The early weeks

It dawned on me recently that I never wrote about those precious two weeks when I was first pregnant. It was an exciting time full of internet searches like "early signs of pregnancy," "two week wait," and "really gassy, am I pregnant?"

Believe it or not, I suspected that I was pregnant within a day of it actually happening. At first it was just a hunch, a suspicion. A gut feeling, if you will. Then over the next two weeks my hormones let me know that something was definitely up.

The first major Ah Ha moment happened at Buffalo Wild Wings of all places. Wesley and I were chowing down, people watching, and talking about how I might be pregnant and when we could know for sure. I had been a little emotional leading up to this point but nothing outstanding. Then the All State commercial came on. I cried like a little baby. Boo-hoo, sniffle-sniffle-snort. Let me tell you something about me. I don't cry often. There has to be a darn good reason, and even then it's not a sure thing. I can't remember the last time I cried at a movie. And as much as I love books, not one has ever made me cry.

Go on, watch it. It's cheesy and maybe will pull at your heart strings a little bit, but if you started crying with abandon I've got two pregnancy tests left under my cabinet for you to use.

I looked at Wesley and said "If I'm not pregnant, something is really wrong with me." He may have been laughing too hard to hear me.

I waited patiently until a full two weeks had gone by before taking the test. This happened to be a Tuesday morning at around 6AM because I worked that day. When I did, I expected to see a plus sign immediately if there was going to be one. About three seconds later I looked at the window and said "Oh well." I proceeded with other things for a moment and when I looked again there was a bright blue plus sign, clear as day. Even though I had known for weeks, I couldn't believe it. Real proof! A real baby! My baby! About that time Wesley called from the bedroom "Well??" I couldn't even say it. I was speechless. I just ran and kind of pounced on him with a big grin on my face. It was dark, but I think I felt him grinning too.

Another funny restaurant experience happened at LoneStar- it was close and I wanted steak. My mixed vegetables that came with the steak were carrots and broccoli. The broccoli was tolerable but the carrots. Well, lets just say I haven't eaten carrots once since that night. I don't even want to see them. Something about carrots is just utterly appalling to me these days. After recovering from the carrots, I ate more of my meal. I didn't have much of an appetite the first trimester, even before the nausea came to town.

While we are eating, the waiters and waitresses all gather in the back and start clapping. The dreaded, obnoxious, chain-restaurant birthday song. I hate this tradition. It's so tacky and I loathed having to do it when I waited tables. So here they come... singing off key and off beat to some schmuck who made it around the sun one more time. Whoopie. Well, guess who starts crying? The pregnant lady. And guess who laughed his head off again, her husband. Can you imagine looking over and seeing a couple- one crying for no apparent reason and one laughing his head off? I bet we were a curious sight.

Wesley was a real trooper through the mood swings of the first trimester. Or rather, the personality swings, truth be told. They seem to have leveled off for the most part. I am sure Wesley is singing praises for that!

I will say one thing that Really gets me angry. I mean, really, really. If I am angry or frustrated, there is probably at least a kernel of a good reason at the root of it, especially now in my second trimester. Don't be like one of my coworkers and brush me off saying "Oh you're just hormonal." I'll show you hormonal! Nothing gets my goat more. Just because I'm pregnant does not mean I am incapable of genuine emotions. Take note. This is valuable advice for anyone who will ever be in the vicinity of a pregnant woman.