It Was a Normal Pregnancy

January 26th, 2012 - We heard Evie's heartbeat for the first time.  It was amazing.  It was also at this appointment that they decided my due date was most likely September 15th, not the 12th (not that it ended up mattering.)

So as far as first trimester went, here were my symptoms:
*inexplicably sleepy
*nauseous all the time (although only threw up twice - once due to student b.o. and once due to bacon)
*super emotional (perhaps I will blog about my food related break downs at some point)
*had to pee all the time - wake up at least 2 times a night to pee
*less patient - I suddenly found myself getting snippy with my middle school students
*weight loss - I wasn't really able to eat due to morning sickness, but they told me no to worry so much about that as long as I gained it back well once I hit the second trimester.

second trimester symptoms:
*Energy - I was super productive!
*Still have to pee all the time
*Lower back pain

April 23rd, 2012 - We find out we're having a girl.  This was the first time I cried.  I had no preference, but hearing that our baby was a girl suddenly made it real and I was so happy.  We had a small celebration with a few of our friends as a combo "It's a Girl!" and "Happy Birthday, Zach!" party.  A few days later we had our last ever meal at BD's Mongolian BBQ in Bethesda (Evie's only time and she wasn't even born yet...poor thing)  I'm still not sure why they shut down suddenly this summer, but I digress.

May 23rd, 2012 - I went in in for a check up and I had gained 7lbs.  I was in my 6th month and had finally really started gaining weight.  The weight gain was slow but steady for most of the 2nd trimester, but started to explode towards the end of it.

The school year ended and summer began without any concerns.  Then on Friday, July 13th, 2012 we took a little road trip up to Boston to celebrate Rob's birthday and meet our nephew, Jackson who was only about two months old at this point.

That was when things suddenly stopped being a normal pregnancy.  To be continued...

Finding Out

It was Tuesday, January 3rd 2012 when it hit me..."Wait a minute, I should have gotten my period by now."  We had been trying for a few months, but we were told it would probably take a while because I had been on birth control since I was 14.  I had been charting and if my chart was correct, Evie as another Hanukkah miracle (My husband and both come from half jewish/half catholic homes).  So I called my good friend Sam freaking out with excitement as I drove to Walmart to get a pregnancy test.  I got a three pack of Clear Blue (says "pregnant" or "not pregnant") and I hurried home to take it.  Zach was working late.  The first test said, "pregnant" and I shrieked with joy.  I then waited anxiously for him to get home.  He was a bit grumpy from a long night of holding a camera all night so I was cautious about presenting the good news.  After helping him relax a bit, I showed him the test and he was speechless.  It took him a few minutes to realize it was for real, then we took another test together and got another "pregnant".  We called our families and got an interesting mix of responses, but they were all happy.  Then on the 10th of January (my brother's 26th birthday)  we broke down and started telling others.  We were just too excited to keep it in.  I know they usually say it's best to wait, but I figured, if things went wrong, I would want people to love and support me around me without having to explain everything.  

January 12th (my mother's birthday) we went to Capital Women's Care in Germantown to have it confirmed and at 2:15pm on the 13th they called back to inform us that it was official.  Our due date based on my charting was September 12th It was super exciting because Zach's brother, Rob was due in May and my cousin, Micah, was due 1 month before us in August.  

Then we began the long wait till we got to hear the heartbeat.  Okay, it was just a little over a week, but it felt forever.  More on that soon, Evie just woke up.

So I'm doing a Mom Blog

Our Daughter:

Evelyn Paige Sutton 

was born July 25th, 2012 at 9:16pm

weighing 4lbs 2oz and 16 inches long

(Evie at 3 months)

I thought it would be helpful to chronicle our experiences with Evie as a preemie, us as new parents, and everything else life has to throw at us.  I hope it will be helpful to some people.  I also hope that as Evie grows and begins to gain some ability to entertain herself, I will be able to post more regularly.  For now, this is just my announcement, but I hope to have another post within the next week about some of my pre-term labor symptoms (this one will be a bit graphic and oogy) followed by our NICU experiences, bringing her home, attempting to go back to work, favorite/life saving baby products, and more.

Stay tuned.