Baby Bean

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Hi Friends!

In case you missed the announcement on Thursday, here’s the big news:

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#babybean is coming- October 2014!

Thanks so much for all of your kind words and well wishes. We are overwhelmed by all the love and support and are so excited to welcome a little one in just a few short months!

To get you guys up to speed, here’s what’s been going for the past couple of years. Buckle up…it’s a long story!

The Journey

We decided to start trying to have a baby in November of 2012. I had been on birth control for a long time, and went off it at the end of the summer. I wasn’t sure how long it would take for things to get back to normal, but I had no delay. Everything was regulated during my first month off the pill, complete with the terrible, terrible cramps which were the reason I went on the pill in the first place.

At the end of 2012, I was about 5 months away from finishing my dietetic internship. We figured it would take a couple of months, but knew that if it did happen that first month, I would still be able to finish my internship. When nothing had happened by February, I went to the doctor to get checked out and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. My TSH levels were super high (6.5 when they’re supposed to be under 3) so I was put on Synthroid. It took several months of playing with the dose to my levels down into the normal range but things were under control by June. My doctor told me this could be playing a role in not getting pregnant so I was hopeful that it would happen now that my levels were under control.

No luck. When things still hadn’t happened by November, I went to see an OB-GYN. After discussing options, he gave me a prescription for 3 months of Clomid. Clomid is often used to help women get their period if they aren’t getting it on their own. He told me that since I was already getting it, it would basically supercharge things. I told the three rounds of Clomid in November, December and January with no luck. I didn’t really have any of the negative side effects that some women get while on it, which I was grateful for.

By this point I was starting to lose hope. If you want to read more about the emotions we were dealing with, check out this post we wrote about our struggles. I went back to my OB in January and he said we could try another 3 months of Clomid or go see a specialist.

We opted  to see a specialist and got an appointment in early February. Hubby also got things checked out on his end and everything was fine. We met with the specialist, developed a plan, I got some blood work done, and we made a list of various things we were going to do after I got my period that month. There were certain tests that we couldn’t do because of where I was at in my cycle but the plan was to check my tubes to make sure they were clear and try another round of Clomid, plus an IUI. Except my period never came that month.

The Pregnancy

I found out I was pregnant on February 17th. I was supposed to get my period on Valentine’s day weekend and when it didn’t come, I took a test on Monday morning.

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After seeing it was positive, I ran to the store and bought some cute little socks, wrapped them up and let hubby open them when he came home for lunch. I told him it was a Christmas present that was on backorder and shipped late, and then I had intended to give it to him for Valentine’s day but I hid it so well that I forgot about it until that day. He was shocked!

I actually ended up seeing the specialist doctor for most of my first trimester. Even though they didn’t actually do anything to treat me, they wanted to monitor things initially. I went to the doctor on Feb 19th and got an ultrasound just to make sure things were in the right place, ie in the uterus. At this point I was about 4 weeks, 5 days along.

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We made our next appointment for two weeks from then, March 5th,  and everything looked good at that appointment as well. I was measuring 6 weeks, 5 days. We saw the heartbeat and it was 137 BPM by his visual count. The only thing we were concerned about was that my thyroid levels were going up again. This is normal in pregnancy, especially if you’ve been on meds previously and women often have to increase their synthroid dose once they get pregnant so we’ve been monitoring that closely.

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My sister came in town after this appointment so we told her while she was here!

On March 20th we had another appointment. I was measuring 8 weeks 3 days instead of 8 weeks 6 days but they said the measurements are not precise, can vary, etc. The heartbeat was 169 BPM and we got the approval to back to our regular OB.

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I was SUPER nervous about telling anyone for a long time…so we pretty much kept it to ourselves. We each told 1-2 close friends so we’d have someone to talk about it with, but we waited until after this appoint start telling more people. We told our parents first. We went out to dinner with my in-laws and hide the pictures in a book of paint samples while we were showing them the colors we picked to repaint our kitchen.

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My parents were harder since they’re out of town. I wanted to get them on video so I enlisted the help of a family friend that they were staying with while on a trip back to Kansas City (where I grew up). I secretly face-timed with our friend and then she showed the phone to my parents and I was able to take a video of the facetime screen on my phone with my ipad! It didn’t go exactly as planned, but it was still fun to capture on video.

This will be the first grandchild for both sets of parents so they’re very excited. At this point we also told a few more friends…but still not many. My best friend is getting married the week before my due date so we won’t be able to make it to that wedding, which is sad….and I was supposed to speak at the IDEA blogger conference in August and at another conference in September but am no longer going to either.

This Monday, we had our first appt with the OB. Everything looked good, but I was measuring 12 weeks 1 day instead of 11 weeks 3 days, so they changed my due date from Oct 24th to Oct 19th. Hearbeat was 154 BPM.

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I think the 3D ones are a little creepy but you can see the little sprout has their hands bunched up by their face.

So…that’s where we are right now. I’ll be 13 weeks on Sunday.

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Food

As far as how I’ve been feeling? Not great. I started getting nauseous in Week 5 and it’s been pretty much non-stop, all day every day since then. I actually feel best in the morning from about 8-10 AM and then it goes downhill from there…nights are the worst, from about 7pm until I go to bed. There was about a four week period where I didn’t eat a single vegetable. I’ve been living on A LOT of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, egg sandwiches, oatmeal and saltines….Nothing really sounds good except pizza, Chipotle and quesadillas with lots of cheese.

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Luckily i’ve just been dealing with nausea and not actually vomiting. I’ve lost about 3 pounds but know it will come back…hopefully in the next couple of weeks I’ll hit the turning point and start to feel better. Oddly enough, breakfast was one thing I never had to skip. I’ve continued to eat my bowl of oatmeal every morning….it’s all the meals and snacks after that I have trouble with. I ‘ve been trying to get in at least two good meals a day…sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t.

The past couple of weeks I’ve been better about just forcing food down. It typically doesn’t make me feel any worse than I already do…but it just depends on the day. Aside from constant nausea, I’ve had sore boobs, lower back pain, light cramps, some heartburn and lots of naps.

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Exercise

As far as exercise…gone are the days where I can workout 3-4 days in a row, take a day off and then do another 3-4 days straight. I’ve pretty much cut back to crossfitting 3 days a week (usually M/W/F) and taking weekends off. I also walk the dogs a couple of miles every day. So, yes, I was pregnant while doing the Crossfit Open….so if you saw my scores/times and they weren’t quite what you were expecting them to be…that’s why. I was taking it easy. I still did all the workouts…just not as hard or fast as I would have done them a few months ago. Luckily the weights were fairly light this year for me, with the exception of the deadlift workout so I just took it easy and didn’t push myself. I’m planning to continue crossfit (with lighter weights) for as long as it’s comfortable. (*Side note- I know people have varying opinions about this so please be respectful of the decisions I’m making. Each pregnancy is different and I’m doing what I think is best to have a healthy pregnancy & healthy baby!).  I’ve actually found that if I can get myself to workout it usually helps me feel better temporarily and I’m able to shovel some food in afterwards as well, which is good.

Other

  • I’m not doing a lot of pregnancy reading yet because I’m nervous enough as it is. I’m just trying to take things one day at a time.
  • It doesn’t always feel real, but I’m sure it will more and more as the months go on.
  • We’re excited to find out the gender of the baby in June. We’re both planners so we don’t want to be surprised at birth. Hubby is convinced it’s a boy…but we’ll see!
  • I’m nervous about all our animals with the little one but hoping everything will work out just fine.

Blogging

Blogging has been hard…but I did a couple of things that helped me out a lot. Right when I found out I was pregnant, I went on a recipe-making binge and made about 7 new recipes. Since I haven’t really been cooking lately (I made that roasted asparagus this week and it almost made me throw up…), it was helpful to have those to spread out over the past few weeks. I also immediately enlisted the help of some blogger friends to write guest posts for me. I didn’t tell them why but it was helpful to have those to share with you guys as well (so THANK YOU to all my guest-posters…I have a few more coming up as well that i’m excited to share with you guys!).

I’m probably not going to be sharing weekly pregnancy updates on the blog. I don’t have anything against them…I’m just not sure I will do them. We’ll see. Right now I’m thinking monthly updates with some shorter blurbs sprinkled in week to week.

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That’s all I can think of for now! I’m so glad we were finally able to share the news. Keeping secrets is hard work! I’ve been jotting down questions to ask all of YOU and will do a post next week asking for your advice on some baby things!

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And finally, here’s a little video of some of the reactions to our big news. A little explanation of how each reveal went down:

  • Hubby– I  put a pair of baby socks in a box with a note that said “Baby Bean Coming October 2014” and told him it was a late Christmas present I forgot to give him.
  • Sister Bean– She came to visit around week 7 so we let her open the same box hubby did, again saying it was a late Christmas present.
  • The in-laws– We went out to dinner and brought our paint sample booklet to show them the color we were going to paint the kitchen. We hid pictures of baby bean in with the samples.
  • Mama Bean– She was visiting a family friend. I face-timed with the friend and she showed the phone to my mom so she could see me sitting there holding the picture. She didn’t realize we were facetiming at first. She thought it was just a picture of me on the friend’s phone.
  • Papa Bean– We had plans to make a separate call later and do the facetiming trick again with my dad when he finished his meetings for the day…but he ended up getting done early and walking in right when I was facetiming with my mom….that’s why I say “don’t tell dad” at the end of my mom’s video…I wanted to get him in a separate video…which I did after a stressful minute!
  • Great Grandpa – We told many of hubby’s relatives at his grandpa’s 94th bday party by writing it in his bday card.

 

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Let’s chat:
What questions do you have for me?! Or for Mr. Bean?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  5. Congratulations Lindsay. I am so excited for you! I did miss the big announcement (off doing my little Ragnar thing) but did hear the news through the blog-vine. Best wishes for a healthy, happy pregnancy. Hopefully your tummy will calm down soon.

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  12. Congrats!! My husband I are due with our first on October 30th, so I know just how excited you are!! And unfortunately, I will miss being in one of my best friend’s weddings too since it’s also in late Oct. Bummer, but this is a great reason. 🙂 Enjoy, and I also can’t wait until it all seems more real. Yay, October babies!

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  16. The 3d ultrasound really makes “baby bean” real! What a cutie. Listen to your body and do what ever makes you feel right. Enjoy the journey as it will go fast and baby bean will be here before you know it! Congrats again.

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  17. I’m so happy for you! Really cool that you are documenting everyone’s reactions–i wish I had done something like that, but then again, that was before all the technology and our technology driven culture. I hope you turn the corner on the nausea soon…that can’t be fun. Second trimester is always so much better in that regard!

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  24. Big, big congrats to you, Mr. Bean and little baby bean sprout! That’s very exciting news. One of my best girlfriends had to go on Clomid due to her PCOS and I know it helped her, but she and her hubby went through similar things you and your hubby went through. Now they have three kids 🙂 <3 I kind of laughed when I read what you're craving or not craving in terms of food because it's the exact opposite of my sister. She didn't want anything super heavy, doughy or cheesy like pizza, pasta or mexican food. But she craved spicy foods, peanut butter, fruit and veggies. So funny! Best of luck to you both and hope you start to feel better! Congrats again 🙂

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  25. Congratulations! Such exciting news…I can’t wait to follow your journey. We’ve been dealing with infertility issues for 3 years and it’s really encouraging to see success stories. Wishing you a happy, healthy pregnancy!

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  28. This just makes me so happy!! Other than the nausea- that’s never any fun. And the fatigue- I couldn’t make it through without napping in the first trimester, either. I love all the creative ways you shared the news! And I hope you start to feel a lot better soon. YAY!!!

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  32. Congradu-fing-lations! this is awesome.

    It’s also awsome that you are going to keep your workouts gogin while pregnant. I know people have varying opinions on this but changing your routine so suddenly has to have terrible effects on you at least mentally. Plus it makes you happy, and that’s what matters most.

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  33. Congrats!!!! I commented on your original post in January about your struggle to conceive, saying that my husband and I were going through the exact same thing (and I too have hypothyroidism!!). And I am so, so happy to say that we are expecting on October 7 now. I truly believe that prayers and well wishes from others have played a part in all of this, for both of us! Best wishes for a healthy pregnancy!

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  34. Wahoo!!! So excited for you! I’m really hoping you turn the corner on feeling better soon because man that can be tough. I was queasy with H until 13/14ish weeks and until 18 this time. But in general, the second tri is the sweet spot!

    PS- I know it’s early but I’m going to go ahead and put my guess in as GIRL. 🙂

    Congrats again!

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  36. LOVE this! Your reveals are so creative (I’m SO stealing at least a couple of these if this happens for us!) haha. Congrats again guys. Super pleased for you! 🙂

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  37. Sooo happy and excited for you two!!! After going through a similar journey (hypothyroidism, unexplained infertility) myself to conceive (now 36 weeks along with a healthy little girl) I COMPLETELY understand your nervousness in sharing the news and also trying to connect to the little one. It took me a while but I found that once I felt her move and then hit some big viability milestones, I naturally could let myself relax and that there is plenty of time to bond. Nine months ends up being a LONNNNG time!

    Sounds like you’re doing all the right things by listening to your body. I actually had been crossfitting regularly prior to getting pregnant, was so sick in the beginning that I took weeks 6-18 off and then slowly worked my way back into it. Totally the opposite of what I would have expected but crossfitting in my third trimester (with lots of appropriate mods) feels AWESOME and makes me so much happier and healthier. So definitely keep doing what’s right for you and the little bean.

    Yey!!! 😀

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  39. I’m SO HAPPY for you Lindsay! Your story sounds a lot like mine, although strangely we got pregnant our first round of clomid (of course, that was after a year of just waiting around for a period!! Ugh). Anyway, your cravings are spot on with mine; PIZZA AND MEXICAN! Too funny (although strangely the thought of peanut butter makes me nauseated, as well as Greek yogurt, BLAH!).
    Good luck to you and little bean. The most exciting part is when you feel him/her kick! That just started with me and it’s craziness.

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  40. I went to Ohio Reproductive in Columbus and they helped me have my first son. My hormones were out of wack etc. It was a emotional point getting there, shots , clomid , hormones etc but it was worth it.

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  41. Congratulations! I am so excited for you guys! I am due just a few weeks after you, Novemeber 3rd! My family has a history of miscarriages so I was super nervous about telling people too, but have been loving the excited responses! Babies are so exciting! I hope you start feeling better soon!

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  43. Hehehehehehe, that’s how I told Herrick about Maddie!!! Eeep! I’m so so very excited for you both, momma!!! (And I can’t help but tear up!!) I feel like letting people know about your struggles definitely helps relieve a little stress. It can be a very lonely, aggravating time. The more I talk about things, the better I feel, for sure. And then there’s always that big plans, perfect timing thing…<3

    You're going to be a phenomenal mom, Lindsay. You and Brett have SO much to offer as parents, and I can't wait to follow along through your pregnancy and see your wonderful little bless your lives. <3

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  44. this video rocks–i love the paint chip booklet idea and her reaction. so happy for you both!

    and ignore the haters on the crossfit while pregnant. two of the ladies at my box had the best bounce-back after crossfitting as long as they could during their pregnancy.

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  47. I am so happy for you two! Congratulations! Hopefully the nausea with get better soon! I was that way with my youngest and at some points during that pregnancy, I wished I would just throw up already. Hopefully yours will pass soon!

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  49. Ohhh my goodness! That video is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! Mr. Bean’s Face is priceless…made me tear up!

    Congratulations. What an adventure it has been so far for you guys. I completely understand how you’ve been feeling over the first trimester. It’s the worst. I used to keep saltines on my bedside table and eat a loaf of bread by myself. But like you, exercise was one of the only things that actually made me feel better! 🙂

    Looking forward to seeing your pregnancy unfold! x

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  50. This is such fantastic news! My heart really went out to you when you shared your pregnancy struggles a few months back. I love the original way of telling your in laws! Now going to watch some reactions…! Massive congratulations to you both!

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  52. Aww I am SO happy for you, and your family!

    I have undergone a lot of testing and am both hypothyroid and PCOS. I am trying to just relax and not think too much about everything working against me. I am glad to read someone who has used Clomid and didn’t have insane side effects!

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  53. Congrats again, Lindsay! I hope all goes well for you for the remainder of your pregnancy. Oct 24th would have been a great day to have a baby (not that Oct 19th isn’t!) My second son was born on Oct 24th, which also happens to be my mom’s birthday. He was the best birthday present she ever got!

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  58. awww!! I ADORE the videos at the end, they made me cry!! I am so incredibly happy for you both. I hope you start feeling better soon, nausea would totally be the worst for me!! I am praying for a safe and healthy pregnancy and am so so excited for you! congrats!

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  59. Congratulations Lindsay! That constant nausea can be debilitating, so I hope it eases up for you soon. The excitement and thrill of that first pregnancy is such a special moment, so enjoy every moment (except for the sick ones–hard to enjoy those!).

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  60. I’m so happy for you both! I know y’all are so excited!!! Y’all will be great parents! That’s funny that you have been eating lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! My mama said that she ate a ton of those while she was pregnant with me and eggs like there were no tomorrow! Her midwife told her that she needed to eat a ton of protein and she said that her water never even broke, the doctors had to break it, it was so strong thanks to the protein!

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  61. I’m so happy for you both! It seems like so many of my favorite bloggers are pregnant right now…it’s wonderful to have you all as mentors when the time comes for me!

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  63. Big congrats to you both!! I survived mostly on bagels with cream cheese and taco bell for my first trimester of my first pregnancy. And like you, not a vegetable in sight. How funny that our bodies/babies do this to us – you would think we would crave healthy stuff! Oh well 🙂 Let me know if you have questions about pregnancy/childbirth, I am a birth doula and LOVE talking about that stuff :0)
    Thanks for a great update post!!!

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  64. so happy for you guys! I loved your videoS. Those are priceless! my morning sickness got a lot better at about 15 weeks so hopefully youre almost there.

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    • thanks kath! i hope so! i’ve heard anything from 14-18 weeks from people when it started getting better so hopefully this is the home stretch!

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  66. Lindsay, thanks for updating us on your progress and the entire journey. I’m honestly SO happy for you and admire both you and your hubby’s strength!

    I’ll be praying for you, and hope that your stomach feels better. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through.

    Take care of yourself Mama Bean!:)

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  68. OMG!!! We wish we could give you a hug right now 😉

    SOOOOO happy for you. We know your journey has been long. And Lori is the same way, that is doesn’t feel real yet 😉

    xoxo

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  69. Love how much info you provided in this post!! About the crossfit thing, the family that owns the athletic facility my hubby works for, the one daughter that works there just had her own baby and was seriously back squatting heavy weight when she was almost due. Not going to lie that the thought of that scared me a bit haha, but I totally would still be keeping up going too! I remember when I was newly pregnant, burpees felt SO weird. It’s honestly the only really vivid memory I have from when I was newly pregnant!

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  70. Lindsay and Mr. Bean! Congratulations! Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for sharing your story. It’s def a heartwarming one. We are trying for our second round of IUI…just waiting for ovulation to occur. Your story gives me lots of encouragement and hope ;). Look forward to following your journey to motherhood!

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  72. Congratulations! I guess that would be a fantastic valentine’s day present. 🙂

    BTW glad I’m not the only one that suffers from all these issues. I haven’t tried getting pregnant, and not planning to do so anytime soon, but in July of 2013 I went off the pill because it was clear that it was messing up a lot of functions for me (between my GI issues to my anxiety). I have the most painful awful periods now, but they’ve started getting a little bit better now that I know my food allergies. If I am really good about avoiding my allergens, I have a lot less issues. Also, I added liquid magnesium to my daily supplements, and that basically takes away most of the cramping if I’m good about upping the dosage a few days before. It is pretty successful, but if I get a surprise period (like last weekend … ughhhh), then all my defenses are down and I do things like eat cheese the day before and not know it’s happening, and then want to die the next day.

    I’ll be checking in to see how your pregnancy goes. I’m scared that it’ll be super painful and / or that I’ll be super sick when I’m pregnant because of all the period problems.

    Once again, CONGRATS!!

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  73. I had so much fun watching the videos! What a great keepsake to have- I wish I had done the same, although I don’t think my twins would have appreciated the response their Dad and I had when I found out I was pregnant with them- I bawled (from fear- I was justified in my fear) I am so very happy for you and Mr. Bean! I can’t wait to find out if it’s a boy or girl- My gut says it’s a girl. xoxoxo Congratulations!!

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  77. Congratulations again! My sister had a baby in January and they were nervous about having 3 small-ish dogs and a cat. Her Pomeranian needs to be on her lap or in her arms at all times, so we were especially nervous about that. So far all the animals have been great, though, and the barking doesn’t bother the baby!

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  79. I’m so excited for you! I couldn’t help but tear up a little at your descriptions and the videos… I’m so very very glad you guys have exactly what you wanted, and I hope your tummy settles soon.

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  82. Congrats!!! So exciting! 2/17 is my bday 🙂 and we struggled with infertility for 2 years before we did IVF and now have 2 beautiful girls 🙂 I know how special it us when you’ve had to wait a long time for it! You guys will be amazing parents- God bless!

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  84. Congrats!! I am due at the end of July and felt as sick and tired as you at the beginning. Hang in there and hopefully it will start to improve! 2nd trimester is so much better than 1st; even if there are bits of nausea here and there, it is nothing like the entire day. I craved cheese like crazy as well – I hear that means it is a boy (and it turns out that is what we are having). Good luck and enjoy the next 6 months!!

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  90. OH WOW! So thrilled for you and Mr. Bean. Glad this is happening for you after so long 🙂 I look forward to following along on your journey with Baby Bean!

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  1. […] unrelated news, it’s time to ask for some advice from you guys. Now that you know baby bean is on the way….we need all the help we can get and we’d love your opinions. Here are some questions […]

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