Reflecting - Part 1

My baby is going to be ONE tomorrow.  What a year it has been!  Of course I have the normal sad feelings about how fast this year has gone by, but I am also filled with JOY.  As I think back over Reid's first year of life and my first year as a mommy, I am just THANKFUL.  I've been doing a lot of reflecting over the last week.  I didn't have this blog when I was pregnant, so I wanted to write a post about my pregnancy with Reid.

Our road to a pregnancy wasn't completely problem free, but compared to what so many go through, we were definitely blessed.  We found out I was pregnant on a Friday morning in September of 2010.  I actually took a test before work and then went outside to jog without even looking at it.  I assumed it would be negative and just figured I would just look at it when I got back.  Well, Chris got up a few minutes after I left and saw the test on the bathroom counter.  He thought I had already seen it.  He came outside and stood in the driveway (it was still dark at this point) waiting for me to get back.  I was actually still on our street and I looked back and saw him standing there.  I decided to turn back around and go see what was going on (although I had a sneaking suspicion at that point).  When I got back to the driveway he had the biggest smile on his face.  The whole thing was kind of funny because he didn't know that I didn't know.  I knew instantly what his smile meant though! :)  We were SO happy, but still cautious and a little bit guarded.

I promise we were SO excited, despite this awkward picture (it was 5:45 am).  

We told our parents and my sister and brother over the next few days.  I had a previously scheduled appointment with my doctor the Monday after we found out, so I wanted to wait until after that appointment before telling them.  We told my parents that we wanted to come show them our new car that we bought that weekend (lots of changes in one weekend for the Scibas)!  We put pink and blue balloons in the back of the car and were going to show them "our favorite part" of the car first, which was the automatic trunk.  We had planned to get there around 6 before it got dark, but then my dad called and said that they ran to grab a quick dinner and that they would be a few minutes late getting back to the house.  By the time they got back it was dark!  We decided to show them the trunk anyway, hoping they would be able to see.  When we opened the trunk, my dad said, "Brittany, balloons are flying out of your car!"  Oh my sweet dad...always a little clueless! (I love you so much, Daddy!) Once I told them to look closely at the color of the balloons, they figured it out pretty quickly.  My mom screamed and my dad just shook his head and smiled.  It was such a FUN, FUN night.

We told Chris' parents a couple of days later.  They had helped us car shop and got us a great deal, so the next time we were at their house, I handed his mom "a little thank you note for helping us shop".  When she opened the card it said, "You are going to be grandparents in May!"  They were SHOCKED.  It was so, so fun to see their reaction!  I hate that I didn't get any pictures.  Alli came by at some point that week too.  We     tied balloons to our dogs hoping that when they ran to greet her she would see the surprise.  Sometimes a little clueless herself, it took her a few minutes to get it.  She kept saying, "What in the world?  Why do you have balloons on the dogs?" She was sooo excited to be an aunt!  I sent my brother a picture of the dogs with their balloons on.  He had the same reaction most college boys would have..."Cool. Congrats." He loves being an uncle now! ;)

  My pregnancy with Reid was so easy.  Other than a tiny bit of nausea, gigantic ankles and feet, and some major lemonade cravings, I didn't even feel pregnant until about week 40.  I was comfortable and able to keep up with my seven year olds until my last day of work.  That was a huge blessing.  It took a while for it to actually sink in that I was pregnant.  The whole concept was kind of strange to me!  I took off work the week of my due date to give myself a few days at home.  Once I actually slowed down and just relaxed in bed, I finally felt really connected and in awe of the miracle of pregnancy.  It wasn't that I didn't appreciate being pregnant because I did.  I remember being so THANKFUL throughout my pregnancy to have been given the gift of a baby.  I was literally surrounded by friends that wanted the same thing so badly.  I didn't take a single second for granted.  It was just such a new experience and I really struggled (especially in the beginning) with how to balance my excitement and joy with my worries and my sadness for friends experiencing infertility and loss.

I didn't really do "bump pics", but I do have a few...

30 weeks (on our "babymoon" weekend to Lost Pines)

 33 weeks (at my first baby shower)

 40 weeks and 2 days (right before we left for the hospital!)

Here are some of his ultrasound pictures...

10 weeks...

20 weeks...

I love thinking back to my pregnancy now that I know who I was carrying! :) It's so sweet to think that Reid was the one I was feeling that whole time!  Looking at these ultrasound pictures reminds me what an absolute MIRACLE every baby is.

Sidenote:  Has anyone seen the Pampers commercial that's always on TLC (it's been on for about a year) that shows lots of babies and the different ways babies become part of a family?? I STILL tear up when I see it now and used to SOB every time I would see it those first few weeks after Reid was born when I cried at everything.  It's my favorite commercial!  That is some seriously smart marketing, Pampers.