It Starts... Conception and POAS Day

I am a first time mother to a wonderful baby girl. I have a stepdaughter, but she was already 2 years old when my husband and I got together, so starting from scratch with a newborn was a totally different experience. My baby girl is one year old, and to be honest, I have been terrible at keeping track of the past year. I feel like her first year flew by and I have forgotten to record all the wonderful milestones. After reading the blogs of some good friends, I have decided to venture into the world of online writing and reflect on, and record, my journey through motherhood. For my first post, I thought I'd start at the very beginning (it's a very good place to start)...

My husband and I were married July 18, 2009. We had a fabulous day surrounded by people we love, followed by an amazing honeymoon in Mexico. We came back home and very soon found we were both becoming sick with fever...BABY FEVER. The worst kind, in my opinion, because the ONLY way to cure Baby Fever is to have a baby. I was still on the pill, but only had a few packs left, so we decided that once I was done, I just wouldn't renew the prescription and we would just "see what happens". September came, and we were still on the same "let's see what happens" page, so, like any sane woman with Baby Fever,  I bought "What to Expect Before You're Expecting", a Basal Body Thermometer and some prenatal vitamins. I also read EVERY book imaginable about first time moms, fiction and nonfiction, I did the same when I was a bride, but think Baby Fever made it worse.

I also denied the Baby Fever. People would ask me about having kids and I'd laugh it off with a, "Ohh maybe soon haha" and when my prenatal vitamins were discovered by various friends and family, I told them my doctor told me to start taking them instead of my one-a-days because they were cheaper.

After Thanksgiving I bought some HPTs (home pregnancy tests) because October 24, one month after my last period,  would be POAS (pee on a stick) Day. October 22 rolled around and I POAS...it was negative and I was crushed, especially when I had some spotting and ruled myself out. On October 24, there was no more spotting, so I decided to POAS again and BAM

Yes, I took a picture. I sent this to my husband at work. He called me and the following dialogue took place:

Him: Is that positive?
Me: YUP!
Him: Good job!

Ohh my husband, doesn't he have a wonderful way with words?

Now, here is where I tell you that not only did I immediately take another test to prove to myself it was, in fact, a BFP (big fat positive), but I also had my husband go out and buy me some Clear Blue Digital HPTs. Not only did I test with those right away, but I also bought another pack and tested the next week to make sure the weeks since conception indicator went up.

 That's not the end...I also tested on at least 3 other occasions. In my defense, one of those was after I had some bright red spotting, so it's not that crazy.

October 24, 2009 was POAS Day, the day I found out I was pregnant and the day I fell in love. I know some women don't, but I was in love from the moment that second line appeared. I affectionately nicknamed our baby "Eggo" (for those of you who have not watched Juno, "Ain't no doubt about it, your Eggo is preggo"). I can still remember that feeling of awe, followed by the "how can I keep this secret?!" I didn't my mom knew as soon as the doctor confirmed, and my closest friends knew as soon as I walked into the Halloween Party and passed on a Jello Shooter saying, "Oh, it's OK, I'm driving". My BFF looked at me and said, "You're such a liar, I know you have something in your belly! You're never the DD!"

So there you have it. My first week as a pregnant woman in a nutshell.  Looking back I should have known. There were signs. I remember going out to dinner and being able to smell the mushroom ravioli the woman 3 tables over was eating. I remember having a Caesar and thinking that it had gone bad and dumping it. I remember making a "snack plate" of olives, pickles and artichokes and having to dump it all because it tasted "off". Thank goodness I took the advice of some wonderful online women and tested again, because I was pretty clueless.

If you are still reading, thanks! It feels good to think back on all of this again and write it out. It's unreal how quickly time passes when you are a mom, I was holding a friend's newborn last week and thinking how crazy it was that a year ago I was holding my newborn. Wow. Crazy.