Excerpt from my other blog...

Well, many of you have requested a baby update; so here you go!!!
Well, there are the joys of pregnancy and then there are so many things that are unexpected that goes along with it. Everyone asks...how are you feeling, are you having weird dreams, what do you think the sex of the baby is, what names are you thinking of....so, I guess that's what I can update you all on.

I am feeling great compared to some stories of other moms-to-be. The worst side effect is tiredness. Just the other evening I fell asleep on the couch at 8pm...and slept until 7am...of course, in between I got up at least 3 times to use the facilities. My belly is certainly starting to grow which doesn't hold people back from asking "wow; what are you having twins? triplets?". I will have to say I don't love people like that!

As for my dreams, they have been amazing! They are so vivid and when I tell them to Sean he just gets this "why am I married to her again?" look on his face. Without going into much detail, I have had a dream about a terrorist attack; about how I made friends with 2 cats and a duck and they ganged up on me and threw hermit crabs at me (and this dream I literally screamed out loud and Sean came running because he was still downstairs watching tv), and several other dreams about friends who are pregnant and I have predicted the sex of their children (now they have had ultrasounds and know)...I have been correct with 2 of the 3. I have had a dream about our child...and it was a boy!

As for the sex of the baby; it's really a 50/50 chance however, I will have to say my first instinct was a boy...so, I am going to stick with that; even though I am starting to lean towards a girl. Sean insists this baby is a girl. Actually, he's not the only one...I will say just about everyone has their opinion and insist on the sex of the baby; about 90% say this baby is a girl. Having people guess is quite fun. My one friend came up to me and asked me to show my hands....in return my friend insists it's a girl by the way I showed my hands.

As for names for the little one...we are toying with 2-3 names per sex of the child...but, we are not going to share the names until...the baby is born. We want to have somewhat a surprise for everyone and something fun for them to look forward to. However, since we are still not 100% sold on a name; we are taking some suggestions.

The good...the bad...and the ugly!!!

Being pregnant is certainly taking it's toll on my body; there's more things changing each and everyday; which makes things exciting. Today marks 14 weeks and I can't believe the changes already surfaced. My belly is growing. My hair and nails look amazing. But...my face; I think it could easily be confused with star gazing. It literally is connect the dots. 

I hope that this is just maybe for this week and it will go away soon. As for my ever changing body, I will be soon going on a shopping spree to...yes to get some maternity clothes.

I'm losing my mind

Well, the first time I lost my mind due to "pregnancy brain" was a few weeks after we found out that we were expecting.  I was trying to get ready for work to prepare for the next day; and I couldn't find my sweats and running shoes.  I remember wearing them to work and changing in my car so I could go out to dinner with a friend.  But, I also remember putting them in a grocery bag.  Well, I couldn't find the grocery bag ANYWHERE!  And, the last I saw the bag- Sean had it asking "what was it"?  

So, when searching for the bag- I called Sean at work and asked him if he thought it was trash and threw it away?  I was FREAKING OUT; I have never bought a pair of running shoes for that much money; let alone to just throw them away. I also called my Mom...not like she knew where it was, but she could console me a bit for 'Sean throwing away my shoes'.  I also was contemplating dumpster diving.  So, after getting off the phone with my Mom...I waited for five minutes- thinking; heck, maybe it will grow legs and just walk to me...nah!  Well, my Mom calls me back and tells me to check the car- just in case I didn't put it in my bag....I rolled my eyes, and well...go and check my car.  

There in the back seat were not only my sweats, but also my shoes!  I felt bad for calling my Mom and talking with her about how 'Sean threw the shoes away'....I was so persistent..."Sean cleans all the time, he throws lots away!!!".   I then called my Mom to tell her she knows me too well.  Then, I called Sean again at work....VERY apologetic for blaming him for throwing my items away.  His response..."Ohhh, Lynsey you are just too funny!!!" and then he laughed...he's such a GREAT guy...and I love that he laughed at how I acted instead of getting upset that I blamed him. 

Our First Dr.'s appointment

Our first Doctors appointment was on December 9th.  I was so nervous as we were arriving because Sean was coming in with me and let's face it a guy in the OBGYN's waiting room has got to be slim; so that's what I thought!  When we walked in; I saw 4 other fathers- to-be waiting their with their wife.  Finally, deep breath.  We then waited a bit, then the nurse called out my name.  It was time for the ultrasound.  It was just about 3 minutes later, our little bundle of joy was on the monitor, a little circle that had a heartbeat.  Surprisingly, neither Sean or I cried...but it sure was a surreal moment. 

After the ultrasound, we went in to see the nurse and she took my blood pressure, some blood, and asked us a few questions.  Nothing too terrible, but for some reason I was still on the edge of my seat with anticipation about this amazing dream of having a child and how it's come true.  I was so excited I guess, it showed in my BP as well; it was threw the roof.  We finally talked with the Dr. and was given a bag of magazines, prenatal vitamin samples, and other reading materials.  Seans' comment of the bag of free stuff was "it's like we are getting our race packet for the half marathon again".  All I could do was laugh. 

At the conclusion of the appointment, we went to set up the next appointment, and the doctor gave me a hug in congratulations!  Both Sean and I thought that was great!  I am so happy with my doctor. 

How we told our family

We waited a few days before we told anyone.  I would have preferred to have gone to the Dr.'s to make sure everything was okay, but Sean was too excited...he wanted to go to a mountain top and yell to the world "We're having a baby!!!".    So, I finally gave in and called my sister Amy.  All I did was mention..."when can we come out and see you, maybe April" and her response was "Are you pregnant?"  Of course, I said "Yes!"  I think she dropped the phone in excitement and came back 5 minutes later.  That weekend, we went around to the family with these little white boxes and told them that we got them something from the wedding.  Unexpecting grandparents, opened the boxes and the responses were GREAT! 

• My Mom: Really?!?!  Ooooo...
  
• My Dad: Jaw dropped and tears welded up
  
• Sean's Dad:  Face turned red as he looked up at me and asked if I was pregnant.  He then walked away hiding the tears welding up. 
  
• Sean's Step Mom: Excited!   Encouraged me to get the needed sleep. 
  
• Sean's Mom: Balled her eyes out uncontrollably; Sean had no clue what to say or do and told me to go give her a hug. 
  
• Sean's Step Dad: Alright, cool! 
  
• Aunt Lynda: Already knew by something I did earlier that week and protested it's a girl. 
  
• Aunt Reenie: Teared up and asked if Mike knew.    
  
• Tom:  Cool....and he wanted to eat the baby food. 
  
• Mary: No Way!  Gave us a hug! 
  
• Brandon: Cool!
  
• Joey: Wow; I already have 5 cousins!  This is 6. 
  
• Jill:  I have lots of maternity clothes
  
• Kevin:  We woke him up; he screamed and wishes to be the God Father. 
  
• Kate: So excited; posted it on face book. 

Below is a picture of the box we gave everyone, the label at the top says in alternating pink and blue "We're having a BABY!!!"  Then, there's pink and blue paper with a jar of baby food.  Also, hidden was a little pink and blue rattle. 

We were going to tell the friends at our get together, however we were unable because word was getting out VERY quickly and we wanted to be sure that our news came from us and not from someone else...so, Sean sent our friends a text message.   We also put it in our Christmas letter; which was titled, "What a Year!!!"....While last year we sent most of our time planning for the biggest day of our lives, this next year, we will again be planning for an extra bundle of joy as we will be welcoming baby McGuinness to our family.  Sean and I went to the first doctor’s appointment and were able to have an ultrasound and see the little heartbeat.  It was such a surreal moment for the two of us.  We will be expecting our little one around July 30th....

It was great to share our news with everyone, and once we did, I figured, I wouldn't have been able to wait as long as I wanted to anyways...so, I am happy we told them all when we did. 

How we found out...

I wanted to find a place to log this wonderful experience of expecting a child, so I thought I would create a new blog, dedicated just for the pregnancy.  

I guess first thing is first, after much consideration, Sean and I both decided that we would attempt to make an addition to our family.   The first month of us trying, I thought for sure I was pregnant; I had several of the symptoms, but flo showed up.   We were both pretty upset, but still optimistic to continue to try...since I have been treated for endometriosis for since I was 17 (dealing with it since I was 13)...we were hoping this wouldn't be a long road of trying with fertility drugs and surgery, but if we had to; we were both game to do whatever we had to.

Since I was on the pill since I was 17; and on it constant for the last year I had no clue how long my actual cycle was.  However, we guessed it was 33 days after one period; and for flo to show up again on November 18th.  It was a Tuesday, November 18th and Sean and I were both watching 'The Biggest Loser' and I asked Sean to count the days since I was late.   And, apparently, I figured the dates wrong and should have started on the 15th.  I begged Sean for me to go take the EPT tests that we had purchased.  He said fine; even though he wanted me to wait until the morning.  We were both apprehensive on taking the test because of how sad we were after the first month.   However, I took the test promising that I wouldn't look until our show was over. 

We both walked to the bathroom together holding hands, me leading.  I looked down and saw two lines!!!  I was shocked, and the first thing out of my mouth was "That line has never been there before".   Sean quickly grabbed the instructions and read outloud "one line may be fainter then the other"...which was our case.  Tears started flowing for me; and Sean had to sit down.  We both sat on the couch and talked about; setting up a Dr.'s visit, telling our parents, and on and on and on...we were both so happy.   So, happy, that I had to pee again!  Sean asked me to take another one just to be sure...so, I did.  Positive.  He also asked me to take the final test in the morning...that one was positive too!   

For the first few days, I walked around with smiles ear to ear....then, maybe around the 4th day, I was dumbfounded by the whole thing; I had no symptoms whatsoever and basically walked around with the three tests by my side....I even slept one night with them on the floor next to me.