Hello Nausea

We've made some purchases since we've learned about our pending arrival, but so far they've been limited to some maternity clothing items for Tam, and some books to help us make sure we're doing what we're supposed to. And "Preggie Pops." The name may be cute, but these little candies have been life savers against all-day sickness. No, not morning sickness. That would imply that it leaves at some point. Instead, it's been more or less constant for the last week. Well-wishing friends all swear that it will be gone after the first trimester.

Yay.

Only six-ish more weeks of it to go. Blargh.

On a more pleasant, and less queasy note, our baby has received her (or his) first goodies. Nate, Daisie, and Joshua came by last weekend to help us celebrate Fathers' Day (their first, as well), and they brought some adorable outfits and a very cute blanket.

And Annette gave us our baby's first teddy bear!

It turns out that baby stuff is all very soft and very cute. As such (the soft cuddly part), we're going to have to make sure to keep it away from Misha, who loves to unstuff soft plush things.

Nurses, Doctors, Ultrasounds, Oh My!

Our second appointment was less about business and more about baby. Instead of going to the financial office, we were met at the door and ushered right into the ultrasound room where we anxiously waited to find out if everything looked okay. There were four things they looked for, and they found all four - including our baby's heartbeat. It's amazing that they can show us a heartbeat when the whole baby was just 3mm long. Seeing it on screen was incredible, and made the whole experience a little less abstract, and a lot more personal.

We also learned that we were not quite as far along as we originally thought. We calculated that our due date would be the end of January, but they told us February 15th. So we're splitting the difference and figuring on February 5th.

Behold. The little butterbean:

And once we found out that things looked okay (knock on wood), we started to tell our friends.

Slightly Overwhelming...

The last two weeks have been a flurry of health care appointments. First we had our nurses appointment where we were given an estimated due date of January 31st. This appointment was first and foremost to go over the cost of having a baby- literally! After we signed in they had us meet the financial specialist to go over all fees for the next nine months. Thank God for insurance.

Once we realized we had just invested our nest egg (no pun intended), we were shuttled off to meet with the OB nurse specialist. Of course this was not before leaving the first of what I am sure will be hundreds of urine samples. Then it was off to the scale. I was insulted when the nurse laughed when I told her that my shoes weighed at least a pound (They really do!!! I've weighed them!)

We then endured 45 minutes of information inundation. I am sure at one point I saw Michael's eyes glaze over in fear. It's a good thing you have this visit after you find out you're pregnant because if you did it beforehand, you'd make sure you never did anything to get pregnant!

Finally after drawing about a gallon of blood for at least a dozen tests, we were allowed to leave. But not before scheduling our first ultrasound - June 18th at 3pm. On our way out Michael commented, "It seems kind of unfair that your body has to go through all the changes and mine gets to stay just how it is." Lucky for him he was too far away to hit!

It's official!

June 1, 2009

The world changed today at 9:00. There were plenty of things going on – the start of hurricane season 2009 and GM’s announcement of filing for bankruptcy to name a couple. But the biggest news was the appearance of one small pink line.

Tam had taken a couple of tests over the last week, each one turning up negative. She kept saying that something didn’t quite feel right, though. Well, not quite. What she said was that she didn’t feel like her cycle – now late – was about to start.

Fast forward now to Monday morning, 9:05. I got an e-mail from Tam, but not from her work address, or from her AOL address. It was a Sprint picture message, and the picture was a QuickVue test. A test that will most likely end up enshrined somewhere in our home. It had a dark blue control line, and a faint pink test line. And we know what pink means. (At least, I knew once I did a holy crap Google search for QuickVue test results)

It’s still a long road ahead, and of course we’re going to confirm things with a blood test (confirmed, by the way), but it looks like it’s official, and months of trying without success have finally yielded the results we’ve been hoping for. This father’s day is going to have a special meaning to me, because for the first time, I’m going to be one.

Everything else is secondary now. The volume on the drama that sometimes surrounds us is suddenly turned way down. This is the time that we’ve hoped for, and worked for, and it’s finally here. I’m excited and happy and scared to death. I want everything to go perfectly. I want Tam to be healthy throughout the pregnancy, and I pray to God that we are blessed with a healthy baby. I would say a healthy baby girl, but I don’t want to ask too much all at once.

A miracle has happened here. An everyday miracle that happens thousands of times every day across the world, but now it’s happened for us. I know that I’m going to be a sucker for this kid. I’m going to have to try my hardest not to spoil her (or him). The time for “what if” and “do you think “ has passed, and now we get to do what we’ve been hoping for/scared to death of. We get to raise a child together. I hope we do it right.

The funny thing about the timeline is that by the time you conceive, you’re technically already two weeks pregnant. Go figure. So by the time you’re late, and thinking that something might be going on, it takes a little time for it to show up on a test. So here we are, June 1st, - the first day that we know that we’re going to be parents – and one of the nine months has already passed. It’s like getting on a rollercoaster and by the time you realize you’re on it, it’s already about to crest the first hill and you barely have time to catch your breath. This is just one of many things I’m going to learn in the coming months.