Another Baby for the Dolls! The Doll Tribe is welcoming a new member this Spring of 2023. This time, it’s Dani Doll’s turn to become a Mama. Keep reading for all the details.
Dani Doll here! Caitlin and I want to honor every way in which a woman becomes a Mother. With that being said, it’s important for me to share my experience and journey as authentically as possible.
Not all pregnancy stories are the same and that’s sort of the beauty of the situation. Although I’ve always been open to the journey of life and the thought of maybe one day starting a family, I really didn’t think having a child was in my future. MG and I had talked about it and came to the decision that parenthood wasn’t something we both necessarily needed in this lifetime. Well, as you would have it – Life had its own plan for us!
We found out we were expecting on June 23rd, 2022 after heading to the doctor because something felt off/different with my bladder. Turns out it was a baby! I would call this the surprise of a lifetime!!
The “cute” way I told MG was in a hysterical phone call while sitting in the exam room. He calmed me down and assured me everything would be ok. After reminding myself I’m a very capable 36-year-old adult, and the love MG and I have for one another, we proceeded with having the first ultrasound. After the test was complete, the DR sent me to the ER to make sure we weren’t having an ectopic pregnancy. MG joined me and after a torturous 9 hour wait at the ER at Northwestern Hospital in downtown Chicago – we found out we had a very early pregnancy but it looks viable, we were about 3 weeks pregnant.
I’m going to give it to you straight here. Turns out we got pregnant the first weekend of summer – Memorial Day weekend. We can pinpoint the day and where we were. Ohhhh fun vacation nights filled with love in Atlantic City. Now for the part that has shaken all I know about the human body and made me realize, I know nothing at all. I have countless friends going through fertility, and in my thirties I had come to realize these miracle-surprises are few and far between. I’ve used an app to track my cycle for the past 7-years and it has always, always been spot on. My chances of conceiving at this time were .3%, although I was not on birth control, we were careful… Turns out this little human wants to be here and we will lovingly welcome him or her into the world.
After the shock wore off we fully embraced the situation. 1/2 part me and 1/2 part the love of my life is the winning recipe for our Meatball (baby nickname alert)! With each family member and friend we shared the pregnancy with, the more confident we both felt about becoming parents. Obviously, I told Caitlin first and her gleeful response was, “I knew it.”
One of our best Dolls, Crystal took our announcement photos aboard the Chicago River. We obviously had to celebrate in our metallic SKIMS swimwear.
Besides MG golfing a bit during the first trimester, we have been “grounded” in Chicago because I’ve been feeling SO sick. The first trimester has been really rough. It’s pretty much been textbook. It’s like a non-stop hangover for about 10-weeks. My vomiting was limited but the sickness was lingering all-day most of the time. Realized what a high functioning person I was pre-pregnancy as my body, mind and soul wouldn’t allow me to do much more than eat and lay around. MG was really supportive in stepping up to make sure the laundry was done and the cleaning service was on their way! I didn’t see an end to the sickness in sight but as I’m entering the second trimester, just like everyone said, it will magically go away. My energy levels are back and no longer craving hangover food. Actually just the opposite.
Our babymoon is next month (Sept) in Europe, a trip we planned before the baby which has been converted to fit the times. We will start in Spain and make our way by boat through France and Italy. Was really looking forward to partying in Ibiza, still will but it’s going to look a little different.
What’s next? Starting early Fall we will be back and forth between St. Pete and Chicago. Our baby shower is scheduled for January in a suburb of Chicago, we are having one big celebration with both sides of our families and friends. We plan to deliver our baby in a suburb of Chicago in late February or early March 2023. Our due date is March 4th, but will be induced early. We will be heading back to Florida 2 or 3 weeks after the birth, our OBGYN gave us the go ahead. Healing in the sunshine seems more important than being cooped up in the thick of a cold Chicago winter. This book that has been become my bible at this time is, The Fourth Trimester by Kimberly Ann Johnson. The pregnancy isn’t something I’m too worried about, really embracing my changing body and the do’s and dont’s. But it’s really the postpartum journey I’m focusing on. Getting all the right healing modalities lined up. I’ll share more of this in a future post.
MG and I will be keeping our St. Pete/Florida place, our downtown Chicago place and just purchased a suburbs house 10-minutes from Caitlin. While we are in Florida for the winter, our new home will be undergoing some renovations.
We are excited to share this new chapter of our lives with you. Thank you for following over the years and sticking with us while life is ever-changing.
In case you’re wondering, Teddy is so excited to have his forever bestie or an arranged marriage (ha! ha! ha!) We are not planning to find out the gender of the baby until delivery.