultrasounds. This place was fantastic and I highly recommend them to my local Tennessee friends! The room was huge with a couple of couches and plenty of room for everyone. The screen was up on a huge wall, so there were no straining eyes or necks to get a glimpse of Baby. Finally, the moment of truth was HERE. I have no clue how people wait to find out the gender of their baby. I am a planner. I like to have a game plan. I HAVE TO BE PREPARED! Literally, the very second the ultrasound popped up on the wall, I knew.

I have done extensive research on the skull and nub theory, and the moment I saw the perfectlly rounded head shape I knew what my baby was. It took a second for the ultrasound technician to show everyone the sex, as the cord was between the baby's legs. But a little wiggling and finagling revealed to us our sweet Baby Sadie Reese. We were all thrilled! Seeing the happiness on Jack's face was like no other happy moment I've had in my life. It was such a special moment for us as husband and wife.

Up until this moment I really had not felt this huge, overwhelming bond with my baby. I know it sounds strange and even mean, but really I had only got to see the baby one other time. Then, the baby didn't even look like anything close to human. And we had only heard the heartbeat once at that point. But that day, seeing MY baby, OUR baby, OUR GIRL up on the monitor- I lost it. I literally wept the rest of the ultrasound. I cried so much I got a terrible nosebleed right after. The rest of the day I would tear up or cry at the words "she", "her", "girl", and "Sadie." I was SO emotional. I was super excited to be having a girl, because truly I had no preference but for a healthy baby. However, I felt somewhat grieved because I almost felt as though I "lost" my boy. I know that's strange and most probably won't get that, but I know surely someone out there will! In several pictures from that day I kind of just have this stunned look on my face. I promise promise PROMISE I was happy. :)

That night when everyone was in bed and the excitement of the day was winding down, Jack and I fell into one another's arm and just cried for nearly an hour. Like ugly, had to change the pillow case, nose blowing cry. But it was awesome. Never in my life have I felt closer to someone, and NEVER have I loved another person more. Our sweet, sweet Sadie Reese is the light of our lives and is loved beyond words. Thank you Lord, for this sweet blessing upon us!

How We Found Out We Were Pregnant!

It's been months since we have written a blog, and I'm almost ashamed of myself for letting it go this far! I've been dying to write about our experience of finding out we were pregnant! Here's how it went down:

This past December was probably the most favorite month of my entire life. I had a dream on December 14th that my Aunt Elaine (the foot doctor lady! Haha) walked up to me at church and smelled of my stomach and excitedly exclaimed "You're pregnant!" Yes. Trust me. I know how weird that sounds. VERY! But I woke up that morning rattled, excited, and terrified. I immediately told Jack what I had dreamed and he brushed it off I think. (When you spend $30-50 a month on pregnancy tests....) So I told him I was going to buy a test that morning before work. Surprisingly, we were out except for one digital, but for anyone who has ever tried getting pregnant, you know those digital tests are golden and they are saved.

That morning I stopped at Walmart on my way to school. I immediately started to cry when I got to the pregnancy test section- all their tests were in a lock box! It was already 7:15am and you ALL know how fun it is trying to get help at Walmart on any given day, much less that early in the morning. I left fuming mad and resolved to go after school to the Dollar Tree for some cheapos. Plus, when you live in a small town like us, you have to be VERY careful where you shop for personal things- we have kiddos EVERYWHERE. I stopped by Dollar Tree on my way home. Y'all. Dollar Tree the week before Christmas is the LAST PLACE ON EARTH I will ever be, ever EVER again. Parking lot was full. Some lady cut me off and took the last spot and then cussed at ME for trying to take it from her. I ended up just leaving the parking lot in a heaping, crying mess. (Should have been my first sign- I rarely cry!)  I called Jack and told him I was never going to get to take a test. He promised we would go to the local Walmart that night (late, of course) and get some. And we did. I bought 4 of them. (Hey, you can never be too sure!)

My bubble was quickly burst when he took the tests from me and said "but you're not taking them until the morning." Hmmmph. Fine. The next morning I woke up excited. I did my thing and dropped the sample in the little window. Literally within seconds, I saw two lines. I thought "This thing is wrong." I'd just had a cycle two weeks prior. I wasn't late. I wasn't having ANY symptoms. I had NO reason to test, other than the dream. As I stood there and stared, the lines got darker and darker. Jack was ironing our clothes, and I ran out the bathroom yelling his name. "DO YOU SEE THIS THERE ARE TWO RIGHT I AM NOT CRAZY?!" He took one look, cracked the cutest, sweetest smile and said "Yep. Definitely two." He scooped me up into a huge hug and we both cried like babies for a good minute. It was great, and was a very special moment for both of us. I'm pretty sure I shook and had a goofy grin on my face the rest of the day. I ended up breaking out the digital test I had- Positive. I even stopped at a local Walgreen's and got one of the week estimator tests that tells you how far along you are based on the hormone levels- Positive: 4-5 weeks along. (The 2-3 you see in the picture just means the number of weeks after ovulation.)

How cool to find out a week before Christmas?! We went and bought both our parents a little onsie outfit that said "I Love Grandma & Grandpa" and wrapped them up. We put them with the other presents and on our way we went to Georgia for Christmas. I know I shook the entire way home! I was SO nervous I was nearly sick! We FINALLY told my parents after a Christmas get together. My mom cried, and my dad was super excited. It was a sweet moment! Telling the rest of the family was fun! We told them all the next day and got it on video. It. Was. Hilarious. Everyone was so excited! The next day I had my first food aversion- Sonic cheese sticks. My mom and I stopped to get some while shopping in Commerce, and I nearly puked the whole way home just smelling them. I couldn't even look at them. I am STILL not a big cheese fan! My first craving was salad from the hibatchi restaurants. Ginger dressing. Mmmmm.

We told Jack's parents a week later at their house. His dad was too funny. I swear he stared at me all afternoon and kept saying "You ok? This is really cool! You need anything? You hungry? This is so neat. Feel alright? Can I get you something? I just can't believe this." It was so precious. Now I know where Jack gets it from!

Our first doctor's appointment was on December 28th. I was actually scheduled for an annual checkup and meeting to discuss fertility options that day. However, they were very surprised to find I was already pregnant. A quick ultrasound revealed our little squirt was measuring at almost 6 weeks. Surprisingly, I didn't get emotional. I was OVER THE MOON happy, but I didn't cry! I kind of surprised myself.

I got a journal for Christmas from my mom, and I've been periodically writing letters to baby in it. I DO get emotional writing though. When she gave me my own journal, she also gave me the journal she kept while pregnant with me! It was so sweet to read the stuff she wrote to me and about me. I LOVE it! I hope my baby loves my journal as much as I love that one. So there's our (long) story about how we found out about little Baby Fullerton- due August 24th- my parent's wedding anniversary!