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Friday, January 26, 2007

Hiatus

Ack! I've been away from blogging for so long, I don't even know where to begin. Two months is a long time. SuperHusband and I have been caught up in a whirlwind of school, holidays, deployments, family crises, and oh yeah, we're pregnant, too. Check me off the list -- I, too, have joined the ranks of Pattersonites with big bellies and bursting budgets.

We started telling people around the tail end of November, just after we safely completed the first trimester. The pregnancy comes as a wonderful blessing after a round of what I like to call "remedial fertility." Nothing too cosmic -- we didn't struggle through rounds of emotionally, physically and financially exhausting in-vitro or anything. My body just refused to ovulate. If there's a black and yellow paperback on a shelf in some Barnes & Noble called, Fertility for Dummies, I'm sure my picture's in there somewhere.

So we've joined the club. We'd like to extend a huge congratulations to our friends Ben and Erin who've recently celebrated the birth of their newborn twins, and best wishes to Dawn and Greg who expect their little one in March. We're due June 12. We're officially half-way there, having just completed the 20th week.

We've adopted the same, incredibly sane philosophy as our friends, adamantly refusing to discuss potential name selections. And there's another twist: We've decided to be surprised. We're not going to find out the baby's gender. SuperHusband wanted to at first, but seeing as he's deployed and couldn't attend the far more substantial ultrasound during my 18th week, the poor guy didn't get much of a vote. Ever the loving wife, however, I had the tech seal it in an envelope, and if my Sweetheart gets to a point when he simply can't stand it, I'll send it to him. (With him halfway around the world, I can navigate most of the remainder of the pregnancy without him accidentally spilling the beans.) Still, he's been so busy that I don't think he's had time to really worry about it.

People never ask, "when are you due?" It's always, "Do you know what it's going to be?" I think I'll start saying, "Yes, we were concerned it might be a kitten, or maybe even a calf -- I've been accused of having those before -- but we can gleefully proclaim that it will, in fact, be a baby."

Friends, family, books, websites...people the world over have posed a multitude of good reasons for finding out the gender, but for me, I guess it boiled down to this: The military has turned me into a Type-A control freak. Yes, before the comments start rolling in, I realize I had some obsessive-compulsive tendencies in college, but it's not the same. Attention to detail, (the unofficial Air Force motto), time management, planning and organization -- in pre-military life I saw these concepts as foreign, far preferring a life lived extemporaneously.

So after years of cultural immersion in a world where surprises get a gal fired, (or cost lives in SuperHusband's line of work), the idea of one pure, blissful, God-given surprise, strikes me as incredibly romantic. I'm so excited to have that one precious moment of life impromptu.

9 comments:

  1. I FREAKIN KNEW YOU WERE NEXT.

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  2. Excellent! It's funny, I've alwasy just said "congrats!" rather than when due or what is it... now that I am in nursing school, it's more of "How are YOU doing?" and "How's your family?"... call it a change in mentality to caring than your average person.

    I think it's excellent, if it's a positive thing for you. It sounds as if it is, so therefor, congrats!

    I'm going into my 12th year as a parent, and frankly, it's been amazingly positive for me.

    Glad you and I have reconnected! I'm looking forward to chattign with you more! (I'll email this weekend)

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  3. Congratulations!!! What wonderful news!!

    And I'm glad it's a baby. Those calves have to be real tough to deliver, with the hooves and all. Ouch. Whatever brand of baby you have though, he/she will be an exciting and marvelous addition to your lives. Again, congratulations!!

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  4. LOL. Todd, before you read too much into it, just be aware that we were doing fertility before I knew anyone else was pregnant. ;)

    Thanks for all the nice words, guys. Re-reading the post, it seems like I delivered the news with a bit of understatement, but I assure you we're incredibly excited.

    First trimester was rough -- I hope to put a post together on that soon...there are some funny stories -- but I'm feeling great now. Keith is, unfortunately, away during what is perhaps the most healthy, fun part of the pregnancy, but I would rather he were gone now and home for the delivery.

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  5. Keeping the gender a secret isn't such a bad thing to do. Personally, I couldn't wait to find out-- it is like having a big Christmas present strapped to your stomach for nine months, taunting you with the surprise inside. But the level of stupid comments when we say "its a boy" astound us daily. It seems that there is this medieval mentality that a man HAS to have a son. Greg has been pretty stunned by the people who act like if it was a girl he would have been disappointed. Then I had a real estate agent who after asking what sex the baby was said "aw, too bad!" WHAT!?!

    Can't wait till our little ones can have a play date! =-)

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  6. My best wishes for a easy delivery...and a smooth pregnancy.

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  7. Dawn: Good grief -- That's one more reason to chuck your realtor!

    I have to admit, I was almost overwhelmed by the temptation when I went in for the ultrasound. Now that the initial anticipation has passed, though, I'm glad I don't know.

    Darren: Thanks. :)

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  8. Oh, and ditto on the play date!

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  9. I hope it's not a kitten! Congrats on not knowing. We didn't, and the surprise was well worth it both times!

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