We’re having a baby! Yesterday, I had you send in your questions via Instastories. Many came through the question box, but also some came through DMs. I figured it was easiest to do this round-up in a blog post. The questions below were some of the most popular!
Let me know if you want me to expand on any of these. I would be happy to write a full blog post on specific questions.
Q: When is your due date?
March 27, 2021.
Q: How far along are you?
I am 14 weeks. The baby is the size of a peach.
Q: How did you find out you were pregnant?
I was actually 11 days late before I got a positive pregnancy test. I took a few tests throughout the week and they were negative for 11 days. I even went to the doctor for my annual around day 7, and she said sometimes cycles are just off. She told me to take another test in a few days if there were no changes. I was up early working on a Saturday and figured I would just go ahead and take another. The plus sign showed up immediately. I took a few (ahem six) more throughout the week just to be sure.
Q: How did you tell Stephen?
It was really romantic. I woke him up from a dead sleep at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday, shook a pregnancy test in his face and yelled, “this is POSITIVE?!”
Q: How did you tell your family?
I did better with this one. Stephen and I got to tell our families together which was really special. His family was in town for the weekend so we had a bbq at our house. My friend Sarah from Sarah Belle Sweets made the cutest cookies that said, “Baby Bailey” and “Grandma/Aunt/Grandpa/Uncle/etc.” and we served those for dessert.
Q: Do you know the gender?
We do not! We are going to let it be a surprise when the baby is born. We technically could know at this point because we did genetic testing, but we opted out of the gender report. There are so few true surprises in the world, and we are going to be happy either way.
Q: Do you have morning sickness?
It’s gotten MUCH better now that I am in the second trimester. However, I was pretty sick during the first trimester. I found out I was pregnant the week after I started going back to the office. I was exhausted every day from having to adjust to being back at work after spending a few months at home, and then I was also making a human. I would basically be asleep by 6:30 every night. On top of that, I was nauseous or sick most of the time. I tried not to be dramatic, but it was a really hard couple of weeks. You probably noticed I took a long break from IG and my blog and it had everything to do with the exhaustion and morning sickness.
Q: Were you trying to get pregnant? How long did it take?
I am going to halfway answer this question. Not because I don’t want to tell you, but I don’t want anyone to compare their journey to our journey. Everyone and every situation is different. So the half-answer is yes, we were trying. We do not take this baby for granted and we feel very blessed that we were able to get pregnant.
Q: What are your pregnancy cravings?
I really want a cold turkey sandwich from Jimmy Johns or Panera. I can’t have cold turkey, so we are just going to have to wait on that. But the first thing I will eat after this baby is born is some freaky fast delivery. I also want freezing cold water. Water that isn’t freezing cold kind of makes me sick.
Q: Hardest part of pregnancy so far?
The waiting game is very, very tough. Nobody really tells you this, but you get a positive test and then your doctor doesn’t want to see you for a while. Then after you go to the doctor to get a confirmation, you have to wait even longer to go for your first real prenatal appointment. Waiting was extremely stressful because the whole time, I was worried about what was happening inside with the baby. The waiting doesn’t really stop there. Everything about pregnancy requires waiting. You wait to get results of bloodwork, wait for your next doctor’s appointment, wait for your next ultrasound. The waiting is really hard and it’s really taught me the meaning of “faith.” You just have to have faith that everything is ok in there. I don’t get super religious on my blog, but prayer really helped me during the first trimester. Prayer felt like something I could do to ease my mind. I pray for my baby every single day.
Another thing I’m struggling with is my body looks nothing like it used to. I definitely do not have that pregnancy glow haha! I am actually very uncomfortable and self-conscious about how I look right now. This is OBVIOUSLY minor compared to the other things, but it is affecting me a little bit.
Q: Were you using any apps to track fertility? What about now that you’re pregnant?
I used the Flo app mostly to track my periods, but it also does track fertility. I actually use three apps now that I’m pregnant. I am using The Bump, What to Expect and Pregnancy+. Each has their own benefits. The Bump gives daily fun facts rather than just weekly. What to Expect has a great community feature that groups you with other women who are due around the same time as you. Pregnancy+ seems to measure a little ahead, so keep that in mind, but it gives a good view of what is happening in the womb.