Hubby and I knew early on that we both wanted to have children. It was something we had talked about often before getting married, as children (or not wanting any) would have been a deal-breaker for each of us. Soon after getting married, we started talking about
when to have children. We had various plans in mind-- Hubby was considering wanting to go to graduate school in a few years, or maybe travel, or who knows what else. But we also didn't want to wait very long. Sure, we were young (23 years old) but we wanted to have at least 2 if not 3 kids, preferably with 3-4 years of age difference, and wanted to be done by about our mid-30's, so we didn't really have that much time to wait.
We eventually settled on trying to conceive right after our 3rd wedding anniversary. We figured there would never be a "perfect" time to have children, and so if we set a date we could then prepare for it and plan accordingly depending on what else happened to be on our plate. It also gave us time to be just the 2 of us, enjoy married life together, travel, etc.
That wedding anniversary came in January of 2007, and we started trying I think in March or April of that year. I was starting to get a little freaked about the idea, but Hubby amazed me-- he just said, "Well, we've had our time to do other things, and now it's time for us to think about a family." I was so glad to not have to fight with my husband about timing of when to get pregnant.
We were very lucky-- I was pregnant after our second cycle of trying. I could hardly believe it at first. The best thing? My mom and step-dad came out to visit us when I was about 6 weeks along. We were able to tell them almost right away. My mom, of course, was overjoyed. This was to be the first grandchild, for both of our parents. I loved reveling in the excitement they all held for this pregnancy, this baby, this new member of our family.
It was tough being so far away from our families and friends while pregnant, but with the wonderful world of the internet it was much easier to keep in touch. Part of me was glad to be abroad, though, in some ways at least. I constantly heard stories of pregnant women who had strangers come up and say the rudest things to them (like lecturing them on what they should or should not be eating). I think living in a foreign land, with a foreign language, may have helped keep that from happening to me.
I wasn't one of those women that inherently love being pregnant, but I had fun with it nonetheless. I was lucky in that I hardly even had any morning sickness. I was exhausted all the time, though. I did love watching my belly grow, to the point of looking like I'd stuck a basketball under my shirt. I loved feeling him kick and move, and rubbing my belly. Pregnancy is something I had always looked forward to, and I am so glad that I was able to go through it at least once, with few problems or issues, and able to have a healthy, sweet baby boy at the end of it.
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Wow! Did you find out the gender of your son before he was born? What was it like giving birth in another country? You'll have to share your birth story with us when you have time! Does your husband work over there?
@NJ_mommynurse - I did, I actually went in for the NT scan at 13 weeks and the tech said the baby was measuring ahead (14weeks) and she said, "Do you want to know the sex?" I was shocked, I thought it was way too early. But she said it was pretty obvious to her already-- and that yes, it was a boy, and when she showed me his "boy parts" that's definitely what it looked like.
I'm working on a birth story post now.