Pregnant?!

Jerry and I decided to start trying to expand our family at the end of January 2012.  It didn't take long for us to get pregnant.

Our Delaney/Grimshaw/Neely/Campos family decided to take a trip to Ocean Shores instead of exchanging Christmas gifts last year.  We were heading out on Friday, February 10.  TMI alert:  I got what I thought was my period right before we got in the car to leave and was really disappointed.  Jerry told me that it was fine and that we'd just keep trying.  He said that I shouldn't be sad and it'll happen when we're ready.  Although he was really kind and positive about the whole thing, I was definitely bummed.  The weekend was great and we had a lot of fun with family.  We went bowling, played games, and had a big family dinner in the lobby of the restaurant. 

When I went to work on Monday morning, my stomach just did not feel right.  I decided to head home, where I did some Googling.  Apparently Jerry had been doing his own Googling as well.  By the time he got home from work, we both shared that we learned you can have your "period" and still be pregnant.  So we decided to take a test.  We both read the directions and made sure I didn't "mess it up."  We both sat in our room and waited patiently for the time to pass.  I told Jerry to go check it out.  I saw his reflection in the mirror and he smiled down at the positive test.  I was so excited and so was Jerry!  I just kept saying, "I'm going to be a mommy!  Oh my God!"  I got pretty emotional, but didn't bawl my eyes out like you might expect.  Since we only had one test, I told Jerry we had to go the store to buy more NOW.  A quick stop at Rite Aid, five tests in hand, and $45 dollars later, we were home and ready for the next test.  After I went to the bathroom, I had Jerry go in to check the second test.  NEGATIVE!  What?  We both couldn't believe it.  I didn't understand.  It had only been an hour ago that the other test said positive.  Again, disappointed.  Unsure.  Confused.  Again, we both Googled.  Realizing that we may have been jumping the gun and taking the test early, we decided to wait to take anymore tests until Saturday morning...five loooong days later. 

I had called my bestie, Marissa, for some advice towards the end of the week.  Jerry and I hadn't told anyone about the tests at this point, which was downright excrutiating for me.  Marissa said that she's pretty sure that if the first test came out positive, that I was probably pregnant.  She confirmed my thoughts and I got more excited.  I could NOT wait for Saturday now.  By Friday night, I was dying to go to sleep.  It was like Christmas.  I woke up constantly that night and checked the clock.  Finally, it was 8am.  I told Jerry I was going to take a test and he waited in bed.  POSITIVE.  Another test.  POSITIVE.  Thank God.

Although the reaction was not quite the same as I had on Monday (because I was half expecting it to be positive already), we were both reallllly excited.  We also both joked about how quickly we got pregnant and may have even high fived each other.  =)  I knew Marissa would be calling because she knew I was taking the test on Saturday, so we called her and Josh to let them know our good news.  They were really excited for us.  Jerry didn't want to tell anyone until we confirmed it at the doctor, which wouldn't be until at least Tuesday due to the holiday weekend.  You have NO idea how hard that was.  I wanted to shout it from the rooftop.  I also liked the idea of Jerry and I having this secret together, of having some time to ourselves to celebrate what was coming.

I went to the lab on Tuesday, February 21 after work.  They confirmed that I was indeed pregnant.  Now I was really ready to share the news with my parents, but Jerry still didn't want to tell anyone.  What!  How could I NOT share this?!  I was dying to tell them.  I couldn't wait to share!  I was daydreaming of how to tell my parents and my sister.  Luckily, my parents asked us over for dinner on Wednesday and Jerry agreed that we could tell them.  We decided that Oscar would be the one to share the news.  He "wrote" them a letter, which we planned to tie around his neck.  We dressed him up in his sweater and bow tie.  We were almost to my parents' house when Jerry realized he forgot the letter at home, which he had to turn around and go get.  By the time Jerry got back, I was so ready to tell them the news.  Jerry secretly tied the letter around Oscar's neck and let him go, which means that Oscar RAN around the house.  The letter fell off and my mom found it on the floor.  She thought it was just a piece of junk mail because the outside said "Read Me" on it.  Luckily, she opened it instead of throwing it away!

My mom read the letter out loud:
Dear Grandma and Grandpa,
Guess what!  I'm going to be a big brother!
Love,
Oscar

It took my parents a second to realize that we weren't getting another puppy.  My mom turned to me and said, "Are you pregnant?!"  She hugged me for about five minutes and wouldn't let go.  It turned out perfect.  Just as I imagined.  We waited until the weekend to tell my sister and Parker about the baby, which actually was delayed a day due to Parker's niece being born (YAY!).  We bought my sister an outfit that said "Kickin' It with my Auntie," which we wrapped up and gave to her.  She screamed, began to cry, and hugged me for about five minutes as well.  =)  We also shared with Jerilyn, David, and Emma that we were pregnant that weekend.  We were Skyping (since they live in Pittsburgh) and showed Jerilyn the test.  We were really excited to share that Emma was going to have a cousin!

I think the funniest reaction to us being pregnant was Akemi's.  Trier and I were trying to set up a Google Hangout, so that all three of us could video chat together.  Akemi's computer wasn't working and she couldn't see us on the video.  Trier and I could see Akemi's video though.  We were determined to get it working, but you could tell Akemi was getting more and more frustrated.  I finally decided to just tell her.  Her reaction was priceless.  You know, the mouth dropping, crying, shock, etc. all at once kind of thing.  It was so funny.  Trier and I really thought it was hilarious.

Over the next couple of weeks, we shared with our friends and family the news.  I'm pretty sure that no one was shocked to hear that we were having a baby.  Everyone was so happy and excited for us.  We knew that this baby would have a ton of love and support, which made the whole thing even more exciting for me.

Birthday Months
As a side note, I am always planning ahead.  So the idea that I have planned out what months I would like my children to be born in is no exception.  It is by no accident that we started trying to expand our family in January.  My personal belief is that summer babies get gipped.  They do not get to have their birthdays celebrated at school, you are always the first or last to turn a certain age, and you don't get to invite kids from your class to your birthday party (unless your parents were thinking way ahead).  With that said, birthdays between the end of September and early December as well as the end of January to the end of March are preferable for me.  I just like those times best out of the year.  If you get pregnant in December and your baby is born early, then they might end up being born in August.  Therefore, we waited until the time was right so that the baby had the best chance of being born in the fall and not ending up as a summer baby. 

Call me crazy, but that's just how my mind works!!