My Early Birthday Present - and 290th Epinion Feb 06 '05    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Books Mildred D. Taylor - Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: A Literature Unit From $8 Olivier Dunrea - Ollie From $7 The Bottom Line A major change is on the horizon... Tomorrow (7 Feb) is my 30th birthday. I've been going on and on about turning 30 for the past 6 months. I've been pretty excited about it and many people already know this. Happy Birthday to me! This is also my 290th review. So what? What's so special about that? Well, for many people who celebrate milestones, it's a popular number - 100, 200, 300, 1,000, etc. But, I try not to be like everyone else and so, I've decided that review 290 will be my milestone review. I'm going to be a mom. How We Found Out The big news came around 2pm on January 21st. That Friday morning when I woke up, I had this instant feeling (and desire) to clean. Now, I usually have a desire to clean, but on this particular day, I wanted to clean the entire house. My fiancé and I were on a cleaning mission and we cleaned the house from top to bottom. He vacuumed, I dusted, did the laundry and the dishes. We were cleaning freaks! By the time we were done, don't ask me why, but someone was feeling a little romantic. I had to practically fight him off with a stick and so I came up with the ole stand-by...I have to use the bathroom. I purchased a pregnancy test about three weeks earlier and it was just sitting in my medicine cabinet collecting dust, but for some strange reason, the powers that be were pushing for me to take the test. I called my fiancé in and told him I had the test and he encouraged me to go ahead and take it. The instructions stated to wait 3 minutes to get an accurate result. My fiancé practically dragged me out of the bathroom saying, "Now don't treat this test like you do the cookies...let it sit and take the full effect." So we waited... And waited... And waited... I have to tell you those three minutes felt more like three years. Hubby-to-be gets to the bathroom before I did and I almost chopped his head off. He comes out saying, "I didn't look, I didn't look," but his face was telling a different story. He then says, "How do you read the stick again?" I simply said, "Two lines mean yes baby; one line means no baby." He looks me dead in the eyes and says, "We're pregnant." The first thing that pops out of my mouth is "Bulls--t!!!" I run into the bathroom and look at the stick. There it was, clear as day, two pink lines. I am pregnant. It felt as if time stood still. I had the stick in my hand just staring at it! My fiancé asked me if I was okay and all that came out of my mouth was, "I - uh - wha - ba - da - uh - wha -huh - ba - wha - da - huh..." I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Everything that I thought was important just went out the window in a matter of minutes. He gave me a big hug and asked me again if I was okay with this. "I'm gonna have to be, aren't I?" was all I could say. I'm gonna be a mom. After that test, we started to look back and try to figure out when it could have happened. By the time we took the test, I was already a week late, but when I started to think about it, in my mind, I had a feeling that I was pregnant. I've heard moms-to-be and mothers who've said they knew even before they made a doctor's appointment and I was starting to believe that maybe I had that gut feeling as well. I bought the test three weeks in advance, I was feeling more and more fatigue each day and I kept having these feelings that a baby was in my future. It was really weird, but then it all made sense. We finally concluded that it all happened on New Year's. We are also going to welcome our new bundle of joy at the end of September. Telling our Families I knew that I couldn't keep this one to myself for too long and I had to let my family know pronto. Our families took the news pretty well. Jean had a feeling all along and when I told my family, my brother was dumbfounded (but very happy) and my mom was excited - to the point that she had to run to the bathroom. I was mainly scared of my dad's reaction, but he was pleasantly surprised and wished us well. By the time the weekend arrived, I was still getting used to the fact and letting the whole thing sink in (for some reason, it still didn't hit me and I was getting worried about my lack of enthusiasm). The Changes I'm at 7 weeks now and one of major changes that I've noticed (and I think everyone may have noticed) are the boobs. Not only have they doubled in size, but oh man they hurt!!!! I can't get over how sensitive they've become and I find myself massaging them just to help ease the pain. I know that they are supposed to expand over time, but my goodness if they get any bigger, I'm going to need a back brace to hold myself up. I'm also extremely tired all the time. There have been days when I was lucky if I could get out of bed. It's been hard for me to deal with the fact that I am so tired all the time and all the naps I've been taking during the day. I feel pretty useless around the house, but my fiancé's been so wonderful in helping around the house and taking a lot of the pressure off me. He's been so great! The morning sickness has also taken over and I really hope this goes away soon. I can't stand the nausea and not being able to keep much down and afraid to eat certain things because I'm afraid it won't stay down. The mood swings and other feelings are at an all time high. There are moments when I'm alright and things seem to be right with the world, the next minute, I don't want anyone touching me, the slightest thing sets me off or I'll start bawling my eyes out. Most days are better than others, but sometimes I even scare myself with my mood swings. They seem to spiral out of control. These changes are a lot to get used to and those who I've spoken with say it will get better. I just need to get through this first trimester and after that, things will be smooth sailing. For my sake, I hope they are right. Final Thoughts Overall, I'm very happy about the fact that I'm going to be a mom. It was a hard pill to swallow in the beginning, but the way I look at it, I'm not too young or too old - I'm at a pretty good age. The support I've gotten from family and friends have been amazing and the advice has been pouring in by the thousands (which has been a lot to take in). It's been a lot to take in and I'm willing to hear what everyone has to say, but ultimately the final decisions come down to my fiancé and me. I guess what I'm trying to get used to is everyone asking me if I'm alright and wanting to do things for me. I'm so used to handling things myself that the second I ask for help, I feel it's a sign of weakness. I have lots of concerns as well. Will I be a good parent? Will we have enough to provide for this child? Will the child be healthy? Am I going to go crazy? I'm scared out of my mind. I know I've said in the past that I think I'll be ready, but that was back then and was just talk. It's a whole new ballgame now that I know in a few months we're going to be responsible for a whole new life. It's enough to make a person go crazy. It's a blessing, yes and I'm happy about it, but I'm also scared out of my mind. The support's been great and my fiancé's been the absolute best. I just hope and pray that everything goes well. I just have to remember that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. Take care and thanks for reading.

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