Well, I think it's safe to say that we swept the award for best Christmas surprise this year! Yep, you read that title right....The Otwell's are expecting a little baby "O" August 5, 2012! To say that we are thrilled would be an understatement! We decided to share the news with our family on Christmas and make it a memorable Christmas for all of us! The reactions we got in pictures and on video are absolutely priceless and we are so happy we captured those special moments. I hope that someday I will be able to share all of this with the little "O" and it will be able to see how excited everyone was about the news that we were going to become a family of three! Because my brain only works in chronological fashion, I have to share the start of this journey from the very beginning. WARNING: Some people may feel that it is unnecessary to share every minute detail but I intend on using this blog as a journal of every small detail that we will someday share with our children. Someday when we are older and sleep deprived by 14 million hours, I am sure that I will want to reflect on some of the things I'm sure I will forget. So from minor to major, here at all goes. Proceed with caution!
The Plan: If I had even a quarter for the many times Jason and I were asked when we were gonna have children.....well, I wouldn't be a rich woman but maybe the start of a little seed money to get me a full day of shopping fun! I never cared when people asked, it actually made me happy. Made me happy that people thought that we would be strong enough to handle that if we so chose, that people thought we would be good parents and would deserve the blessing of a child, that maybe we were ready to cross into the next chapter of our book. Most of all, it made me smile, because while everyone was asking, I probably already knew. Don't get me wrong, I'm no sorcerer with a glass ball pinpointing to the actual day. But I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a plan! I feel like that is the norm for most all couples. Dating, marriage...when ya gonna have kids?? When Jason and I got married we spent quite awhile getting adjusted to living together, having fun, and just being married. It wasn't too much longer, maybe 3-6 months we started talking of when we would start thinking about "it". The answer was, it's not even up for discussion until we've been married for a year. Case closed! Sooo, with the one year mark quickly approaching, one afternoon we were walking Auggie around the neighborhood and the subject came up..It went sorta like this. Me: So what do you think, you think you're ready (after we were already on topic of course) Jason: I'm not ready...are you? Me: Nope not at all. So the new plan was, we would get to the two year mark and re-evaluate at that point. We knew we still had a lot of living to do and still had a lot of plans we wanted to see followed through. We were both very comfortable with the two year mark. Of course, I had my worries and questions, what if it takes a long time, what if it's not possible, are we wasting too much time? STOP with the overanalyzing, take it as it comes and just roll with it! So that's what we did. Strapped in for another year of fun and freedom.
As the two year mark approached I knew this time I was ready. It felt different. Jason and I had done a lot of traveling which was on our checklist. We worked on several areas of our house and were really starting to get happy with some of the projects we completed. We invested in a new little water toy for ourselves, our very first boat. And last but not least, we were OFFICIALLY the last couple in our circle of friends who had yet to procreate. Each of our siblings have long since passed us in that department. It was really important to us for our children to be somewhat close in age to other children in our lives so it seemed like everything had lined up the way it should. We talked about it and realized we were both very much on the same page. And so the journey begins...
I don't think it would be much of a surprise to most people that patience is certainly not my strong suit. So when this process took just a little longer than what I was anticipating, I started to freak out about the plan. Oh no, the plan! What about the plan? It's all messed up now. Now I'm gonna have to re-work this, and that will surely be different, and don't even get me started on the now! Geesh, totally wore myself out for a few days, weeks, maybe even a month. But one thing I can tell you that this journey taught us, It's not about us and our plan. It can't be penciled in on a neat little time line and followed accordingly step by step. It's about God's plan. Only he knew when it was truly right for us and I think he was simply showing us that it was time to calm down and take a back seat. Let God do the driving and take this journey where it was supposed to go. I must admit I struggled with this daily because I have a tendency to want to have control of my situations in addition to the fact that once I get something in my head that I want, making it mine is about all I can think about! This has an uncanny relation to shopping...It may take me a long time to make a decision and I may go through 27 scenarios for one birthday outfit, but once I find the right fit...GOTTA HAVE IT!
That Sweet Little Positive Test: So I spent the month of November feeling a little pessimistic and wondering why we hadn't gotten the positive test we had been hoping for. After all, I had already missed my opportunity at a Jamaican Anniversary baby, which I planned to name Kingston by the way, after the capital of Jamaica of course! Well into November, the weekend after Thanksgiving to be exact, I got what I had been looking for. I took the test while Jason was gone to Baton Rouge for work. I remember I just let the test sit there on the countertop and instead of waiting and staring, I decided to empty the bathroom waste basket. Walked through the house, emptied into the big trash, and by the time I made it back to the bathrooom I could tell it was already done processing (or whatever that thing does). Moment of truth, I looked down and what do I see.... A BIG 'OL...PREGNANT!! I must say, even though it was what I was looking for, I still couldn't believe it, it was still a big shock and an awful lot to process...and right at that moment when I read PREGNANT, my phone rang. It was Jessica on the line, wow, what timing Jess!
This was a Sunday night so on Monday morning the first thing I did was call my doctor's office to get an appointment to come in and get my blood drawn to check my hCG levels. They let me come in that day at lunch and told me they would call me the next day, on Tuesday with my results. On Tuesday, they called and said my level was 233. Decent, but still a little low in my opinion. I would go back on Wednesday to have it re-drawn and to see if the levels rose and doubled, which would indicate that the pregnancy was doing as it should. In the meantime Jason was going to be coming home Tuesday night and I had to think of something clever to tell him the big news. I purposefully kept it from him so that I could see his reaction in person. When he got home Tuesday night I had a present wrapped for him under the Christmas tree. I came home from errands that night and he commented to me that the Christmas tree looked good, I had been working on it when he left that Sunday. I said, thank you, did you notice there's a present underneath it? He replied, yeah I did. I said "well, it's for you. Just a little something I ordered for your birthday that didn't come in in time : )" He was like, "Seriously? So I can open it now?" "Yep, it's for you." Needless to say, what was in inside was FAR beyond what he was expecting
HA! The contents of the box was of course my hCG level of 233, a positive pregnancy test, and a little gender neutral baby onesie.
Good gravy what a long 15 days that was. Of course in the meantime, I was scanning myself at work periodically just to see if I could see anything positive that would ease my mind some. I don't think I ever got what I was looking for but I also knew enough about ultrasound to know that it is only good after a certain point in pregnancy. Ultrasound does very little for very early pregnancies. December 15 approached quicker than I thought it would and rightfully so since, like everyone else, we are ALWAYS super busy in the month of December. We celebrated Brady's 5th birthday, I threw a shower for Jessica and Cam, Christmas parties, extra work days, Christmas shopping, etc etc. At our first appointment I saw our nurse practitioner and she eased my mind about so many questions and worries, I really felt so much better after talking to her and even though I had been doing some reading it always helps to hear it in person as it relates to your individual needs. Ok, so actually, I felt much better after this...
Now the plans began to start revealing! I shared with my co workers as soon as I got back to work. First of all, I couldn't wait to show someone my picture, and secondly, working in the radiology department, as well as at a hospital, it was important to announce my pregnancy ASAP so I could be more aware of my exposure to radiation as well as any major diseases or bacteria my patients were carrying. My girls at work were thrilled! It was so fun to share with them. I think I totally caught them off guard and in a way, they had sorta watched me grow up to this point as when I started there as a student I had just gotten engaged. It was special to share that with them even though just the night before I had shared some disappointing news with them (another post on that later once I get through the chronological processes.)
Our next reveal was with our closest friends. We were having our annual Framily (that's friends like family) Christmas party at our house that weekend. This one had to be special. If you read this blog, you know me, so you already know how close this group is to my heart. We spend a ton of time together and each of them are like brothers and sisters to me. I would be lost without them. I might add that out of the group, I am the oldest girl, and we are the ONLY couple without children. My girls had been busy on the baby train for the past year or so and we were in the midst of celebrating two first birthdays for a couple of them. So it should be no surprise that the pressure had been on for quite some time. Lots of questions, lots of guesses, and lots of me evading all of that mess! I couldn't wait to tell them that for Christmas I got them something they had been asking for for quite some time. Before the party, Robby, Jason's best friend, came over for one of our weekly dinners at our house with the three of us and we clued him in. I always knew Robby wouldn't want to be shocked with new info like that in a group setting and we also needed him in on our plan to help us figure out how to deliver the news to the others. Robby was shocked but super excited for us, we spent that night discussing how on January 1, 2011, the three of us challenged this year to be the year of change. We would make every effort to make major strides in the direction of change. From as little as having fun spontaneously to changing our lives majorly. Doing things we wouldn't normally do. Stepping out of our comfort zone. Saying yes when we would normally say no. No matter what you do, do it differently. This news along with some special news of Robby's made it all come full circle. We realized we had done it. Change was achieved. Wow what a year! What an awesome year! We discussed how things would never be the same again but we were growing up, it was time to move to the next chapter. I must admit, self reflection and teary eyes were at a high for me that night. So after getting all "deep" and stuff we formulated a plan that the night of the Christmas party we would gather for a group shot and Robby would take the picture in which he would go "ok, one, two, three...KELLY'S PREGNANT" And then we would capture every reaction right on camera, sounds awesome, great plan! Well, just like things tend to not go as planned, it was no exception here. Robby did so good practicing and playing with my camera all night so that he would be familiar and ready. To sum it up, we all gather for a group photo right before opening dirty santa gifts and what first happens is Robby goes "1,2,3..." and just starts clicking. I realized he thought Jason and I were gonna shout it out. So I mouth to him "YOU....YOU DO IT." So here we go again and this time it goes "1, 2, 3...KELLY'S PREGNANT" Literally, everyone chuckled and just kept right on cheesing....never batted an eye. Robby kept clicking and when I finally realized that they weren't getting it I looked at the girls and said seriously yall, I really am....the progression went sorta like this.
 |
| Gathering for the pic |
 |
| Robby delivered, and crickets could've been heard |
 |
| No, seriously, I really am! |
 |
| I like to call this Crystal and Mandy's face... |
 |
| And Amy's face! |
 |
| Me and my girls! So excited! |
The next reveals were set for Christmas weekend. We would be celebrating with Jason's family first so we would tell them first and my family second. This wound up to be the perfect scenario for this that this time fell around Christmas time and we would have the opportunity to have each family all together in one place to share the news. In addition, what a great Christmas surprise! So, these two had to be the MOST special. I was feeling fresh out of ideas of how to creatively spill the beans so I finally came up with what would work perfect for each side. I decided it would be best to wrap up a little gift that each mom could open as the VERY LAST present on Christmas. To make it the most simple, I went with the same gift for each.
 |
| Me and my mama hugging |
 |
| Me and my mom and my siblings, I love this! |
 |
| Looking at the ultrasound pics |
Ahhhhhhh, deep sigh of relief that the news is ALL on the table! Well, minus Facebook of course but that was for a different day! Everyone was completely over the top excited as were we! Some said, finally, some said, I didn't even expect it. But it was all delivered just perfectly and tailored to each individual party. The next morning, Christmas morning, Jason and I did our normal tradition together and had another blessed Christmas. He also did the sweetest thing ever and surprised me and the baby with a little Christmas present for each of us.
So that about wraps up our Christmas 2011 surprise! I know this was a ridiculously long post but I felt compelled to include every single detail. Step by step. Also, this is the start of Little O's journey. I hope one day he or she will look back on this and appreciate my documentation. I'm taking a vow to keep this updated and try to record each step as I know how my memory works sometime and I don't want to try to be recalling this in 25 years and stating improper facts or falling upon blurry moments. I am highly inspired by my grandmother, my mom. My dad's mom can you tell you just about every detail of her life including how she met and married my grandpa, my pops. Each story she tells detail for detail leaves me in awe! If I can't remember those stories for my kids and grands, I hope to have them written down to read to them! Hey, it is the 21st century right?! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy following our pregnancy journey as well as all of the extra tidbits I might add in every now and again. Welcome to the race Little O, we can't wait to count down to your arrival and anticipate the day we finally get to meet you!
 |
| Little O's first Hog shirt! Perfect! |
 |
| Something for me and something for baby, from Auggie and Daddy : ) |
What a neat way to document your pregnancy announcements! :) Happy and healthy rest of your pregnancy! :)
ReplyDeleteDeanne