Pregnancy Announcement + Pregnancy Q + A!

Yes, you’re reading that title correctly! If you don’t follow me on Instagram then you may not have seen our super special announcement! We are having a baby! It’s still so surreal to me let alone that I am now writing about it for all of you guys! I have been DYING trying to keep this a secret for the last 10 weeks. It has made everything difficult from writing blog posts to popping into my Instagram stories. Now that the secret is out I’m so excited for things to be getting back to normal around here. Though I will go ahead and say that there ARE going to be some pretty exciting changes happening with the blog and with the AM Coffee Collective and I can’t wait to share those plans with you guys soon.

BUT FIRST, we’re here to talk about the fact that I am freaking pregnant, y’all! I mean, didn’t think I’d be saying that 3 months after our wedding but here we are. The past month has been wild so I figured I would answer a few of the most asked questions pregnant women get right off the bat. I also opened up my Instagram stories for you guys to submit questions for this post! I’m so excited to answer these so thank you to everyone who sent me a question! I was so nervous about how this community would react so it’s such a blessing to be receiving so much support. I seriously can’t thank you enough. OKAY, OKAY, let’s get into this!

How I found out I was pregnant

Justin and I did our usual Sunday routine the day before I tested. We went to church, went to Zaxby’s for lunch, then rounded out the afternoon with grocery shopping. I remember after eating lunch that I just felt SO awful. I was so bloated and the high waisted jeans I was wearing were super tight. By the time we got to the grocery store I just felt down right disgusting. At the time, I figured this was just normal PMS happening because my period was due to start any day. I had been tracking my period using the GLOW app on my phone for about two years now just because my period is one of those pesky ones and I was literally ALWAYS forgetting when it was going to start. Keeping track of your period helps you to plan for events and while Justin was at West Point there were A LOT of events so I wanted to be prepared. ANYWAYS, Justin was set to go into the field the following Monday for the week so along with stocking up on groceries we purchased two of the large bottles of Barefoot wine for me to enjoy during my first week alone without my husband.

The next day, after dropping Justin off to go out into the field, I had coffee with a friend and realized I so was NOT in to my coffee or the bagel. It all just didn’t seem appetizing. I was planning on spending the afternoon at Target just strolling around the aisles as I like to do in my spare time so I just chalked it up again to PMS symptoms (my boobs were also super sore which is pretty normal for me during that time of the month). I decided to check my app before heading to Target and realized that I was actually a few days late. I wasn’t worried because, like I said, I felt like I was PMSing, so the thought of being pregnant didn’t really occur to me at the time. My period has been known to skip months here and there or just be irregular all together so the last thing I was thinking was that I was actually pregnant.

While I was at Target I made the decision to pick up some super comfortable bras that I could sleep in to help the soreness, in hindsight, such a great decision because I practically am living in them right now. Anyways, while at Target the thought kind of dawned on me that I could possibly be pregnant. I knew that I would be cracking open one of those wine bottles that evening so I figured taking a pregnancy test wouldn’t hurt. I was 90% sure it was going to be negative. I wanted to be absolutely sure so I splurged on the Clear Blue Digital Pregnancy Tests that literally say “PREGNANT” or “NOT PREGNANT”. I didn’t want there to be any doubt. So I came home and took the first test and much to my shock and surprise, it was positive.

The next part of this story is actually hilarious to me. It was about 7pm at that point. I was FREAKING OUT. I couldn't tell anyone because, HELLO, my husband was in the freaking field and wouldn’t be back until Friday. I ran to the PX and bought prenatal vitamins and some body butter for stretch marks (not sure why I did this, to be honest) and then headed to Barnes and Noble (a 25 minute drive from my house) to pick up some books. I got What to Expect when You’re Expecting and a book for Justin about being a father that I figured I could use to surprise him when he got home. At this point I was still in shock but I knew the chances of the pregnancy test being a false positive were slim to none. The next morning, I took the second one just to be sure.

Telling my husband

Waiting for Justin to come out of the field that week was torture. The funniest part was that at one point he asked me if I thought I should test because my period hadn’t started. I lied and said that I forgot to tell him that it had because telling him he was going to be a father for the first time over the phone just didn’t seem right. So I waited. That was probably simultaneously the best and worst week of my life. I was so anxious about the pregnancy and still felt like I couldn’t tell anyone until I told my husband. I knew I wanted to do something cute to share the news with him so I went to TJ Maxx and bought a few gender neutral baby things. I wrapped them in a brown paper bag along with his book and the two positive pregnancy tests.

The day Justin came out of the field was the longest day of my life! The timing just didn’t seem right throughout the day to tell him so I waited until just before we were heading out to dinner to give him the bag. He was so confused and then realized what was going on. I don’t think his facial expression is something I will ever forget.

From the Coffee Crowd:

(aka you guys! Should this be what the audience is referred to? Lemme know LOL)

How far along are you?

I am 10 weeks this week! I found out luckily right at 4 weeks (which is a total lie because that’s just the time from the start of your last period until your missed period).

Are you doing a gender reveal?

Yes! We will absolutely be doing a gender reveal! We are hoping to find out the gender fairly early and then hosting a small get together with our local friends since we don’t have family close by. I will definitely let you know when we start making plans for that!

Do you have any fears about postpartum?

I actually don’t. I have been terrified of pregnancy/giving birth/being a mom my entire life and the minute I told Justin I was pregnant, it was like a flip switched. It’s been a little hard to get excited about the pregnancy because of my anxiety but now that it’s no longer a secret and we’ve been showered with love and support I definitely feel that weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I think as the reality of labor gets closer that my anxiety will probably pick up a little more about postpartum but I’m really trying to keep a positive mindset about labor/delivery and being postpartum. I’m educating myself without reading too many horror stories!

How’s the morning sickness and how has it changed your day to day?

The first few weeks I definitely had more nausea than I do now but I think that had more to do with figuring out what I needed to eat to keep it down. I have two waffles and a glass of milk every morning when I first wake up and that pretty much has kept me nausea free since the first few weeks. The morning sickness hasn’t affected my day to day but my number one symptom has been exhaustion. I have to nap every day and that looks different depending on what time I get up and just overall how I’m feeling. Yesterday I napped from 8-10am but usually I take a nap in the afternoon right after lunch. That has been the biggest struggle because it’s made it hard to do anything or be productive. Thank goodness I got that library card, it’s been getting a lot of use.

Are you going to breastfeed?

I am definitely going to try to breastfeed but I am not one of those people who will give up their happiness for fear of shaming. I know that not all women can breastfeed and that not all babies take to it so I’m keeping an open mind when it comes to that. I’ve heard it is one of the most challenging yet most rewarding things that you will ever do as a woman so I am looking forward to it. I will definitely be asking all of you breastfeeding mammas out there for advice when I get closer to the end of my pregnancy!

Are you excited for a snow baby?

This question made me LOL because we’ll be delivering here in Georgia so I don’t think there will be any snow. But I am an April baby and they seem to run in the family on Justin’s side so that makes me really happy that our little babe will also be an April baby.

If it’s a girl will you name her after me?

We do have a girl name picked out already and it is super special to me!

Are you leaning toward a gender?

We 100% just want a happy and healthy baby which is what everyone says. I’m 90% convinced that it is a boy and Justin is too. He is kind of panicking about what it will be like to be a girl dad though which kiiiiiiind of makes me lean more towards wanting a girl.

What was your original baby timeline?

Justin wanted to start trying immediately and I wanted to wait a year. However when we got married we were under the agreement that God’s timing would be perfect and that whenever it happened it just kind of would happen. I legitimately thought it would take us a lot longer to conceive so we are blessed beyond measure. So many couples struggle with infertility and that breaks my heart. While this year is going to be crazy with Ranger School, having a newborn, and moving to Alaska, I’m glad we ended up going with sooner rather than later. I wouldn’t want Justin to have to miss out on so much once we’re out of this time of training.

Being your bundle of joy was unexpected, what made y’all decide you wanted to become parents?

As I mentioned, we kind of just gave it to God. When I saw the positive pregnancy test there was no other option for us than to step into that roll. I have never really seen myself as being a mother and for a long time swore I was never going to have kids (I also said I wasn’t going to get married either and look at me now) but I think that was all more out of fear than anything else. We have a solid foundation to bring this baby into the world with love and friendship and family. We’re financially stable, even on only one income which is a total blessing, and despite the fact that I would have rather enjoyed newlywed life for a little while longer than immediately starting our family, the timing just felt right. It’s hard to argue with the big guy upstairs.

PS: Shoutout to Melissa for taking our amazing announcement photos! You can follow here on Instagram, Facebook, and check out her website here!

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Pregnancy Announcement + Pregnancy Q + A!