Day 1 of Pregnancy... and beyond.

So, we left off with Josh and I just finding out about the baby in ma' belly. Let's continue, shall we?

The day we found out about the pregnancy we spent countless hours exploring- hoping to find a Urgent Care center to do a pregnancy test. This proved to be more challenging than expected. First of all, we were staying in a retirement center. Not much of a demand for OB doctors. Gynecologists, yes. Obstetricians? No. The second issue? Apparently, if you ask for a pregnancy test at the ONE urgent care center we were able to find, they won't do it. If, however, you go in complaining of nausea, stomach slightly funky, and a late period, they would do the test. I wish I would have known this beforehand. BAH. So, after several hours, we simply decided to wait until we got home to Iowa and set up an appointment with an OB/GYN. Everyone is probably thinking 'duh' at the moment; but you've got to understand... Josh and I behaved ourselves the previous month! :) There was just no way those two pregnancy tests were right! Ha.

We decided (mostly me, because I am AWFUL at secrets and surprises... I just get too excited!) to go ahead and tell family and close friends. So, we started off with my sister Rachel on Skype. Just chitchatting and shooting the breeze, then WHAM! Positive pregnancy test held up to the camera. Boo yah! I am really not sure if she was more excited that I was pregnant or that she was the first to know, but it is safe to say there was excitement. Next, it was time to tell Nanny and Papa- after all, they were letting us stay with them in FL and it is going to be their first great grandbaby! We made a Christmas list of baby items (Christmas gifts are a REAL big thing in their family) and told them we just wanted to get our Christmas list in early. I think Nanny got down to the third item- probably diapers, bottles, or crib... and then exploded out of her chair. Literally, like an explosion. Of tears, questions, laughter. Of course, I started crying too and everyone just got so tickled. It was super.

We told my parents via skype- pretty much the same WHAM! in your face method as Rachel. Dad's first words? "You better not be!" Ha. Whoops. He probably didn't want that to go down in the record. (Of course, in reality he is very pleased. He met and patted my belly this weekend when we saw him for the first time since the news. And he texts me freqently to ask how I'm doing. Such a sweetie.) Mom kept asking if it was true and then cried. Which of course, got me crying again. The only thing better would have been to be able to tell them face to face. But I would have been almost in my 2nd trimester by the time we could have traveled to see them. And that is much too long for me to keep a secret.

Cindy Pattengale found out the next day at dinner, when she flew in with some of Josh's brothers for a weekend in the sun. To celebrate her birthday, we bought a little green onsie that says, "I heart grandma." It was so fun to watch the confusion turn in to excitement as she analyzed the meaning of the gift. Mike simply said, "She can't fit into that, guys." And then, of course, the necessary questions and tears. This is getting to be a habit. We were going to try to skype Jerry, but on Cindy's recommendation just called instead. This was probably one of my favorite moments. Jerry almost reverted to some old form of English, speaking in way that, well, no one speaks anymore. The only quote I actually remember, however, is "Oh, this is just such a blessing." Those words bring such joy and peace to my heart. Baby, you are a blessing. Thank you God, for you perfect plan and timing and the joy You have brought into our lives.

The rest of vacation is kind of a blur- I remember thinking, "I'm pregnant!" about a billion times. How am I supposed to focus on anything else when I've got a pea-sized little person inside me!? The mental shift is incredible- suddenly everything I do, eat, drink... the way I try to lie when I'm going to sleep... it's all first put through this weird 'mommy-filter.' Will this be okay for the baby? Will this help the baby? Will this hurt the baby? Oh, I need to start drinking milk. Gross. Oh, that tastes good. There you go baby! Baby doesn't feel like washing the dishes. Baby wants ice cream. (Ok, some of those things weren't direct messages from the baby.)

My first OB appointment was scheduled for around 4 weeks after we got home from FL. Again... that is too long of a time to wait! I needed proof that I was really preggers! As if the four pregnancy tests (yes, the number changed to four... per Nanny's request) weren't enough. But that first OB appointment should probably be another post. This current post is long enough to print out and wear as a dress. Albeit, a minidress.

I'm pregnant. This might be a news flash for those of you who just haven't found out yet.

I've known for about a month, so I'm about right on par for the time it took me to blog about it. Josh and I were on a lovely vacation down in Florida celebrating... oh I don't know... life? A break between his school trimesters? The opportunity to see the sun? All of the above, most likely. (And, of course, a big thank you to the Pattengale parents and Rowe grandparents for making it possible.) We stayed with Josh's grandparents down in The Villages, FL. I think everyone should go there. It's like Disney for old people. Everyone is driving tricked out golf carts and doing nothing but playing bocce ball and cards and soaking up the skin cancer. They have large town squares and bring in live bands every night so the old folks can shake their new metal hips like never before. It's just wonderful!

Josh and I spent our first several days lounging at pools, catching up on sleep, eating ice cream and sorbet and steak and other delicious things. We really did have a great time! One night Josh and I decided to spend an evening by ourselves... you know, stroll hand in hand down the pier making witty comments about the girl (who looked like she was trying waaaayyy to hard) having her man take "modeling" shots of her, taking pictures of the lighthouse and necessary seagulls, stopping frequently for me to go to the bathroom (necessary even before pregnancy), and wondering in and out of shops. On the way to the second town square, we pulled the golf cart over on the side of the path and watched the sun go down over the lake. 'Beautiful' doesn't really cut it sometimes. We also stopped and picked up hair gel, face wash, and pregnancy tests at the local mart. (The pregnancy thing was more Josh's idea. See, he wanted me to prove to myself that I wasn't actually pregnant. And from past experience, he is usually right. Night shift = havoc on my body, so I've gone through a fortune worth of pregnancy tests. I actually bought prenatal vitamins and would make myself take them for a week. That way I would be doing everything right if I was pregnant and would feel free to wait a little longer to take a prego test. It's actually cheaper that way. Then, a week later, if there was still a possibility, off to the store for a pregnancy test. Again.) We stashed our little purchases in the golf cart and then continued to enjoy the night at the spanish town square- drinking coffee and sharing a cookie from panera, wandering from vendor booth to vendor booth, enjoying the heaviness of the warm air. It was one of those romantic nights you read about in sappy romance novels. Sigh.

Moving to 7am the next morning. I'm awake. I've got a pregnancy test in a bag beside the bed. I've got to pee. Perfect. So, waiting those 3 full minutes. Watching the pee move across the dipstick nervously. Seeing a faint second line. "That's just wishful thinking, Ericka." Hmm. That line is getting darker. There are definitely two lines. OHHHHH MYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOODNESS.

"Josh. Wake up. Look at this. Do you see two lines?"
"I can't see. Turn the light on."
Click.
Silence.

"So, um, am I pregnant? DOES THIS MEAN I'M PREGNANT??!"
I belly flop onto the bed beside him. (Whoops, maybe I shouldn't belly flop anymore.)
"I don't know Ericka."
"Let's take a picture of us!"
"No."
Camera flash!
"Let's take the second test later."

Thirty minutes later. I'm thinking I just might be able to pee again. Two lines. Faster than last time. I slid open the door to the bathroom far enough to make eye contact with Josh. Two nods from me.

We're pregnant.

And of course, we're very excited about this. But right now in the story, we're more in the shock stage. And I feel awful stopping my post without getting to us being super excited and happy and delirious about it, but I'm at work. When you're at work, work comes first. And my shift is almost over, so I've got a few things to finish. So, perhaps in another month I'll get on past the first hour of finding out...