Our Journey to Five (#1)

By now, I've figured out (hopefully) a fun way to share the news that the Herman clan is ecstatic about the upcoming addition of another family member in late April!

Well before we broke the news, though, I woke up early one morning (1:00a'ish) and couldn't wait any longer to take the pregnancy test. So I did. This blog series (Our Journey to Five), will document each of our eager steps along the way, beginning that very day...


Thursday, August 19th

As is typical for me when it comes to pregnancy tests, I was unable to wait until the appointed day (supposed to be Friday, this time around) on which I told myself I was going to take it. But, by yesterday afternoon, I'd convinced myself that Thursday was long enough. So when I awoke at 1:17a today, the time had come...

After taking the test, I impatiently sat on the bed and waited for the clock on our alarm to move from 1:19a to 1:21a (the prescribed 2 minutes required for the test to process). Heck, I was proud of myself for not just standing over the test and watching it the entire time (as I'm pretty sure I did with both Ivie and Macie's)! This 2-minute span gave me the break I needed to convince myself that, either way, all would be okay. But don't let me fool you. I desperately wanted it to be positive...

Woooo Hoooooo! A plus sign!

Dale isn't home, as he's in Charlotte, NC preparing for his first regional meeting as "boss". It's going to be a big day for him, and I don't want to tell him on the phone, so I'm stuck being the only person in the world that knows we're expecting. Kind of a fun feeling!


Friday, August 20th

Dale called me to check in on his way home from Charlotte. Knowing that today was going to be the day that I took the test (before I gave in and tested early!), he asked me about it. I didn't want to tell him on the phone, but I didn't have a choice at that point! He was very excited. An hour later, I got a text from him that said, "More great news for the day! Ivie, Macie, and I love you very much!!!". What an awesome daddy!


Saturday, August 21st

I told my parents over the phone this afternoon. They're pretty excited about grandchild #8! Right now they're at 4 girls and 3 boys. Will baby Herman balance out the genders, or make it even more estrogen-heavy?!? Time will tell... We already have "leaders in the clubhouse" when it comes to names, either way...


Saturday, September 4th

I've had a couple bouts of light-headedness over the past couple of weeks, but they've been brief and passing. Today, though, at just over 6 weeks, I've had my first day of just generally not feeling great. While it probably has a lot to do with the stress and lack of sleep I've gotten over the past 10 days (due to a work crisis), I can't shake the feeling that it's at least partially related to the pregnancy. If I'm not mistaken, this was about the time in my first two that I started battling nausea. I sit here and type this after eating a Grasshopper cookie and a bowl of jello for dinner, because nothing else sounds even remotely tasty. Maybe I'll have some cereal later. And probably an early bedtime (which probably will involve watching the Heels battle LSU at 8p until I fall asleep).


Monday, September 13th

Hello, Nausea. Welcome to my world for the next few weeks (if history repeats itself). There's no denying it now. Over the weekend, there were several moments of having to just take a break and sit down, eat a Nilla Wafer or two, and just walk outside for some fresh air. I'm afraid the girls are going to be tired of the "walks around the block" I'm going to make them take in the evenings over the next few weeks!

And then there's the frustration of knowing that food generally helps me to fight through these bouts, but not being able to think of a single food item that I think I can actually stomach at the time. Not to mention that foods I love seem to fill me up more quickly. I mean, how is it even possible that I only had one piece of pizza at Alfredo's Friday night?!? I know. Crazy.

Mornings are the worst (so the phrase "morning sickness" really is appropriate for me). But late evenings aren't great either, though that might be better explained by the general tiredness that also comes in this stage of pregnancy. Either way, kudos to Dale for taking over bath duty with the girls...

One week from tomorrow is my first doctor's appointment. I'm nervous and CANNOT WAIT to hear a heartbeat. I don't remember being this nervous with the girls, although I probably was, given my nature...


Tuesday, September 21st

Today was the big day! My appointment (now at almost 9 weeks) was set for 9a, but I got to the office early (8:20a), hoping that they would be able to get me in sooner so that I could still make it to Macie's 2-year check-up at 9:50a. Turns out they were having a slow morning, so they were able to hustle me right back to the vitals room. After being questioned about my low blood pressure (nothing new for me, I've always been in the low 90's/low 60's, which is why I am oftentimes light-headed when I stand up quickly!) and registering my "pre-pregnancy" weight (which we'll use to determine how much weight I gain with pregnancy #3), I went back to Dr. T's room. I've seen Dr. T for both Ivie and Macie, so, we've got a pretty comfortable relationship. Which is nice, obviously, when he has to see things that... Well, out of respect for my male readers, I won't go there.

We tried to hear the heartbeat abdominally, but were unsuccessful, given the apparent tilt of my uterus. Whatever that means. So that left only one option if I wanted to hear the heartbeat. Again, men, I won't describe the process. But suffice it to say that at 34 and after having two children, I didn't even think twice - I was determined to know that the little guy/gal was kickin' around in there...

Minutes later, we had the proof. Yea!!! I saw his/her heart beating like crazy. I saw the little body moving around. And, let me tell you, that feeling never gets old. (Although, after doing it only twice, I'm already annoyed by the guy/gal, he/she business. The 18-week ultrasound where we learn the gender is set for November 23rd. Until then, I've got to think of a nickname for this baby to save my grammar-sanity.)

Dale and I spent today calling our immediate family members to give them the news, since we had agreed to wait until we heard a heartbeat. And tonight, before bath, we told Ivie and Macie. Macie is obviously clueless, but Ivie "gets it", although she was not too fired up about the fact that it would be several months before we could actually MEET the baby. But it was super cute. Other than just general excitement, Ivie uttered the following exclamations:

"I can't believe it!"
"Mommy, are you just joking?!?"
"I want it to be a baby BOY!"

Then, when I explained to her that the baby's gender is GOD's choice, not ours, she paused for a few seconds, looked up at the sky, and said, "Mommy!!!! God just told me it's a BOY!".

Sure He did, Iv...

Minutes later, as I walked by their bathroom when the girls were in the tub, I overheard Ivie say to Mac, "Macie! Can you believe that Mommy has a baby in her belly? Are you excited? "

And then, with a bit of a sad face, she said, "But it's gonna take a few days...".

Little does she know how many "days" it's going to take! I'm probably going to rue my decision to tell her this early in the pregnancy!

Tomorrow, I'm planning to share the news with the world (or MY world, at least!) in my Wordless Wednesday blog post. It will definitely be my most exciting Wordless Wednesday post ever! Shortly thereafter, I'll release this post, the first in my Our Journey to Five series, so that all of you will then be caught up with how this blessing of our third child began. I'm eager to share the adventure with you!


Thursday, September 23rd

By most accounts, the blog release was a smashing success. I did get a couple of comments, however, about the method I used to break the news:

My favorite Stacy left me a voicemail pretty much immediately after I posted the blog. She said, "I'm going to try to just forget the fact that I found out you're pregnant FROM YOUR BLOG."

And a co-worker and friend, whom I didn't tell even when he was in my office chatting for several minutes after the blog release, later found out from his wife, who had seen my post on Facebook. He, too, was none too pleased that Facebook-via-his-wife was his informant.

Oh well. All-in-all, it was very fun! A nice mini-escape from work craziness, at least.