October 31st, 2017
Halloween will always hold such a special place in my heart. It’s the day I became a mom.
A few months before, Chris and I had made the big decision that we were ready to start trying to have a baby. I had gotten it into my mind that we would struggle to conceive because of my weight. According to my BMI, I’ve always been labelled “underweight”. Although my doctors have always assured me I was completely healthy, I felt like my body wasn’t “made” to be a mom. With that being said, if you’ve been reading my blog, you know I’m a total, type A planner. So I bought ovulation test strips off Amazon, started eating fertility-boosting foods, started taking prenatal vitamins, instructed Chris to stop putting his laptop in his lap because I’d read it could hurt his sperm count…you get the picture.
Mom and dad — skip over this paragraph! On October 18th, Chris and I had gone to a San Antonio Spurs game with a few of his employees. It was a school night, so when we got home we were exhausted and ready for bed. Right before bed, I did an ovulation test and WHAT DO YA KNOW: it’s baby making time. We definitely took advantage of those 24-48 hours of ovulation.
Alright mom and dad, continue reading here. Starting around October 22nd, I started taking pregnancy tests every day after work. I knew it was too early, but I was too excited, and I wanted to find out as early as possible. Side bar — earlier in September when we decided to start trying, I got an Amazon and bought this mug. Then I hid it in my sock drawer and waited to see those two pink lines!
Two Pink Lines
On October 31st, 2017, I came home from school, and while Chris was still at work I took another pregnancy test — probably about the 7th test that month. And I finally saw those two pink lines. The second line was so faint; I could hardly see it. But it was definitely there. No exaggeration, I literally fell to my knees. It was the instant I became a mom. When my world shifted and this sweet, poppy seed-sized baby became the center of my universe. Words could never describe the feeling! And it was time to go to my sock drawer…
If you don’t know me personally, here’s something about me — I’m terrible at keeping my own secrets. And I always give people their Christmas/birthday presents early because I just can’t wait for them to see what I got them. But, I really wanted to tell Chris he was going to be a dad in a special way. So when he walked through the door that evening, it took every fiber of my being not to jump him in the doorway and scream that we were parents!! The plan was simple: give Chris a cup of coffee, Chris drinks it, he finds out he’s going to be a dad, we celebrate, and our lives change forever. Simple, right?
A Coffee Mug Story
So Chris came home, and I told him that we should make a pot of coffee to keep us energized to pass out candy that night. Chris makes the pot of coffee, and I run to the kitchen as soon as it’s done to be the one to pour the cups. Thankfully my husband is so unobservant that he didn’t take notice to the fact that I’d given him some random, white mug he’s never seen before.
We decided to be “those people” and just put the bowl of candy on the porch, and we got in bed with the pups to watch a scary movie. Picture this: I can’t remember a single detail of whatever movie we watched because I spent the entire time giving Chris some major side eye waiting for him to finish enough of the coffee to see the bottom of the mug. In all my life, I swear I’ve never seen someone drink a cup of coffee so slow. Not to mention, I wasn’t even drinking my coffee because HELLO I’m pregnant and no ounce of caffeine can enter my temple of a body currently housing this precious miracle (LOL that changed real quick). So I’m fake drinking my coffee, staring at Chris out of the corner of my eye, and practically losing my sh*t with excitement ready to celebrate with him.
Finally, finally, he’s getting to the end of his cup. And what does he do? He goes and.refills.the.cup. At this point, the movie is coming to an end, the coffee cup is filled back up to the brim, and I’ve about lost my mind. I finally was like: *dramatic yawn* “I’m getting super tired. You know what we should do? Let’s chug our coffee!” Chris agrees and we start chugging (or in my case fake chugging).
Chris notices something at the bottom of his mug. Pauses. Drinks a little more. Looks at me. And there it is….I see it happen in an instant — Chris has become a daddy. We held each other, we cried tears of excitement, we stared really hard at that second line. Chris decided we needed one of those pregnancy tests that straight up just says “Pregnant” or “Not Pregnant”, so he ran to the store. I peed on about three tests — all “Pregnant”!!
Mom and Dad
So that’s the story folks. The night we became parents. The night everything changed. It’s only been a year, but it seems like a lifetime ago. Over the past year we’ve felt excitement, panic, fear, anticipation, overwhelming love, blessed, and everything in between. What a special place Halloween will always have in my heart — the day we became “mom and dad”. Click the link here to see the end of our pregnancy journey — the day sweet Christian Grace was born!
