Baby J is on the way!

Today my love and I announced that we are having our first baby! We are over the moon excited for baby to come. We already love him or her so so much.

Unknowingly, when I found out I was pregnant on December 7th, I was entering an entirely new world. It is very strange when you first find out. Your whole world just changed, and you cannot tell anyone. Well, you can, but you probably need a bit of time to process. At least I did anyway...

There I was looking exactly the same as I did pre-pregnancy, having taken my 7th pregnancy test (because you can never be too sure), having called my husband (he is deployed...wow I have not written in a long time), to tell the fantastic news.

That conversation went along the lines of me calling him 17 times, so he would wake up. Keep in mind the poor guy did not know I was testing and he's thousands of miles away:

"I took a test. I think it's positive."

*sleepily yawning* "huh?"

"I took a test. I sent a picture. Do you see a second line? I think I do. I mean it's lighter, but it's definitely there." (This ain't like the movies people)

"What test?"

"A pregnancy test! I think it's positive. It must be positive. OMG how are you feeling? I'm freaking out. OH my gosh. This is crazy. I'm hyperventilating."

*still waking up* "That's awesome. Are you sure?"

"I don't know...there's a lot of positive ones. So I think so."

It was surreal. I slowed down to take a snowy morning walk for a bit. I just needed time to calm down and stop hyperventilating. That day I had a professional development to be at, so there is a lot more down time than with 20 kindergarteners running around that I need to take care of. This leads the newly pregnant mama's mind to wander:

What if I miscarry?

When do I tell people?

Does tricare cover babies?

Am I ready to be a mom?

Oh my gosh I am going to be a terrible mother.

Can I eat this?

Crap I was drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day. I am definitely going to miscarry. Oh my gosh I can't tell anyone.

How much can I exercise?

Can I lift? How much?

Can people tell I'm pregnant? OMG that woman looked at me so strangely, she must know!

How do I even know if this is real. I know! I'll call a doctor to confirm!

So off I went to call my OBGYN to get in to get a blood test or something and maybe get in to talk to a doctor. So I go on, call the doctor, and talk to the secretary with my perfectly practiced "I swear I'm not insane" telephone voice:

"Hello, my name is Angela Jones, I am a patient of _________. I am just calling because I took a pregnancy test this morning, and I am pretty sure it was positive."

"Well were there two lines miss?"

"Well...yes."

"Then it is positive."

"OH .... okay... I'm just...well.. I was wondering if I could come in to maybe confirm that?"

"We confirm with a positive pregnancy test."

"Umm...okay. Well...I just like..don't feel very pregnant you know? Like how am I supposed to really know?"

"Is this your first pregnancy?"

"Yes. Definitely."

"First let's set up your first prenatal appointment. We do one at 10 weeks. From the date of your last period you are at 6 weeks."

"So I have to wait a month to see a doctor? That's kind of a long time.."

"It can seem like a while, do you want me to transfer you to a nurse, she can answer your questions?"

"PLEASE."

Needless to say I kept that poor nurse on the phone asking five million questions. Mainly about miscarriage. Unfortunately, new mamas, that seems to be a worry for everyone. Chances are good nothing you do or don't do will cause one, but it happens from genetic anomalies. Do your self a favor. Don't be like me. Don't spend all of Christmas Break obsessively looking up the risks of miscarrying and all the ways it can happen. Eat as healthy as you can (it's

...nausea is the worst), exercise if you can (It's hard, you're tired. Your body is producing a human), and sleep. Sleep A LOT. Also, don't shovel your driveway. I learned that one in my first appointment. Woops!

Lessons learned from this experience:

1. It is okay if you don't have a huge reveal to your husband. I cannot keep secrets from him to save my life. I love him. He must know everything right when I do. That's okay. It doesn't have to be like the movies.

2. Dollar tree is your friend for pregnancy tests. Buy 10, and you still are saving money. They are accurate and show faster than the Clear Blue ones. Of course I still followed up with a digital a few days later....but I'm also insane.

3. You don't get an appointment with your OBGYN right away. You CAN ask for a blood test from your general practitioner. That's what I did, because 7 positive tests didn't cut it. I wanted to KNOW. Guess what, folks? That was also positive.

More next time on The Pregnancy Diaries of Angela Jones. Signing out friends. Peace.