I’m writing this in retrospect because I realized a few weeks ago I had meant to write down all.of.the.things during this pregnancy and just never found the time (or energy) to do it. So here’s a quick recap of how the first few months went!

I found out we were expecting on our second wedding anniversary - October 7th - which was quite the treat! I guess you could say we had been trying for awhile, so I was eagerly awaiting the day I could take a test that month. I thought it would be so fun for it to end up being a little anniversary gift! We had stopped “preventing” over a year prior so I was honestly surprised at how long it took to get pregnant. I had taken a few negative tests before, but for the most part it was just month after month of getting my period first and being extremely disappointed every time. I’d be extra moody for a week afterward because I was just so ready for it to be “my turn” and it just wasn’t happening. Add in the pandemic to the mix and I just felt like our life was on hold which was really hard for awhile. We had originally planned to start our family in the spring, but life had other plans!

When I took the positive test, I really didn’t have much time to react! I was pretty shocked but also had a feeling because my cycles are crazy regular and it was day two of being late so I thought “it has to be positive”. Kyle was on his way home and I had to scramble to act natural LOL I knew I wanted to wrap up the test and give it to him that night as an anniversary “gift” so I rummaged through our closet for some random leftover tissue paper and a little gift bag for it. I frantically wrapped it up and hid the bag under the bed just in time for him to pull into the driveway. I pretended nothing was happening and ran down the stairs to let Frankie out and acted as if I had just gotten home to do so. The rest of the night was awkward LOL we don’t keep secrets so I was just roaming around like a crazy person. I cooked dinner, and then I’m pretty sure there was a presidential debate on that night so we sat and watched it with no mention of the “gift”. (real romantic anniversary, I know LOL) We’re simple folk, okay?!

Finally it was time to do my whole change into cozy pants and wash face routine so I grabbed the bag and handed it to him while he was laying on the couch. He was like “…I didn’t get you a gift!” and I said “That’s okay, it’s just something little”. My frantic wrap job wasn’t great haha he pulled the tissue out and the test fell to the bottom of the bag so he was like “?!?” and had to reach in again for it. Now, anyone who knows Kyle knows he shows next to zero emotion for literally anything and getting any sort of reaction out of him would have been a miracle! He looked at me semi-surprised and said “you are?!” and I was like “yep!” and then he looked a little perplexed for a second and said “well on that note…I gotta pee.” LOL classic Kyle.

He says he had a feeling I was pregnant because he knew it was about that time of the month for me to be in a really sour mood complaining about not being pregnant. He knows me well :)

So we found out relatively early and it was sooo hard to keep it a secret from my family - my sister in particular - mainly because I see her and my parents every day at work. My mom kept wanting to hang out, said she wanted to go shopping and have a wine date etc. And I would just be like “ya…!” *avoid avoid* Haha My sister texted me mid-afternoon on a sunny Saturday asking if I wanted to go meet up for a beer - something I would never say no to. I told her I was in the middle of cleaning out my closet and on a roll LOL Her birthday was also coming up and she wasn’t doing much for it because of COVID but planned to have one of our cousins over and asked if Kyle and I wanted to come hang. Her birthday is on Halloween so I kept making excuses like “we should stay home with Frankie in case we get trick-or-treaters and he barks all night”. I could tell she was annoyed so I was like well…I just have to tell her! It was still early - I think I was only 7.5 weeks and really wanted to wait until 12 weeks to tell people but I couldn’t handle it anymore! I made a label for a bottle of wine and told her I was stopping by with her gift. We were already planning to see the family the following day to celebrate her so I’m sure she was confused why I was so adamant about stopping by with the gift early. She was pretty dang surprised!

The next day we had dinner plans with the family and my mom had texted everyone that she wanted to get an updated family picture and that we should do it in her backyard before dinner. Ummm - perfect opportunity to film their reaction!! I had to convince Kyle it was okay to tell them all so early. I had my own reservations about it as well, but had come to terms with the fact that I just needed my mom to know sooner than later - especially if something bad were to happen. My brother set up his tripod and camera and I said that I also wanted a pic on my phone so I set mine up, too. While I was setting it up, my phone fell out of the holder face first on to the concrete patio…shattering the screen! My sister looked at me like “oh shit” because she knew what I was planning to do. Luckily, the camera still worked! I had to cut this video down a few times, haha. There was a good 3 minutes worth of trying to get all the kids to pay attention to my brother’s camera before I said I wanted one on my phone so I could blurt it out. My favorite part is my mom ditching the dog LOL! My dad is pretty pumped for “number eight”!

We told Kyle’s family the following week and he is so not into all the pageantry LOL I kept hinting at him to go get the wine bottle from the car like we had brought a “special bottle” and he was just stalling playing with our nephew. Meanwhile his mom kept asking me what I wanted to drink! I pretty much never say no to a drink so there’s no way we could’ve kept it from anyone much longer. Their reaction was pretty sweet! Perri, Kyle’s SIL, is actually pregnant as well! They had just told us a few weeks prior - we are due just about 6 weeks apart!

The first trimester was relatively quiet for me! I was tired and just lacked general energy/motivation to do really anything at all. Not necessarily sleepy tired, but I would get dizzy often and just exhausted after doing much of anything that involved standing for more than 10 minutes. I was extremely lucky, though. I had not one bit of nausea, no food aversions, nada. For awhile I was nervous because I truly didn’t “feel” pregnant and had none of the typical symptoms. That of course made me anxious because I also had yet to be seen by a doctor to actually confirm the pregnancy. Because of COVID, they were only doing virtual appointments and refused to see me in person until after 12 weeks. Looking back, I’m glad we told our families early because I was able to get a recommendation from my SIL for her doctor who has a private practice. By some miracle I got in on a cancellation during my 9th week and it has been a great experience so far! Because they run a small practice, the care has been much more personalized and Kyle has actually been able to accompany me to all appointments which is a privilege most mamas-to-be don’t have right now!

10.5 weeks here! The first of the bi-weekly bump pics.

It took me quite awhile to really relax and stop worrying. And to some degree I don’t think I have fully managed to yet. I thought once we hit 12 weeks and were in the “safe zone” I’d feel a little more at ease but it’s so hard to trust that your body is doing what it’s supposed to when you can’t just open yourself up and look inside every day! All I know is it’s pretty crazy what the body is capable of - I can’t believe I’m growing a human. And I truly can’t wait to be a mom. Kyle and I have been together nearly 7 years but, even before we met, I knew I wanted kids as soon as possible. So it really feels like I’ve been waiting ages for my turn. 9 nieces and nephews later - I finally get to be mama instead of auntie and I’m pretty dang excited.

Other than being a little tired/lazy for the first bit, I truly have no complaints! Pregnancy has treated me extremely well so far. I can only hope it’s the same for future pregnancies :)

xoxo,
KZ

Announcement photos by Leah Dawson