We are pleased to announce that we will be adding to our family – sometime around the 3 Jan 08! And to answer any questions running through your heads – we are also pleased to say that we WERE, in fact, trying. Or more accurately stated – "not not-trying". And while we got pregnant easily the first time, it seemed even easier this time. Having been off birth control for the second month we discovered that we may be pregnant. The administering of the test happened on a whim. Sunday afternoon was the third day without my "little friend." And for those short couple days, Rob and I had been doing the whole back-and-forth banter that married folk often find themselves doing because we have realized the real reason people get married: TO DRIVE THE OTHER NUTS, RIGHT?! (oh, maybe that's just me.) Anyway, Rob says for the umpteenth time in that brief span of a few days "Maybe you're pregnant". This was a typical response for everything that seemed the slightest bit unusual. I had a *slight* stomach ache. I felt clumsy (which only happens in pregnancy when your center of gravity changes – mine wouldn't be different, as I'm not carrying a *big* baby yet). I felt tired. (Rob says I am always tired). Does anyone else's husband say that to you a lot!?! Finally, I reply, "Wanna bet? I'm taking the test." In my mind, I wasn't convinced that he had any legitimate thoughts of me being pregnant. Our first "attempt" (i.e. Ben) is nothing to base it on, for the mere fact that my birth control wasn't working. And the other reason I wasn't "sold" on it is that since I had stopped taking birth control, I felt like my body was probably still readjusting to being off meds. So I take the test. Positive results vary from test to test. Some say positive results are 2 lines, others say "Pregnant" or "Not pregnant", and for the illiterate, positive results are a + sign accompanied by the default single line. It's the bigger of the two windows that matter. (I am only kidding about the illiterate comment. We know how to read over here.) Rather than go on and on and on, we get a plus sign!
So Ben and me... We have been talking a lot about babies. And while he doesn't understand the depth of the fact that we're going to have another baby, he knows there is one in there. He has tried to be helpful and put his sippy cup in my belly button, saying "here, baby – mink" – (mink = drink). He has kissed my tummy and offered my tummy his "menet" (that's "blanket" in Ben speak). And if you know Ben a little bit – his "menet" is his most prized possession. This blanket is with him through thick and thin, and the day it is ever lost will be a dark day. Up until today, I kept thinking that he thinks "brother/sister" is one word, because he always says them together (we told him he was going to have a "brother or a sister"). But today, in the doctor's office, we asked him if he wanted a brother or sister, and he kept saying "brother". While we have had many debates with various people about gender in general, our pest control guy named Stacy (of all names) – says girls are too expensive. But naturally, I would love to have a little girl! A calm one. I also hear that no child is calm, but I beg to differ. Ben is a wild man with the energy stronger than that battery bunny! Don't believe me – come visit our house. What is it with BOYS?! And while Stacy, our bug guy, says girls are expensive, he seems just fine and dandy with using the excuse to defend his boys – "they're boys – that's what they do" (in a macho man voice). It's all the explanation he offers. That's why boys run around ALL day long, that's why his younger boy stands on ant hills, that's why boys fight, etc. Well, we're "just girls". And that's who we are. So what if we cost a little more. We're cute, cuddly, and pretty.
Oh yes, our doctor! Our new OB-Gyn is great. He is a runner, too! I Love meeting those folks! While he is giving me an ultrasound (and *not* the belly kind, which took me by surprise) I am getting the lowdown on his running resume. It's funny and odd, how fast you can get comfortable with someone. He was even the first person Ben would talk to at the doctor's office. He wouldn't talk to any of the front desk employees or the nurses. He was playing the shy game. But the second Dr. Otty made his appearance, Ben was giving him "high fives" and telling him he was 2 and telling him he wants to eat at "Nonals" (Ben speak for the Golden Arches)! We saw the heartbeat and that was so exciting and comforting to see. It's amazing that at six weeks they already have a pulse! They changed my due date by 6 days – it was originally set at 28 Dec 07.
We're very excited to share our news with you and will keep you posted along the way. So far, this pregnancy is similar to my first one, in that, I am pretty symptom free – other than a little tiredness day to day. But as I have mentioned, Rob says I'm always tired. Plus, I am pretty sure Ben makes me tired all by himself!
We hope this finds you all happy and healthy!
