A call for contributions from http://www.amothersecrets.com via http://www.perfectlyhappymum.com has inspired me to cast my mind back to 2006, my pre-pregnancy and baby days and the moments when I found out I was pregnant, first time around with the bump formally known as “Baby Boo”, now known as H and also this my current bump. No nickname yet and unlikely to get one given we’ve less than 7 weeks to go! So here are my stories of how I found out I was pregnant, both the first, and this, the last time!
The first time – My husband, R, and I decided back in 2005 that next year would be the year we would try for a family, so dutifully packed as much “last chance” stuff in as possible into 2005 arriving hung-over but ciggie and contraception free in 2006!
We both worked away from home and each other a lot at the time, add to that a series of skiing trips, stag and hen do’s and our main conception challenge was our work and social lives! Anyway it was the August bank holiday weekend and we had good friends coming up from London to stay for the weekend, a long time planned weekend and hugely anticipated bender, always fabulous times. I felt fine, but I had noticed a metallic taste in my mouth for a few days (I had the books so knew this could be an early pregnancy symptom). That said we were 7-8 months down the line of this trying for a baby business (closer to 12 months and a trip to the doctor for further investigations, than only just started) and I was silently aware that I may be starting to imagine pregnancy symptoms, in other words desperation was secretly, silently starting to creep in!
So minus 1 hour to the arrival of our friends and a great bender of a bank holiday weekend, I thought I’d better do a quick test “just in case” a conflicted trip to the loo – aware of the weekend I would miss out on if it was positive. I did the test, handed it to R declaring “I don’t expect it to be positive but just in case” I sat back down to my glass of wine. Less than a minute later, one sip no less, R handed it back to me with a smile, a kiss and my first “congratulations”.
I spent the rest of my bank holiday weekend with good friends and this great secret, nursing glasses of drinks and surreptitiously losing them on tables or passing them to R for consumption! That marked the start of my pregnancy which culminated in the safe arrival of H 40 weeks later.
This, the second (and last!) time – You may not agree, but I think having a second baby is a much bigger decision than having the first. That said life as you knew it has been entirely revolutionised to the point of being unrecognisable by the arrival of the first, so adding another babe to the mix isn’t going to be the same life changing experience as it was first time round. Check back with me after October 2009 for the reality of that statement!
So round about when H was 18 months old, walking, starting to talk, growing in size, confidence and independence – my baby was more toddler than baby – sniff! The subject of baby number two started to get some airtime between me and hubby. Having booked a fab place away for New Year with friends and their daughter who was the same age as H in the Cotswolds, I was adamant that having been either pregnant or with baby under one for the last two festive seasons I would not be pregnant this New Year! No sir-ee, my long awaited festive fest would not be compromised by a blue line on a pregnancy test, absolutely not, no way José! But we agreed to give up contraception for our New Year resolution (please note no ciggies to give up this time!)
My surprise Christmas gift was a shopping trip to Milan with two great girlfriends, including my pal, S, who I was letting my hair down with most successfully with at New Year! OK, a quick intro, these two girlfriends are great girlfriends. We’ve not been friends for a huge amount of time, only since being pregnant (I met S at NCT) and from our babies being tiny (me and S met J at the post natal classes I nicknamed “Baby school” when the bubs were a few weeks old) . Anyway tickets, hotel reservations & guide books received and gold stars handed out to the husbands for initiative & co-ordination we were in early January and planning shopping, restaurants, lunch destinations and places to be seen with Martini’s with and J discovers she is pregnant. Fabulous news of course, but a weekend trip to Milan is a tough call in those first few early weeks. We had a fabulous time, we had lie ins, shopped a lot for both babes and ourselves, had lie ins, ate very expensive gelatos, had lie-ins and S and I drank martini’s – a lot! Did I mention we had lie ins?!
So we get back and the following week S appears for the weekly Wednesday morning maracas session, looking a bit, shall we say peaky, and announces that she’s just found out she’s pregnant too! Martinis – Oops! Again fabulous news of course, but you know what in sneaked a teeny bit of jealousy, my two Bessie mummy friends were going to be in newbie territory and I was going to be left out. Nasty Mr Jealousy was quickly followed by a more familiar and equally unpleasant face, Mr Desperation. It was later that week that I took the last bits and pieces out of the suitcase which had been slovenly left on the bedroom floor (I was born to have more domestic help than I have I’m sure of it!) and unpacked the tampons I had taken to Milan … I repeat unpacked the tampons I had taken to Milan … when was I due on? Was I in fact late? How had that fact managed to escape me?!
We hadn’t even been trying long enough to get to the buying test stage so had none in! So a test was purchased in the next supermarket shop, I did the test when H was in bed and like the first time handed to R for interpretation. Again, seconds later, there they were, two thick, very blue lines. We were both so shocked we found ourselves laughing and in disbelief we also did the second test which confirmed both the pregnancy and that unbeknown to us three girls on tour in Milan, Martini’s in hand, we were all pregnant at the same time again but this time for the second time!
Claire Lancaster's Weblog 