Finding out we were pregnant was so much fun. We wanted to tell everyone but wanted it to be really special so that meant some planning and waiting. Here is how it went....
This is Sean's verion of our story. He posted it on one of his favorite message boards Jan. 3, 2006.
I got the surprise of my life last night! I found out I'm going to be a daddy!
My wife and I both had the day off from work--new year's and all--and we lolled about the house all morning, seeing as it was rainy and unpleasant outside. Then we went to a matinee of Kong (which is, like, 6 hours long, by the way, most of it screams and yelps and roars and the like, but enjoyable for the most part, unacknowledged racial undertones aside). All day, my wife had been smiling at me and then telling me I looked suspicious when I smiled back, like I was hiding something, or planning to spring some surprise on her. Which I hadn't. Plus, she'd been going to the bathroom a lot. But she's had a cold and been drinking a lot of water and hot tea, so when she got up halfway through the movie, I didn't really think anything about it (it's, like, 10 hours long, you know).
Now, I'm not the quickest bulb in the toolbox, so I was oblivious. We went to dinner, came home, returned phone calls to both sets of parents, and then read a little bit before bed. Then we shut off lights, brushed teeth, etc, the routine of getting ready for sleep. It had been a good day, a good extended weekend.
Once in bed, she had to get up and go to the bathroom again, and when she came back, she was shivering, as she always does if it's even moderately cool. So I wrapped her up in our new down comforter (Merry Christmas to us!) and tried to warm her up so that her teeth would stop chattering. This usually involves wrapping myself around her and her cold feet, like a thermal human blanket. Once she stopped shivering, she sighed and said, "You know, you won't be able to do that for much longer."
What a cryptic thing to say. I shifted to the side and looked at her, not sure if I was actually hearing what it sounded like she wasn't saying. "There, you'll have to lay like that, so that you aren't directly on my stomach," she said with a grin. Never at a loss for words, I said, "What?" She laughed. My quick wit sensing by instinct that it was on a roll, I followed with, "Uh..." She continued to laugh, an ordinary laugh on the surface, but underneath was not merely amusement, but a genuine joy. "What are you saying?" I asked. "Are you pregnant?" "We're pregnant," she said.
She had known all day! And I'd been too dense to figure it out, which itself was a source of amusement for a good 30 or 45 minutes.
Jen's story
We have always wanted a baby and had mostly been waiting until we finished our extended education. The plan was to get a job and move to some idyllic location where we could finally settle in and start a real life as a family. The job I had my heart set on fell through, and as we were waiting for something else to come along, we decided we didn't want to keep waiting to start our family.
In November we got the greenlight from our doctor, and by December we were pregnant!
We had a lovely quiet Christmas and New Year's in our tiny apartment, and the day before going back to work, I thought I would try one of the pregnancy test kits we had bought.
I did this first thing in the morning (Jan 2, 2006), while Sean was still in bed. When the second line showed up faintly in the window, I was a little confused. (Had I done the test right? Wasn't this whole process supposed to take several months?) But as the seconds ticked by, the faint line became very distinct and dark, declaring that we were having a baby! I did a crazy but silent happy dance in our tiny bathroom and went for a long walk.
When I got back, Sean was still sleeping, and it was so hard not to wrap my arms around him and tell him immediately (he has always had some kind of truth serum effect on me). Somehow I managed to wait the whole day to tell him, though I was certain he knew. I had thrown away the test kit and all evidence of my morning discovery, but I thought somehow he must know. We went to a movie, and after it was over, I stretched my arms. Sean reached over and patted my belly, and I was convinced he must have known!
We had a great day together, and my plan to tell him at our favorite ice cream shop was impossible since they were closed for the holidays. I have always wanted to find a really great way to tell my husband we were pregnant; I guess it is like the girl's chance at proposing or something, I don't know. Fearing that I would have to wait a whole week before telling him, I started thinking of alternatives.
The day was finally over and I was settled in bed and shivering. Sean was trying to warm me up, and I started laughing and then it happened. Just like that. I told him in a few months he wouldn't be able to warm me like that and he was puzzled. I realized that I could cover this up and still tell him later but my laughing gave it away. I couldn't stop giggling at his befuddled expression and so finally he said it and I confirmed it and we laughed and hugged and laughed some more.
How we told Sean's parents
After keeping the news to ourselves for several weeks we decided there was no reason to wait in telling Sean's parents. We had all kinds of ideas but finally settled on an adorable cookie bouquet to make the announcement. It had cookies in the shape of a teddy
bear, balloons, baby carriage, building blocks, etc.
Sean somehow convinced his youngest brother Kevin to pick up
the cookies and give us a call before getting to his parents. We
had explained to the cookie shop that it was a surprise and not to
add anything to the outside of the package indicating what might
be inside. So of course, they used a bag with pink and blue tissue
paper. When Kevin and his lovely new bride Katie picked up the
package, she knew right away.
We were on the phone with Sean's parents when Kevin and
Katie arrived. We told them to go open the box and listened to
shouts of surprise and squeals of delight. It was so much fun to have them in on our "secret" and urged them not to call my family until we had a chance to tell them in person. We spent the rest of the day on the phone with Sean's extended family sharing the good news.
How we told Jen's parents
Jen had always wanted to tell her family in person that she would be having a baby. For us, this meant waiting until we could get time off from our crazy jobs. We ended up waiting a little over a month, which was very hard. Jen had all kinds of questions and kept trying to work them into the conversation with out arousing too much suspicion (this nearly gave Sean a heart attack on several occasions).
The plan was to secretly fly into Missouri and have someone pick us up and deliver us at Jen's mom's doorstep. This was complicated by our frequent flyer miles, which had us coming into St. Louis instead of Kansas City. We ended up taking a taxi to the train station and taking a train to a small town a little less than an hour from where she grew up. Her sisters were in on the plan and were going to pick them up but the dates got switched around, and it didn't look possible. So, Jen called her grandparents, begged them not to tell anyone we were coming, and asked them to pick us up. Luckily they agreed.
When we arrived home there was lots of confusion and joy. Just as the dust was settling, Jen pulled out the sonogram pictures, which really caused only more confusion (since sonograms are notoriously hard to decipher). After a while everyone caught on, and the confusion and joy began all over again.
Jen had told her Dad she was coming, and he had her grandma fix Jen's favorite lunch, not knowing who the special guest would be. He picked her up early in the morning and took her to her grandma's. They sat around and chatted for a while, and then Jen told them. They were very happy too. They spent all afternoon discussing baby names and eating wonderful food.
