Sharing the News: We're expecting - B's story

As I mentioned in starting this blog - I really want it to be a story that our kids can look back on. I have baby books but I haven't been good at journaling in them so this is my journal for them. So I want to share the stories of telling people that we were expecting. The first one is B's story (since he's our first - poor little guinea pig!)

B's story:
We moved to KS, 3 weeks later Brian deploys, 2 days later I found out I was pregnant. I called my Mom crying. She was very calm and told me to put my feet up and relax. She really calmed me down and reminded me that this is a good thing. I calmed down and felt a bit better and was able to call Brian's commander's wife. She was very nice but didn't quite know why I kept bursting into tears. Once she realized that this was our first child and that I had no way to tell my husband and that I was still in a bit of shock, she tried to reassure me and emailed her husband. After I got off the phone with her I called my in-laws who were thrilled and their excitement also helped me to feel better. A few days later one of my best friends in the world came to visit - J was very excited and celebrated with me that weekend. On Saturday afternoon Brian finally called. I was able to talk with him and I was much more excited after that.

I decided to spend a couple of months with family since I didn't know anyone in KS and started to get very sick during the drive back to NY. I thank God that I decided to visit then because that was the start of my hyperemesis which had me in and out of the hospital a couple of times.

I called my grandparents in Florida and they were very excited to hear the news (they even flew out to see him several months later about a week before his due date and arrived the day he was born - don't they have the best timing!). I also called a couple of my aunts and my one cousin whom I grew up very close with.

Telling my brother-in-law was funny. He got on the phone and I said "Hi Uncle M" and he said hi, what? huh? I said it again and he said "Uncle? Who's pregnant?" He was completely confused. I said "Brian, it's a medical miracle" and that just increased his confusion (btw - my BIL was 15 when this happened). When I finally told him I was pregnant he said congrats but seemed a bit weirded out. I think he was just finally getting used to having a sister. To his credit he is an AMAZING uncle! The kids adore him.

I told my brother in a similar way - but he caught on a lot faster (he was 22 so that probably helped). He and my sister-in-law (who joined our family when Ben was 1 1/2) are absolutely wonderful to our kids. Unfortunately they live across the country but the kids love seeing them when we can.

I felt a little better on Easter and I was able to celebrate with family. It was so much fun to tell my aunts that I was expecting. Their jaws dropped and then they got very excited! I have such a wonderful supportive family. Then I told my grandfather who was also very happy for us.

We are so thankful for our family and friends who really surrounded us with support during my pregnancy. Fortunately all of their reactions were much more excited than my own initial reaction. By the time Ben was born I couldn't have loved him more and despite the horrible pregnancy was willing to do it again.