9/28/04 - To Tell Or Not To Tell?

Well, it's one week exactly since we found out we were expecting, and my body has officially shifted into a construction zone. We debated who to tell and when. Dave was concerned that everyone knowing would be difficult to handle if I miscarried. I'm more of the opinion that I'd like as many people as possible to be praying for me, and if we did run into grief, at least my friends could sympathize rather than worry I was losing my mind. The majority of this week has been spent trying every method in the book to conquer my morning sickness. Unfortunately, my stomach is prone to doing more flip flops than John Kerry, and doesn't need much to set it churning. The munchkin may only be the size of a kidney bean, but he (or she) has already developed discriminating tastes, and has no qualms sending food packing if it's not what the micro-majesty ordered. This fact alone made it impossible to hide from my co-workers at Ben Bridge Jewelers, so I had the fun of telling everyone at work and enjoying their reactions. My parents live in Oregon, so we had to tell them over the phone, but it was almost as fun as in person. They are thrilled about being grandparents. Since Dave's Mother lives at the retirement home where he works, He decided to keep quiet until she could get over her cold and we could tell her in person. When we broke the news, he asked her to keep it to herself until he had a chance to tell his boss. Of course, that didn't go over very well. "You can't be so cruel as to not let me tell!" We finally relented, so she called everyone in the family by evening.

9/27/04 - Drumroll Please...

The adventure has officially begun, much to my surprise. My first clue should have been that it had been 47 days since my last cycle, but I'm usually so irregular that I figured it wasn't anything to get suspicious about. Then, of course, there was my monster case of "PMS" that had dragged on for over two weeks. I still didn't clue in. And the last big clues involved late night snack attacks and this strange craving for hamburgers, followed by queasiness when I made myself eat a chicken sandwich instead. I guess I'm a little slow, or maybe I didn't want to get my hopes up for another false alarm. At any event, it took a co-worker and my husband asking me on the same day whether I was pregnant for me to get suspicious enough to take a home pregnancy test.

The Thin Pink Line

It's amazing how a little pink line can turn your world upside down. I just kept staring at it dumbly, trying to absorb the fact that I was really going to be a Mom. Try as I might, it just wouldn't register. I walked downstairs, test in hand, to show David. He was on the phone with work, and by the time he hung up I had dissolved into a puddle and had him worried. He put his hands on my shoulders and asked me what was wrong. Now, I've rehearsed in my mind a dozen creative ways to break the news when the time came, but at the fateful moment I could only manage to sob "I'm pregnant!" and hold up the test. Of course Dave's first response was "are you sure?", and the phone rang again. He was being called to work because an alarm was going off that they couldn't shut down, so I rode out to Escondido with him. On the way back we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up another pregnancy test and supply of pretzels and ginger ale for my sensitive tummy. This one had a digital readout that clearly said "pregnant" in bold letters. When I showed Dave , he said "Well, I guess we are then", and then gently lifted my shirt and kissed my tummy. I knew then everything was going to be OK.