Is this two lines? IS THIS TWO LINES??
I think the people at ClearBlue and First Response owe me a thank you. I put their kids through college buying ovulation kits and pregnancy tests. There was always one or two in my bathroom, and likely one in the garbage can. I also learned that the dollar store sells tests for $1.25. I could never justify buying those ones though, as I didn't trust a pee test a la Dollarama, but to save a few bucks I should have!
The day started as any other, it was a Monday morning and I was thrilled to be going to work. Ha, I'm lying. Because I was so accustomed to tracking my period I knew that I should start my next cycle on Thursday or Friday of this week and I drove to work planning out my lunch break: where I'll go to eat and therefore which drugstore is nearby? The Shoppers Drug Mart cashier was probably getting used to seeing me in there :/. I spent the morning working away, questioning if I was really going to spend another 30 bucks on a two pack of pee sticks. (Or was I going to wait it out until I'd actually missed a period, like how you do it when you're 21). I googled the accuracy of the First Response brand as their commercials told me that I'd know 5 days sooner*.
*All that means is that if you find out you're pregnant you just have 5 extra days to freak the fuck out.
I couldn't ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach. I went at lunch and I this time I only bought a single test. I figured if one stick was going to say no, I didn't need two of them to tell me the same thing. I put the bag in my car and went on about my afternoon. That evening I was meeting a good friend for dinner at my favourite restaurant straight after work, so I was temporarily distracted from what was happening in my fallopian tubes. I had a beer with my steak but it wasn't going down as well as it usually did. A feeling in the pit of my stomach. We ate and laughed and ate some more. She joked that she was surprised she ate so much of her meal, she hadn't been feeling well the last week or so. She chose the next sentence to brighten my day with the news that she was carrying number four. Yup, you read that right...kid 4. Bless her heart :). It was time for dessert and while I usually would just have another beer for dessert, tonight was different. I ordered a Coke. A feeling in the pit of my stomach. The evening at home was status quo. I didn't let on that I had bought more sticks, so we went to bed as usual.
The next day was June 30th. The day our lives changed.
He wakes up every morning at 6 am and I am fortunate that I don't have to get up at that ungodly hour, so I sleep until 7:30 typically. This morning was a little bit different though. The minute he left the house at seven, I was up. A feeling in the pit of my stomach. I headed downstairs and went about my morning duties. I don't wait the recommended three minutes. I stare at the display, watching it ever so slowly begin to work. And this time my hands started shaking. My eyes filled with tears. I looked at the dog as my heart raced faster and faster. (Yes, the dog comes pee with me). I quickly pull up my pajama pants and run upstairs. I bang on the door to our spare bedroom.
"Mom. Mom. Mommy. MOOMMMMMM. Are you up? Get up! Can I come in?"
"....what, what? yes, whats going on?"
" Is this two lines??!!! IS THIS TWO LINES??!!!!"
I shove this freshly-peed-on stick in her face and through groggy eyes and the sun peeking through the curtains she yells at me to get her glasses because she can't freaking see! I grab them as fast as I can, still not sure if that second line was really turning pink or I was imagining it. As my mom takes the stick from my hand we can both now see it is quite clearly two solid lines. That feeling in the pit of my stomach. We're pregnant.
We cried and cried, her ecstatic at the news of a new grandchild, me with the relief of knowing that there wasn't something wrong with me; that our nearly 18 months of trying had paid off. That I was going to be a mommy. We hugged and cried and hugged some more before I finally needed to get ready for work. Work, my god. How am I supposed to concentrate at work today?! But before I did that I had to tell Daddy. I had played out scenarios how I'd tell him over the last year, thinking of elaborate schemes or just simple words. How will he react? What will his first words be? I got ready in a flash and sat with my mom to brainstorm some ideas. I knew that he had to know straight away. For a few reasons. The first being that he's always told me that I need to tell him as soon as I find out. No waiting til 3 months trying to surprise him, don't save it for Thursday Date Night. Just spill the beans, asap. The second reason is that he was very aware of my cycle as well, actually at times, he was more aware of what was going on than I was. He is very detail oriented and has an incredible memory. So he knew that by Friday I should be telling him if Aunt Flow was in town or not. I couldn't drag it out.
My mom, quite conveniently, was new to town and was frequently getting lost while driving around. Perfect. I'm going to head to his work and my mom is going to send him a distress text. It would be fairly short to not send any alarm bells: "Mike I'm lost downtown, and I saw a sign for your work. I'm in the parking lot across, can you come help me?" I texted her when I was beside his car and said to her "send the text!" I waited, hiding behind his car as he looked around the parking lot trying to find my mom. How surprised was he to see my smiling face? Not. At. All. I fumbled with my cell phone in my hand, and the pee stick in the other hand. Yes I wanted to video tape his reaction, and yes I carried the stick with me all the way there. I didn't get to record it, he appeared around the corner much quicker than I anticipated, and so, caught off guard I basically shoved the stick in his face. Awkward.
Those first words that I'd longed to hear? 'I'm so happy!' or 'That's fantastic babe!' or any combination of excitement would do. But what I got was: "I told you so". I promptly punched him in the arm and said "wrong answer, buddy". To be fair, he had been saying that he thought we were knocked up for a few days, maybe a week even, and I kept denying it. I hadn't had that feeling until just the day before this. He finally said something that I wanted to hear, gave me a hug and a kiss - in public! - and walked me over to Starbucks to buy me an orange juice and a breakfast sandwich. That's true love there folks, you read it here first. Our discussion quickly turned to who do we tell and not tell, what do I need to do next, and I said let's talk later, I have to get to work.
That night, my moms last night staying with us, she cooked us a celebratory meal of Chicken Carbonara and we raised our glasses (milk for me, thank you) to our new bundle of joy. That little bundle of joy I can hear from the basement right now, giggling with Grandma while they listen to country music.
The day started as any other, it was a Monday morning and I was thrilled to be going to work. Ha, I'm lying. Because I was so accustomed to tracking my period I knew that I should start my next cycle on Thursday or Friday of this week and I drove to work planning out my lunch break: where I'll go to eat and therefore which drugstore is nearby? The Shoppers Drug Mart cashier was probably getting used to seeing me in there :/. I spent the morning working away, questioning if I was really going to spend another 30 bucks on a two pack of pee sticks. (Or was I going to wait it out until I'd actually missed a period, like how you do it when you're 21). I googled the accuracy of the First Response brand as their commercials told me that I'd know 5 days sooner*.
*All that means is that if you find out you're pregnant you just have 5 extra days to freak the fuck out.
I couldn't ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach. I went at lunch and I this time I only bought a single test. I figured if one stick was going to say no, I didn't need two of them to tell me the same thing. I put the bag in my car and went on about my afternoon. That evening I was meeting a good friend for dinner at my favourite restaurant straight after work, so I was temporarily distracted from what was happening in my fallopian tubes. I had a beer with my steak but it wasn't going down as well as it usually did. A feeling in the pit of my stomach. We ate and laughed and ate some more. She joked that she was surprised she ate so much of her meal, she hadn't been feeling well the last week or so. She chose the next sentence to brighten my day with the news that she was carrying number four. Yup, you read that right...kid 4. Bless her heart :). It was time for dessert and while I usually would just have another beer for dessert, tonight was different. I ordered a Coke. A feeling in the pit of my stomach. The evening at home was status quo. I didn't let on that I had bought more sticks, so we went to bed as usual.
The next day was June 30th. The day our lives changed.
He wakes up every morning at 6 am and I am fortunate that I don't have to get up at that ungodly hour, so I sleep until 7:30 typically. This morning was a little bit different though. The minute he left the house at seven, I was up. A feeling in the pit of my stomach. I headed downstairs and went about my morning duties. I don't wait the recommended three minutes. I stare at the display, watching it ever so slowly begin to work. And this time my hands started shaking. My eyes filled with tears. I looked at the dog as my heart raced faster and faster. (Yes, the dog comes pee with me). I quickly pull up my pajama pants and run upstairs. I bang on the door to our spare bedroom.
"Mom. Mom. Mommy. MOOMMMMMM. Are you up? Get up! Can I come in?"
"....what, what? yes, whats going on?"
" Is this two lines??!!! IS THIS TWO LINES??!!!!"
I shove this freshly-peed-on stick in her face and through groggy eyes and the sun peeking through the curtains she yells at me to get her glasses because she can't freaking see! I grab them as fast as I can, still not sure if that second line was really turning pink or I was imagining it. As my mom takes the stick from my hand we can both now see it is quite clearly two solid lines. That feeling in the pit of my stomach. We're pregnant.
We cried and cried, her ecstatic at the news of a new grandchild, me with the relief of knowing that there wasn't something wrong with me; that our nearly 18 months of trying had paid off. That I was going to be a mommy. We hugged and cried and hugged some more before I finally needed to get ready for work. Work, my god. How am I supposed to concentrate at work today?! But before I did that I had to tell Daddy. I had played out scenarios how I'd tell him over the last year, thinking of elaborate schemes or just simple words. How will he react? What will his first words be? I got ready in a flash and sat with my mom to brainstorm some ideas. I knew that he had to know straight away. For a few reasons. The first being that he's always told me that I need to tell him as soon as I find out. No waiting til 3 months trying to surprise him, don't save it for Thursday Date Night. Just spill the beans, asap. The second reason is that he was very aware of my cycle as well, actually at times, he was more aware of what was going on than I was. He is very detail oriented and has an incredible memory. So he knew that by Friday I should be telling him if Aunt Flow was in town or not. I couldn't drag it out.
My mom, quite conveniently, was new to town and was frequently getting lost while driving around. Perfect. I'm going to head to his work and my mom is going to send him a distress text. It would be fairly short to not send any alarm bells: "Mike I'm lost downtown, and I saw a sign for your work. I'm in the parking lot across, can you come help me?" I texted her when I was beside his car and said to her "send the text!" I waited, hiding behind his car as he looked around the parking lot trying to find my mom. How surprised was he to see my smiling face? Not. At. All. I fumbled with my cell phone in my hand, and the pee stick in the other hand. Yes I wanted to video tape his reaction, and yes I carried the stick with me all the way there. I didn't get to record it, he appeared around the corner much quicker than I anticipated, and so, caught off guard I basically shoved the stick in his face. Awkward.
Those first words that I'd longed to hear? 'I'm so happy!' or 'That's fantastic babe!' or any combination of excitement would do. But what I got was: "I told you so". I promptly punched him in the arm and said "wrong answer, buddy". To be fair, he had been saying that he thought we were knocked up for a few days, maybe a week even, and I kept denying it. I hadn't had that feeling until just the day before this. He finally said something that I wanted to hear, gave me a hug and a kiss - in public! - and walked me over to Starbucks to buy me an orange juice and a breakfast sandwich. That's true love there folks, you read it here first. Our discussion quickly turned to who do we tell and not tell, what do I need to do next, and I said let's talk later, I have to get to work.
That night, my moms last night staying with us, she cooked us a celebratory meal of Chicken Carbonara and we raised our glasses (milk for me, thank you) to our new bundle of joy. That little bundle of joy I can hear from the basement right now, giggling with Grandma while they listen to country music.
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