how "IT" happened...

hubby & i decided to quit "not trying" way back in August. we thought it would be easy, i had been on the pill for like 7 years and was blessed with periods i could predict down to the minute. well, when you go off the pill mid-pack, it kind of screws things up. my bod went into freak out mode, and i didn't ovulate that month. when i missed my period, we thought that maybe i was pregnant, just days before my best friend's wedding/me & ross's anniversary. turns out, we weren't. oye.

so, being the high-strung control freak that i am...i did some research and found out that on a normal month, i probably ovulate later than what i thought. it made total sense. however, if i was ever going to get pregnant, i had to fix that. ha, like I have those powers. not.

but, having a degree in health science, i know a thing or two about the human bod-what it's capable of, and how modern science can manipulate it. now, i don't recommend trying this without your doctor's consent...but i decided i wanted to {naturally} balance out my hormones to improve my chances of conceiving. so, for the first week  or so of my next cycle {october}, i took a low dose of the chinese herb dong quai. now, i've used dong quai many times before {my mom has been an herbalife lady for years}, but i usually used it to calm down and balance out after a hectic day. when i read up on it, i realized dong quai also has characteristics that mimick estrogen in the body--which would make me capable to having a stronger/earlier ovulation.  ta daaa! that was the golden ticket for me.  

fast forward to early november when we tested positive for the third time in two weeks. yes, it took that many attempts to convince both myself and my doubting hubby that we indeed were pregnant and that the test was not "lying". {note: all other tests must have been lying, because there's no way i would have used up all my good judgement and went out linedancing with the gal pals if i really was pregnant? or would i?}

anyways...i made a big friggin hint about the {third} BFP here. 

this stunning little discovery was quickly followed by a doctor's appointment and a blood test. however, nobody told me that when you go to these appointments all paranoid that somebody might see you...you will actually run into everyone you know.

all good things confirmed, and they scheduled me an ultrasound for december 2nd. after drinking the required fifty gallons of water for the ultrasound, we were tucked into this dark little room with a tech who looksed no older than myself was wielding a giant lightsaber complete with its own condom. funny, i thought...what's she going to do with that thing? 

once i was enlightened of her intentions, the horror was permanently erased from my memory as i watched our little bean dancing on the screen. "shhh...." the tech said, "hear that?" it was my baby's heartbeat! 7.5 weeks old and our baby's heart was beating all on it's own at a steady 143 bpm. 

we couldn't handle it any longer. it was 8am and we needed to tell the entire world that we really were having a baby! but we waited {ok, I waited. Ross went back to the jobsite and told his workers all about it. that little stinker.}

i knew right away that i wanted to incorporate our big announcement into the holidays. after all, Christmas is all about preparing our hearts for the greatest gift, the One who was sent to us to give His life so that we may have ours. saturday morning, i found the most adorable little ornaments complete with the whole "i love grandma/grandpa" insignia at hobby lobby. i couldn't resist, so i got two sets. our families were putting up their trees this weekend and it was the perfect opportunity to share the news!

that's just what we did. saturday night, we first stopped over at his parents', and then my parents' and handed them the new ornaments for their trees. they were shocked! ok, not completely shocked. they knew we wanted to start a family right away, but they were so excited! you see, baby S is the first grandbaby for both sides. spoiled from the start.

that's IT! luckily, i started this blog just in time so i was able to document all the fun and exciting changes from the beginning. there will be lots more to share in the coming months, and your advice and comments are welcomed and appreciated! i promise not to go 100% cutesy mommyblogger on you...but you already know that.

Elvis can't wait to be a big brother!