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.