February 25, 2014

We're Going To Be Parents - How We Found Out

January 6, 2014…a day I will never forget. It was cold as hell that morning…24 degrees to be exact. I can’t even tell you the last time we had temps below 30 in Houston…

Back up a little to mid-October. Beau and I were on vacation in the Bahamas when I brought up “the baby conversation” at dinner at The Ocean Club at Atlantis. Never did I ever think I would be uncomfortable around Beau to do anything. I mean, he is my husband. There's nothing, and I mean nothing I haven't done in front of Beau but for some reason, I got nervous bringing this topic up! Luckily...I was about 3 glasses of wine deep, which gave me just the courage I needed to break the ice.

I knew I had been wanting to strike up the conversation and get his feelings towards us “trying” to have a baby and to be honest, I had no clue how he was going to feel about it.

I explained to him that we weren't getting any younger, reminded him that we both wanted to have a baby before we were 30 and also reminded him how precious the triplets are and how every time we leave them, I just want to steal one and keep her for our own. #truestory

To my surprise, he agreed…or maybe he just wanted to appease me for the night thinking he'd get lucky. But what I do know it that we both agreed is that we would just “try and see what happens”. We wouldn't stress about it. We wouldn't do any type of crazy family planning. We just wanted to give it a shot.

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think it would happen as fast as it did but on January 5, I had made a joke to Beau that maybe I was pregnant because it had felt like I should have had my period before then. I’m awful at remembering when my periods are and I have not the slightest idea as to when I ovulate because honestly, who has time for that?

We both laughed and blew it off thinking…ya right.

Later that evening, I was at the grocery store when all of a sudden I get a text from Beau saying “Do you want to pick up a pregnancy test?” I laughed but said “Ya...That’s probably a good idea…

Sidenote: Is it just me or did any of y’all feel like finding a needle in a haystack looking for a pregnancy test?! It took me a good ten minutes to find the right aisle and then once I was at the right aisle, it took me another 5 to find the pregnancy test section. Once I arrived there, I was presented with a gazillion and one options. I went with the digital kind because Beau likes techy stuff like that and I knew it’d entertain him, if nothing else.

Ok..where were we? Oh...so I got home, started reading the instructions and it suggested taking the test your first pee of the morning. (Remember that to any of those expecting to pee on a stick sometime soon!) Since it was night time, I tossed it on my bathroom counter and went on with my night.

The next morning, I got up around 5:30am, per usual. Beau heard me get up to go start working in the office and before I left the room he said “Did you pee on that stick?”. I giggled and said “No. I haven’t peed at all”  and just moved on. An hour later, I had to pee. I’ve taken one of these tests before, but only one, and I was pretty confident it was negative then (which it was) and I definitely thought the same this time around. I get out ‘said’ pee stick. Do my business. And tossed it on the counter and started my bath water. Almost forgetting about it, I go back to my bathroom sink where the stick is sitting only to find it state clear as freaking day… PREGNANT.

Beau from our bed “Did you take it?”
Me: “Ummmmmm…”
Beau: “What does it say?”
Me: “It definitely says pregnant.”
Beau: “Really?!”
Me: “Yes. {Insert *f* bomb here}.”

We waited a few more minutes to let to “estimated weeks” appear and sure enough…I was the most “estimated” weeks possible…3+, which really meant in doctor terms, I was at least 5+ weeks pregnant. (Remember how I said I don't keep up with my cycles? Proof. Most normal women know THE day they miss their period and here I am, 3 weeks late and had no idea...)

I feel like posting the official picture of my pee sticks is a right of passage. You're welcome.

The next words to come out of my mouth were absolutely without a doubt "What the hell have we done?!"

After I finally realized what had really just happened, I climbed up onto the bed next to Beau and and said to him “Oh my God. We did it! We made a baby!” followed by another "Oh my gosh what on Earth have we just done?!"

Sure-I was excited but I was more nervous than anything. Ok…more like terrified. Not terrified of being a mom at all...but scared to death of being pregnant. I looked at Beau with tears in my eyes and said “I’m happy I just didn’t expect it to say that.I didn't expect it to happen in just two months. I don’t even know what to do.” He was so sweet and said something I'll probably never forget. He told me he was nervous, too, but he was excited to be a dad. And he was excited for me to be a mom. And that's when it got surreal. We were going to be parents.

After the initial shock set in,  I then started to think back how I had taken 2+ hour naps the past 4 days in a row, which is totally uncharacteristic of me. That pregnancy exhaustion they talk about...it's the real deal.

Mind you...this all happened before 7am in the morning. On a Monday morning, to be exact. When I say every emotion ran through my mind that cold, cold morning...I mean every emotion and then some. And then I thought to myself “How the HECK am I supposed to work today?!” It was then that I decided that the day every woman finds out she is pregnant should automatically get a free, stay at home, you need some time to realize you just changed your life for-ev-errrr day. Forealz.

I am so thankful it was a Monday because I work from home on Mondays. If I would have had to go into my office that day, I would've had to lock myself in my office and never come out in fear of telling any/everyone I saw.

Alas…I worked. I cried. I checked work emails. I thought of baby names. I completed a new drip marketing campaign I had been working on. I Googled “Foods you can’t eat when you’re pregnant”. I worked a little more…social media updates, reporting, blogging…you know. Joined thebump.com. Edited an email campaign I had worked on earlier. Went in the mirror and looked at my belly. Went back into the bathroom to see if the pregnancy tests still said “PREGNANT 3+”…sure enough, they did. Talked to Oakley about being a big sister. Cried at the thought of Beau becoming a daddy. Thought of how we were going to tell our parents that night that WE ARE PREGNANT. Wanted to call/text everyone in my phone book and tell them the news but refrained as I knew we wanted our parents to be the absolute firsts to know. Thought about taking a nap 47 times but knew I had to wait until 5 to pass out. See why I could have never made it at my office on that day?

We knew we wanted to tell our parents that night. I had always told our moms that they would know the day I found out I was pregnant and I knew I wanted to stay true to that promise.

We're not ones to keep secrets, especially from our parents, so all day long we were fumbling around trying to figure out what we were going to do, how we were going to do it, and how we were going to ask them if we could come over that night and not let them expect anything?!

Pinterest came to the rescue.

I ran out of the house at lunch and found a “Big sister” t-shirt at The Children’s Place (size 4T for my big girl) and brought it home for Oakley to wear so she could make our big announcement for us. :)


Though it took them all a few minutes to realize what her tshirt said and meant, their expressions were absolutely priceless! Happy tears, hugs, jumping up and down...all of it! Telling your parents that you had sex and made a baby is quite possibly the most awkward thing ever but once you get past that and focus on that fact that YOU MADE A BABY, it's all worth it. I promise! ;)





We surprised Beau's sister and brother-in-law by leaving these on their front doorstep, knocking, and running. You know...because that's what mature soon-to-be parents do.


I'd be lying if I said keeping this secret in for the past 6+ weeks isn't one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Literally.

I ignored phone calls. Didn't respond to emails. Forwent happy hours. And basically wanted to crawl into a hole until it was okay for me to tell the entire world that we were going to have a baby. Longest. 6. Weeks. Ever.

EVER.

And I'm so glad it doesn't have to be a stupid secret anymore! Now it feels real. Now I'm getting more excited. Lets get this show on the road, Baby H!

P.S.-thank you so so SO much for all your sweet comments on my blog post, Instagram and Twitter yesterday! Beau and I were so overwhelmed with love and happiness...it felt like Christmas all day long! I am so grateful for you internet people who welcome baby H into this world with open arms and loving hearts. I just can't wait to share this journey with you!

Tomorrow I'm hoping to post my first "Bump Day"! I've always looked forward to posting those and now it's my time to shine! You know...if I'm not too exhausted to update my chalkboard and look decent enough to pose for a picture... ;)


59 comments:

  1. I am in a conference session right now and reading this put tears in my eyes. I am so happy for you and glad you had a fairly easy time :)

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  2. i was wondering what had happened to you the past few weeks!!! you are my favorite blog to follow and i am SO excited to see all of the cute things you are going to do for Baby H. i love that i haven't ever met you, but i am so excited for you both. :) CONGRATS!!!

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  3. So excited for you guys!!!!! I look forward to you sharing your journey <3

    being a mom is the BEST thing ever... My baby girl is 4 months old today!!!!!!!!!!!!! time flys. Enjoy it!!!!!

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  4. yay! congratulations to you! such an exciting day (and time) for you, I'm sure. And loved the way you surprised the soon-to-be grandparents and aunt and uncle!
    xo

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  5. So exciting!! After having Charlotte, I get so excited for anybody else that is lucky enough to be on this journey. Congratulations. Enjoy this special time!

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  6. Aww this makes me so happy! You guys are gonna be the best parents!!!! I felt the same way this time around, too. We found out so early (as opposed to finding out at nine weeks with Kennedy) and it was killer to keep it a secret for so long! Much like y'all, we had the "well, I guess let's try and see what happens" and it totally happened in 3 weeks. Haha. We got some fertile myrtles up in here!

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  7. I'm sure these will be the craftiest chalkboard baby bump updates, so excited to see them!

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  8. Here I sit on the convention center floor with tearsin my eyes, so excited for you!

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  9. Congrats, girl! Y'all are going to be the best parents ever! So precious...I love your honesty throughout this post...seriously. Thank you for sharing!

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  10. congrats on 'making a baby' i cannot tell you how much i love your honesty about finding out you were pregnant. I feel like that's the exact reaction I would have! The knock and run, at least you'll be fun parents :)

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  11. I am just so, so happy for you two lovebirds! And yes, it will so be worth it. I can not wait to follow along with you on this... your honesty is going to be so refeshing! xoxo!

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  12. I love this. haha the awkwardness of telling your parents you had sex...that is too funny and so true! I am so excited to hear all about your pregnancy :)

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  13. I completely agree on a few points - 1) The day you find out your pregnant SHOULD be a day off of work... I was so freaking excited, emotional, cried a ton and could not sit still! 2) Waiting until it's 'safe' to share the news is truly the looooooooooooooooongest 6ish weeks ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG - I was so nervous and anxious and had so much anxiety about keeping it a secret. It feels so AMAZING to share the news! SO happy for you and EXCITED you made it to this point of letting it out! Ahhhhhh now you can breathe and let the fun begin!

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  14. Congratulations!! Love your blog and can't wait to hear more about the pregnancy!

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  15. I think when I get pregnant I will FREAK OUT. Like people that want to have a child bad would prob be so ashamed of me, ha! I know that sounds so awful!! I know I will be so excited but scared to death at the exact same time! Love the balloon idea!! So cute! You are going to be SO CUTE with a lil bump!

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  16. I feel like you just typed the exact same story we went through at the beginning. We had that same conversation before "trying", we ended up pregnant way sooner than expected, I knew I was pregnant because I was always exhausted! So excited for y'all!

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  17. Congratulations!!!! This is such exciting news and I cannot wait to follow along on the journey! What a cute way to tell your parents :-)

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  18. Congrats!! Love the way you told your parents and his sister&bro in law.. so sweet. You two will make great parents.

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  19. Steph! I am so excited for you! Not gonna lie, I kinda want to throw my "no babies until I'm 30" rule out the window after reading this! I love the way you told both sets of families.

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  20. So exciting! Welcome to the awesome whirlwind! About halfway through pregnancy and still anxious to meet her! I also still have minor melt downs about getting all our ducks in a row. Congratulations enjoy every minute!!

    XO, Brooke

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  21. Can't wait to follow along with you on this journey - YAY!!
    Renee @ www.thechiway.weebly.com

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  22. I love this so much! ALL OF IT! I am just over the moon for you two and am so excited to follow along with your pregnancy! xoxoxox.

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  23. the balloon idea...adorbs! congrats!

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  24. I've been following your blog for the past year and just wanted to say congrats! SO looking forward to hearing about your journey :)

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  25. This is the sweetest thing ever. I can only imagine how you were feeling!

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  26. What a whirlwind day you had! So excited for you and your hubby. I am also expecting my first baby, a little girl, in July. It's been a fun ride thus far!

    Diane
    www.2dkimballroad.blogspot.com

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  27. Congratulations!! My husband and I are doing the 'let's just see what happens' approach now and I am horrible at keeping track of my schedule. So I have the same feeling every time I think I might be late...oh crap. haha. But how exciting for you!! I'm excited to follow along.

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  28. This quite possibly might be one of my most favorite baby reveal stories. Very happy for you both and I think y'all will be amazing parents to your sweet baby!

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  29. I absolutely LOVE this!!! I am still grinning ear to ear for you! :) :)

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  30. This is THE sweetest! I think those will probably be my reactions too whenever that time comes for us, but how exciting to be able to tell the family and so cute the Oakley girl helped :) Congrats to you guys again!

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  31. CONGRATS!! That is such exciting news for you two, you are so darling and will make wonderful parents!

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  32. So so so excited for you guys!!!! You always look so natural holding the triplets and I was waiting to hear you announce you'd have a little one of your own!!! I can't wait to hear all about it!

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  33. congratulations! i can't wait to follow along with you on this journey! :) *

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  34. Steph this is so so amazing!!!!!! You and BGR are going to be AMAZING PARENTS!!!!!! Here's wishing for another set of triplets??? ;)

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  35. I LOVE reading your blog and am so excited for you guys!! Such a cute story!! :) can't wait for your first bumpdate!! I've gotten so bad with mine lately! Haha

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  36. So exciting. This will be the greatest adventure of your life!

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  37. This is so awesome and I cried happy tears for you while reading it! Big things are coming your way, girlfriend : )

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  38. Congratulations!!! This is so exciting. I love what you did with the balloons! I'm going to have the hardest time ever keeping it from people when my time comes!

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  39. <3 LOVE reading things like this. HOORAY!!!

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  40. Ugh steph i got teared up reading this

    i am so so so happy for you guys i can't EVEN!!!

    im picturing beau hollering from the bed "DID YOU TAKE IT YET?" LOL!

    also, i died when you said you said the F word. I would have too. I would have been like EFFING F! But in an excited way!

    EEE!!!!!!! i love you guys! and i love baby howard already!
    xoxoxo

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  41. This is so sweet! I love what you said about how it was awkward to tell your parents that "you had sex and made a baby"! It makes me giggle and I get butterflies thinking about one day when my husband and I announce our pregnancy and how we will do it. Y'all were so creative!

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  42. Bahhhh you're making me want to have one of my own! haha. I'm pretty sure when that day comes there will be a couple of f-bombs dropped as well. And lots of tears.

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  43. Ohhhh, how I just LOVED reading this post!! I was getting all excited like I was actually there with ya'll!!
    I absolutely can. not. WAIT to see your bump updates!!!! :-D

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  44. CONGRATULATIONS! This was such a cute post.

    http://nystateofmind5.blogspot.com/

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  45. Aww I love this!! It's so sweet & brought tears to my eyes!!! Cracking up that you had no idea you were 3 weeks pregnant!!! HAHA! Can't wait to follow along & see all of the wonderful things that come with having a baby!! Congrats again chicka!!!

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  46. Aw, so sweet!! This made me cry! Reminded me of our pregnancy journey too! Can't wait to watch your cute bump grow. Advice for the summer, stay cool inside and hydrated. The summer's are even hotter when your pregnant, LoL. Our little guy was born on 9/10/13 and I remember the summer was quite toasty to say the least. I wish it had been socially acceptable to walk around naked everywhere because I totally would have from being so hot and uncomfortable! Congrats to you both again!!

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  47. You're lucky you didn't have to track ovulation. I wish I didn't have the time for it...

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  48. Congratulations!! I felt the same way when we told my parents we were expecting, it felt like I was admitting to my father that I had had sex. LOL!
    Enjoy this time, it goes so fast! I'm halfway through my pregnancy and I have no idea where 21 weeks went:)
    Take care and enjoy the naps!

    Cheri

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  49. Um hello! How freaking exciting friend!!!!! I was wondering when this would happen! It's like the life cycle of blogging.. First comes marriage, then comes house, then comes steph with the baby carriage! :) Congrats!

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  50. I find it weird that my parents actually KNOW I had sex. I mean, I am sure they realized that was a certainty when I got married, but once I had my two girls, they like really, really knew for sure. Ew! (because I am mature!) :) Excited for you!

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  51. Congrats so happy to see this post fellow September 14 momma here can't wait to see how it goes for you

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  52. Your finding out story sounds exactly like ours! There was definitely a dropped F bomb and I was 5 + weeks pregnant as well. And, I felt the same way about telling parents, "hey, we had sex and made a baby!" haha! I was mortified at first!
    Eek so happy for you guys and I am going to get baby fever I am sure while reading your bump dates :)

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  53. How super exciting!!!! I know I'm way late but such a neat story to always have!!!

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  54. I am sooo excited for you all! Being a Mommy is such an amazing feeling <3
    xo
    Samantha,

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  55. Awwwww.. I'm a new follower but I love these types of updates! Congratulations!!!

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