Positive.

I wrote this post a while back and finally have worked up the nerve to post it. Enjoy.

Almost all of November, I have been going to sleep before Daniel. Which wouldn’t seem like a big deal if that didn’t mean going to sleep before 8p. I attributed it to being extremely busy during the day and treadmill running after work, etc., but one Tuesday mid-month, Daniel finally convinced me to take a pregnancy test so we could rule that out; otherwise, he said we should schedule an appointment with my doctor. That night, I left the little pink stick wrapped on the bathroom windowsill for the required 3 minutes and tried to busy myself during the longest 180 seconds of my life. When the timer went off, I brought it out to Daniel, hand shaking, eyes wide and a smile, “I’m pregnant.”

Daniel has been talking about kids since we started dating. He also isn’t one to show a lot of emotion. That night, however, he could not wipe the smile off his face. He held the stick in his hand, trying to argue with me as to not get his hopes up. The second line is really faint, does it really count? You’re sure two lines means pregnant? He even tried tilting it in different lighting, “just to be sure”. I took a second test the following morning when hormones are supposed to be stronger and, lo and behold, pregnant. I told Daniel that his smile was larger with this news than it had been at our wedding which only made him smile more, trying to hide it.

We met with my doctor the following day as a final confirmation and she gave us a few tips and pointers about the first trimester and finding an OB. She said my love for a warm Starbies will have to be put on hold as espresso isn’t recommended; same with using hot tubs or cleaning Nova’s litter box. The latter actually thrilled me (sorry, Daniel). She asked if I had noticed any changes the last few weeks — at this appointment, it had been 6-weeks since the beginning of my last cycle (TMI?). Again, I hadn’t even thought to attribute anything I had experienced to being pregnant. I had noticed certain parts of my body were a little more tender, but that went hand-in-hand with the cramping I had felt, so I must be getting my period soon. The iced tea craving every other day was just for something iced and yummy. The exhaustion was because of how hard I was working (pats self on back). She smiled at my naïveté and said, now that I know, to pay closer attention and listen to what my body is saying. Sleep when I need to, eat when I need to. Give in to cravings (this was my favorite thing to hear). We have a lot to learn and a long road ahead but for now, I just know I have to take it easy, listen to my body, and keep this little nugget growing.