Birthday in Spring
Elise is pregnant with our first child. We found out last Wednesday. I was in the kitchen, wrapping filet mignons to be grilled and Elise walked into the kitchen, set something on the bar and said, “How do you feel about celebrating an April or May birthday?”
I didn’t know what the hell she was asking. My brain was going a mile a minute, “Hmmm… Elise’s birthday is in February… mine’s in January. I don’t understand what…”
Then I saw what she put on the bar. It was a pregnancy test. She walked around the bar and put her arms around me. I had her show me how to read the test. It’s a very complicated procedure: one stripe = not pregnant, two stripes = pregnant.
The second stripe wasn’t very dark so I maintained subtle skepticism. Elise immediately went online and found a wealth of websites that state that no matter how light in color the second line is, you’re pregnant.
I was excited but I wasn’t totally convinced because that second line wasn’t very dark. I needed solid evidence.
We talked while sitting on the couch that evening. We were both excited that we were going to have a child.
Elise called her OB/Gyn the next morning to see when she could get in. They scheduled her for an appointment on September 1st. The nurse told Elise to wait until Monday and take another pregnancy test. At that time her hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin or pregnancy hormone) will have doubled.
I got up for work as usual this morning and Elise came into the kitchen shortly after. She hugged me and told me that I was going to be a dad. She showed me the most recent pregnancy test and there they were, both lines, plain as day.
So Elise asked me how I felt. I told her I was excited.
“But how do you feel?”
“eh?”
I am excited but things are pretty much the same for me right now. I know it’s exciting for Elise because the physical changes are beginning to happen to her.
I guess it just hasn’t really set in that we’re going to have a child next Spring. Perhaps that will change after our first visit to the doctor.