An Announcement Worth Blogging About...

Okay... so not quite a year since the last post... wow, that might be a record :)

So many times, I started to write a new post, but I wasn't exactly sure what to say or know exactly who would even read it. Recently, though, I've had a few requests for updates from sweet friends that we don't get to see enough. As nice as Facebook is for quick posts and random pictures, I guess it doesn't serve as the best place for telling stories and recording memories... This first post might end up being a little long to help us catch up, but here goes...

Although most of you have already probably heard... the Ballards will be a family of 3 this summer! Baby B is due July 22, and we couldn't be more excited! Let's be honest... this blog will probably become mostly about the pregnancy and the wonderful changes our family will be going through to prepare for having a child in our home. Here's a picture from Week 14. My plan is to post a new one every 2 weeks until the 3rd trimester, then every week after that.


Although, I was pretty sure I was pregnant already, I decided to wait and take a pregnancy test on my 26th birthday, November 21. I'm a pretty forgetful person, so I thought that would be a good way not to forget the day we officially found out we were pregnant. I took 2 tests just to make sure, and then left them on the counter for Brian to see. He was excited, and I think we both just said, "Cool, huh?" or something like that. Haha! It was all pretty surreal. I was just over 5 weeks at that point. We had a birthday party for me with my family at the house that night and kept it a secret!

Our original plan was to make an announcement on Christmas Eve to my family, and the night before to Brian's family... But I really wanted to be able to tell them both together, so we planned a graduation party for Brian (yay for no more school!) at our house the weekend before Christmas, on December 19th. Everyone from our immediate families was able to be there, and we couldn't wait to tell them. I had been having morning sickness from right at week 8, and evenings were a hard time for me, so it was difficult keeping it a secret for most of the night. When it was finally time for Brian to open graduation gifts, he said he wanted to thank everyone for their support and encouragement while he was going through school. He said it felt like at this point in our lives we had so many "blessings", and that we had one more "blessing" to tell everyone about. After a pause that felt like a minute, we both yelled "We're having a baby!" Everyone cheered and clapped and hugged... and several people may have been teary-eyed. It was so fun and sweet, and I was so glad I didn't have to keep the secret from my family any longer.

Over the next few weeks, we told the rest of our family members, our friends, and our co-workers.... then made it Facebook official! Everyone was so sweet and excited for us. We were really humbled by all the encouraging words and still covet the prayers from everyone for a healthy pregnancy and upcoming adjustments to life with a baby at home.

Pregnancy-wise... I had morning sickness from about week 8 until week 12. Although, I did feel queasy in the mornings while I was getting ready for work, I felt worse from the late afternoon into the evening. I never actually "got sick", but feeling nauseous for weeks at a time really wears on you. I was extremely tired and, as Brian would attest, I still lack energy in the evenings. I lost a total of about 6 lbs. during that month because I wasn't eating as much as normal. As soon as my morning sickness symptoms started to subside, I started noticing a little belly bump, around week 13. I'm still wearing my normal scrubs to work everyday, but I'm down to only 2 pairs of regular jeans. I broke down and bought a couple of pairs of Gap maternity jeans (the demi-panel kind) and they are now my best friends!

We have started cleaning out the guestroom closest to our bedroom, to make it into the nursery. Brian floored the other half of our attic, so we can start storing more things up there. Once we find out if Baby B is a boy or a girl (I'm taking a poll - look on the side), which should be the first week of March, we will start to make plans for decorating! I can't wait!

So, that pretty much brings us to the present.. Week 15, day 5.

Please comment if you made it all the way through this post! :)