We Have Fertilization!

*Disclaimer: graphic details about some bodily functions. Reader discretion is advised. (Nothing too gross, though)*

I suspected that I was maybe pregnant about a week ago when I started getting pimples around the sides of my nose, and Pete told me that I had "backne". My skin was really greasy and gross, which hasn't been the case since high school. It was 5 days before my missed period, and the package on the pregnancy test said it could detect a pregnancy "as early as 5 days before a missed period." It also said on the package that it was 99% accurate. So, I took the test and sure enough it was negative, as usual. No big surprise as I've had many of those over the last 6 months since we've started trying.

Then Father's Day came around and my chest was really tender. I thought I should take another pregnancy test, because I was supposed to get my period on Father's Day, and it hadn't happened yet. I was about 8 seconds late. I thought it's be neat if it was positive and then I could give the test to Pete as a Father's Day present. I had just driven home to Albuquerque from Prescott, though, and I really didn't feel like driving to the store to pick up another test. So, I didn't.

The next day I still didn't get my period. I wasn't super-shocked because I've been known to be up to three days late and then get it. Since the other test I took days before was negative, my hopes weren't really up. I had three kids over that I was watching, and when they layed down for a nap I went online to this fertility website that had trivia questions. Loving any form of trivia, i of course took some of the tests. One of the test questions had something to do with whether or not pregnancy tests were 99% accurate. I got the answer wrong! The correct answer said that they are only 99% accurate after the date of your missed period. It was more like 30% accurate on the day I took mine. Very inneresting, said I.

The kids all went home by about 4pm, and I had shopping to do anyways. I headed off to the supermarket and got stuff for dinner, and i also picked up a pregnancy test. The cheap ones came as singles, or as a two-pack. I decided to get the more economical two-pack so that when this one turned up negative I'd have an extra one for next month.

I went home, put the groceries away, got dinner started, and then went and took the pregnancy test. With this particular brand of test there is one line that indicates you have successfully peed on it, and another that shows up if there is any human growth hormone in your system. Human growth hormone is only present in pregnant women, people on steroids, and dudes with testicular cancer. It's pretty fail proof if your a chick not taking steroids. Anyhoo, I peed on the stick, and then mosied back into the kitchen waiting for the pee to ebb its way over to the result window (hey, I posted a disclaimer). I placed the stick on the counter and watched one pink line immediately show up. "Not pregnant," I said out loud, "real big surprise there." I'm pretty cynical since I've done tons of these and they all turn up negative. Then I had a "wait a minute" moment. The line that says I've pee on it usually takes a few second to show up. And, isn't it usually on the right? This one is on the left. As I stood there scratching my head staring at the thing, there was suddenly a second, faint pink line. It was the control line that said I've peed on the stick. That meant that the super-bright pink line was the one saying I was pregnant!

Wait a minute...I'm pregnant?! No....no....NO! I was so used to seeing the negative tests that I didn't really believe it at first. Plus, there were tons of times in the past that I felt like I was pregnant, and it turned out to just be PMS or something. Wait a tick...I'm pregnant!? Holy Shit! I'd been wanting to get pregnant pretty much since I was about six, and we'd been officially trying for a while. But suddenly panic overtook me. Not necessarily about the fact that I was going to be somebody's mom, but more that there was another person in me. It is way different actually knowing it was there than it is imagining what it would be like. It was cool, though. I was just freaked out. Surprised that I could do it, more than anything. Overjoyed!

I tried to think of a fun way to tell Pete. I could wait until that evening and tell him in some cutsie way. My brain was in overdrive, though,and I couldn't think of anything clever. So, I placed the test on the end of the kitchen counter so he'd see it when he came in.

When he came home, he was still wearing his helmet because he'd taken the scooter to work that day. I tried to keep a straight face, but of course a big dumb grin planted itself there instead. Pete asked what I was so happy about and I looked at him,and then looked at the counter. *blank stare* So I looked at him and I looked at the counter. He looked down and just stood there for a minute. Then he picked up the test and started reading the "how to read this test" thing printed on the side of it. A couple of seconds passed and then "You're Pregnant?!" We had matching big dumb grins! Yay!

I am seriously barely pregnant. I'm a couple weeks along. Our child looks like a Sea Monkey right now. Every time I see a picture of what our kid looks like, I think of shrimp. Then I think of eating shrimp. Ew! Our baby is currently the size of a grain of rice. Here's a picture of our future baby that I made by morphing baby pictures of Pete and myself. Isn't he/she cute! Looks like a little freaky elf!


Here are my stats according to whenmybaby.com:

Baby's Due Date: Sunday February 22, 2009
Approximate Conception Date: Sunday June 1, 2008
You are in your first trimester.
Your second trimester starts on August 10, 2008
Your third trimester starts on November 23, 2008
You've been pregnant for 30* days and your baby is due in 250 days!
*Due date based on Naegle's Rule (40 weeks from last menstrual period), so you're not actually pregnant for the first 2 weeks! Subtracting out those 2 weeks, you've been pregnant for approximately 16 days since conception.

I hate to be tacky and add this to the end of an otherwise lovely blog, but please people, don't buy us anything yet (especially you, Mom Ristig...I know you all too well!). If you want to get some outfits or bibs or something, that's fine. But as far as furniture and bedding and stuff is concerned, I want to pick it out. I want it all to match. I'm a big baby like that. No buying us furniture! Grrr.