Sunday, September 23, 2007

by Betsy- Sunday, September 23, 2007

September 23, 2007
Day 19

We said we wanted to write about our feelings as soon as possible after finding out we are pregnant. We started the blog tonight and plan to keep it a secret until at least 8 weeks- until my birthday, if we can do it.
We didn’t get pregnant the first month we tried. So, I was nervous on Thursday morning when it was time to take the urine test. I didn’t want to go in and see another negative line. I know that some people have to try for months and months. I can’t imagine the mounting disappointment that they must feel from having negative results time after time. We didn’t expect it to work. We were trying not to get our hopes up, if that is ever possible.
I woke up at 4:50 am and couldn’t wait any longer. So, I went in the bathroom and did the test, but I didn’t look at the results window. I set my watch for five minutes and lay back down in the bed. Joseph prayed that we wouldn’t be disappointed. I prayed for increased faith and to remember that following God’s plan for our life is the best life we could have, even if that means not having our own children. When the timer went off, we crept down the hall and peeked around the bathroom door. We were both surprised to see +!!!!! I started crying and my teeth chattered. We hugged and prayed again a thank-you prayer and that we would continually give our child and our lives to God’s service.
Then, we walked around the house for an hour like crazies. Joseph kept muttering “Well, what are we going to do now?” To date, he still says that about ten times a day. I just feel that the wheels are in motion now, and (for the time being) we just wait. We looked up the online pregnancy calculator and found that the due date will be May 27, 2008. Sounds perfect to me.
On Friday we went to Student Health to see the nurse practitioner. The intake nurse had me prepare for a urine test, but the nurse practitioner said that the home tests are accurate enough, no sense to pay for another one. I kind of wanted her to do a test. Honestly, I wanted a grown up to confirm it. But, I took another test this morning, and we’re still good. The nurse practitioner gave us our referral form for the obstetrician. I will call tomorrow morning and make an appointment. One funny thing is that I’m usually the person who has a million questions about the simplest things. Now we’re about to embark on the most exciting adventure of our lives, and….. I’m questionless. I really can’t think of anything important to ask the doctor. I’ve wondered about a few things- like when we can find out the gender and when the first ultrasound happens, but I can look all those things up online. It will be interesting to see how long I remain questionless and when I revert back to my old self.
Now it’s Sunday night. I’ve been pregnant for 19 days, but I’ve only known for 3 days. I have to be honest and say that I don’t feel any different. Other than obsessing about my food and weight, there’s not much to do. We’ll go swimming in the morning, as usual. Tomorrow I’ll work more on my dissertation proposal and get ready for the October 5th presentation and the Wayne County trip on Thursday.
Mostly, it just doesn’t seem real to me yet. Compared to how I thought I would feel, I’m a little ambivalent. I have waves of pure excitement, especially when I think about telling Mother and Daddy. Joseph is the cutest thing on the planet. We have this private joke between us. Around the time we got married, my cousin had a baby. The baby’s name is Herman. It’s an old family name, and it makes sense that they named him that. But Joseph was baffled that someone would name their baby Herman in 1999. He just couldn’t let go of it. So, he has always joked that someday we would name our baby Herman, too. Well, about two months ago, I had an extremely vivid dream that I was standing in our kitchen holding a baby in a pink blanket. Joseph came in and pulled back the blanket to reveal a baby who was the same color pink as the blanket. Her name was Cheyenne. So, since then, our baby’s name has been Herman-Cheyenne. We’re always talking about things we’re going to do with Herman-Cheyenne. I guess we’ve got about 15 weeks to go to find out if it’s Herman or Cheyenne.
That’s all I can write tonight. Hopefully, around this time our wonderful friends, Saori and Acchi, are having their second baby in Japan. We are anxiously awaiting an email from them!

How exciting is that!

Hello everyone! We've created this blog to try and keep everyone up-to-date on the Watson family happenings. Betsy and I have been married for ~8 and 1/2 years now (May 1999). On Thursday, September 20, 2007, we discovered we were pregnant (See below)! The due date is May 27th, 2008, roughly 9 years after we married. We had an appointment with Kathy Jantz, a Vanderbilt nurse, on Friday. Betsy wanted a specialist to see a positive and confirm that yes, indeed, she was pregnant, but the nurse felt that wasn't necessary. They did provide us with the forms we need to meet with a doctor at Vanderbilt. We used some of Saturday to look at Pregnancy books. On Sunday, we went to Toys 'R' Us and checked out baby clothes and toys. The delivery date is so far away that it just doesn't seem real. I'm fairly nervous -- how do you take care of a baby? I have no clue. Well, at least we have 9 months to develop a strategy. Betsy is hard at work finishing up her dissertation. We hope that she will be finished by March 2008. I'm searching for a post-doc and enjoying my time in the Miller lab. I'll post more as we discover new things about our newest family member.