My life has been pretty crazy lately. I’ve had the two biggest life changes that have pretty much ever happened to me and I have been waiting to share all the news with you. You all know by now that we are homeowners. Well, no lie, two weeks after we closed on the house I found out I was pregnant!!! Pretty much all I’ve been doing since I found out is giving praise to God because clearly there is a plan and I just needed to be patient. All the things I’ve been stressing about and planning for since we got married, happened to me in a two-week span. Our house came together so quickly. The market where we live is so competitive and we were runner-up to no lie four houses including a teardown, a foreclosure where the previous owners had gutted every appliance before they left and a few other heart breakers. This house we are currently in was a total dream home. It fit everything on my checklist. The school system, a backyard, close to the water, a bedroom/full bathroom on the first floor, and a garage (a three car for that matter unheard of in the city!) Plus plenty of room to accommodate our at home businesses, family/friends staying with us, and now an expanding family. Mark and I had looked at it on a Wednesday and an offer was placed on that Friday. It was definitely a slow process of moving in and I look back now thinking about crawling around on the wood floors painting baseboards and I’m so happy that part is behind us.
Two weeks after we closed I was going through the monthly possible hype of maybe this is the month but didn’t think too much about it because the previous month we had been crazy with the house and it wasn’t the first priority on my list. You all know me, I’m a bit OCD/Type A…..tracking my temps and all. I woke up with cramps but nothing else and I thought it was odd. I rolled my eyes at myself because I still wanted to check and used one of the cheapie pregnancy tests and hoped in the shower. When I came out I saw the faintest line that looked like an evaporation line. I shook my head and pretty much talked aloud like a crazy person and said, “there is no way possible“. For as many of those tests I have taken throughout this entire time we have been trying, I have NEVER seen anything but one line on a stark slate of white. (Btw these are the cheapie ones I used that showed something on day 28 of my cycle. They are so worth it). I drove to work and called my sister to ask her if there was such a thing as an evaporation line. She responded with “you know you work at a hospital, just go and get a blood test“. Well, that is what I did and ordered it stat. I sat there constantly refreshing my screen to see the results. When I saw it come back with a positive result and my HCG already up above 100, I immediately teared up. We had been “not preventing” ever since we got married well over two years ago and nothing was happening. I am the youngest of six kids, my siblings all have multiple kids and with ZERO difficulties getting pregnant. I would be lying to you if I said I wasn’t getting nervous about what was going on with us.
When you are going through it, everyone tells you to relax. Don’t think about it. Go on vacation, drink a ton and just let things happen. Then you hear every story about someone’s cousins, sister in laws best friend who was trying for two years and then they started looking at adopting…..then they got pregnant. Or someone had been trying for years and they went to Cancun, was drunk the whole time and hooray now they are pregnant. I know people are trying to give you hope and encouragement but everyone has a different path in life and story to their life. I am completely Type A. I was temping my cycles, using the Ovia app (which is the best btw) and trying to give us the best opportunity every month. I took Mucinex, I tracked my symptoms etc and nothing was happening. I’m sure I was stressing myself out and everyone around me (including Mark) but being a planner is all I know.
I think there was a plan for Mark and I. We needed to be settled with the next stage of our lives which was getting out house and finally having a space that we built together. I can’t think of anything more stressful than being pregnant and trying to find a home in this crazy market that we live in. I’ve had a lot of girlfriends reach out to me lately about trying to conceive. Here are a few things I will say. Stay off all of the TTC boards. Every single month I convinced myself I was pregnant. Ohhh I’ve had vivid dreams, I’m sneezing more, I have a runny nose, my boobs feel bigger, I have slight cold symptoms that must be because my immune system is suppressed from being pregnant. You can find anything you want to convince yourself of it. The actual month where I was pregnant, the only symptoms I had were cramps. Cramps like I was getting my period. I had ZERO other symptoms. I thought I was getting my period and nothing came. That was it. No stuffy nose, no sneezing, nothing else. Those forums are such crap and will DRIVE YOUR NUTS. The only thing I can say is just to have faith there is a plan and time for you. The more you stress about it, the more you are going to drive yourself and everyone else around you crazy.
Love pieces like this that aren’t maternity but helping me to transition! Also ordered in this color
The other thing I will say is if you are trying, get your Vitamin D levels checked. Mine were critically low. Like Ricketts low I swear. I never go out in the sun, sunscreen myself up like crazy….aka I get no Vitamin D from the suns natural rays. I read a lot of studies (of course I did) about increasing fertility odds when women had normal Vitamin D levels so I made sure to start taking one. I actually took two of these daily and my Vitamin D levels came up to high normal in 6 months.
So my due date is December 19th, 2017. I am 17 weeks now. You may kill me but I really have had minimal symptoms. No morning sickness, no nausea, and no issues with smells. The only thing I have noticed different is I’M SO TIRED. The first trimester I pretty much felt like I had Mono every single day. I can’t even express to you the extreme fatigue. Like your body is so heavy, you can’t move it, and all you want to do is sleep 24 hours a day. I would come home from work, sleep for 2-3 hours and still go to bed at 9 pm. I’m feeling better now in my second trimester but still, I am zapped for energy. This has been difficult for me since I am a teach barre after work, write blog posts, and grade papers up till I fall asleep. I’ve had to give myself a lot of grace to allow myself to get the sleep that I need and know that it will all get done…..eventually. I’m drinking a ton of water and have switched over to one half caff a day. These Nespresso pods have been a life changer. They have 60mg of caffeine in them, they have actually liberalized caffeine intake during pregnancy to up to 200mg a day. I feel comfortable with my one half caff.
I cannot believe nobody called me out in this picture. I mean hello what I’m newly working with up top. Dress from Amanda Uprichard find here
I have been secretly saving bloggers pregnancy must haves (thank you, Ashley, I am ordering these shorts soon). I am still in regular clothes but have a feeling a few maternity pieces may need to be added. I have to remind myself constantly that I’m growing a little human. Since I work in cardiology I’m around fabulous sonographers that I once in a while check in to make sure there really is someone in there. We are finding out what we are having but I already have a feeling of what it is going to be. Stay tuned I will be sharing that soon. Thank you for sticking around for this majorly lengthy post but I feel like I owed you guys a life update. I waited a lot longer than most I feel like to share the news but I wanted to make sure everything was okay before I dropped this major news. I can’t wait to share my pregnancy style hacks and to share this journey with you! Thank you for all the love and support as always. xoxoxo
I’m still over the moon so excited for you!!! You are going to be one fabulous mama!
Congratulations girl!!!! So unbelievably excited for you! And not going to lie, I may or may not have mentioned to B that I thought you might be pregnant a few weeks ago but since you didn’t confirm it I just thought I was crazy haha! <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes
I’m so so excited for you and that it’s finally “out” Gary and I can’t wait to see you and Mark this weekend and celebrate :) You both are going to be fabulous parents! xo, Biana –BlovedBoston
I swear I have some intuition about this… I seriously knew this news was coming any day!!! I am over the moon for you! You are going to be the most gorgeous preggo and the best mommy. There is nothing better in the entire world! Xoxoxo
Congrats again!!!!! I am so so so happy for you!!!!!! The amount of tiredness you feel while pregnant is so ridiculous, right??? I felt like mine never went away except for like two weeks in the second trimester. I just knew I was carrying a girl, I’m interested to hear what you think and I can’t wait to hear conformation. Cue all the baby clothes!!!!! Obviously there was a plan for you and it seems to be coming together beautifully!!! You know where to find me if you have any pregnancy or baby related questions since I’m literally a year ahead and having just gone through all this :)
Congratulations!! SO happy for you and Mark :) You are going to be amazing parents!!! Looking forward to seeing your maternity style :)
Congratulations! So exciting! I was exhausted during my first trimesters too. Your energy will come back! And the nesting energy in the third trimester is crazy– it’s a real thing! Congratulations again! No doubt you will rock motherhood!
I forgot to say that we bought a house and moved when I was 6 weeks pregnant with our first. It was the craziest time! But, we survived, and like you said, it was meant to be that we would be settled into our house before he was born. It will all work out!
Oh my gosh, Amanda I am SO excited for y’all!! Seriously, my heart is so happy right now and I can’t wait to follow along on your pregnancy journey. That peplum top will last you so long and the shorts I swear by. Totally feel you on the changes up top… I can’t believe how big mine have gotten haha. Just wait, they’re going to keep growing!
so exciting! congratulations to you both! it def happens when it’s supposed to as much as we’d like to control it all. it seems like everything is working out so perfectly though! yay!
xoxo cheshire kat
Omg I had a slight feeling when you said you had news to share. So so happy for you. I’m 20 weeks and the exhaustion is no joke. Sending you love and strength. Congratulations!!!!
I am so happy for you! And I am struggling with the issues of “waiting” on both things right now – thank you for the reminder to have faith and relax!
Im sooooo happy for you. And… I kinda had a feeling from that very pic hehe
Oh my goodness, Amanda! That’s a lot to go through in a short amount of time – you’re handling everything so well! Congratulations to you and the husband. Your little babe lucked out in the parent department!!
Wishing you lots of grace and energy in the upcoming months!! XO
EEEEEPPP! Yay! I so had a feeling this was coming, I don’t know why. I am beyond thrilled for you sweet friend. Thank you so much for sharing everything you did in this post. I know many women will appreciate how open you are about the past two years. Congrats on the new house and cheers for being all moved in with baseboards done before pregnancy ;)! Love your blog and I know you work hard here, but make sure you give yourself some grace during this new stage of life. We will be here for ya if you ever need a break xoxo!
A house and a baby!?! So excited for you two and I truly believe things happen when they’re supposed to and sounds like timing was just right. Congrats!!!!
xo, Kristina
yay yay yay so excited for you and mark!!!!
Congratulations!!! Such an exciting time!!
CONGRATS! Everything is coming together all at once, so exciting! And girlllll that exhaustion is epic, seriously no joke! But can we talk about how insanely jealous I am that you didn’t experience nausea? That too was no joke, but so glad mine dissipated around weeks 11-12. I’m thinking Team Blue, and cannot wait for the next announcement <3
Green Fashionista
Soooo happy for you! I didn’t realize you’d been trying since you guys got married – so many people tell me once they stop thinking about it, it happens. So excited for you!
Congrats! That’s seriously so exciting, and you look great! The fatigue during the first trimester is seriously no joke, and hopefully you’ll start to get some more energy soon!
So happy for you and Mark! What exciting news and a special time in your life. I agree that God definitely has a plan when it comes to that part of life – it will be so fun to follow along on your new journey!
Yay!!! So excited for you guys and I seriously can’t wait to follow along – the first trimester tiredness and moving while pregnant are no joke haha so hopefully you’re getting plenty of time to relax! What a sweet treat, baby right in time for the holidays!
Oh my heavens, best post today for sure! Congrats y’all! And that pink dress totally agreed with you! Cheers to 17 weeks! Xo
Congrats!!!! Such exciting news!!!!
I’m so excited for you! Looking forward to following along. Hopefully you’ll get a little barre baby! ;)
Yay, yay, yay! This is the best news ever and I totally knew it! Is that weird? I was thinking the other day, I bet Amanda is pregnant! I’m so happy for you!!!!
Soooo beyond excited for you!!! After going through infertility I HATE it when people say “relax”. Congrats!!! You all will be such great parents. Cannot wait to follow along in your pregnancy and journey. You look amazing!
Amy Ann
Straight A Style
Oh my goodness! Congratulations!
So so so excited for you!! I know you are going to be the BEST mama and this little babe is already so lucky to have you!
Couldn’t be happy for you & Mark!! Congratulations!!!
You two are going to be amazing parents!!
We love you! ???
That is such amazing news, congrats on your sweet baby coming in Dec!
I totally thought you were wearing a padded bra in that pink dress the first time, I noticed that,especially since we have had chest size discussions before, lol! SO EXCITED FOR Y’ALL! You are going to be great parents and this will be such a wonderful experience. Are y’all finding out the sex?
Congrats again!! I’m glad that things have worked out – exactly how they needed to!! It’s going to be great to not have to move mid-pregnancy! Timing is everything. I must have missed that pink picture because I’ve been on baby watch. I just sensed it. ;)
CONGRATS such exciting news!! So much happening all at once but as you said, God has a plan for you, Mark and the baby peanut!
I’m just so excited for you! You are so right-timing is everything! Also, I’m pretty amazed you barely had any symptoms in the first trimester-I could barely function! lol
Ahhh I am so excited for you! Congratulations! Also my sister-in-law’s due date is Dec 19th too! How funny!!! PS totally never heard of the Mucinex thing and had to look it up haha! Good to know!
<3 Shannon
Upbeat Soles
That is wonderful news, congratulations! I totally know what you mean about the TTC boards and obsessing about “symptoms”, lol! I have done that to myself far too many times. We’re still waiting on our little miracle, but thanks for the encouragement! :)
This is such amazing news and I am so thrilled for you both ♥ Congratulations!
Congratulations! Being a parent is the best and pregnancy is so fun! I can’t wait to see how you continue to balance it all, you’re such an inspiration! ❤️
Congratulations!!! So happy for you!!! Such an exciting journey! And a new home to bring your new baby home too!! Enjoy every minute!!!
Congrats! I’m so happy for you and Mark. Parenthood is the most incredible journey!
LITERALLY CRYING I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!! Being a mom is the best best best thing ever!!
Just catching up and saw this post! So happy for you! I can 100% relate to you about all of the thing people say they “know” works like relaxing, taking a vacation, and the most absurd of all, adopting & then getting pregnant – SMH! Anyway, sounds like you’ve got a lot of exciting things happening for you! Glad you’re feeling well! My pregnancy was an absolute breeze as well!
i know i’ve already said congrats, but congrats again! i can’t imagine how stressful everything was for you. i am so happy for you and can’t wait to hear all about everything!
Oh my goodness!! I am so late to this party!! Congrats lady!! It’s seriously the most exciting time of your life!!! You look fabulous btw!!