Our New Baby

Well, Kevin and I are expecting and we couldn't be happier. This is something we have wanted for quite some time, but it was finally God's time for it to happen! We had talked about having a baby during my last year of nursing school, but with me not working, it was obviously not the right time. We think the newest Atchley either debuted during our Cancun trip or shortly thereafter since he/she is due around February 16, 2010. I am approximately 12 weeks according to the ultrasound, and I am so thankful that the first trimester is coming to a close. I have been miserable and exhausted for these past several weeks, but I know that everything I am going through is totally worth it and hopefully it will all abate once I hit the second trimester.

We took our first pregnancy test on June 13, 2009 and it had one really dark line and a second very very faint line. I called Kevin into the bathroom to make sure I wasn't imagining things, and sure enough, there were two lines according to his eyes too. I then researched pregnancy tests on consumerreports.com and found the most reliable one according to their standards since the first test was a dollar tree special. We headed to Wal-Mart and picked up a two pack, and I took another test later that night. It was also positive. Kevin and I were very excited, although, we did take a few days to let it all sink it. I had just finished nursing school, gotten my license and was about to start a brand new job in a very busy ER(on night shift)...add to that a pregnancy, and wow, that could be a bit overwhelming (in a good sort of way).

We told all of our parents over the Father's Day weekend. I would like to thank them all for doing a great job of keeping our little secret. Of the three sets of parents, I think Kevin's mom wins the prize of most shocked and excited...hands down! We had my parents take a picture of our family when we had dinner with them for my birthday, and we photoshopped Sammy's shirt to say World's Best Big Brother. We framed the picture and gave it to each set of grandparents as part of their Father's Day present. Shirley opened the picture and started reading Sammy's shirt...when she got to the word brother, she only got the word Bruh out of her mouth before hooting and hollering. It was classic (and we do have it on video). When I am having a slow blogging day, I'll post that instead. We did the same thing for my parents and for Kevin's dad and stepmom. I thought we were going to have to spell it out for Kevin's dad, but they eventually caught on, and my parents got it pretty quickly too! Everyone is really excited and I know they are going to spoil this baby rotten.

We did not plan on telling Sammy until after he came home from his summer trip, but since he came home in early July instead of early August, we told him when he got home. I had not been feeling well, so I knew he would suspect that something was going on with me. He was very excited, although, we had to pretty much spell it out for him too. We gave him a Big Brother t-shirt, and he just didn't quite get it. He kept saying that he was going to make a good big brother, but never put two in two together to realize that he was going to be a big brother real soon. Once he figured it out, he was ecstatic. He has wanted to touch the baby, but I am not quite showing enough yet for that to happen. Hopefully, soon. He prays for me and the baby every night and that just touches my heart so. I have also developed pregnancy acne (joy joy) and Sammy calls them my baby dots. He looked at me the other day and said, "You sure do have a lot of baby dots on your face." Kids say the darndest.

We had our first doctor's appointment yesterday (yes, I know I am a little late, but I was waiting on my new insurance to kick in because as everyone knows, the insurance I previously had was less than stellar). We had our first ultrasound and we were able to see the sweet little angel firsthand. She/he did not disappoint. The baby even did a little dance for us at the end. I am looking forward to our next big ultrasound in approximately 6-8 weeks. I will try to post regularly, although, when I am working, all I seem to do is sleep and work. I hope that you will enjoy this journey alongside us.