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August 19, 2003
Well, since my last entry on Thursday, I have been busy telling everyone under the sun about my new pregnancy. I know, I am only 4 weeks and that's very early to be telling the world about it, but that's just how I am. I can't keep my mouth shut about anything! Maybe some of you have noticed this penchant of mine. :) Plus, I have always been of the opinion that if we do ever suffer a loss, I am not the type who could grieve in silence. I've noticed that people respond to bad events in two ways: Some people need to be left alone to work through it themselves, while others need to tell and retell the story, overanalyzing each detail, before they can begin to heal. I am definitely the latter type.
So anyway, the first person I told was Linda when she came to drop off Katie. I was just too excited and jumpy to keep the news to myself, and I also wanted someone else to confirm for me that there was indeed a second line on the test. She was so excited (and hormonal from her own pregnancy) that she nearly cried. Next my neighbor, good friend, and future doula Sarieah stopped by, so I invited her in for tea and breakfast and blurted the news to her. Do you see a trend here?
Next I headed over to my doctor's office for a blood test to confirm the pregnancy. Their line was also faint but positive, so they set up my first two appointments (filling out paperwork with the nurse on September 10 and seeing Dr. Haun the first time on October 6) and they gave me a due date of April 27. I had calculated April 25 but was happy to have an extra 2 days tacked on for whatever reason. Since Aden was nearly 2 weeks late, and I do not want to be induced again, I want to buy all the spare time I can. And also for that reason, this is probably the last time you will hear me say the exact due date. Last time I felt so much stress and pressure as that day approached and then passed uneventfully. This time, I have no expectations of actually having a baby until early or mid-May. In fact, I think May 15 would be lovely! :)
So, with another positive result, I felt free to tell even more people. I called my friend Kasee on extremely short notice to see if she, her kids, and her mom would like to have lunch with Aden, Katie, and I. Kasee is my friend I made the scrapbook for, who just had baby Kalee on August 6. Ironically, the night before she had Kalee I lamented to her that it was so sad that we wouldn't get to be pregnant together. Well, turns out we were, even if it was only for a few days.
After all that excitement it was time to come home and wait impatiently for Derek to arrive. Aden helped me wrap a little present containing a tiny little baby girl outfit (since we had originally been trying for a girl) and the positive test. I have to say, Aden was so adorable. First he wanted to put the clothes on, and I just couldn't believe how *big* he has gotten in the last 2 years! Compared to those newborn clothes, he is huge. Then I asked him if he knew whom the clothes were for and he said, "My baby!" Awww...
Thank goodness I had all of your wonderful congratulatory posts to respond to. It made the afternoon go by much faster, but dinnertime came and went and Derek still wasn't home from his meeting. I was nearly wearing a path from the couch to the front window, because I jumped up at every noise to see if he had pulled into the driveway.
He finally got home a little after 7:00 and I made up a rather lame excuse about a backordered Father's Day gift that had just arrived. As I handed him the present I could tell he was a bit confused. It was definitely too light to be any tool that he might have been hoping for as a gift! So he opened it, and looked rather perplexed as he lifted up a tiny onesie with pink roses, and then a tiny pair of pink pants. Then he spotted the pregnancy test and without even checking the results a huge grin spread across his face. "Are you serious? Are you kidding?" he said and he jumped up to give me a big hug. He couldn't stop smiling. It was a great moment.
Since that night we have told Derek's mom, dad and brother, my mom, most of my family, and several other friends. I've noticed that, even though this is our second child, and Aden will be nearly 3 when it is born, that everyone wants to be nosy and know if this one was planned. Why is that? Are we not excited enough? Is there some reason I don’t know about that we shouldn’t be having more kids? Is it just a shameless bid to find out about our sex life? I’d appreciate insight into this conundrum.
I haven’t talked to Fran (my midwife) yet but I did leave her a message today so hopefully she’ll call back soon. She’s a busy lady, as I imagine most midwives are. I can’t wait to talk to her. I know I won’t need to go see her for quite a while but I am just so excited about having a midwife and a homebirth this time. I’ve decided to see both Fran and Dr. Haun during my pregnancy. This is not because I think it is necessary to see a doctor during pregnancy, but because I think the homebirth idea will be easier for my family to accept if they know a medical doctor says I’m having a healthy, low-risk pregnancy. It’s kind of silly, especially since I intend to have the bare minimum of appointments and waive many of the standard prenatal tests. But I’m expecting my homebirth plans to be challenged (and they already have been) and need all the ammunition I can get. More on that in another entry though, I want this one to stay happy and upbeat!
So, pregnancy symptoms... I don’t really have any yet. My pregnancy with Aden started in a similarly unassuming manner. My breasts might be a little sore, I might be peeing a little more often, occasionally I have a light heaviness or gentle cramping in my lower belly, and I am definitely more tired by dinnertime than usual. But that’s about it. The nasal stuffiness, extra-strength gag reflex, and constipation seem to be lurking around the corner but they haven’t struck yet. I’d like to attribute my frequent ice cream cravings to the baby, but who am I kidding? I always crave ice cream. I might be a little more moody than normal, but you’d have to ask Derek and I assure you he’d get that deer-in-the-headlights look and then deny everything.
And last but certainly not least, an update on my adorable 2-year-old. Aden has been in firm “I do it myself” mode for nearly a week now. He likes to count, but sometimes he says “one, two, three, four” and other times he decides that the shortcut “one, two, fourteen” is much better. :) Trains are still his absolute favorite thing in the world, and speaking of trains, he did something rather amazing this weekend. My aunt was in town and gave him three new trains as a late birthday present. The characters she gave him are named Salty, Gordon, and Derek. He immediately named the first two, and then pondered for a moment when we asked him who the third one was. Then he told us that it was “Daddy!” I don’t know how he managed to remember that it was named Derek and then put two and two together to call it Daddy, but my entire family is now convinced that he’s a genius. It was probably a coincidence, but who am I to argue?
Thanks again to everyone who posted on my TTM board. You know, it took me 4 months to get my first 100 posts, another 4 months to get to 200, a month and a half to get to 300, and 12 days to get to 400. I feel so incredibly lucky to know that so many people are joining in my journey!
So, keep talking to me! Stop by and tell me what your first pregnancy symptoms were, what your mate’s reaction to the good news was, your philosophy on telling people about your pregnancy, whether everyone was nosy and wanted to know if it was planned, or what your amazing child is up to. Or just say hi and tell me how you’re doing. Take care!
Tara
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