SPREADING THE NEWS . . .

January 16, 2011

14 weeks, 3 days

After hearing LP’s heartbeat, we thought we should probably start sharing our news with our extended family and friends!  Although I’m not surprised, the reactions of all of our family and friends were so heart-warming and sincere!  To say we feel honored and truly fortunate to have such an incredible support group around us is an understatement.  We haven’t quite gotten to sharing the news with all of our closest friends and family, but within the next week or two, the news will be out!  For the most part, we’ve waited to tell people until we’ve been face to face with them.  So, that’s why some of our favorites still don’t know.  We’re expecting to see them soon, so we’ll announce our surprise then.  But, man, does it feel GREAT to tell everyone about our lil’ peanut!  Stay posted for more updates!

THE SWEETEST SOUND

January 4, 2011

12 weeks, 5 days

Finally!!!  Today was our 12 week appointment with Dr. Lee.  This was one was the most anticipated, as it would be our first opportunity to hear the baby’s heartbeat.  We knew this ultrasound would show us a much more developed baby than the little peanut we saw before, but I don’t either of us were quite ready for what we saw on that screen!  There was our baby just laying on his or her back and basically crawling upside down in my belly!  His or her little legs were moving like crazy!  I have to say that’s by far the most amazing thing that I’ve ever seen in my life. 

And, the heartbeat!  Honestly, it was the sweetest sound!  For those of you who follow old wives’ tales, here’s one that you may have heard before.  If the baby’s heartbeat is above 140, you’re supposedly having a girl.  Anything lower than that, and it’s a boy.  Well, LP’s heartbeat was a strong 160!  That puts us in the GIRL category!  I know there’s not necessarily truth to this tale and definitely know tons of people who it’s been wrong for, but I still think it’s fun to guess!  We’ve gone back and forth as to whether we want to find out the baby’s sex.  There are pros and cons to both options. But, I think we’ve come to the conclusion that we’re going to find out!  So, for those of you dying to know, we should have an update by the end of February!

Wow, did this whole appointment make this pregnancy feel real!  I know it will only get better from here!  I can’t wait until I have a real preggo belly (instead of the few extra pounds around the middle that make me look like I just overindulged in holiday goodies) and I feel my first kicks, punches, and wiggles!  Soon enough.

Mommy’s weight: 108.8lbs  Just 1 pound, but feels like 5!  My pants are definitely getting snug :-)

Here's a sneak peak of LP at 12 weeks, 5 days:

SURPRISE! YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE A NIECE OR A NEPHEW!

December 27^th and 30^th

12 weeks!

Yay!  The time has come to tell our siblings about our good news!  Finally.

I went back and forth about how to tell my sister and her family.  But, ultimately, we thought it would be funny to just say it casually rather than making some kind of big announcement.  This was my sister’s first time home since our house was finished in October.  So, she came over with the kids and my Mom to check it out.  We gave them the tour of the house, and as we were showing them the fourth bedroom, we said, as nonchalantly as we could, that “come July, this will be the nursery!”  It took my sister a minute to figure out what I was talking about, but a few seconds later, she turned to me and said “What?!!!”  That, of course, was followed by tears and hugs.  It was almost perfect, except for one thing.  My brother in law, Royal, wasn’t there.   Unfortunately, he couldn’t make the trip to Michigan this time.  But, I’m still super excited that I finally had a chance to spill the beans to my sister!  I would have done it sooner, but I really wanted to see her face.  I’m so glad that I waited!

Our announcement to Vikas’s brother, Nilesh, and his wife, Neha was just as perfect.  Since they weren’t in town for Christmas, we had to wait until after to exchange gifts.  As we were nearing the end of the presents, they opened our second to last gift, which was an adorable little outfit for their little-girl-to-be (coming in March) with the words “little sister” across the front.  Then, our niece, Anjali (yep, we have two with the same name, just different spellings) opened the last gift.  Being the two year old that she is, seeing that it wasn’t another cool toy, she wasn’t quite interested in this gift.  So, in her disappointment, she sort of just picked up the shirt and dropped it on the ground.  It was still folded, and all that you could see was that it was a pink  t-shirt with a cute little cartoon monkey on it.  Well, when Neha opened it, I think she was expecting it to say “This Little Monkey is Going to Be a Big Sister” because the prior gift was for the little one.  But, when she read it, she realized that it said “This Little Monkey is Going to Be a Big Cousin!”  It took her a second to realize what that meant.  But, within seconds, lots of hugs and a few tears.  What a nice feeling to know that all of our family is just as excited about LP as we are!

Oh, and I have to say, hitting the 12 week mark feels like quite the accomplishment.  I’ve been VERY lucky so far—no morning sickness, just a few food aversions and cravings, some skin changes, and tons of sleeping.  If you know me, I’m not a sleeper.  5-6 hours and I’m usually good.  But, these past few weeks, I’ve been exhausted.  I mean, dead tired.  Plus, work has been insane.  But, we’re supposedly on our way to more energy, so maybe this exhaustion will die down soon.  Second trimester, here we come!!! 

MOMMY’S 30^th BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

December 12, 2010

9 weeks, 3 days.

Blessed.  That’s how I’m feeling today.  I’ve just had an incredible 30^th birthday weekend!  Vikas and my best friend, Meghan, did an unbelievable job of spoiling me and making me feel like the luckiest girl in the world!  Yesterday was the day of my actual birthday, and I spent it getting pampered with Meghan.  We had an incredible day at the spa--90 minute pedicures, complete with reflexology and leg and foot massages, and manicures---topped off with a great lunch!  Then, Vikas and I had a wonderful and romantic dinner to end a perfect day!  

But, that wasn’t the end of it.  Vikas and Meghan planned a fabulous 30^th birthday brunch for me and 15 or so of my close friends at this wonderful restaurant called Forte!  It was set up in a gorgeous private dining room, and Meghan decorated the room beautifully with candles, roses and balloons!  Not only was the food great, but the company was too!  Plus, they got my favorite cupcakes from Just Baked!  For a newly pregnant lady, that really was a nice treat. Lol.  Honestly, the weekend was absolutely perfect!  Being surrounded by most of my favorite people, all I wanted to do was shout that we’re EXPECTING! But, since we haven’t heard the heartbeat yet, I managed to keep our little secret to myself.  That wasn’t easy, though.  Just a few weeks and we’ll finally get to tell our siblings!

LIL’ PEANUT!

December 7, 2010

8 weeks, 5 days

Wow!  I’m on Cloud 9!  This is the day that Vikas and I have been waiting for three LONG weeks.  We got to see our lil’ peanut again today!  We have just been praying that the baby is growing big and strong.  As I imagine most pregnant women do, I talk to the baby often.  Today, all I’ve been saying to LP, is be a good girl or boy and cooperate with the doctor so we can see you, ok?  That’s exactly what LP did.  LP is growing big and strong, and looked just like his or her nickname.  Just a lil’ peanut! We were even able to see LP’s teeny tiny heart flickering quickly!  Dr. Lee says that everything looks good and that the baby is right where he or she should be.  Phew!  What a relief!  But, I have to say, on some level, I knew everything would be fine . . . because LP is already our perfect little guy/girl!  We have a few pictures of LP to prove it :-) Of course, while we were still in the office, LP’s Nani and Nana (my Mom and Dad) called because they were so anxious to hear that everything was going well.  We called them right after our appointment and told them the good news!

The next appointment is on January 4, 2011.  I’ll be 12 weeks and 5 days pregnant.  We can’t wait to see our LP again! 

Mommy’s weight: 107.8lbs  Whoa!!! 1.8 lbs in just 3 weeks!

SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR . . .

November 25, 2010

7 weeks

Today is Thanksgiving day.  Every year, I take time on Thanksgiving to reflect on just how incredibly blessed I have been throughout my life.  But, this year, we had one more thing to be grateful for . . . LP!  The prospect of becoming parents is an indescribable feeling, and today, I feel more blessed than I could imagine—amazing husband, wonderful family, supportive  friends, good health, a great job and a BABY on the way! Since Vikas and I would be spending Thanksgiving with our parents, we figured today would be the perfect time to tell them that they were going to be grandparents again.  Unfortunately, our siblings and their families weren’t able to spend Thanksgiving with us this year, so we’d have to wait until Christmas to tell them in person.  But, in a way, it made it really special for our parents to share that moment just with the two of us (well, three of us). 

So, after we finished eating our Thanksgiving feast and were finishing up our dessert, Vikas brought out two wrapped gifts for each of our moms.  We told them that when we saw these gifts, we thought of them and had to have them.  When they opened them, they saw these cute frames that said “Grandkids” on the bottom.  In the center, we had put a piece of paper that said “Picture Coming July 15^th!”  Well, needless to say, our parents were beyond thrilled!  Even if we’re half as good to LP as our parents have been to us, LP will be a lucky little guy or girl!

PEANUT, MEET DR. LEE

November 16, 2010

5 weeks, 5 days

Wow, it's just a week and a half after we found out that we were expecting, but it seems like an eternity!  But, the good news was that we were able to see our lil’ peanut for the first time!  Dr. Lee did an ultrasound of my abdomen and was able to show us the fetal sac that will be LP’s home for the next 9 months, and we even saw LP’s little spine (just barely, but it was there)!  Dr. Lee also checked to make sure that my hormone levels were where they need to be, and said that we’re doing good!  Phew!  I was so super nervous and know that we aren’t out of the woods, but it definitely felt good to hear that everything is on track.  Our next chance to see LP is on December 7.  We couldn’t wait, especially because we had read that we should be able to see the baby’s heartbeat! Counting down the days . . .

Mommy’s weight: 106lbs.  Let’s hope this doesn’t increase too quick :-) (I’m sure I won’t be updating this stat for too much longer . . . lol!)

IT HAPPENED!

November 7, 2010

Today was the day that we’ve been waiting for!  We got our Big Fat Positive pregnancy test!  Woohoo! I can’t tell you how incredible it was to see those two little lines come across that test!  Now, hiding it from Vikas all day, well, that was pretty darn tough.  I was planning to go to work all day—yes, I know, a Sunday.  And, I figured that all of our trying to conceive didn’t work, as we had tested just three days before and got a negative.  We had agreed that we wouldn’t test again until Tuesday, but, I thought, why not just try again.  And, what do you know?! There it was!  My first instinct was to run downstairs with that test in my hand to tell Vikas that he was going to be a Daddy! But, then I took a breath and thought about how lucky I was to be in the position to make the moment even more special for him.  So, I kissed him goodbye and told him that I’d be home in the evening. 

Needless to say, I got no work done.  I spent my day dreaming all about our baby and conjuring up a creative and sweet way to tell Vikas that we were pregnant.  So, finally, I went to the store and bought a pair of women’s shoes (so that I could have the shoe box), baby booties, a great card with little rubber duckies all over it, and the Expectant Father, a book that’s supposed to teach future Dads all about what’s going on with their babies-to-be and, of course, their baby’s mama too!  I took the women’s shoes out of the box and put the baby booties inside instead with the card (written from our lil' peanut (LP), of course).  I walked in, put the bag down, walked toward the bathroom and told Vikas that I got a great pair of shoes that I wanted him to look at, but that I didn’t think I’d be be able to use them until the summer (July 15th to be exact--that's when we're due!).  Vikas didn’t exactly do what I asked him to do the first time.  So, I asked again, as usual.   I think he thought I was a little crazy for wanting him to look at the shoes so badly!  But, then he finally opened the box!  And all he could say is REALLY?!, as tears filled both of our eyes.  It was an incredible moment!  We were both a little scared to get too excited, but we were definitely cautiously optimistic.  Boy oh boy, talk about a blessing! We couldn’t wait until we saw LP for the first time.