How a little spaceman began

Welcome to my new blog! I've created this to document my first pregnancy in the most honest way possible instead of annoying my Facebook friends with these updates. So to back up, the story of how it all began (ok, not how it actually began, you don't need to hear that).

 Long story short, after lots of worrying that my husband's chemo would make having children difficult, we were shocked and excited when we had no trouble at all. On a whim (ok, because I'm highly impatient) I took a pregnancy test the morning we were leaving for a 9-day vacation with my parents. And it was positive. Neil was loading the car and I think the way it happened was "OH MY GOD. NEIL." He said he thought one of the cats had died (?! really, that's your first thought).

 Fast forward, oh twenty minutes of shock and we're picking up my parents. Guess what, we had to blurt it out because you know what's not fun? Keeping a secret and having to pee every twenty minutes on an 9 hour road trip. Also, explaining why you're eating your sixth Philly cheese steak. And why everyone asking you if you're ok for the 80th time makes you want to punch the Liberty Bell. So, baby got to go to Philly and I was knocked up for my 30th birthday!

 The first weeks were not fun. Many friends who have had babies had early ultrasounds but I soon discovered my practice did not do that. I was a nervous wreck for 10 weeks until we were able to hear the heartbeat and at 11-12 weeks we were comfortable enough to tell people. I've been sick and exhausted, which is totally normal but also mentally and emotionally draining. I went through a lot of mental anguish, wanting to get really excited but also being deeply afraid to get attached before we heard that lovely heartbeat.

 I was so worried about my ten-week appointment that I didn't eat or sleep much for a week leading up to it. I felt pressured to tell people at Christmas and was afraid it was still too early to hear anything. But as soon as the doctor put the doppler on my stomach, there it was. A perfect heartbeat and our first real confirmation that something really was inside! I cried so hard that the baby got spooked and hid from the doctor.

 Now that I'm in week 14, I feel much, much better. Today we heard the heartbeat again and my measurements are right where they should be. The title of my blog comes from what I call the baby--a fetus floating around attached to an umbilical cord reminds me of a spaceman!

And there you have it! The tale of Baby Reed begins.