First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage, Then Comes…

Welcome Family and Friends!

Thanks for following along in our journey toward parenthood. I am a little behind in starting this blog so I will try to catch you all up on the past 16 weeks. Here it goes…

About 11 weeks ago I took a test that would change Matt and I’s life forever. After a few weeks of not feeling quite like my normal self, Matt suggested that I make a doctor’s appointment to see what was wrong. I had been busy working a monster proposal for work and was chalking my extreme exhaustion and stomach pains up to overwork and stress. With Matt’s suggestion to see a doctor in the back of my head, I thought maybe I should rule out pregnancy before making the appointment. We had decided a few months earlier to go off birth control with the expectation that it would take 5-6 months before my system got itself on track for baby making.

I decided to take a pregnancy test that afternoon. Funny how such an easy test produces one of the biggest results one will find out in their life. Setting the stick down on the bathroom counter, I went to rest on the bed not really thinking it would show a positive result. Eros, our dog, started nudging me to get up and I figured I should go see what message had appeared on the stick. To my utter shock it said “Pregnant”. I looked again, and again, brought it out into different light, set it down, and looked at it again. Yes, still “Pregnant” the stick read. I really thought my eyes were fooling me. All of the sudden a sense of pure excitement and happiness overwhelmed me. My heart was beating out of my chest as I called Eros into the bedroom to tell him he was going to be a big brother (yes, I am a crazy dog lady, but I had to tell someone!). Matt was a couple hours away from getting off work and I could not WAIT to tell him the news. I paced around the house for the next few hours eagerly waiting for him to come in the door while periodically checking the stick to ensure that it still read “Pregnant.” Finally, he was home and I could share the news.

There are those moments in life that you picture in your head growing up, you see them played out in movies, and they are always perfect. Finding out that we were going to become parents was one of those moments that I had pictured in my head for the past few years, and telling Matt the news as he walked in the door with his hands full of Army gear was not how I had pictured it. But it was perfect nonetheless. He dropped his backpack and looked at me with a big smile on his face. We gave each other a big hug feeling a sense of closeness that cannot be described. Together we had created life.

With an incredibly thankful heart I had entered into a phase of my life that I will never forget: Pregnancy. Sitting here at 16 weeks, I am still undecided if I enjoy being pregnant. While I am thankful everyday for this gift that God has given me, pregnancy has definitely been an adjustment. I am constantly thinking about how my actions will affect little Baby Schardt. Working out, my eating habits, chores around the house, and my body, have all been altered. I was lucky to have a fairly smooth first trimester. I suffered from slight nausea here and there and extreme exhaustion, but don’t have any of the horror stories that some of my friends have shared. The biggest highlight was seeing Baby Schardt on the ultrasound screen at our 8 week appointment. Matt was able to attend with me and as he held my hand we saw a little peanut shaped object appear on the screen with a healthy beating heart. Simply an amazing experience!

8 Week Ultrasound

Now that I am a few weeks into the second trimester, I am starting to feel more like my normal self. My energy is back, and I am starting to enjoy food more. With increased energy has also come increased activity, which has been much needed in my life. It feels good to be able to get back into a workout routine! My body is also slowly starting to take the shape of a pregnant woman. My sister went maternity clothes shopping with me last weekend and it sure does feel good to be wearing some looser fitting clothing. I may or may not wear maternity pants for the rest of my life, or at least every Thanksgiving from here on out :). While watching the “bump” grow is exciting, it has been a bit stressful to see other areas of my body getting larger, but I guess that is all part of the experience.

13 week "bump" (I have popped quite a bit over the past 3 weeks and will post an updated pic soon)

Well, that pretty much covers the past 16 weeks. It has been a whirlwind of emotions and I am so thankful to have my best friend by my side during this experience. My goal is to post a new blog at least once a week throughout the rest of this pregnancy, so stay tuned for plenty of updates, pictures, and stories as Matt and I continue on this journey. I am so thankful and excited to share the experience with all of you!