A Southern Sweetheart: Oh Baby!

On Monday, October 29, 2012 at exactly 12:31 pm I found out the most life-changing news I could possibly imagine—Andy & I are going to have a baby! As you may imagine, this news came as quite a surprise! After all, we’ve only been enjoying wedded bliss for 3.5 months! While we certainly hoped for a large, healthy family sometime down the road, we had no idea that our little family would be growing so soon! Well, apparently that rainy drizzle on our wedding day really was a sign of fertility, because guess who’s going to be a new momma sometime in July of 2013? Yep, this little lady! And guess what? We’re SO excited about it! Andy & I both believe this was part of God’s plan, and we’re trusting in him! We just know that because God’s watching over us, he’ll bless our family beyond imagination! So buckle up and get ready, y'all, because Baby Parr is on it's way!

Our Big Surprise:

As the days in October rushed onward, I noticed that I was feeling unusually fatigued, and extremely sensitive to certain odors. This become most pronounced on Saturday, October 27 when Andy & I were helping my sister and her husband prepare their home for the arrival of their second baby boy, Owen. As we were helping hang pictures and move furniture, I suddenly felt unusually tired and a bit dizzy. Then, during dinner, I was absolutely repulsed by the smell of baking pizza! Assuming that I was simply suffering a stomach virus, I thought no further about my symptoms until later that evening when I snapped at my sweet husband. I absolutely hate to argue with Andy, but before I knew it I was explaining how frustrated I was with him over the slightest “mean tone” in his voice! I know, I know--I was behaving ridiculously, but I felt genuinely upset, and just couldn’t explain why. On Sunday afternoon, I continued to feel nauseous and was only comforted by a pack of saltine crackers! By the time Monday morning rolled around, I felt like something odd was going on. I was having mild period-like cramps, but wasn’t on my period. And then, it suddenly hit me. I felt pregnant. Something inside of me just…knew. As soon as my classes were over for the day, I rushed to Meijer and picked up a pack of pregnancy tests. Then, moments later, hands shaking, I read the results! For at least 30 minutes I was in absolute shock! How would I tell Andy, my parents, my sister, my friends?! Then other thoughts began racing thru my mind—Could the birth control I had been taking harm our little one? Had I been eating enough veggies? How would I balance baby and school?

Anxious, I desperately wanted Andy to come home early to reveal the big news. Unfortunately, despite my pleadings that I was "feeling ill" and needed his care, Andy couldn’t get off work early. So instead, I washed dishes, did laundry, studied, and visited with my sister who had ironically come to Lexington for her own pregnancy appointment. It was beyond difficult to keep the news a secret, but I did, and later that evening finally revealed the news to my shocked husband! I asked Andy to open a dresser drawer and inside he found my little surprise—two positive pregnancy tests! After several moments of talking and praying, our surprise was beginning to set it, and so we decided to visit Carino’s to celebrate! We were both in a state of excitement, shock, and disbelief, but knew that the signs were obvious, and Baby Parr was on its way!

Recap of Our First Trimester:

The first trimester has quickly come and gone, and boy is this little Momma relieved about that! While I occasionally suffered from nausea, dizziness, and a mood swing or two, baby & I have had pretty smooth sailing so far! I'm thrilled that the 24-hour fatigue is finally waning, but most importantly, I feel so thankful to set aside at least a few of my many worries for our little one, after all, we've reached a big milestone--the second trimester!

We enjoyed sharing the wonderful news with our families, and even planned a big Christmas reveal for our extended loved ones. We typed the following cute announcement on Christmas-themed stationary, and after packaging the cards in envelopes, we dispersed them to our relatives. In synchrony, they opened the envelopes to find our big surprise!

"We're just as excited and happy as can be, because Andy & Ashley are no longer two, but three! Surprise! We're expecting a baby on July 7, 2013! Merry Christmas and Warmest Wishes for a Happy New Year, From Our Expanding Family to Yours!"

Aunts, Uncles, & Cousins burst into squeals and laughter at our exciting announcement! Needless to say, they're all thrilled about the soon-to-be newest addition to the family!

We also posted the same announcement on facebook on Christmas Day with the following picture:

We loved it and hopefully so did our friends!

On the medical front, we're thrilled that our first appointment went wonderfully and are anxiously anticipating our 16 week gender scan on January 14. Shortly thereafter we're planning on hosting a small gender reveal party where we'll find out Baby's gender along with our guests :-) Stay tuned for updates! In the meantime, please remember us in your prayers, and enjoy this weekly update and slew of "bump" pictures! (Weekly update idea courtesy of Laura and her wonderful blog: http://www.andyandlauraplusone.blogspot.com **Thanks so much Laura!)

How far along: 14 weeks

Total Weight Gain: -8 lbs (My belly sure is growing, though!)

Stretchmarks: None

Sleep: Pretty solid, despite waking at 5 am a couple times randomly.

Best Moment This Week: Sharing the news with all of our friends and family!

Movement: I've noticed a couple odd "flutters," but pretty sure it's probably just increased blood flow ;-)

Gender: January 14 is our scan, but we won't find out until a bit later, with the rest of our family.

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button: In...hopefully it stays that way for a while ;-)

What I Miss: Subway sandwiches & sledding

What I am Looking Forward to: Finding out whether we'll be adding a boy or girl to our little family!

Milestones: Ending the first trimester!
Baby is sprouting hair now & is the size of my clenched fist!