We're Going to Be Parents!

August 1st. That is how long we have known that I was pregnant! That feels like forever ago. I wish we had documented the day we found out with a picture, but that was the last thing on our mind. In fact, I wasn't even going to take a pregnancy test because I didn't want to be disappointed again.

My period was a few days late starting, but it had been 4 days late the month before and I got a negative test so I was trying not to get my hopes up. I actually had Andrew go buy the pregnancy test at like 9:30pm which is pretty close to my bedtime. He came back with a two pack. Little did we know, we wouldn't need that extra test.

I took the test and was floored when I saw a plus sign. I immediately screamed to Andrew who didn't really believe me. Taking pregnancy tests has been a monthly thing for us for about a year now. In fact, I finally had to tell myself to stop buying them and wasting money on the "find out early" tests because they kept coming back negative. The first couple of months, I took like 3 tests a month because I thought for sure I would be pregnant. My Mom never had any problems and I figured I would be the same way.

It took us awhile to get over the initial shock of the positive pregnancy test, but we were SO excited. Of course before I even knew I was pregnant, I calculated out when the due date would be in case I got pregnant that month. April- Perfect! 

At my first appointment, the doctor told me that my due date was April 7th which is the end of Spring Break for me. At my second appointment, the doctor moved my due date up to April 3rd. This date has me a little nervous. I'm really hoping that we don't have our son on April Fool's Day. Either way, it seems like we planned the pregnancy really well with spring break and less than 2 months left of school.

Although it seems like we planned it perfectly, we are just really blessed. I will get 6 weeks off of school after having the baby, so if I have to go back to school at all this year, it will only be for the last week which is a huge blessing. We found out this week that we are having a baby boy and we are thrilled. 

I am a little picky with names and I think I can blame teaching for that. When you teach 30 students a year, some names are not an option. Luckily we have some time to figure that out. 

I saw a Doctor in June of this year to try to figure out why I wasn't getting pregnant. They took my blood and did some tests. It turns out that I am Vitamin D deficient. (I blame Rexburg) Who knew that this deficiency could keep you from getting pregnant? I had no idea and I had even been taking prenatal vitamins for quite awhile which have Vitamin D in them. The doctor suggested taking 500mg of Vitamin D a day. At first I was a little skeptical. It really couldn't be that easy of a fix? 2 months on Vitamin D did the trick. We feel so blessed. It obviously could have been something much more serious.

I sometimes feel bad even saying that I had "infertility" issues because ours were pretty short term. I know that some people struggle for years and years and I can't imagine how hard that must be for them. Honestly, I don't know why we had to go through this and why we couldn't just get pregnant the first month we tried. I also know this happened for a reason. Maybe it was to teach me to be more sensitive to others and know how to relate a little bit with those who struggle with this problem long term.

This December marks 4 years of marriage for us. That is a long time for a Mormon couple to wait to have children and some people have been loud with their feelings and opinions about our lack of children. None of these people were intentionally trying to be mean, but sometimes I think it's important to remember that you don't always know what someone is going through.

We have had home/visiting teachers ask us, "Before I start the lesson this month, I just wanted to ask if you guys even want to have kids? I know you have been married for a long time and I wasn't sure. The lesson is all about families and so I didn't know if I should share it." This broke my heart. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love kids. I started babysitting when I was 9 years old. My profession also involves 30 children for 8 hours a day.

In a group setting at a church activity, I was asked in front of 10 other people, "So now that you bought a house, does that actually mean that you'll start trying to have kids?" This comment really got to me and made me feel extremely awkward. At this point, we had been trying for 9 months and it's hard to know how to respond.

I have also had others tell me, "Jenna, I don't know what your plans are, but now would be a good time for a teacher to get pregnant because then you could have your baby in the summer." I would have loved to have responded with, "yeah, we have been trying for quite a while now. The summer would be a great time." Instead, I awkwardly nodded and changed the subject.

Now, I do need to add that we have not been trying to have children the entire time we have been married. In fact, we waited quite a while which was up to us and what we felt good about. 

The point of this post was not to be grumpy. In fact, we are as happy as ever with a baby on the way. We feel like we're living in a dream and it still feels very surreal. I'm sure that in April when I'm waking up to cries several times a night, it will finally hit. I also bet that in April I will be as happy as ever, if not happier because my dream of becoming a Mom will come true. Also, watching Andrew be a Dad will about melt my heart. He is so good with kids and I've seen him play with complete strangers babies and I just know I married a man who will be the best Dad possible. Can we fast-forward time to April now please? I want to snuggle our little guy. In fact, we sometimes joke that we will argue over who gets to hold the baby because we'll both be so in love with him. We are open to name suggestions....

Parent Teacher Conferences

October is always a stressful time for me and probably all teachers. I don't think college adequately prepared me for what parent teacher conferences are really like.

Here is my checklist for how to prepare for parent teacher conferences: (You're welcome new teachers.)

• Get PLENTY of sleep beforehand. Being at the school from 7:00am-8:00pm TWO days in a row really takes it out of you.
• Bring deodorant/a brush/makeup to reapply/possibly a toothbrush. After trying to maintain the attention of 30 distracted students all day you'll need it. No parent wants to see what you ate stuck in your teeth either.
• Pre-plan your professional outfit, so the morning of you don't have to change several times.

Here is my checklist for things that have worked well to do for/during conferences:

• Provide candy for the parents and students. I like to start on a very happy note and very few people have passed up my candy offer. (I buy the good stuff... aka Reeses)
• Always start the conference with something you love about the student. This shows the parents how much you really care and know their child.
• Have water nearby. Talking all day and into the night takes its toll.
• Have things to do between conferences or when someone doesn't show up for their appointment. In a perfect world, there wouldn't be huge gaps in your schedule and nobody would take the last appointment you have available BOTH nights, but it happens.
• Keep a clipboard handy during conferences to take notes of things parents bring up, so you don't forget. By the end of 2 days of conferencing, my clipboard was full.
• I learned this tip from another teacher. When it is time for the conference to end, stand up and start walking the family to the door. This way, you can keep up with your schedule. Obviously you can't always do this, but sometimes it's really helpful. It's easy to fall behind when people come late. (Yesterday someone came 2 hours early and took 25 minutes of my dinner break.)

Here is the list of how to recover after conferences:

• Tell your husband how much you have enjoyed the special treats and surprises he got you last year at parent teacher conferences. Mine was smart and surprised me again this time with ice cream, chips, and root beer.
• Don't plan on doing anything strenuous the day after conferences. I made sure that everything was planned out for today because I knew I would be too exhausted to think about lessons.
• Go to dinner. Andrew and I have been planning on going to dinner the day after conferences (today) for several weeks. This has given me something to look forward to all week. By the way, Texas Roadhouse couldn't have hit the spot more tonight. Yumm... Still recovering and hardly able to move after eating so much, but worth it.
• Give yourself a "lazy day" with your appearance. I set my alarm later this morning and wore a ponytail. After 2 days of full-on makeup and lots of hairspray and hard work on my hair, I deserved a break.
• Last but not least, enjoy the 3ish months you have off until the next Parent Teacher Conferences. (February)