My craving

I think I've found it. I've known it for awhile, but I wasn't sure it would last. It's been here for a month now, and I'm not sure when it will stop. When we went to my parents' house last weekend, my only food request was mashed potatoes. I had to have a scoop of mashed potatoes in the IKEA cafe after I saw Brooke's. Kevin made pork chops and potatoes Sunday night, and all I ate were the potatoes. Last week one of the hot lunches at school included tater tots. I almost considered paying $2.85 to get a tray full of them.

As if these signs weren't enough, I started to admit it last night at the grocery store when I sought out more potato products than ever before. Tater tots, potato/broccoli/cheese Lean Cuisines (and no other varieties), I even stared at the box of instant potatoes and considered it. I resisted. I tried to find potato soup in one of those convenient microwaveable bowls, but there wasn't any! I was very disappointed. We decided we'll go to the farmer's market on Saturday and get some actual potatoes, too. I guess there's just something so comforting about a spud to this little spud.

Speaking of whom has moved up from the size of a prune to the size of a lime today. Limes are big. You know what's the size of a lime? A red potato.

Telling more BFFs

Yesterday was another big news-spreading day.

I headed over to IKEA and MOA to meet 4 of my bestest buddies (Brooke, Kristin, Laura, and Steph) for a girly day of shopping and lunch. Stephie had never been to IKEA before, so we spent a lot of time there browsing. The rest of us hadn't been there for awhile, so it was nice to see the new stuff they had. I decided to purchase two nightstands for our bedroom to replace our hodge podge "set" of yore. When we made our way down to the warehouse to pick up the goods, I tried to lift the box, and found it small but on the heavier side. 2 months ago, I would've lifted it without thinking twice. But this presented the perfect opportunity to say, "Hey girls, could someone lift this for me? I'm not supposed to lift heavy things because I'm pregnant." Four jaws dropped, eyes blankly staring. "Are you serious?" Brooke asked, half expecting me to say I was just kidding. Not this time, my friends. Hugs and smiles all around. It was awesome. The girls were so nice and let me indulge in the salad bar at Ruby Tuesdays in the MOA. I also bought some tummy sleeves at Motherhood Maternity and some maternity jeans from Old Navy in case of emergency. I don't think I'll need them TOO soon, but when that day comes, I'm 30+ minutes away from any store which sells maternity clothes. Better to be safe than sorry.

On my way home, I called my friend Sarah who lives far too far away in D.C. I met her in college, first as a floormate in the dorms, then as a roommate for a few years.
Sarah: "hello?"
Me: "hello"
Sarah: "Are you pregnant?"
Me: pause "Yes"
Sarah: "I knew it. My mom is visiting and when I saw you called, I told her it was you and you were going to tell me you're pregnant."
After an always pleasant conversation that made me miss her, she said she had to get back to watching the Notre Dame football game, so I let her go. ;)
Guess that means I should call her more often, not just to give big news.

Later that night, we went to Kev's best friend Justin's parents' house to see the newly married Justin and Jen. Justin's sister, Jamie, was there with her fiance Brody, as well as the parents. We were sitting around a campfire, me drinking ginger ale, the rest indulging in beers of many flavors. We weren't sure how we were going to share the news here, so Kevin just came out and said, "We've got some news." ::long pause, cows mooing in the background::
Me: "We're getting a divorce." Everyone laughed. (What can I say? The silence was killing me.)
Kev: "AJ's pregnant."
Followed by congrats and hugs. Turns out the parents had a feeling, as I wasn't drinking at the wedding. Damn DD excuse wasn't enough to fool them, I guess.

First appointment

My first appointment was last Friday. It was long (most of that time was spent waiting), but good. My midwife-with-a-crunchy-name (but I love her anyway) is great.

We tried to hear the heartbeat, but I was only 9w3d and I've been told I have a tilted uterus/cervix. So...combine a tiny baby and a uterus that's far away from my abdomen and you get no heartbeat. But she did say we could bop in this week or next week and try again without making an appointment. I think perhaps we'll give it another try next Friday.

Next appointment is Oct. 24. That's so far away!

So, how are you feeling?

This is the question I get asked by everyone we've told so far (which has only been parents, my two co-worker friends, and Jess and Leah). The answer: since I found out, and up until now at 10w3d, I feel barfy. I wake up in the morning wanting to barf. I used to be able to eat 2 pieces of toast for breakfast, but now 1 does its job in filling me up. That helps. All day long, for the most part, except for when it gets close to lunch, I actually feel pretty good. It does help that I snack while the kids are at art/gym/music and I have a stash of Jolly Ranchers just in case I can't nosh on a granola bar because of the presence of children. I think I feel pretty good all day because I don't really have time to think about it. Then after school, I hit up my stash in my desk drawer again and I'm good to go until supper. I do feel worse once I get home though.

It's weird...I get full pretty fast. Tonight we ordered pizza, and it was cut in squares, and I only had 4 pieces. Call me a pig, but I used to be able to eat a few more than that. I'm sure that'll reverse itself soon and I'll eat the whole pie. Eh, at least then Kev can order his pizza with everything on it and I can eat my own ;)

Telling our parents

AJ's parents:
We drove down to Rochester with 2 books in tow: Week at Grandma's by Stan and Jan Berenstein for my mom

and Grandma, Grandpa, and Me by Mercer Meyer for my dad


They were wrapped up, and when we arrived at their house we waited for the perfect time when we were all together. The opportunity arose as we had congregated in the backyard. I signaled to Kev to get the gifts out of the car. He rounded up my brother who conveniently happened to be in town as well. We told my mom and dad that we had early anniversary presents for them. They opened their gifts, and were shocked and oh so happy. Later that day my mom and I exchanged information that made us both excited: I told her that we were going to use cloth diapers (I bet you didn't know that I was a cloth-diapered baby), and she told me that her labor with me was only 7 hours.

Kevin's parents:
I hit the clearance rack at Wal-Mart and bought a boys' size 4-5 muscle tank and wrote on the back of it: "I'm going to be a big brother in April" for our unsuspecting pooch, Rocket, to wear.

Not amused.

On our way back home from Rochester, we stopped at Kev's parents' house. I chatted with my in-laws while Kev practiced dressing something smaller than him. Rocket ran out of the car and over to where we were standing. Of course, he was excited to share the news so he had a hard time sitting still, but Kev's parents were finally able to read his message. Kev's mom asked, "What is that supposed to mean?" and Kev's dad said, "I know what it means!" They were excited and happy as well. A few minutes later, Rocket peed on the shirt. He really is excited to have a sibling. I promise. I just don't think he's excited about wearing clothes.

First belly pic

5 weeks, 4 days
August 23
Dressed up for Justin and Jen's wedding and sporting some bloat



Me: Sober and pregnant Kevin: Not sober, not pregnant


And a more flattering one, pre-reception:

The beginning

On August 13, I woke up, took my temperature, and noticed a slight rise from the day before. If you know anything about temping, this is good towards the end of your cycle if you're trying to conceive. I went to the bathroom and took a Dollar Tree test, and stared at it while I waited. I didn't expect much--I just wanted to use the test since it only costed a measly dollar.

But then, what doth my eyes see but a second faint line. I flung the bathroom door open and scared Kev out of his pajama pants.
Me: "Kev! Come take a look at this!"
Kev: "Wha? Huh? What's going on?"
Me: "You gotta come here. NOW!"
Kev: stumbling out of bed, walking into bathroom
Me: "What do you see right here?"
Kev: doesn't look very close "A line."
Me: "No right here!" pointing to the test line
Kev: "That's another line. You're pregnant."
Me: "AHhh!!"

In utter disbelief because I just didn't think it was going to happen, I didn't get too excited. Many months ago, my co-worker friend Stacey started collecting EPT coupons for me. This was before we were trying to have a baby. She's such an enabler ;) So I went out later that day and used my $3 off coupon and bought a 3-pack, which included a digital.

I wanted to wait until the next morning to test with the digital, but Kev just couldn't wait that long (and yes--that's the truth). So I tested and within 30 seconds I saw "pregnant" pop up on the screen. THEN we got excited.

Thus (almost) the very beginning of Baby Rain(a)'s existence. He or she will make an appearance at the end of April.

Why Baby Rain?

No, we're not naming our child Rain nor Raina. However, if you know our last name, Rain would be just perfect. And please, if you do know our last name, don't post it here.