First Baby Share

Lately on Facebook people I know have been doing this cute little dity and I couldn't help but participate in this one. With Grayson's SECOND birthday approaching (where has TWO years gone?!) I thought it would be fun to remember back. Some days it seems like just yesterday that he joined our family, other times it seems like we have had him forever. So here goes:

1. Were you married at the time? Yes, we had been married for about 2.5 years when Grayson came along.

2. What was your reaction when you found out you were pregnant?
Definitely disbelief. It took us awhile to get pregnant with him, about 8 months and a dose of Clomid, so I really was having a hard time believing those two lines. I took the test and went about getting ready for work. Pete was anxious and finally read the test and told me the good news. I had that weird feeling in my stomach like going over the top of a huge hill on a rollercoaster. But I also couldn't wipe the smile off my face. We were thrilled, albeit very nervous and anxious.

3. How old were you? 31

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? Home pregnancy test.

5. Who did you tell first? We called my parents, who happened to be having both of my brothers at their house for the weekend so we hit my immediate family in one phone call. Then we went to our friends, The Telman's, and then to Pete's parent's house. We told most everyone right away except for my work. I waited with the news there until I couldn't deny it any longer-my belly wouldn't let me!

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Nope, we opted for the old fashioned way and it was wonderful.

7. Due date? April 10, 2007

8. Did you deliver early or late? Grayson decided to come onto the scene 5 days early and that was FINE by me...the last several weeks were a tad bit uncomfortable.



9. Did you have morning sickness? Oh man, did I ever. Now, I know many people have it worse and for the lack of actual vomiting I'm very, VERY, thankful. But I did have severe nausea for the first trimester. Basically from about a week after we found out to the 12 week mark...not fun at all.

10. What did you crave? Regular, sugar and caffeine-laden, COKE. I indulged about a can every other day or so. But when I didn't have it, I thought about it. Those cravings are WEIRD. And Doritos. Quick story: We had a group of friends over for a bbq and I grocery shopped for the event. Doritos were on sale so I of course picked up every variety. And proceeded to eat ALL OF THEM. Every last tiny speck of chip-in my belly. I think I shared one bag with our guests, but thankfully no one else really wanted any and they weren't going to take them away from a pregnant woman anyways! Basically I craved salty foods, I could barely stomach anything sweet.

11. What irritated you the most? The weeks and weeks of nausea that made the sight or sound of any food absolutely repulsive but I was starving from growing a baby. Nothing sounded good but I was famished. Hm...interesting predicament. Pete was a trooper and once went out for the ultimate combo: cottage cheese, frozen blueberry waffles, and Arby's. Of which I proceeded to eat all together.

12. What was your first child's sex? boy

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? Ohhh, um, well I stopped looking at the scale at the Dr.'s office after about 35 lbs. But I had let myself over-indulge. I wished at the time that I would be having a 12 or 15 lb. baby and then it wouldn't seem so bad. Not quite.

14. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Nope, completely status quo pregnancy and birth. We were very thankful for that.

15. Where did you give birth? A big hospital in downtown GR.

16. How many hours were you in labor? We went in to the hospital at about 10pm after a call to the Dr. (and Nurse Kara!) My water had broken hours earlier but I didn't realize it. For those that think it's like the gush you see in movies, that's not always how it happens. We were admitted at 11pm and they started me on Pitocin to progress labor. Aparently I was in labor, and had been for most of the day and didn't realize it. At this point I was thinking that I could do this labor thing drug-free, it wasn't so bad! Several hours later when I was grabbing the handrails on the bed and had white knuckles I knew it was time for the epidural. All in all, I was in labor at the hospital for approx. 10 hours. Pushed for two, and Grayson was born at 8:45am.

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Pete. And it was funny because I could tell he was SO nervous. He had figured out the quickest way to the hospital, taking the freeway, but when we got to the on ramp we saw that the highway was closed due to a major accident. Time for plan b: a secondary but major road that went through town which was closed due to overnight construction work. SERIOUSLY? This is SO not how it was supposed to go. But since I wasn't in screaming pain and there were no timeable contractions I wasn't in the slightest bit nervous. Pete on the other hand, was visibly agitated. He took the most convoluted way I could have imagined! I just kept laughing which didn't help the tense situation. I turned on some cheesy radio station to take the edge off. It didn't work, but he was much better once we finally made it and he could hand me off to the medical professionals.

18. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? See above answer, Epidural all the way.

19 . How much did your child weigh? 8 lb. 1 oz.

20 . What did you name him/her? Grayson Noah. We argued about names almost the entire pregnancy. I really only liked Grayson, I had fell in love with it early on. Pete, on the other hand, absolutely hated the name. Obviously it grew on him. He chose the middle name. If we had a girl I don't even remember our name choices, I wasn't overly fond of any of them.

21 . How old is your first born today? 22 months

22. Who does your child look like? A good mix. To this point he's gone in stages of looking like Pete to my Dad, and right now? Depends on who you ask.


23. Did you get mad at your husband during labor? Not a chance. He was wonderful during the ENTIRE pregnancy and labor and beyond. I couldn't have asked for a better support system.

We love this little guy so much and feel so blessed to have him as part of our family. Parenthood definitely has it's challenges but we wouldn't trade it for anything. We're looking forward to welcoming our next child into the world in (hopefully) August of this year. When we ask Grayson if he wants a baby brother or a baby sister he says a car. Ha!