One thing I experienced immediately after learning I was pregnant is that I felt a sudden urge to Do Something. Like, take a vitamin or go straight to the doctor or lie down or buy a crib. It was a funny sense of urgency, excitement, nervousness and joy. So, after leaving the restaurant with a striped pregnancy test in my purse, we headed straight to the local bookstore to Buy Something Pregnancy Related. Not like I didn't already have a ton of books on the subject, but hey - who could be too prepared, really?
We chose yet another How-To book on having babies (how did all those poor women pre-printing press ever manage to pull it off??) and a couple of baby name guides. Those were fun. I must admit, it did feel cool to make these purchases knowing I was finally preggo and not just acting the part. I will also admit that I felt a crazy urge to buy a pack of those adorable teeny tiny newborn diapers just so I could smell their baby powder yumminess. Didn't follow through on that, though...
Next step was informing the fam. We knew this would be gigantic news, as none of my siblings had yet meandered down the baby trail and this embryo would eventually become Grandchild the 1st (read SPOILED and doted on like no other). Our trip in Maine was coming to a close, so Steve and I decided to drive to Massachusetts on our way home so we could share the news in person with my parents, who were camping at October Mountain in the Berkshires. We'd gotten a few small presents for them in Maine, so I decided to wrap up a couple of the positive PG test sticks we now had and had them to the gift pile. I figured it would be great fun to watch the realization spread across their faces.
We made it to the campsite and after settling in a bit, gave mom and dad their gifts and waited. Steve and I were practically jumping out of our skin with anticipation. Mom, after opening the test, started gasping and tearing up and making little sounds of joy. Dad, with exactly the same amount of enthusiasm and gusto, waved his stick in the air and exclaimed,
"Oh, THANK you!! A travel toothbrush!"
I don't know what was funnier - the fact that he was so excited about receiving a travel toothbrush or watching my mother smack him. Either way, we made their day, and joyfully drove home knowing that all of our lives were already profoundly changed - and I hadn't even gone to my first prenatal appointment yet. Such is the power of pregnancy.
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