We came back to Hamilton and after dealing with homesickness, settled back into life... We both had a bit of a hard time adjusting to life back in Hamilton as being home for Christmas really made us realize how important family was to us and how it was harder than we had expected to be so far away. We began to talk about if we wanted to stay in Hamilton for the full 3 years to complete Matthew's degree. We had both been finding the school here to be a little less friendly and family-orientated then we had hoped and weren't quite feeling settled here. Fast - forward about a month... That's when I realized I was just feeling "off" and decided to buy a pregnancy test. It was quite the surprise to both Matthew and I when it came back POSITIVE! (I may have actually taken 3 more tests before believing the results). It took a few weeks for the news to set in, but it helped us immensely to have the support of all the very excited grand-parents and aunt & uncles to be, as well as some far away friends. We have had some amazing care by one of the doctors at the walk-in-clinic here and are starting to get used to the idea of being parents!
But with this news came a realization that being far away from family was about to get a whole lot harder. We then began to pray and ponder our decision and plans for the future. Did we want to spend the first 2 years of our baby's life 36 hours away from family and friends? Of course, people are great and promise visits, but 36 hours is FAR AWAY! I had always imagined having our moms a wee bit closer when we had our first baby! It was a very hard decision to make, but Matthew and I have now decided to move back to Lethbridge for a year. Matt will be taking a year off school and working and we will be close to family while the baby is little and then we hope to move to Vancouver in the Fall of 2012 for Matt to finish off his degree. We have done some research into Regent College which is on the UBC Campus in Vancouver and have heard that it is a whole lot more family friendly so we plan to go there for Matthew to finish up his degree. Like I said, big changes in our little house!
We will be moving back to Lethbridge in Mid-May after Matthew's brothers wedding which is out here on May 7. My parents are flying out for the wedding as well so we will have a few days to visit with them here and show them some of our favorite places and then we will be packing up to head back to Alberta. We are going to stay with my parents initially and figure out more from there. I have already been hired on to work for the summer which is great, as that means I won't lose out on Mat-Leave, and Matthew has started the job hunt as well. We are really looking forward to a summer spent at home. Two of my very good friends are having/had babies as well, so it will be great to be close to them, and Matt's best friend and wife are coming back from Australia so we're excited to see them too! (Hi Mitchell and Julie! :) ) I am excited that we will be in town for Jolene's grad and my dad's 50th birthday, as well as some family camping! We are now counting down the days! :)
Well that brings you up to speed on things in our life! How fast things can change in just a few months time!
Now some quick answers to the many pregnancy questions we have been and continue to be asked:
When is baby due?
Well, we actually just got back from our ultrasound which showed baby to be about 12 weeks 1 day, which gives us a due date of October 2.
How have I been feeling?
Well, lets just say that at around 8 weeks, diclectin became my very good friend! I was throwing up a little too much for mine and the doctors liking so she got me set up on a low dose and it's made a huge difference! I have had the normal pregnancy fatigue which has made staying up til 9 a late night for me, but I'm just resting when I can.
Are we going to find out what we're having?
Well, that's up for debate at the moment but I think we're leaning towards yes??? Don't hate me mom! :) Otherwise, we have decided that if our child is a boy, it will likely remain nameless... So if we find out the gender, we may be able to stop arguing about names! :P Our ultrasound is actually already booked in Lethbridge for the beginning of June, so I guess we have until then to decide.
Cravings?
Oh my goodness. It's kind of disgusting, but these past 4 or 5 weeks I've been craving Pillsbury Pizza Pops! And apple sauce. And that's about it. Yuck, that sounds gross to read. But Matthew makes me a fruit and veggie smoothie that I drink every morning so at least I'm getting some decent nutrition. But my appetite is on the upswing so we'll see what I'm eating in the next couple weeks. :)
Ok, here's a quick posting of my belly at 12 weeks, and then a picture from our ultrasound today and I am off to go make something for dinner. I think we still have some pizza pops left so I'll see if I can convince Matt that's what we should have for dinner... :)
Blurry Baby Van Dyk : 12 Weeks, 1 Day
