Our Baby’s Gender Was Wrong

I have always wanted a little girl; a mini me. After having the genetic blood work done at my 13 week appointment, I anxiously awaited the results to find out what we would be having!

Long story short, I found a cute little way to do a reveal, and enlisted the help of my friend and trusty coworker, Carli, to film it for us so we would be able to share with friends and family. We found out we were having a boy. Mike was so excited, and I was not disappointed. In fact, friends reassured me how fun little boys are, and the excitement was growing, and I started picking out my favorite names. Based on my lack of symptoms (though wives tales, I know), I had a hunch it was a boy.

Fast forward to the anatomy scan (see previous post) – we were shocked to find out, that she was in fact a little girl! There were no ‘boy parts’ to be seen.

I called my mom as soon as I left the appointment to let her know. She was excited! She wanted it to be a girl all along.

Then, I had to tell all of my friends that I had already shared the news with that it was actually a girl! Everyone seemed excited for me, and many responses were about how I must be so excited that I got my girl!

But to be completely honest, once again, I didn’t know how I felt. I certainly wasn’t overcome with joy or excitement right away. I felt more sadness, like I was in mourning. But why?

I think this was my chance to finally realize that it had been twins and I had lost one. I had never really taken the time to feel my emotions over this loss. I think the bigger hit was that this confirmed it would’ve been boy/girl twins, which sounded so ideal.

I took some time and let myself cry. I needed to let those emotions out to feel okay. I try to always be so strong, but through this I learned how important it is to let yourself feel however you need to feel, and that it is okay to do so.

Pregnancy hormones can be wild and it is so important to take care of yourself and mental health for yourself and baby!

Since I now have a cute (and wrong) gender reveal video and nothing to do with it, I figured I could share it here anyway. I am pretty proud of it! πŸ˜‚

Needless to say, it looks like we are turning into the lucky ones with a pregnancy full of surprises, though luckily, these surprises could be worse. Staying grateful for my healthy, growing baby girl and cannot wait to welcome her into our family in September!

Laugh Often – Rachel

24 week ultra sound

The one silver lining to a gender mix up? An extra ultra sound to verify! It sounds like the 24 week appointment is typically pretty standard and uneventful. Mine started with an ultra sound!

Although it was quick, it’s always fun to see that sweet baby face in there. 😍

edited us 24 1

The ultra sound tech confirmed that she was still a girl! This emotional pregnant mama wasn’t going to be able to take another gender swap! πŸ˜‚

Afterwards was another visit with the OB, and directions for the next visit: 28 weeks – the dreaded Gestational Diabetes Test!!! 😳

24 weeks

Laugh Often – Rachel

20 week anatomy scan

This was an appointment that I had been looking forward to for so long! It comes with nerves – how is baby doing? Is baby growing on track? Questions were flying through my mind especially because I wasn’t feeling many movements just yet.

Because of Covid-19, Mike was unable to attend, which was a major bummer, but I completely appreciate extra precautions to keep everyone healthy and safe. Matter of fact, this appointment was moved up a week due to scheduling changes with all that is going on; a very pleasant surprise!

I arrived to my appointment, having not left the house in four weeks for my last appointment (other than walking the dogs, or riding in the car). The world seemed like a completely different place. A mask was required to enter the building – the few people walking through the parking lot were all sporting masks. Upon entering the building, temperature was checked, and some basic questions were asked about having any symptoms. Something so new and different. I went up the elevator to the check-in desk that was un-manned. You had to call the office line to let them know you had arrived to avoid as much human contact as possible.

I waited patiently in a row of empty chairs until the ultrasound tech came out to greet me. Back to the exam room we went.

She asked if I already knew the gender, which I replied: “Yes! Unless it’s changed” – jokingly. She asked me not to tell her so she could see what she saw.

I was allowed to FaceTime Mike so he could be a part of seeing our cute little baby wiggling about. A few moments passed as she searched around to make sure she could see the little baby parts. “Here’s our GIRL!” she exclaimed. “What?” I replied. She repeated back something along the lines of it’s our girl.

Our test results had been wrong! I was a little bit shocked, and once again left unsure how to feel. I had gotten excited to be expecting a little boy. I was going to be a boy mom. My friends had told me how great being a boy mom was. I had gotten comfortable with this idea. All to change in a moments notice.

We continued on with the scan – everything looking good, and measuring on track. Baby was hiding her little face, so I was instructed to walk around for 10-15 minutes, and then we would try back for those last few images. By the end of about an hour, we were successful with capturing everything, and I was sent with some photos of our cute girl to meet with the OB.

Another enjoyable appointment, with questions answered, and some casual conversation about everything going on.

Then I headed home. Okay – I actually stopped at Chick Fil A which is perfectly located right across the street from the hospital 😁 to grab lunch for Mike and me to help us… digest… this exciting news!

20 weeks

Laugh Often – Rachel

Favorite Maternity Wear So Far

I am a huge shopping fan, but was hesitant to buy too many maternity specific clothes, and rather didn’t want to spend too much money on clothes I could only wear for so long.

I put shopping off as long as I could – until pants became tighter and more uncomfortable. All of my jeans are skinny/high-waisted, which wasn’t the best for an ever bloated mid-section. I found myself in workout pants often.

I did order a pair of pants for work, though they arrived right after being furloughed, so I haven’t had to put those to use yet.

My goal was to find a few staple pieces that could last throughout pregnancy, and would also be good for postpartum. Old Navy is a favorite, along with H&M, and Amazon so far.

Favorite Leggings: Old Navy Maternity Full-Panel Jersey Leggings

leggings

These are super comfy and seem to have plenty of stretch. They are perfect for lounging around the house, going for walks, or wearing to appointments.

Favorite Shirt: Daily Ritual Women’s Jersey Short-Sleeve Open Crewneck Tunic

tunic

This tunic is the perfect length and is not maternity specific. It would be great for everyday life with leggings as it will definitely cover your bum. It’s soft and stretchy, with plenty of room for a growing bump, and has a very flattering rounded hem.

Favorite Sleepwear: Old Navy Maternity Nursing Cami Nightgown & Amazon Women’s Nightshirt

I have been living in this navy blue nightgown from Old Navy! It’s perfect for this warmer weather that we have been having – plenty flowy, airy, soft, and stretchy. This is nursing specific and I think will be great for postpartum!

The nightshirt (I have in black) is my next favorite! Again, very soft and comfortable, and I love the cute little ruffle detail on the sleeves. This is not maternity/nursing specific, but the buttons will allow for easy access, while keeping me covered and comfortable.

I’m sure I will have some more favorites during the last trimester, so stay tuned and comfy! 😎

Laugh Often – Rachel

Telling Family and Friends I’m Pregnant

Another FaceTime call was in order to tell the rest of the fam. I had my mom rope everyone in saying she missed us and just wanted to see everyone so that no one would suspect anything. My brother, Scott and his girlfriend, Sima were there, my brother, Talor and his wife, Nikki were on, along with my Auntie Robin (AR) and Uncle Tim (UT), and of course my parents.

Again… the nerves were real!!! But we started off with casual conversation – for almost 30 minutes. πŸ˜‚ My family is made up of a bunch of talkers. Finally, I asked when everyone was going to come visit us in Colorado to see our new home. My mom knew this was the cue so she asked when would be a good time. Mike and I replied: “maybe September/October?” and my mom said “oh yeah? why is that?” And then Mike and I looked at each other and he grabbed the ultra sound photos and I said “so you can meet our baby!”

ultra sound edit
13 Week Ultra Sound

So much excitement for a new family member!!!

Next up was letting my coworkers in on our little secret. If I haven’t already said it – I am not a good secret keeper. I had told a few of my coworkers earlier on. I just couldn’t completely hide it! I see them every day!

I knew food needed to be involved – Chick Fil A was a top contender, but Nothing Bundt Cakes ultimately won. I got two boxes of bundtinis and had two of the girls who knew help me out by getting everything set up.

On my letter board, I wrote out: Unscramble the words for a special message. Then had printed out and individually cut up the words: A baby bundtini will be joining the _____ family September 2020. We gathered the team telling them we were practicing a game that we were thinking of doing at our upcoming sales event.

Our competitive team quickly began assembling the words and started making their guesses as to who was sharing this exciting news. After a number of guesses, we had everyone close their eyes, and put a photo on the board. Everyone opened their eyes to see:

Announcement 3

Baby Bubbles is on the way!!! (My nickname at work is Bubbles πŸ˜‚). Again – So. Much. Excitement.

Sharing baby news is truly the best. Reactions are always priceless.

Laugh Often – Rachel

 

First Trimester Wrap Up

Bump pics – I thought I would take pictures every week, but now that I’m here I’ve realized that not many visual changes happen during the first trimester, so that idea fell to the wayside. Below are photos from 4 weeks – the day I found out, and 10 weeks.

Cravings/Aversions – I haven’t had many at all. And I am kind of bummed! I was hoping to have some of those crazy cravings for random combinations that everyone thinks are weird, but no such luck. πŸ˜‚ The first couple of weeks I was really into hummus. I don’t know if it was necessarily a craving, it just sounded good. I got over that fairly quickly. I’m not really craving anything, it’s more so if someone mentions a certain food, it makes me want it.

One day I realllllllyyyy wanted a corn dog but it was snowing heavily outside so we didn’t want to drive. I was trying to think of anything else that sounded good to pass this craving up. I finally landed on chips and salsa. But we were out of salsa!!! That was a sad day…

Potato chips always sound good too…

I haven’t experienced any aversions, luckily. I’m just eating my usual and carrying on!

Body changes – again not too many yet. I try not to weigh myself often and dwell on numbers. I’m pretty certain I’ve gained some weight. My mid-section feels squishier, but I don’t think visually I look too much different. My boobs have definitely started growing. That’s easy to tell because I basically had none before. πŸ˜‚

Symptoms – tender/sore breasts has probably been the most noticeable. That was the most constant during the first trimester. Other than that I really haven’t had the typical symptoms. I’m definitely experiencing fatigue. This didn’t kick in right away, it took a bit. After coming down with the bad cold in early February that lasted almost two weeks, I wasn’t sure if it was the cold or pregnancy that had me feeling so tired. I assumed it was the cold. But after the cold went away, I found myself ready to go to bed by 7:30/8pm because I was just so tired.

Many women say the first trimester can be the worst, but I truly feel so lucky to have gotten through it feeling so great! With my history of random health issues, I was certain that pregnancy would be no walk in the park for me, but was pleasantly surprised to find just the opposite! Making it through the first trimester comes with a huge sigh of relief, and much looking forward to a growing bump, and feeling baby move!

Laugh Often – Rachel

Telling my parents I’m pregnant

Keeping this secret from my mom was one of the hardest things to do. I think the only way that I was able to keep it for so long is solely due to the fact that we live in different states and I hadn’t seen her in person. I tell her everything! And call her at least once a week, so the weeks went on, her asking β€œwhat’s new?” And me replying back: β€œoh… nothing much”. LIES!!! I had huge news, but wanted to tell her in a cute way at the perfect time.

I decided to wait until after our first ultra sound to tell my parents. For some reason, I just needed to see that little baby on the screen before getting too many people excited about our big news.

I had searched and searched on Amazon for the perfect mugs that would reveal the news to my parents. I knew that the dogs needed to be involved somehow, so I had stumbled upon a mug that said something along the lines of β€œyou’ve been promoted from dog grandma to human grandma.” This was perfect. So then, it was narrowing down which of these mugs was the cutest.

For some reason I couldn’t find a similar one that said grandpa, so after great lengths of hunting, I found β€œyou’re going to be a babysitter… I mean grandpa.” I thought that one would at least get a chuckle.

grandparent mugs

Grandma Mug

Grandpa Mug

They arrive to my house, and I decided to wrap them up in gift wrap and then back into an Amazon box. My ploy to get these to my parents without being too random, was that I had bought Pat a polo from the golf shop at the hotel I work at months ago, and had never sent it to him! I told my mom I was finally going to put this in the mail and to FaceTime us when they opened it because we wanted to see if he liked it and hadn’t β€˜seen’ them in awhile.

The day of our first OB appointment, I packed the box up and brought it in the car with us. After all went well, I headed off to work, and sent Mike on the important mission of taking this to the post office. The package was on its way and I was SO excited.

The package arrive on Friday and Pat wasn’t going to be back in town until Saturday. Saturday was our skiing lesson, so we had to wait all day to share our news! As we got closer to home, I texted my mom to set up our FaceTime visit! Just one more hour until we got to share the news!

I tired to play it cool in the beginning of the call. It was just a normal call, right? Wrong! We started off with casual conversation, catching up on the usual. Finally my parents said, oh yeah, let’s open this package! So Pat opens the box – loved the polo! But what are these? A gift for Ma and Pat underneath? Surprised, my mom didn’t know why there was something in there for her too.

Pat let my mom go first. She unwrapped her little box, opened it up, and inside was a mug. She pulled it out to read, at quick glance, exclaimed β€œwhat?” and as she read the whole mug wound up in tears! Which then of course, sparked tears for Pat too. He then opened his assuming it would say something similar. They were beyond excited!

After that, the questions started coming, the discussions of excitement and so on and so forth.

My mom even called me back the next day to again tell me how excited she was and see how I was feeling. Now that she knew, she felt the need to check in on me every day to make sure I was taking care of myself. The most pure of mothers. πŸ˜‡

A fun and memorable reveal!

Laugh Often – Rachel

First OB appointment and ultra sound

I was so excited for our first appointment at 9 weeks. Also nervous. You can’t help but think about the worst going into these things… We started off with an ultra sound. The ultra sound tech was an absolute doll. She was very friendly, warm and welcoming, and gave us lots of great information. She found the baby in no time, and showed us the quickly beating heart and said everything looked good.

Of course Mike had to ask… β€œwould we be able to tell if it were twins now?” The ultra sound tech replied… β€œfunny you would ask… there’s a second sac in her.” Turns out it was going to be twins but one didn’t make it. WHAT?! In the second sac was a teeny tiny little nubbin that had stopped growing a few weeks back. Wow! We almost had twins??

Mike was a little bummed. He thought it would’ve been cool to have twins. While it definitely would have been cool, it would’ve brought along a number of other challenges as well. I don’t know exactly how I feel about this, but I am certainly happy to have one happy and healthy little baby growing in there, so I have tried my absolute best to stick with that positive outlook despite what could have been. 😊

We watched the screen in awe as our tiny little nugget bounced around, practically doing flips. Mike was shocked that I couldn’t feel any of this. Such a fun experience, making things a little bit more real. We were sent on our way with some photo keepsakes.

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After our ultra sound, we met with the NP and discussed all of the pregnancy basics and what to expect during appointments through September. Mike asked his questions, and interjected with his witty comments. I’m sure he kept the NP well entertained…Β  πŸ˜‚

Laugh Often – Rachel

Telling my husband I’m pregnant

I wanted to tell Mike the very same day that I found out. I am NOT a good secret keeper and wanted to make sure I could tell him in a cute way. Just days before taking the test, I ordered a book on Amazon of Dad jokes. (Can you tell I had my hopes up and was pretty sure this was happening? – either way I was ready for whenever it might happen).

I opened the Amazon box, trying to think of the best way to give him a gift without it being too obvious or out of the blue.

I placed a little blue ribbon around the pregnancy test and put it under the book. I covered the book with tissue paper so he couldn’t see exactly what it was as he opened the box. I then resealed the Amazon box and placed it on our kitchen counter and sat on our couch waiting for Mike the sleepyhead to wake up.

A while later, he came downstairs, said good morning, and on his way into the kitchen noticed the box on the counter. β€œWhat’s this? Another package for you?” he said. β€œIt’s actually for you!” I replied. β€œI forgot I had ordered you another Hanukkah present that had been on back order, so it finally came.” He carried on, grabbing a glass of water, petting the dogs, wandering around aimlessly. I didn’t want to put too much attention on the box so it wouldn’t look too suspicious, so I sat on the couch playing on my phone; just waiting.

Moments later, he went back into the kitchen and grabbed scissors from our drawer and began opening the box. My heart began beating a little bit faster, but I was trying to play it so cool. Still looking at my phone, just glancing over to him occasionally.

He opens the box. β€œTissue paper!” he exclaims. He pulls that off the top, to see the book of dad jokes. β€œOh cool – I’ll like these.” He says. Now I’m looking at him with a sly smirk on my face – I can’t tell if he’s catching on or not. Next, he sees the pregnancy test. He grabs it, brings it over to me and says β€œCool – it’s one of those tests – now we have one.” And he turns around to go back to the box. I look at him, pause, point to it and say, β€œdid you read it?” He turns it around, trying to get a better look. β€œPregnant.” … β€œYou are?” And he ran over to give me a kiss. I might have teared up a little bit here. He was so excited. I really wasn’t expecting much of a reaction from him. He’s not very emotional and can be hard to please. But this was the perfect moment. And then, I made him promise not to tell anyone…

The best part is that we have cameras in our house, so this was all caught on tape. But he had come downstairs in only his underwear, so I’ll spare everyone from seeing that, but I’m glad it’s a memory that the two of us will be able to keep forever!

Of course afterwards he asked why I didn’t wait until he put clothes on, but I just didn’t want anything to seem out of the ordinary!

The excitement is real!!!

Telling mike

Laugh Often – Rachel

 

Finding Out I was Pregnant

It was Saturday, January 11th. I woke up very early from the need to pee. I don’t remember the exact time, but it was in the 5 o’clock hour. I quietly snuck out of bed, and into the closet where I had stashed the pregnancy tests that I had ordered on Amazon days before. I grabbed the box and tiptoed down the hall into our guest bedroom that also has its own bathroom. I didn’t want to wake Mike.

I carefully unwrapped the box and dumped the contents onto the counter. I unfolded the directions and began to read them. It seemed like a simple process, but I would hate to mess this up! Still sleepy, I fumbled with the packaging, and was ready to give it a go. Peeing on a stick! This was something new…

I finished up, put the cap back on, placed it on the counter, and washed my hands. All while telling myself don’t look, don’t look, don’t look. The directions say it can take up to 3 minutes to register, so I was anticipating these to be the longest 3 minutes of my life. I turned back around, glanced at the test, and already – maybe only 30 seconds later – there it was, β€œPregnant” staring right back at me.

I made sure to order a few different types of tests and wanted the one that said the word pregnant instead of just lines. I’ve heard about so many β€œhorror” stories where you must stare at it wondering if there is a second line, or if you’re just hoping it’s there.

I had confirmation! I was excited, but it certainly didn’t feel real. Surprisingly, I didn’t have too much of a reaction in any direction. I surprisingly didn’t shed any tears. I assumed I was pregnant because I was late getting my period, which was normally spot on, but this was just what I needed to see.

I climbed back into bed hoping to fall back asleep, but that wasn’t the case. I immediately began googling things like β€œI’m pregnant… now what?” and β€œBest pregnancy tracking apps.”

I had a little secret. And no one else in the whole wide world knew but me. Not even Mike, still fast asleep next to me.

Being my silly self – the next 2 times I had to pee this morning, I used different types of pregnancy tests just to make sure they were all coming out positive. πŸ˜‚ They were.

Going back to sleep was a funny idea. I laid there and tried to close my eyes, but who was I kidding? This was too exciting to sleep through! Downstairs I went to wait for Mister Sleepy Head to awaken…

Up Next: How I shared the news with Mike!

Laugh Often – Rachel