It is the start of 2016 and there are a lot of new adventures in store for me and my husband, Stephen. Stephen is going to be finishing his last semester up at the University of Utah studying Business Management; that means job searching come the spring! I am still working as a job coach trainer at the West Jordan Deseret Industries. We are also expecting our first baby in June!!! Yay!!!
I was sooo excited to find out that we were pregnant--until I started thinking about what that meant and then I was super nervous. I wasn't the best of babysitters growing up. If all I had to do was watch a movie and eat pizza with them, I was living the high life! Not to say that I didn't give baths or put kids in bed or help with the dishes or take kids to the park or drive them to various activities (when I was older). I just didn't babysit a lot, and I usually baby sat older kids; unlike my sister, Sierra, who it seemed babysat children right out of the womb! (Thank you Hansen family!)
I am learning that there are a lot of things that go into preparing for a baby--the least of all being the toll it takes physically and emotionally. I am un-officially eighteen weeks pregnant. My first three months have been quite trying. I was pretty sick (by my standards). I couldn't keep food down and it seemed like everything that hit my stomach would come back up. How was this little thing growing inside of me even getting enough to survive itself? I was tired all the time and just felt drained of all my energy. My husband was (and still is) my knight-in-shining-armor through it all. Despite having a full semester's load of credits, he was very helpful with household chores and even fending for himself when it came to meal time. I mean, how was I supposed to feed him when the sight and smell of food made me sick?! He has been such a trooper. And now he has a full docket of meals he knows (and I know he knows) how to prepare.
Now to the emotional stuff about my pregnancy--not knowing whether or not I really was pregnant until about week 12 or so. I had my first prenatal appointment with my OBGYN back when I was about 8 weeks pregnant--pretty typical. My doctor asked when my last period was, calculated a guesstimated due date, and orders some blood and urine tests to be done. I went to the lab, had the work done, and was finished in a matter of minutes. I awaited my results anxiously, something to tell me I was really pregnant and not just making it up. However, I couldn't find anywhere on my lab results where it said in big bold letters "CONGRATS! You're pregnant!" I messaged my doctor asking where it said that on my results and got the message back "It won't. We just take your word for it". WHAT?!?!?! So, am I pregnant or not? For a few weeks I just sat wondering. Sure, I had now missed two periods and I was throwing up three or more times a day and was showing all the signs. But until you really know, you don't know; you know? I kept telling my husband, "What if I am one of those psycho ladies you see on the talk shows that wants a baby sooooo bad that she is convinced she is pregnant, her body shows all the signs, and she really isn't. And then she has to tell everyone she isn't." He would try and reassure me but I still just wanted to KNOW!
And to make matters worse, around Thanksgiving time, I had some spotting and bleeding. I knew this was a natural part of some women's pregnancies and that it didn't necessarily mean that anything was wrong. But, man, was I scared! I wasn't even sure I was pregnant, but the thought of me being pregnant and then loosing it scared me more than anything. I was an emotional wreck. I cried and cried and then finally settled down reminding myself that it was okay, everything was fine. If I wasn't experiencing any pain, it was probably just old blood leaving my system. And then I had to go to work. And then the spotting turned into bleeding. And I cried and cried and knew that I didn't want to be at work and deal with this by myself. Stephen was in class and was unable to comfort me so I called my mom and she came to my work and hugged me and let me cry it out some more. She reminded me that there was no pain, and as long as I wasn't filling a pad, I should be okay. It was natural for some pregnancies. I settled down again and was relieved when there was no more bleeding that night, although still worried I wasn't out of the clear. I was. And the worry and fear eventually subsided.
Next came prenatal visit number two at 12 weeks. Stephen was able to come with me and at this visit, my doctor pulled out the Doppler scope thinger and we heard the most beautiful sound in the world! A little whoop-whoop-whoop of a heartbeat! Stephen looked at me, smiled, and said "I told you so!" It was true--we were growing a little human inside of me and it wasn't just in my head. The doctor listened for a couple of minutes and told us each time we heard a scratch/interruption that it was the baby moving around. We listened for about a minute more with the Doctor commentating "That's the baby. That's the baby. That was you. That's the baby." Apparently we have a very active baby growing inside me. And it was just as exciting to hear it at the 16 week appointment as well. We are scheduled to meet with my doctor one more time before our scheduled ultrasound where we will find out exactly how far along I am and the gender of our baby! I can hardly wait!
It has been so exciting to see others' reactions as well. My family found out we were pregnant at my dad's birthday celebration. We told him that we had another present for him but he would have to wait until June to get it. It took everyone a second to realize what we were saying but when it did, it did! My sisters were saying, "I knew it!" And my dad and mom were very happy--they were going to be first time grandparents. My mom had texted me earlier that week asking if I was going to come out to visit on a Thursday--my usual day to visit. I wasn't feeling super great and just let her know that I probably wasn't going to be out, sparing the details. She immediately texted back, "Are you pregnant?" I lied and said no because we weren't telling anyone yet and probably wouldn't be for a few more weeks. Stephen, however, let it slip to his mom that I was feeling "nauseous"; she looked at him like "what did you just say?!?!" So we decided to tell our parents and my siblings (because who can keep a secret like that from other roommates in the house) a few weeks early. We also told Stephen's siblings at Thanksgiving and they were all so excited to add another little Steenblik grand-baby to the mix.
My grandparents were pretty fun to surprise too. We told them and my extended Butterfield family on Christmas Eve. My grandpa, when we were little, used to tell us not to swallow watermelon seeds--you might grow a watermelon with vines and everything. So to go along with grandpa's story, we got a small box and a baby bottle and filled the baby bottle up with little watermelon candies. Then on the box it said "Uh-Oh!" and inside it said, "Looks like Landry swallowed a watermelon seed! Baby Steenblik ripe for the pickin' June 2016". Grandma and grandpa opened the box Christmas Eve and were so excited to read those notes. It was actually really fun to see their reactions. Grandma said, "I already started on the booties!
My aunt Lushawn said that she had been wondering all night if I was. She thought it when we first got to my grandparents house but decided that we weren't because we had said we were going to wait until school was done. Then later, I was crying during a song my sisters were singing and she decided that yes I was pregnant. My uncle BK said that he just knew that we had an announcement to make that night. My cousin Spencer was probably the best--he didn't get why we gave grandma and grandpa watermelon candies and why it was important we told them that I had swallowed a watermelon seed. Aunt Marci had to explain that I was pregnant--that I really hadn't swallowed a watermelon seed but that I was going to have a baby. My cousin Camden said that when my baby got here he was "going to give her a kiss"; which I thought was super cute.
So we are continuing on in this wonderful new adventure! Now that I am into my second trimester, my pants no longer fit, my stomach is definitely showing signs of a growing baby, and so does my appetite. I am not really queasy anymore; although some smells and foods can set me off. I can't eat carrots or broccoli--baby Steenblik just won't let me. I am craving jelly beans and anything gummy-sweet. Also, pringles.
My grandparents were pretty fun to surprise too. We told them and my extended Butterfield family on Christmas Eve. My grandpa, when we were little, used to tell us not to swallow watermelon seeds--you might grow a watermelon with vines and everything. So to go along with grandpa's story, we got a small box and a baby bottle and filled the baby bottle up with little watermelon candies. Then on the box it said "Uh-Oh!" and inside it said, "Looks like Landry swallowed a watermelon seed! Baby Steenblik ripe for the pickin' June 2016". Grandma and grandpa opened the box Christmas Eve and were so excited to read those notes. It was actually really fun to see their reactions. Grandma said, "I already started on the booties!
My aunt Lushawn said that she had been wondering all night if I was. She thought it when we first got to my grandparents house but decided that we weren't because we had said we were going to wait until school was done. Then later, I was crying during a song my sisters were singing and she decided that yes I was pregnant. My uncle BK said that he just knew that we had an announcement to make that night. My cousin Spencer was probably the best--he didn't get why we gave grandma and grandpa watermelon candies and why it was important we told them that I had swallowed a watermelon seed. Aunt Marci had to explain that I was pregnant--that I really hadn't swallowed a watermelon seed but that I was going to have a baby. My cousin Camden said that when my baby got here he was "going to give her a kiss"; which I thought was super cute.
So we are continuing on in this wonderful new adventure! Now that I am into my second trimester, my pants no longer fit, my stomach is definitely showing signs of a growing baby, and so does my appetite. I am not really queasy anymore; although some smells and foods can set me off. I can't eat carrots or broccoli--baby Steenblik just won't let me. I am craving jelly beans and anything gummy-sweet. Also, pringles.
