Baby Daddy

After four negative pregnancy tests, the fifth came almost as an afterthought. I had one test left, had not taken one in a week, and was pretty sure that my body was just confused from traveling. It was a rare occasion when I had gotten out of bed earlier than Jonathan. I took the test and got ready for a shower, so used to getting negative results that I just went about my morning routine.

But before I could even look away, there it was. A line. A pink line. Two pink lines.

Oh. My. Gosh.

I picked it up, shaking, and stared at myself in the mirror. I then picked my jaw up out of the sink and hopped in the shower in a haze of shaky, dizzy, oh my goodness is this really happening, did I really just see those two lines, this is crazy, pick jaw up off the shower floor, rinse and repeat.

Do I tell Jonathan? He was sleeping in. I could wake him up with the news, just run in and jump on the bed screaming "We're going to have a baby!?!"

Or.

I could wait.

A few years ago, Jonathan and I were in a store and went our separate ways. When I found him again, he was standing alone, staring at something. As I got closer, I asked him what was up...he pointed at a little statue, a father holding a newborn baby. And very quietly, he said, "This is really cool." In that moment, I made a mental note to remember that statue, thinking that someday it would be a really sweet way to tell him that we are expecting.

Luckily, in that bleary haze of early pregancy excitement, I had the willpower to hold in the news in order to have that moment that I dreamed of in that store years ago. How I managed to keep the news from him that morning, I have no idea!

On my lunch break, I headed to the mall and was lucky to find the same little figurine. As the clerk wrapped my gift, he looked at me with a knowing smile and said, "Does he know?" So I shared a giddy little chat with the cashier at the gift shop, who sent me on my way with a congrats and good luck.

After work, I told Jonathan that I had a little "back to school" present for him. I had written him a letter in which I told him how proud I am of all of his hard work in optometry school and that I wanted to give him a little something that would help keep him motivated through the end of the semester. He read the letter and then pulled out his gift.

And stared. Silence.

And then he looked up at me, his eyes full of tears. And all he could get out was a quiet "Really?"

I'll leave the rest of that sweet moment to the two of us, but it was just perfect; definitely worth a day of suspense for that reaction.

He is going to be such a wonderful daddy.

And now...a few random details based on some questions in the comments section:

• I am in Week 12


• I am due on May 5, 2010


• We should find out the sex of the baby in early December


• Someone was interested in sending a gift, but does not have instant reply. Please email me at lesliepoe@gmail.com if that was you!