Woo-hoo! Yesterday was such a good day! We had our appointment and this time we didn't have to wait nearly as long. I think we were in and out in about 30 minutes. They tried to listen to the baby's heartbeat with the doppler, but I was still too early to hear it (we could only hear my heartbeat), so I got to have another ultrasound. I was actually really excited about this because I wanted to see it again. I knew it would actually look more like a baby this time instead of a little blob, and I wanted to have some updated pictures to show when we told everyone. We got a really good look at him (her? - at this point, I'm just going to arbitrarily choose a gender-specific pronoun so I don't have to write, "it"). He was wiggling all around and flailing his arms. It was almost like he was waving at us. So cute! And we got a sweet little profile shot of him. He was so wiggly that it was hard for us to see his heartbeat, but the doctor assured me that she could see it, so I felt fine about that. It was just amazing to see that little thing in there! We go back August 10, at which point they should be able to hear the heartbeat with the doppler (I'll be 14 weeks), so we probably won't have another ultrasound until we find out the gender (hopefully in September). This was also a big day because we had decided that we would tell our families after this appointment. Below is the run-down on how that went. Honestly, it couldn't have gone more perfectly with everyone. But first...
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| Yay, baby Richardson! Grow, baby, grow! |
Ok, so here's the lowdown on how we told everyone:
The Richardsons: We lucked out because the Richardsons invited us to dinner last night and Zack and Caroline were going to be there too (we did miss Brendon though!). It was coincidental, but perfect timing for us. We had planned to just go over to their house, but it was better this way...less awkward. I came up with the idea to take some of the pictures from our recent July 4 trip to the beach and hide the ultrasound picture in them. Then at dinner, we asked Barbara if she would like to see some pictures of our nieces. Of course she did, and she started to flip through them. I had placed the ultrasound picture only about 6-7 pictures in, so I knew it wouldn't take too long for her to get to it. When she did, it kind of fell out. She picked it up, and looked at it, a bit perplexed at first...then Matt said, "That one's ours." Matt's dad was sitting right beside her and immediately they both knew. She welled up with tears and Billy looked like he was about to explode with happiness. Zack knew this was coming because he had inadvertently found out about it all after our very first doctor's appointment, but Matt has sworn him to secrecy. Caroline got distracted by our waitress for a quick minute before she realized what was going on. It was perfect. And happened exactly how we hoped it would. Even though they had had their suspicions, they were still shocked and excited. I think they had stopped thinking about it for a while. Needless to say, it was a great dinner.
Mom and Dad: So after we left the Richardson's house that night, I told Matt that I was going to call my parents. I had wanted to make sure Dad would be home from work, so I didn't call earlier. Also, I knew that my aunt, uncle, and cousins were there on vacation, so it would be a fun way to tell everyone at once. I called my mom, but she was driving home from Calasbash with my aunt and cousin. I was thinking, "Shoot, she's not with Dad, I can't tell her until she gets home and he's there too." Plus, Mom kept telling me that Dad was probably already in bed (it was only 9pm) because he'd been up super early that day. So I decide to try and talk with her all the way home and hopefully, she'll get to the house, Dad will still be up, and I can tell her then. I manage to chat about everything under the sun until they get in the driveway...then Mom says, "Well, let me go...we're home now." (!!!!) I didn't know what to do, so I just said, "ok" and that was that. I knew I was going to call my sister next, so I was hoping she'd have some advice. Matt thought I was nuts for not telling them right then, but my Mom cut me off, so I couldn't! (Totally not her fault, how was she to know?!)
Sissy and Andrew: At this point, I'm freaking out a little. So I call Sissy, we chat for a while, then I tell her that I have a really cute picture from the beach that is on my phone and I want to email it to her. She has her computer with her, so I say I'm going to email it and then call her right back. I send them the ultrasound picture and call her back so I can hear her reaction. She is so excited when she sees it. She said that she knew something must be up when I called so late because I don't usually do that. After sharing some excitement, I tell her what just happened with Mom, so she says that I have to call them back right now.
Mom and Dad continued...: I get up my courage and call Mom back. I tell her that there is something I forgot to tell her before and that I hope she's not busy in February because there is a new grandson or granddaughter on the way. She is excited, I can hear ReRe scream in the background. Mom then tells me that she thought it was so weird that I was so chatty before...ha. ha. Dad had just gone upstairs, so Mom goes upstairs and lets me tell him (joking that she's ready to do CPR if necessary). Of course everyone is excited and I am so relieved that I actually got to tell them that night! I didn't know what I was going to do otherwise. Mom urged me to call Diane and Ken, which I did, and again, we were met with more excitement. Diane was ready to start decorating a nursery! I think we'll wait until we know the gender to really start with that, but don't worry, Di, I'll be seeking your help at that point!
Overall, it was a really great night. It couldn't have gone more perfectly. I told Matt after it all that my cheeks seriously hurt from smiling so much. It feels so good to have the secret out to our families. We're still going to wait until the official end of the first trimester to tell the whole world, but it is so exciting to finally let some other people know. And it makes it even more real that before. I feel like I shouldn't even have to go to work anymore this week. I just want to hang out and talk about it to people who know. Lol. Now, more than before, I am praying that everything works out and that the babe is protected and growing exactly as it should. All signs point to yes and things are progressing exactly as they should. It is still a bit surreal, but God-willing, we're really going to have a sweet little babe come February. Woo-hoo!
