Since I’m still very early in my pregnancy and not a lot is going on (I don’t really “feel” pregnant yet), I decided a recap of my first pregnancy is in order.
It all began with the birds and the bees…well, it took a few months for a successful bird n’ bee hook up to be made, but made it was and baby was on board in August of 2011. I was working at a bank and the morning of my positive pregnancy test I went in bright eyed and bushy tailed to…the reek of paint fumes. One of my coworkers was about 12 weeks pregnant at the time and amid near-hysterics from some of the others about the safety of breathing in paint fumes at such an early stage of pregnancy, she went home. I made some quick, secretive, conference room calls to my OB and was told I should avoid the fumes. So keeping my news a secret until the proscribed 12 week mark wasn’t in the cards for me. I told my boss the news and that I needed to get out of the fumes. (I’m sure he was thinking, “Great…two pregnant women to crazy up the office…”) However, I got to spend the day listening to the CD my husband made me and browsing the pregnancy books at Barnes and Noble. A very good day!
Fast forward a few weeks: I had absolutely no appetite and the only food I was able to get down was Bagel Bites…that’s right, I have a bunch of brand spankin’ new books about eating healthy while pregnant and the only thing I can stomach is Bagel Bites. But it got better! After a few weeks of morning puking and Bagel Bites for most meals, I moved past the “morning sickness” and on to feeling healthy, happy, and accomplished (I’m a human incubator!)
Chris and I had so much fun basking in the baby glory. We took lots of long walks around Town Lake (Lady Bird Lake) taking pictures and enjoying the beautiful scenery. We went to breakfast and sat outside talking about the things we wanted for our baby. We enjoyed lazy days off browsing bookshelves and drinking coffee (decaf for me!) on the balcony of our apartment. So peaceful!
Then we had a scare at 31 weeks. I noticed some bleeding while I was at work and (after a panic-filled day and some additional bleeding) I called my doctor and was told to go to the hospital to be safe. Well that didn’t do a thing to ease my fears and, when we got there and the nurse in charge wrote down ‘preterm labor’ on my slip and wheeled me up to the Labor and Delivery wing, I was at a new low. Chris was great – a calm, reassuring presence that kept me sane and from dissolving into tears. Luckily, after hours hooked up to a fetal and contraction monitor, I was cleared with the equivalent of a medical “I dunno”. Apparently my uterus was being proactive and getting some reps in before the big game. We were lucky and had no more scares the duration of my pregnancy.
In the weeks leading up to my due date we were kept busy with Lamaze classes, a beautiful baby shower, a maternity photo session (courtesy of my husband and Hat Creek Photography), and UT baseball games. It was a busy but amazing time.
Finally, the day arrived…well, Baby Penelope decided that she wanted to make her debut a few days before her due date actually. I was making dinner on a Friday night, standing in the kitchen when I felt a strange gushing sensation…my water had broken! We made our way to the hospital at a surprisingly leisurely pace (in retrospect) and the rest is history – we welcomed our beautiful baby girl, Penelope Lee Simons, on May 12, 2012, the perfect Mother’s Day gift.
I had so much fun being pregnant and I’m really looking forward to it the second time around! Stay tuned for updates!
The Adventures of Aubrey Simons 