Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Growing

I like to grow things. I prefer growing things like flowers and plants, but once in a while I end up growing green stuff on left-overs in the fridge.

My favorite thing about spring is taking a trip to the nearest garden center and buying flats of flowers and bags of soil. My bare deck becomes a beautiful sight of potted and hanging plants.

My latest growth? A baby. In my uterus. I’m pregnant! Come sometime in the middle of March, Dan and I will be the proud parents of a little one. We’re beyond thrilled! I’ll try not to bore you with the details of the months of childbearing ahead of me, but I’m sure there are a few pregnancy stories in the future of this blog.

We had our first doctor’s appointment this afternoon. It was very helpful to get some questions answered and it made the whole thing that much more real. My nurse practitioner says the baby looks like a little shrimp, all curled up, right now. Next time I see her, it will apparently look like a jumbo shrimp. I'm hoping that somewhere down the line it will actually resemble a human being.

So far, the first trimester has brought mandatory daily naps, an unpleasant, constant nauseated feeling, and an awareness of my habits and how they affect the being growing inside of me. My doctor says the rather distasteful side effects are actually good. They mean I have a good amount of pregnancy hormone in me and everything is doing what it's supposed to. Nice to know when I'm working to keep down crackers and soup.

It's funny. I find myself faced with this reality once in a while. I'm not just pregnant. I'm going to have a baby. This state of being pregnant will actually end, and we will have a child. Sometimes it's still really beyond me. It needs to sink in. I think it will. When I can't button my jeans or zip my winter coat, when I demand that my husband fetches me Dairy Queen in the middle of winter, or when I cry at the baby food commercials. Watch out, hormones.

So, today, we celebrate. It's fun that we get to tell people this secret we've been keeping (rather unsuccessfully) for about a month. Yay!

11 comments:

Grandma and Grandpa Benson said...

. . . like I said . . . congratulations! . . . can't wait for those baby blogs!

Lisa said...

Yay... the secret's out!

Wow... I can't imagine how hard it was to keep that secret...

i'm so excited for you! you already know that though.

it's wierd because it still hasn't sunk in for me, but maybe because I haven't seen you very often and thought to think about it. :) make sense?

lately, whenever i am with a baby, or just look at baby pictures of my niece and nephew, it makes me really have that desire to have one.

but, i guess it'd be good to find a boy first and do the whole marraige thing. :) tee hee...

julie said...

congratulations! what an amazing journey you've now set out on... may each day bring you more joy than the one before.

jeffmacsimus said...

SHUT. UP!!! WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!! Yay! I bet Dan's fit to be tied -- you guys are gonna be such great parents!

By the way, have you read Anne Lamott's Operating Instructions yet? I have a copy if you're up for it... :-)

Anonymous said...

We are beyond excited for you and Dan! And I'm so glad that we get to tell people now. Actually, I wasn't all that great at keeping this a secret. Now I get to legally share the news. Your lives will never be the same. You will not believe how much love you'll have in your heart for this baby. It's almost ridiculous. How can we possibly feel this much love for a little tiny person? I laughed when I read Jeff's comment because I just finished reading your copy of "Operating Instructions". It'll be fun for you to read it again as a pregnant person. It'll make you laugh out loud and ache with longing for your child. You know I love Anne Lamott. It must be that old hippie in me. She's a bit irreverent. That's one of the reasons I like her so much. Very real. Anyway, my darling daughter, we rejoice with you! Enjoy the ride!
Love,
Mom

Alissa said...

Congrats! I feel like I might be intruding, but I came across your blog a while back and pop in every once in a while! (My husband and I live in Buffalo, MN) I'll be checking for those pregnancy stories!

Anonymous said...

Erin I have been watching for this! May you and Dan experience more of God as you await this little one. God has graced you with this! Enjoy the moments! Remember them.

gloria said...

I totally thought you were going to keep going with the gross fridge thing and make a big joke - I nearly fell off my chair when you said you are pregnant!!!!

Happy, Happy Day!!!!

I feel all weird like I want to buy you something pink or blue or soft or something. Bless you both, I mean all three!

You can call and complain anytime. You know that I know that this pregnancy thing is both joyful and difficult.

Tonya said...

Congratulations! Congratulations!
We don't know each other but are part of the same family...so I rejoice too. Being a mom is a wonderful, wonderful gift.

I was thinking...I know you love your cats as much as I love mine...but don't be surprised when 12 months from now you look at those adorable felines and say, "What? You again?!" Change is happening...change is good!

Anonymous said...

Hey Erin, I can't wait to here how my grandchild did in the BWCA! I was thinking about my grandfathers.
On my moms side, my grandfather left the family at a young age. I never met him. On my fathers side, I remember at a young age visiting grandpa in a nursing home and he died when I was very young. I truly hope and pray that I will be around to love, and introduce my grandchild to the wonders of life. Love is the most important ingrediant of life, I want to sprinkle the essence of love on my grandchild and hope the spice of life will cover and influence my grandchild to be all he/she can be. There is nothing more important
in this life than to mimic the love of God with those around us.
I love you and Dan, and I will be waiting for the gift of love coming forth from your womb. I hope it will be a wonderful journey
for you and Dan, and all the rest of us. Love Dad (grandpa)

david said...

Congrats! I need to read blogs more, I'm behind on the news! Whoo hoo!