The story of Eleanora- The exciting beginning

August 16th, 2014- We have been trying to conceive for several months now and pretty much everyone I know has announced that they were pregnant since then- 5 of the bridesmaids from my wedding actually. I'm trying really hard to be excited for them all, but am also feeling discouraged. I know that many couples try to have a baby for YEARS and have to go through much more than we have, so part of me feels like I have nothing to complain about. But regardless, our hearts are aching. I was never the little girl that imagined what my wedding would be like someday or even what falling in love would feel like, but I DID always imagine being a mom. I spent years working in the church nursery, playing with my younger siblings, nieces, and nephews, baby-sitting, teaching, and nannying. I have always longed to use the skills I acquired on my own kids someday. This year, I have done so much research, picked out a car seat, bought 4 boxes of diapers, and have been taking prenatal vitamins for 6 months.  We even bought a special hand-knit hat (from a blind lady on an island off thdays-worth e coast of Ireland) just in case we end up having a daughter.

October 8th, 2014- I have taken 3 pregnancy tests in the past few weeks. The first one was negative, but the second and third were both positive! Which means I'M PREGNANT!

Holy Moly. It still feels surreal and I am, of course, a complete basket-case, praying that I don't miscarry and that nothing goes wrong with the baby... What it comes down to is that it's all in God's hands and I just need to trust in Him and keep doing my part- taking my prenatals, eating healthy, and drinking lots of water. From what I can tell, I am about 5 weeks along and due on June 11th or 12th. My first appointment will be on November 10th, when I'll be 10 weeks along. Hopefully at that appointment we will get to hear the heartbeat and maybe even see an ultrasound picture! We want to wait to tell everyone that we're pregnant for a while. Maybe after my appointment...if we can last that long! :)

Graphic warning: I had a feeling that I was pregnant (but I have had that "feeling" every month for months- haha). I had a little implantation bleeding. Then I started having really unique pelvic cramps. Then I started smelling everything much more intensely. Then my nipples started to get sore. Now I've been sleeping like all the time.

I'm SO EXCITED...I can barely handle it. My brain feels like it might explode from all the research I've been doing. :) I think we have names picked out for both genders (The boys name is a secret because we might still use it eventually. The girl name we originally had decided on was Evelyn Charlotte, but we obviously changed our minds)! Jared was so cute and excited when I announced to him. Because we had spent a lot of our dates playing Scrabble, I set up a Scrabble game on the dining room table while he was at work. It said things like, "Jared, Annah, Dad, Mama, Baby, Surprise, Pregnant." It was super fun.