1 down– 2 more to go

So here’s our story: “SURPRISE, yens are having a baby!” (Note: “Yens” is supposed to look like “youins” but that doesn’t allow you to pronounce it correctly; and, yes, the nurse actually told us that! Gotta love TN!) Yeah, well, I had a little suspicion after a while, but it took the doctor’s confirmation at week 8 to really convince me that the 4 home pregnancy tests weren’t lying to me. I never received a solid + on any of the tests. One line was solid and the other was very faint… on ALL of them. The first test I deemed old because it had been in the drawer for 2 years so it COULDN’T be right, right? And the other 3, well, I just didn’t want to believe it I guess. And off to North Dakota I went to bird hunt! Preggo woman out shooting birds still skeptical of the situation at hand. Poor thing.

Voila! : Week 13 of pregnancy has arrived; and still, until today I’ve questioned whether I’m really pregnant or not– even with doctor confirmation 5 weeks ago. I’ll explain when it hit me in a few. Everyone swears the first trimester is the worst. What in the world are they talking about? I’ve heard horror stories, I’ve read horror stories– morning sickness every day and sometimes all day, severe fatigue, mood swings, hot flashes, etc. All I can say is thank the good Lord above, seriously, that I have no clue what morning sickness is.

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked “how are you feeling today?” I would be RICH! So evidently those problems exist. I did want to take a minute and enlighten you ladies a bit, well, and men, out there who haven’t experienced pregnancy yet. First of all, it is possible to make it through pregnancy (or at least the 1st trimester which is all I can vouch for at the time) without symptoms… other than the obvious, of course. Ok, becoming a little personal here. I’ve always (since a baby according to ma) had trapped gas issues and sometimes think how can giving birth be any more painful than what I go through after eating onion rings or any kind of greasy food. So… I have still experienced that through the past 13 weeks. I did experience pukey sickness one time in the past 13 weeks, but I have done that before as well after eating those blasted onion rings. They are just soooo good; I can’t help myself. I always forget what undercooked, somewhat raw onions do to me. Other than that… piece of cake. No fatigue, no mood swings, no hot flashes etc. WHAT? How can this be. So when the doc confirmed it, I think the lack of symptoms lead to most of the surprise for Jason and I. We were both under the impression, for some reason, that if you were pregnant you would be puking in the mornings. lol. We’re so clueless!

I have however pinned down a craving (this didn’t correlate with pregnancy in my mind though until about week 9). My increased want and NEED for Mexican cheese dip, I guess, can be called a craving. Hmm… what about how bad I want a margarita? Could that be a craving? Relax; not doing that ya’ll! Anyways, back to the cheese dip. Some folks have told me don’t eat it because it isn’t pasteurized, but others say go ahead and indulge yourself hon! Who knows. I’ll ask next time I’m at the restaurant, which hopefully will be soon! This even started on our trip to North Dakota around week 6. Too bad I couldn’t get my hands on any until we arrived safely back in TN. It isn’t an out of control, Jason you have to get me some right now even though it’s 12am, craving though. It’s rather controllable. And food as a whole just tastes out of this world! A steak, a plate of spaghetti, a bowl of french onion soup, a bowl of cereal, or a salad, ANYTHING, just tastes soooo incredibly gooooood! But you can keep the– eww, I don’t even want to say it– chicken salad. Ok I just puked for the 2nd time. jk. I LOVED that stuff before, but now, the particular kind from Season’s Harvest grocery store in Cleveland is now just so nauseating to think about. I think it is the fact they put, eww, liquid smoke flavor in it. But brang on the cheese please! And some pregnant women would cringe at that statement fo sho, because apparently constipation is another of those pregnancy symptoms that fortunately I haven’t experienced! I credit this to those HUGE prenatal vitamins. Have you seen those things? They are naaaastyyy and they are HUGE. If you’ve seen the movie Baby Mama you understand what I’m talking about. (That is a hilarious movie by the way!)

Yesterday we went for our 1st ultrasound and let me tell you… what an amazing experience. I truly don’t see how anyone can question God’s existence after soaking in the fact that there is a living 2 inch thang, as Jason sometimes refers to baby Jennings, growing inside YOUR body which already has a very visible nose, head, arm, and… are you ready… heart beat! Tears, tears. Then the doctor lets you hear it folks! OMG. This was the point it hit me. OK Charlotte; you really are pregnant! You have another heart beat in your belly! What in the world?!?

Now, I’ve never been one to just say, “dad gum it, it’s time to have a baby Jason!” To be honest, we both had even contemplated, and were cool with the thought of not having any because kids just wouldn’t work into all the traveling we like to do. But clearly, God had other plans… which surely is ok! And we are very excited about baby Jennings, please don’t take me wrong here. I really am sympathetic for those folks who try, and try, and try, and try some more to get pregnant. I guess the hardest part of our pregnancy so far has been having to sit down and tell our neighbors who have tried everything under the sun for the past 4 years to have a baby. I prayed for a week that God would prepare Jenny’s heart for our news… and he did! All went well being that she is totally immersed in the adoption process right now.

So, week 14 apparently begins the 2nd trimester. I’ll keep you all posted on the next 2 trimesters of the 9 months, or 6 years as Jason says it seems. What a goof!