A Blessing Fell Out of the Sky

The News...

Last Thursday, July 27, 2006, I found out Honey and I are going to have a baby.

A. Baby.

Wow.

I realize this is not anything out of the ordinary from what a million other women go through on an annual basis, but for me, it feels like something truly extraordinary. For one, I'm 33 and have never been pregnant. Quite honestly, I had resigned myself to believing that I couldn't have children. In fact, in two years without protection, we've not conceived. Not that we were trying, we just weren't not trying. It was a gamble, but the fact remained that I had never gotten pregnant. I was convinced it would never happen for me.

How we found out...
About two weeks ago, my stomach started aching in a way that I'd never felt before. It was kinda like cramps, but not. I was kinda nauseous, but not. I would have sudden shots of pain in my left side, but they would not last long, and didn't happen very often. I thought little about it at first, but into the week, the nausea/butterfly feeling seemed to be constant. I didn't know what was up. Plus, it dawned on me that my "girls" had been sore for like a month, not to mention this nagging pain in my lower back. I had chaulked it up to PMS, but dang! Could I start already?!

On Wednesday, (July 26th) I shared my symptoms with a co-worker. She gave me the one-raised eyebrow look and suggested I might be pregnant.

What?! NO WAY! C'mon! I told her, while wondering in the back of my mind could I?

That evening, about 10 pm I decided to take a home pregnancy test that I had on the shelf, which happened to have expired back in November 2005. Turns out that second little pink line showed up, and then? Me and Honey's eyebrows went up.

We debated about a 10:30 run to Walgreen's, but decided that I'd just call the doctor in the morning instead and see about going in for a test. My blood test came back positive the next day.

Wow. We're gonna have a baby!

Since we found out...
Since then, I have been sick non-stop, minus two days since last Friday that I've managed to keep everything I've eaten in the day down. Kinda rough, and with the exception of when I've been ill at work, Honey has been right next to me everytime - rubbing my back, holding my hair back, getting cold washcloths for my neck. He's made dinner, run errands, and has pretty much been the most understanding, loving person I've ever known.

We had the first ultrasound on Wednesday, August 2nd, to determine how far along we are. 6.5 weeks. AND, we got to see the little, itty-bitty heart beating in there.

OMG! We're having a baby!

Telling the families...
Friday evening, August 4th, we invited my parents out for dinner. They live about an hour away from us, and Honey and I wanted to tell them together, face-to-face. Just after the appetizers, I made the announcement. Now, we weren't exactly sure what to expect, but I could not have been happier with their reaction. They were totally supportive, surprised, and excited. The one question I expected to hear - Are you going to get married - was one of the first asked, but our response to it didn't really seem to have much of an impact. They were happy. Their only daughter is going to have a baby. Something they were not sure would happen, I think, simply because of my age, but also because I might have had them convinced I wasn't able to conceive as well.

On Sunday, August 6th, Honey and I drove approximately two hours to see his father and grandfather and tell them the news. We went to church with Grandpa, and then went back to the house to visit. Honey's father didn't seem to believe us at first, but with the ultrasound picture in hand, he had no choice. Grandpa was SO excited! He wasn't sure Honey was gonna have any kids, since he's the oldest of his brothers and sister, and just about the only one without kids. Honey's aunt came over, and she too was too excited to contain herself! Next, we stopped by Honey's maternal grandmother's home and the news simply made her day.

On the way home, we called Honey's mother and brothers and shared the news over the phone, as they live about 4.5 hours from us. They were all very excited and congratulatory about our news.

So, now all that's left to tell is my great aunt/uncle and my grandmother, whom we hope to see this week.

The joy, excitement, and all the things to think about...
I couldn't be happier about being pregnant. I believe it will be one of the most life-changing events in my entire life. I believe it will bring about changes in me I could not expect or anticipate, and in Honey too. We are both first-timers, but have spent a good deal of our younger lives involved in the raising of our siblings - particularly Honey. This will be like nothing else we've experienced up to this point in our lives, and I, we are both truly excited about it.

There's much to do before March 24, 2007, so I better quit writing (for now) and get on it!