Week 17: Oh what fun!

Hi! My name is Ryann, and I am very excited to be P&N’s newest Knocked Up blogger. I live in Columbus, Mississippi with my football coach hubby and our two littles: a sweet 7-year-old boy and a dramatic 2-year-old princess. We are expecting our newest member in early May. (Next week we will be finding out the gender!)
So far this pregnancy has been pretty easy. Our little girl was born on August 14—a Tuesday, and my husband’s first football game was that Friday. We also had her three hours away from where we live. We moved to Columbus when I was five months pregnant, and being a hormonal pregnant woman, I refused to change doctors. That meant monthly and then weekly drives three hours away for appointments. It became so exhausting. Needless to say we were thrilled to find out we were expecting in May—and that it was NOT football season. I also agreed to change to a doctor who is about five minutes from us.
My husband and I started a new hobby last January: running. It started more on the lines of wanting to be healthier and get in shape, but before long we were running three-plus miles a day. The day I found out I was pregnant started off like any other day. We woke up at our usual 6:30 a.m. I was feeling great. I cooked breakfast, I got Addie Rivers dressed for preschool, and I was getting ready say goodbye to Barrett as he left for work. Before he was out the door, I randomly said, “Do you think I should take a test today?” He thought it was no big deal and replied, “Nah, just wait until after the weekend.” He was hesitant because the month before I had taken about four tests, which were all negative. I think he was trying to save me from disappointment.
Later that afternoon, I was getting ready to go for my run when exhaustion hit me. I suddenly had not one ounce of energy. Instead of running, I laid on the couch. What in the world was wrong with me!? Out of nowhere I remembered I had an extra test from last month. I knew something was up. I went and took the test and put it on the counter. I tried not to think about it. I started making the bed and cleaning up a little. It was only about three minutes later, but it felt like hours. I went back to the bathroom and turned the test over. There they were. The two little pink lines. After about a minute of laughing I called Barrett. “Um, so I was feeling really off today, so I decided to go ahead and take a test. I figured it would be negative, but it’s not.” I love what he said back: “Stop it!? Are you serious! Take another one!”
From that point on, it’s been pretty easy. I had some serious nausea for a few weeks, but since that ended I have felt great. My doctor has encouraged me to continue exercising and running. During my last pregnancy I didn’t exercise at all and ate whatever I wanted. Ice cream was a part of my daily diet. The day before I delivered, someone asked me if I was having twins! I vowed then that the next go-round I would do it completely different. (Of course I do give in to my crazy ice cream craving every now and then.) We are in week 17 now, and everything is looking great. In a few days we find out the gender. (Blue or pink—what do you think?) I’m so excited to share weekly updates, so make sure you check back to continue this fun adventure with us!