December 22nd

December 22nd was the day I decided enough was enough and I should just go ahead and take a pregnancy test.  I had been having some symptoms for a few weeks, but since I had talked myself into thinking I was pregnant before, I wasn't getting my hopes up.  In fact, I took the test and, instead of hovering over it like I have in the past, I got in the shower.  When I got out, I told myself to not be upset when the test was negative like all the others.  That's when I saw this:

I cannot begin to describe how shocked I was.  My mouth dropped open and I started shaking.  But I was also scared and confused, because the line was so faint.  

I had always been under the impression that if there is any line at all, that is positive, since it is measuring the presence of hormones that you wouldn't have if you weren't pregnant.  However, I could not think in such a rational manner at that point!  

I stood in the bathroom for a long time, and then ran downstairs to take a picture of the test.  It took me 15 tries to get this picture!  I was so excited, I was shaking.

This was taking place at nine in the morning.  Jeremy was at work and our friend Jess was stopping by in a few hours to visit the museum (where Jeremy works and she used to work) and then finish up some last minute Christmas shopping with me.  But all I could think of was the possibility that we were having a BABY!!!

I immediately called my general practitioner back home in Yale (since I haven't bothered to get one here in Lansing) and set up an appointment to see her the next day.  I really needed some reassurance that I was really pregnant!

So, Jess arrived, and we went to the museum, visited for a while, and then went to lunch with Jeremy and Loel.  It was TORTURE having to spend all that time with him while keeping that huge secret.  I wanted to tell him right away, but I thought it would be much better if I could tell him in a more private and special way.  On top of that, I was feeling completely exhausted (as I had for the past few weeks) and a little queasy.  It was hard to pretend that everything was normal, and Jeremy even laughed at me when I asked I could stretch out on the benches at the museum for a little while.

When I went shopping with Jess, I felt like a total lame-o.  I was totally exhausted from all the excitement and activity (I read that just lying on the couch and making a baby is as exhausting as a normal person running a marathon -- this is EXACTLY how I felt!), and I just wanted it to be 5 o'clock so I could tell Jeremy.

When Jeremy got out of work, he called me and told me he needed to buy a few stocking stuffers for the pets and would be home in a while.  I insisted he come home immediately and go shopping later.  He was not excited about the prospect, but realized I was going to keep insisting until he gave in, so he came straight home.  When he came home, I handed him the computer and told him that I was started a new blog.  I wish I had a picture of the look he had on his face!!  He said, "You seriously made me come straight home to see a new blog??!?!" but then he looked at the screen and saw THIS blog:  The Life and Times of Baby Dimick.

Jeremy was shocked, excited, and overjoyed.  He grabbed me and held me, and then asked a million questions.  He asked for every detail, and it was the greatest moment.  I have had a lot of happy moments in my life, and my amazing wedding was less than a year ago, but nothing has compared to being able to tell Jeremy that we will soon be having a baby.

Stay tuned for details from December 23rd!