Going to the Doctor ...

Friday comes and I wake up feeling excited - This is just nuts! Our 10:45 doctors appt. cannot come any sooner ... And then it does. Steve takes the day off - must be nice to have so much vacation time - so I go and pick him up at the house. We are driving to the hospital thinking about when we are going to tell everyone. I am pretty sure we got in an argument because we did not want to tell Facebook because that guy is a prick and will just tell everyone we know.

So we walk in - hit the elevators, see another prego walk by, and walk in the office. I check in and once the receptionist says "Ultrasound" again - it starts freaking Steve out. We are really doing this!! Our name gets called - we go into the room. The nurse says, "ok - before we do this, you need to let your bladder out - so you can go to the bathroom right over there." Now at this point, I cannot remember if she said, "We need a sample" or if she just says, "Let your bladder out", so I start to panic. There are cups available in the bathroom with a black marker next to them. I think that she wanted a sample. SO - I pick up a cup, write "Herbert" on the side of it and let my bladder go. I put the pee cup in that convenient little drive up window door, wash my hands and head back to the room. I think, "man I really hope she needed a sample."

She tells me I have to strip down waist below and that she will be right back. I look at Steve, "Wait - I thought this was like the movies where they put goo on your tummy and do it that way?!" Steve shrugges his shoulders - "I don't know!" The nurse comes back in and off course I have to have to keep moving my ass to the end of the table - Oh no? that is still not far enough? Well shit! you want my whole body off this table?! keep scooting?! How far do you want me to go?! Anyway - after my lower half of my body is off the table, she tells us we can look at the TV monitor above us and Steve and I are not saying much. He grabs my hand and we are still looking at a black TV that is trying to get a signal so its still in the white snow phase. We finally see a big circle. Then we see a small circle. She explains that the small circle is the baby. She is marking things like, "this is the yolk sack", "This is the head", "This is the butt" ... and the whole time, Steve and I did not say a word. (sidebar - I have NO idea what a yolk sack is ...). She says that the due date would be around April 2nd but that the doctor will decide for sure. Steve makes a joke, "Looks like there is a warm front moving in!" the nurse did not find it funny and tells us that the "Doppler system" came from ultrasounds first and that the weather people stole it from them. Yikes. She then proceeds to say, "Lets see if there is just one in here..." Yes. Please do. she is silent for 5 minutes just staring at the screen. Really lady?! You are going to be silent for more than 30 seconds after that comment?! "Nope - just one." Both Steve and I blow a sigh of relief! She printed us out a picture and then it was time to meet our doctor. Our baby is the size of a raspberry.

As we are waiting for the doctor I am just staring at this image. I mean, it could be a picture of a disaster sight after a hurricane for all I know - you cannot tell that its a baby, but - I just smile at it. The doctor walks in and its like its just another day at the office for her. For us, this is a life changing event  ....  She goes through her schpeel ...
"Do you suffer from, Asthma? Diabetes? Thyroid problems? High blood pressure? Seizures?" It started feeling like the pepto commercial ... "Suffer from an upset stomach like - nausea, heartburn, diarrhea, and indigestion?!" She gives us more of a set due date of April 2nd. Steve says, "Oh man! Opening day?!" Steve and his jokes .... Anyway - when we are done, she walks over to the front desk and has the receptionist schedule 3 appointments for the rest of the year .... as she is walking away, "Make your appointments for your 12 week, your 16 week and your 21st week!!" I look at the receptionist .... "You know those dates for me, right?!"

So here we go .... baby Herbie is on it's way!

I need a Doctor, Call me a Doctor ....

Well we got through the weekend without grabbing everyone and saying, "Holy shit! I am knocked up!" Now it is time I find a doctor. I do not even know what a baby doctor is called. I keep calling them an OBGYN - so I had a hard time searching for the appropriate doctor. I called my primary care to have them give me a referral and even on their answering service I said, "A doctor that deals with babies." Come to find out - Obstetrician. That is the noun I was looking for. We also had to pick out a hospital that would work for us as well - and since Rose Medical Center is down the street and since Michael, Elijah and Marcus were born there - I picked that one. Once I got a name and number from my primary doctor - it was game on!

I am in my car - getting ready to go to lunch with Caleb - and I make the call. As its ringing, I start thinking, "what do I say? What am I doing?! I wonder how far along I am? God - What is for lunch, I am starving!" and as I am thinking these things, the receptionist answers ... "Metropolitan OBGYN, call I help you?" I went blank. Why was I calling them again?! "Um ... Yes ... I need to ... Um ... make and appointment ... Um ... I peed on a stick and it told me I was pregnant..." So now that this chick thinks I am 16, we are off to a great start!
Lady: "When was the first day of your last period?"
Me: "June 27th"
Lady: "Oh ... Ok, well we need to get you in this week, looks like you are about 8 weeks so we need to get you in for an ultrasound...."
Me: "Ultra .... what?"
Lady: "Yeah, an ultrasound ... how does Friday at 1045am work?"
Me: "Ultra .... huh?"
Lady: "Listen I know you must be scared of what your parents must think ... Wait, you do have your drivers license, correct? You can drive over here?"
Me: "8 weeks??"
Lady: "Ok, I just need to know if you can skip 5th period that day to come see us ... I will put you down for 10:45 ... See you then!"
CLICK
Me: "So ... ultrasound and 8 weeks?"

Ok - so it did not happen exactly that way - but might as well have because I was shocked. I am already 8 weeks?! I mean, come on Andrea, do simple math.... 8 weeks is about right. But I thought baby math was different from regular math ... whatever. All I know is - here we go!

Getting Step 2 checked off felt great!

Denial is not just a river ...

Today is the day that I peed on a stick. I have not been feeling well for the past couple of weeks and Steve is convinced that I am prego. I started not feeling well about a week ago - nausea, barely eating, and if I did my inner child would take over and I would take 2 bites and say, "Done!" I am very tired as well, taking naps all the time, which I rarely do,  - But I have been blaming the hot weather on my laziness!! I have been in complete denial about the whole thing, any time Steve says, "dude, your prego!!" I just take more sips of my vodka soda and say, "Yeah ... well your stupid!" Its not that I am not excited to find out - but once you know, its like .... You KNOW. Then its like one big wave of questions ... "How come your not drinking? Why you not hungry? Why you so tired? What is your favorite color?" ... questions that I am not going to be able to answer because I am a terrible liar! And my friends can read me like a book. But nonetheless - We have to find out. Its time.

Steve and I go to Target to get a pregnancy test. You would think that I would have taken one of these already in my life,  the teenage scare of, CRAP! I may be prego! or the mid-20's scare of, CRAP! I may be prego! or even the just married scare of, CRAP! I may be prego! but no ... I have never taken one of these things in my life. We go down the aisle ... Let's see ... EPT, Clear Blue, Easy Answer .... Hummm .... Do I take the one with the plus sign - or one really legit one that actually says, "You are Pregnant, you slut!" I am thinking the legit one. Oh look, there are TWO tests in this package. "BONUS! Free Pregnancy Test! Two for the price of One!!" Sweet! Now one of the tests can sit in my bathroom to collect dust on. Maybe I should go to Colfax and sell one of them  ....

After checking out and feeling like the checker-outter chick is judging me ("oh look ... these 30 year olds are buying a test ... what crazy sex animals!") we are on the way home. I am getting really nervous ... We are not talking much - Steve is wondering why I am biting my nails and twitching my leg - but this is really nerve racking! We get home, unload the groceries and there is the test just staring at me. I take it out, read the directions. "Ok, it will take 3-5 minutes for my pee to cook ..." Steve says, "well ... what are you waiting for?"

So I do the deed and come out of the bathroom. After 5 minutes of silence - Steve asks, "So ... you gonna check that thing?!" I make him do it ... Like its a spider in the bathroom and I need him to kill it before I even think about stepping foot in the bathroom. Steve yells from the bathroom, "You going to come find out, or what?!" I slowly get up - take a deep breath - and start walking towards the bathroom. Now, for those who have seen my bathroom, its the size of a closet - it is small. I walk in, Steve is leaning up against the tub - I am trying to evaluate his face. The only thing I can come up with is that he is gassy. He hands me the test. "Pregnant". I look at Steve, who has a big smile on his face, also a "told you so" look about him, and then I look back at the test. Someone pintch me! But not hard because I bruise easily. I called Steve, "Dad" and he calls me "Bitch" ... it was so sureal. Could this be?! Could I be prego?! No way, I am the Aunt ... I know how to be an Aunt - I have been an Aunt since I was 15! But a mom?! If the baby cries, can I just give it back to Ashley or Jessica?! (the answer is yes by the way) ... So I look at Steve, "Now what?!" You would think he would be asking that to me, but no, I am sitting there asking him. I have no idea what the next step is ... Again, I have been on the other end of the phone when my sisters have told me the news. And I am always thinking the same thing yet the number keeps going up ... "YAY! Aunt times 5! Aunt times 6! Aunt times 7!"

So here we go ... the first step is out of the way ...