10 Weeks

**This is an old post that I wrote, hoping to add the pics I'd been taking on my camera.... which we never got around to doing. So its a late post, but oh well.

Today I am 10 weeks pregnant.

I am constantly reminded of this little peanut with my extreme nausea and occasionally vomiting. Of course I am tired constantly, but it doesn't help that I work nights and my sleep is all out of wack anyway, pregnant or not. So I just sleep all the time. And by that I mean all the time. Case in point: I worked Tuesday night. Came home Wednesday morning and was in bed by 9am. I slept until 5pm. Woke up, had some dinner, watched some TV, and was back in bed at 11. I didn't sleep the whole night, woke up around 5am, but still, that's a lot of sleeping! My body (and baby) will thank me later I'm hoping.

During my sister's pregnancy she subscribed to one of the million pregnancy trackers on the web. This site is hilarious, baby-gaga.com. The weekly progress posts are funny, they try to keep it light. They talk about the baby stats and also what the mom should expect. The week 10 post is titled: "My sweet lil' poo factory." This is the blog I've decided to follow. The comedy keeps me coming back.

Week 10 Stats:

-Length: 1.4 inches

-Weight: 0.14 oz (4g)

-Major milestones: This tiny baby now has a functioning digestive tract capable of moving food all the way through their bowel.

January 22: Take Two

January 22nd also shared a special, life-changing moment for John and I. It was that cold, snowy morning where we first shared a glimpse at the little white stick and gasped at what we saw....

TWO pink lines, faint, but nonetheless two pink lines!

Now don't get me wrong, the excitement and emotion felt at this point is very overwhelming. Between elation, shock, happiness, and all the other tugs at your emotional heartstrings, part of me was stuck on the disbelief aspect. I was in such disbelief that I proceeded to take not 1, not 2, but 3 more tests just to be sure. The second line was a little too faint for my comfort on the first test. But tests 2 and 3 looked exactly the same. John kept laughing at me and telling me I was being crazy, but I told him, let’s just see what tomorrow's test will show. (I was already planning on one more-just to be certain)

John had decided a few days prior to come along to the alumni meet since Sean would be there. Never a chance to miss hanging out with some of the guys! After John left for basketball practice, I was struck with a fear of John attending the meet. He can't keep his mouth shut to save his life! And if any of you have talked to John in the past 2.5 years (since our wedding day) he's been working EVERYONE to help convince me that it was time for babies, especially Kathie. Every time he sees her, he is on a mission; the two of them pack a mean punch! My fear was that John wouldn't be able to keep this from Kathie. Not that we didn't want her, or anyone else for that matter to find out, but this was way too soon to hit the celebrate button. I made him SWEAR on his potential-future-child's life to keep his mouth shut...

Truly this was so hard to keep quiet. Between all the ooh's and aah's towards the cute babies come the questions from everyone, "when are you and John going to try, any babies in the future for you guys?" I don't know how we were able to keep straight faces when we repeatedly said "not yet, maybe next year". Meanwhile knowing deep down, the possibility and moment was actually happening right then and there! Somehow we skated through, laughing and smiling when we got home that we actually didn't slip up.

Now let me go back to the moment of discovery because I don't believe I painted a true picture of my/our excitement. While sitting at the desk, watching the 2 minutes count down on my stopwatch... waiting... for an eternity it seemed... DING! Time was up.

Into the bathroom I went to peer at the stick on the counter. Conversation as follows:

Dana: Umm, John you have to come see this.

John: What does it say?

D: I'm not sure.

J:(comes into bathroom)

D: I think it's a positive.

J: What do you mean you think?

D: Well I think those lines are supposed to match up just like the picture here on the instructions.

J: Well I don't know, you bought the test.

D: Here, read the directions

J: (reads) I think it's a positive.

D: Maybe I should take another test, just to be sure.

15 minutes later after drinking a large glass of water and OJ:

D: Yep, this one looks the same.

J: Well I guess it's a positive then.

D: Maybe one more will be a little clearer, what do you think?

J: If you think so.

D: Alright, one more try.

15 minutes later after 2 large glasses of water

D: Yep, definitely still looks the same.

So here we are, actually pregnant! Blood work and many urine tests show that we are expecting a baby. Estimated due date: September 22, 2011. We cannot wait to welcome baby LaMacchia to the world :)

January 22: Take One

January 22nd was MSU Gymnastics annual Alumni meet, bringing in lots of past teammates and great friends from all over the country. I love this weekend for so many reasons. It's great to see everyone in person and hear their voices as opposed to reading updates and chatting via facebook or text messages. Of course, my camera made the trip to Jenison, but never actually surfaced out of my purse. Therefore I have no pictures to show the smiles and laughter shared by all. It's always fun to catch up with everyone and find out what they are up to now. Of course, it's also great to see all the adorable babies :)

We certainly missed all of those that could not make it this year, and can't wait for Alumni weekend next year!

Happy New Year!

First things first... I have been meaning to start a blog, but have been lacking the motivation to actually do it. One of my new year's resolutions for 2011 was to look into/attempt to create my own blog. So here goes, a little late, but certainly not short on effort.

Its an age-old saying "out with the old and in with the new" but for some reason, this rings true for myself in 2011. I am coming up on my one year anniversary at Sparrow as an RN. With one year under my belt, so much has changed in myself personally and the "nurse" in me. I have learned about my limits, how far my faith is tested, my understanding of the human body, who to trust and how much I can rely on others, just to name a few. Never did I imagine that by completing a career 180, my life would be turned upside-down in the past 2+ years, but in a good way. So for this reason, I fully believe that if you are passionate about something, make it happen. There's never a better time to do it then now. Out with the old and in with the new!

Here's to a great 2011, short of nothing but surprises :)