Well, since our last post it has become official news that we are expecting again. I'll be 12 weeks pregnant with Aria's little brother or sister on Sunday! It's funny. Whenever I start making plans and we decide exactly how our next steps as a family are going to be executed, God subtly reminds us that he has another plan. Learning to let go and stop being a control-freak is something I have had to work on over the years.
I was about 11 or 12 days into my new regimen when I pulled three muscles and found out I was already pregnant. LOL! Suffice it to say, I was totally shocked. But, thankful nonetheless. No, I did not get my body where I wanted it to be...which is soooo much ammo for another post I have in mind. But, all the stress and worrying that goes into trying to get pregnant was already over with before it even began! And that is a huge blessing for sure. Also, pretty hilarious when I thought back to all the people I had mentioned my plan to speaking about it like it was months away when I was in fact already carrying this child.
For documentation's sake I think it's worthwhile to remember and contrast my two stories so far of finding out I am pregnant. Very different, but both very funny.
Flash back to January 2015 when I took my pregnancy test for Aria. It had become routine. As I had said before it had taken a few months to conceive her and I was getting pretty bummed and used to those negatives. (I used First Response because I could find out early and plan accordingly...yes we can go out and have that drink, etc. One line = not pregnant, two lines = pregnant). That day was no different. Woke up, took the test, grimaced at the one line, threw it away, and went to work. I also found the silver lining and texted my sister letting her know I would definitely be able to ride all the roller coasters on vacation next month.) It was a Wednesday. I remember this because Wednesdays were piano lesson days for Stephen, his one day he would stay home from going out East. (Now, having a real appreciation for that drive back from our new home to visit Aria's grandparents once a week, I still cannot believe he made that trip back and forth. That's three hours of commute every day!) After work I came home and sat down on the couch to take off my shoes. Stephen came up to me with a strange look on his face.
"Sarah?"
"Yeah?"
"I was just in the bathroom."
"Thanks for sharing."
"No, I found this in the trash..."
"Yeah, I took it this morning. I didn't think I needed to tell you. It's negative again."
"But....doesn't two lines mean pregnant?"
".....yeah."
**shows me the test that now has two lines**
"Shut up. That can't be right. It was only 1 line...maybe it like bled into the other one because it was on its side in the garbage."
"I think you should take the other test in the box."
So I took the other F.R. test that said more distinctly "PREGNANT" or "NOT PREGNANT" and lo and behold, I can actually say that Stephen broke the news to me that I was pregnant, not the other way around.
Fun fact: If you take the F.R. with the lines, wait a couple minutes after the first one appears. The second does not come up immediately.
We had friends staying over the following weekend from out of town and I wanted to know if I could join in the wine drinking, so Aria and I went to the drug store after breakfast that Friday and bought a trusty First Response.
Always awkward buying pregnancy tests. The cashier never really knows what to say. This one said "I hope you get whatever outcome you're looking for!" Very judicious.
Anyway, we got home, I took the test, and waited for the second line half thinking it really wasn't going to appear but Oh, Sh** there is was, and boom...just like that...one of those moments happened.
Hard to compare this kind of moment to anything but I will try.
Have you ever learned some new piece of information, or finally had a question answered, or resolved something that was open and finally now has closure that completely stops you in your tracks and changes your whole world--but for that one moment you are the only one who knows about it? So the world keeps turning, and your baby keeps tearing up the house while you enjoy the moment, and the rest of life really doesn't even blink--but for you, time and space are kind of irrelevant for a second inside your adrenaline-filled mind and body. For some reason the word "continuum" popped up when I was thinking about a title for this post. (Maybe because I've revisited that John Mayer album while driving recently. So good.) I'm sure there are mathy sciency people who might dispute my interpretation, but I looked up its definition and am happy with the poetry of the word in relation to my situation. "Continuum: A continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct."
I was experiencing a continuum, and it was delicious.
I picked up Aria who was now no longer an only child. I ran around the house dancing and crying and laughing and she thought it was hilarious...because it was. And then I called Stephen, trying to play it cool until he asked me about what we were up to that morning, and I slipped it in as nonchalantly as I could to add impact. (I did not get to tell him last time, so I was really relishing it. Also I have zero chill. I am not one of those wives who can have a fancy night planned and announce news like this with a bottle of champagne and sexy lingerie. I found out and called him within 10 minutes.)
Photo memories:
- Various spontaneous pics of Aria out and about and in spaces. She has also become an expert at going to sleep during our long drives back to the other side of the island.
- Valentine's Day
- Leopold Family Reunion 2k17
- Aria eating calamari
- Hysterical attempt to put a small snowsuit on Aria before taking her out into our backyard.
- Ponytails and curls
- Pictures of Stephen and I the day we found out we were pregnant again.
- Playdate with Everly Vaeth
- Stephen's winter photos from work
- My new teacher pic for HSLDA online
- Baby announcement photos. Bought this adorable pair of baby nerdy reading glasses and set Aria up with a bunch of my baby books to show her prepping for the new arrival. (I thought it was rather clever =P)
- A great photo of Ian finding out in my car
- Mom and Me (Baby Boogie) at the library. Bubbles galore.
- The start of my new bump (It happens so early when it isn't your first rodeo! I didn't show much until like 5 months with Aria... but with this baby it's like Bam! There it is!)
- Family pics from my dad's birthday and Ally's shower.
