Woohoo! You made it through all my birth stories!! :) Now, moving on to how I got to here, from there...
Jason and I knew of each other, and had met a few times, years ago when we were teens. In Dec 2009 (right smack in the middle of my marriage ending) we happened to be at the same restaurant, at the same time, and I recognized him. I sat down and talked with him while we waited to get our tables. I told him I'd look him up on facebook, so we could stay in touch. I did just that later that day, and we started chatting a lot. He had been through divorce before, and was a great listener. We got together a couple times with my boys and his son. Over the next few months we became very close, closer than I wanted, close enough that the feelings I was having for him scared me. At the end of April 2010 I had made the final decision to file for divorce. I was very much looking forward to starting a new life, and excited about the chance to be single, and explore other fish in the sea, haha. Maybe that would help with these feelings? On May 1st, after learning of my decision, Jason said to me something along the lines of "now that you're on your way to officially single, can we be in a relationship?" I explained my concerns to him, and found out he was feeling the same toward me that I was him. We both didn't want to lose out on something that seemed to have such amazing potential, so we agreed to give it a try as long as we remained very open and honest about our feelings every step of the way. Of course when you both feel this way about each other, there really is no taking it slow. We fell hard and fast. He proposed to me spontaneously in the drive thru at LeeAnn Chin one night in August, with a plastic ring from the top of a Gatorade bottle! :) It was kind of a joke thing, but really we both wanted to be married someday. Him sooner than me. We also both wanted to have a child together, someday. Me sooner than him. We'd occasionally bring up one or the other of those subjects, and I kept saying I wanted to get married when it felt right, and it just wasn't time. And he wasn't completely sold on TTC yet.
Last fall he said he was ready for us to have a child together. By that time, I was having second thoughts. Our life was so great, and I worried about how it would change. But, in Oct, my IUD was expiring. I was still undecided as to whether I'd have it replaced or not. As I left for the appointment, he said "surprise me!". I opted not to get another. In January we got our BFP! At 15weeks we found out we would be having a GIRL!
In June, at a prenatal appt., the midwife asked if we were getting married before or after baby was born (because the paperwork is different for unmarried vs married parents). We told her we weren't sure, I was just waiting until it felt right. After that appt, we talked about that conversation, and I said I was ready. And the planning began... 3 weeks later, on 7/7/12 we were married under a waterfall. Our kids performed the ceremony. The only other people there were our parents, and 2 friends. It was very intimate, very perfect.
And here we are... Tina 34, & Jason 36. Expecting my 6th, his 6th, our 1st. We have my 5 kids, and his son full time. We run our own web development/technology business from home. I also recently started working part time as a breastfeeding counselor for WIC. Everyone in the house is so excited about this new baby. They love feeling her move, and all the kids, and J have been trying to convince her it's time to come out!
I am due the 25th, which is just 1 & 3 days after my last 2 boys' due dates. I am really hoping baby girl will share a birthday with them as well! Just one week away. :) I've been feeling pretty good. I have my usual morning sickness, alllll pregnancy long. I wake up, throw up, and get on with my day. And I had some pre-e symptoms, but just tweaked a couple things in my routine, and they seem to be improving a little. We really wanted a homebirth, and started looking into our options, but just couldn't make it happen financially. It seemed the next best thing was a birth center. So far I'm pretty happy with the care. I love that they encourage each family to make their own decisions about every little thing. The birth center we chose is about 20-30 minutes from our house, so hopefully we'll make it there in time!
Sorry this is all so long! I just started typing and it just kept going... I should look for some pics to share to break up all the reading. :)
