we’ve been keeping a teeny, tiny (plum-sized) secret! our family is growing and we are SO excited to be adding a ‘little eidelman‘ to our tribe, due march 6th, 2019! biiiig changes are coming – in blog world and in real life… and i couldn’t possibly be more ready! read on for more about when we found out, and what we’ve been up to since!
stephen and i have known each other since 2009, began officially dating in 2012, and eventually married on may 20th, 2016 in new york city. we spent several years living in brooklyn heights before moving “out to the burbs” of new jersey this past march 3rd, 2018. it is so exciting to know that exactly one year after we purchased our first home that we’ll be bringing our little one into the world. moving was partly motivated by my needing a slower pace – and partly motivated by our desire to grow a family. our home is so cozy – the perfect place to nest – and filling it up with little footsteps is a bucket list moment for both of us.
i spent the greater part of my adult life as a nanny. i have cared left and right for other people’s children. i have been the ‘fun aunt’ (though not technically…. neither of my brothers have children yet – but i have close friends and my in-laws who’s babes are my many nieces & nephews!) i have felt so ready for this for so long – probably longer than you’d think… and while i’m not a particularly religious person… i have legitimately been praying for this baby to come into our lives.
on that note, it’s time to touch on the ‘how we found out & told everyone immediately‘ story. the universe works in craaaazy ways – because many of you might remember me gearing up for my trip to jamaica, only to realize it never actually happened. well ‘baby e’ had other plans in store for mommy & daddy! we found out we were pregnant on tuesday, june 26th – a day i will never ever forget. i just ‘had a feeling’ – so i tested while stephen showered…. and then i tested again…. and again!!! by the time he came out (dressed in a towel) i ran up to him and just blurted it out! we had been actively trying to conceive, and after several ‘negative’ cycles part of me expected another month of trying. (more exciting info on what made june different in my next blog post!) we were stunned. i walked around in tears all morning. i wanted to tell everyone who even looked in my direction.
i called my OBGYN immediately. i told him i suspected i was 5 weeks along. (i was wrong… i was only 4 weeks at the time… but it was a decent enough guess). he said he’d like to see me at 6 weeks at the earliest so to make an appointment for the following week. i said “i’ll be in jamaica” to which he replied “no you won’t! there’s zika virus in jamaica!” – my jaw hit the floor!!!!! shortly after crying tears of joy with my husband… i wound up calling him in a frenzy on his way to work telling him we needed to cancel our july 3rd trip immediately. we were 6 days out from leaving and i had already begun to pack. there were a few issues with this:
- my father was kind enough to pay for our hotels, flights, etc… because this was a family wedding/reunion…. so we’d have to tell him ASAP.
- …. this was a family wedding/reunion – which for us meant 65 rowdy italians at the same all-inclusive resort. if we didn’t attend the wedding literally everyone in my family would need to know why we weren’t there. in some other family dynamics, it’s easy to hide things – to make excuses – to bail on plans – or to generally have people mind their own business… but not the Froio clan!!! and i honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. i knew what i needed to do… and with the risk of miscarriage in the first trimester being so high, it scared the sh*t out of me – but at the advice of my doctor, we wound up telling NEARLY EVERYONE at 4 weeks along because we really had no other choice. the rest was up to god, the universe, fate…. whatever.
that morning i left for a dentist appointment where i ran into my brother and tried to act cool. i spilled the beans to my hygienist because i was BURSTING with excitement. then i devised a plan to get my family in the same room at the same time, because my father needed to cancel this trip STAT in order to get even a fraction of his money back.
i always envisioned i’d tell my parents in some super creative way – christmas morning while they opened presents…. or throwing a sonogram photo randomly into a batch of our travel pictures to see who would notice first…. but life throws curveballs and all these plans i had in my head went out the window the day i found out about this little bean that i’m carrying.
we wound up going for dinner that night. it was super weird, and i chalk it up to my parents packing to move homes as the reason why i was able to successfully pull off a random 6 person family dinner on a tuesday night, no questions asked. i told both parents and both brothers simultaneously in the parking lot of the restaurant, because i knew they’d make a scene (… and they did!). it was such a joyous moment – watching BOTH of my parents in tears. in hindsight i wish we had caught their reaction on video. after dinner i called the bride & groom who were so sweet and understanding of our situation. bailing on a wedding after you’ve RSVP’d yes is bad enough – bailing on a destination wedding 6 days before is brutal! so many thank you’s to my cousin michael and my *new* cousin danielle for being absolute gems the night we told them our news. missing their wedding was bittersweet, and we totally have to plan a do-over family trip to jamaica once our little is born! then i proceeded to call the groom’s parents (my aunt and uncle) – and from there i basically went down the line. i made about 10 phone calls that night at 9pm to tell my family we wouldn’t be coming. everyone was shocked and excited and told us that we’d be there in spirit. it was a whirlwind, to say the least.
in the following weeks i’ve had several doctors appointments… heard my sweetie’s heartbeat… i’m up a bra size… i’m already wearing maternity jeans… and i’ve napped more times than i ever have in my adult life. knock on wood – this baby has been great to me so far. with not a stitch of morning sickness, at first i feared the worst – but i’ve finally come to accept, embrace, and APPRECIATE how fantastic i feel. so far, i’m loving pregnancy and i can’t wait to take you all on the journey to motherhood along with me!
on august 11th, at just shy of 11 weeks along, stephen and i shot with @laurelcreative to announce our special news. i had been dying to work with lauren for more than a year and i knew that this momentous occasion was the perfect time to pull the trigger. i wanted our photos to be lighthearted, fun, and to reflect the realities of impending parenthood – a shopping cart full of diapers!!! she nailed it, as i knew she would, and i am totally in love with how these photos turned out. plus: you all know that target is my weakness, so these are very #onbrand.
let’s raise our (non-alcoholic) glasses and cheers to a whole new demographic on the blog – to exploring products, FAQs and experiences together as an online community. to meeting and connecting with other moms and to inspiring young women who can’t wait to be moms someday. oh, and to a whoooole slew of baby photos popping up on your feeds! (i apologize in advance).
to my first child, our creation, my little bestie – i can’t wait to snuggle you and to give you every ounce of love i have bursting in my body. we’ve been waiting for you. we’re ready for you. and we love you so much already.
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