I think a lot of women might say, “I can’t believe I’m already in the third trimester,” but I am not one of those people. This pregnancy is literally the only period of my life when I can say that time has felt like it is standing still! Each day that crawls by gets us closer to meeting our sweet boy, and baby boy officially has a name – William Grant Craig! We can’t wait for our sweet Will to get here.

I am also happy to report that I do not have gestational diabetes! I failed the one hour glucose screening by a measly margin, but my doctor still wanted me to take the three hour test. On top of worrying if I am already screwing up my baby by making him a sugar addict, I typically do not do well with needles. I once passed out and hit my head so hard I had to go to the emergency room. I think the nurse drawing my blood for this test was a gift from God, I truly do. She was very no-nonsense, quick and efficient and I’m pretty sure she is the reason I was able to get through the FOUR blood draws like a champ. I also absolutely hate wasting time, and I would say hanging out for three hours in a waiting room with no wi-fi is wasting time. My mom knows me, so she came and waited the entire three hours with me and distracted me with lots of chit-chat. We planned out our future real estate endeavors for the next 50 years and basically solved the world’s problems in those three hours, so at least something good came from it! I am so thankful I do not have gestational diabetes, I just can’t even explain the relief.

Other than that we have been vacationing in Florida, getting Will’s nursery ready (more to come on those) and trying to savor the last few months with just the two of us. Let’s hope they fly by!

I’m officially past 20 weeks and so very happy! We had the big anatomy scan and got a good report – I sure was relieved to have that done! Around 19 weeks I decided to stop taking my nausea medication, but unfortunately I began to feel terrible again. I am not sure how long I’m going to have to take it, but I’m definitely eager to stop. I am still in a lot of my regular clothes thanks to belly bands and some forgiving dresses and tops. I’ve bought a few maternity shorts and jeans, but my little bump just doesn’t seem to hold them up quite yet! I think I’m in that awkward in between phase, but I know I’ll be in exclusively maternity clothes soon enough!

One annoying thing – my skin has broken out like I’m a teenager again. Blah. I have been using various Belli Skincare products (at the recommendation of Veronika) in place of my stronger prescription products from the dermatologist and would definitely recommend them, but I guess a little acne still comes with the territory! Sam and I just got back from a trip to Chicago, and I definitely experienced some swelling in my feet and legs from all the extra walking. Thankfully it’s gone down now that I’m home and back to my regular routine. Other than that things seem to be progressing wonderfully! Praying that this pregnancy continues to go smoothly and Baby Craig is growing nice and strong!

I suppose I’ll just dive right in! The first trimester was hard. I jokingly told my family multiple times that it was, “the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.” So yes, apparently my life has not been too difficult. But seriously, the first three months were no picnic!

I found out I was pregnant very early. I bought a ton of very cheap pregnancy tests in bulk from Amazon, so I would take them quite often, even if I knew it was way too early. I’m weird, I know! Sam had already left for work that morning. I was about to step into the shower when I decided to take a test, pretty much just for funsies. I took it, set it on the counter, and didn’t even look at the result before I got in the shower – that’s how sure I was that it would be negative. I got out of the shower and happened to glance down and saw TWO lines, which I had never seen before!

So, what did I do? Immediately took another test of course! What’s the second thing? Google! (and pour out the rest of my coffee!) I called my doctor and made an appointment (side note – I wish they just see you right away!) and went to work. Something you should know, I am maybe the worst secret keeper on earth. I remember thinking that day that the whole world must know exactly what was going on because I could not wipe the silly grin from my face. I went to lunch with my co-workers and tried to act as normal as possible. I communicated with Sam like I normally do, trying not to arouse any suspicion. I wanted to wait and tell him in person!

Unfortunately I had several events over the next few weeks where there would be drinking and people potentially noticing that I was not. Sam and I traveled to Dallas for a work party, and I just knew that all of my co-workers would notice I was not imbibing (I usually indulge in my fair share of champs!) Sam and I were able to pull it off with some very creative drink swapping that night, although one of my co-workers did mention my lack of champagne at one point, luckily she did not remember the next day – ha! I remember waking up the morning after that party and thinking, “hmm…I’m kind of nauseous. I guess this is morning sickness.”

Oh, how naive I was. The next few days are still a blur to me. I could keep absolutely nothing down and would vacillate between throwing up, laying on the bathroom floor, and sobbing hysterically. Things were like this until I finally got some meds. It was still pretty bad, but at least I could keep down some crackers and water and manage to drag myself to the office looking like some semblance of a human. I like to refer to this period of time in my life as “the dark times” where nobody except Sam, my mom, and my sister knew my secret. I was sicker than I have ever been with no reprieve, and I couldn’t even share the good news with people!

Time passed by so slowly those first few weeks, and somehow I made it through! Getting to see our little bean at 6 weeks helped me to persevere, and it wouldn’t be long until we could let the world know about our great joy!