I'm pregnant.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

At least, I’m pretty sure I am. After two weeks of increasingly sore breasts and nasty mood swings, I missed my period and took a home test. Positive.

A fluke, says I. False positives are possible, right? I took the second test in the package. Positive. Yikes.

It could still be a false positive… right…? I’m going to make a doctor’s appointment tomorrow to get it checked out for sure.

Anyway, I’m simultaneously happy, worried, nervous, and amazed. (It was an accident, but we’re keeping it.) Our house is a tiny little one-bedroom. We’re not prepared. Yikes! What are we going to do?! Did I mention that our house is tiny? And we’re not prepared?

I am just…overwhelmed. And I thought I would share.

2

Congratulations! You are about to embark on the longest roller coaster ride you will ever take. Lasting for the rest of your life. There is no better ride…kudos.

father of 3…17 yr old…13 yr old…6 yr old.

3

Congratulations!

I’m reminded of a line of Melanie Wilkes in Gone with The Wind: “Having children is life renewing itself” (That may not be the exact line–I don’t have my copy of the screenplay handy)

As if any line of dialogue I could quote could adequately capture the joy and happiness you must feel…

Congratulations again!

4

CONGRATS!!! I had a false positive result a year before I actually got pregnant and it scared me to death but the second test was negative. With my son I took 6 pregnancy tests before it showed positive! Talk about confusing. I lived in a one bedroom apartment for the first year of my son’s life. Only when I got pregnant again did we move. Tiny babies don’t need alot of space so you still have plenty of time to worry about space.
I am so thrilled for you. I had my tubes tied so there will be no more little BabyHens running around. So I volunteer to be the first SDMB Auntie! I want lots of updates!!!

5

**MAZEL TOV !!! ;J **

So, share with us a bit. Was this expected? Do you have a large home? :smiley: ( hell, I had to !).

What delicious news, and we all think it’s so damned honorable of you to name the baby Cecil-regardless of gender.

The baby will sleep in your room for a few months anyway, so you’ve got a year to figure out the logistics of THAT. SO many details, but I’d offer this thought up to smooth over the detail frenzy:

Planned or not, your baby was made out of love by two people who are happier together than apart. That counts for a lot these days. Relish every second of it. I’m gonna to start knitting a chicken. ;p

Cartooniverse

6

Hey, good luck.

and don’t worry about being prepared. I don’t ANYONE ever really is, especially the first time. Just love him and do your best.

7

I agree on preperation. No one is really prepared. even after you get prepared for the whole baby thing, you still are unprepared for who the baby is. (My littlest sister has a very powerful personality. No preperation possible.)

The only truly nessesery preperation is preparing to love the little tyke and each other as much as possible. With Love no house can be too small and everything else will be found. Without it there is no family.

You’ll be great!

8

Woo-hoo! I’m so happy for you guys! (And so glad it’s not me… :smiley: )

9

Congratulations! :smiley:

Don’t worry about being prepared. No one is “prepared” for the first baby, really; the day-to-day reality of living with a real live miniature human blows you out of the water no matter how much you’ve planned or how ready you think you are. But you’ll notice, lots of people manage to do a fine job anyway.

I bet there are lots of us here who will give you advice on anything you need, from morning sickness to how to avoid baby store sticker shock. Just ask, we’ll babble away!

10

Ditto what everyone else said. When I got pregnant with TT, I was 20, unmarried, broke and living at my parent’s house on one of those “just broke up with my boyfriend, trying to get my life together” things.

Everything worked out just fine and it will for you, too.

Best wishes and good luck!

11

You guys are the best!! Thank you so much for all the support and good wishes!

After a good night’s sleep, I am feeling much better and less panicked about the whole thing… things really ARE going to work out, and I am actually quite excited.

Anyone have any advice for a new mom-to-be? :slight_smile:

12

Boy, I can unload advice on you. :slight_smile:

  1. Your sleep schedule is about to get royally screwed. Enjoy these last few months of uninterrupted sleep, they won’t happen again.
  2. Babies prefer to barf on expensive stuff. Remember this.
  3. Nothing will prepare you for diaper duty.
  4. You are about to get more advice than you thought possible. Just remember, you dont’ have to follow all of it. :smiley:
13

First, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Buy What to Expect When You’re Expecting immediately. It’s the pregnant woman’s bible.

Check out the BBs at parentsplace.com , specifically the expecting clubs. They’re grouped by the month you’re due and are nice because all of the women are experiencing the same things, at the same time as you. It’s a super resource.

Babies do NOT need nearly as much stuff as you think they do, nor as much space. My daughter NEVER used her crib, she slept with us until I finally got her a big matress and threw it on the floor…she was about 18 months. Once they become mobile you won’t use a changing table because they get too squirmy to be up that high. I say save the expense (and room) and change them on the floor from the start.

Wow, I could go on and on…but I’ll stop. It’s too much fun to figure it all out on your own!

14

The only things I was not expecting were the comments from total strangers. There was a woman in the mall who stopped me, informed me I was carrying a boy (it was a girl) and proceeded to tell me about her pregnancies. After she left, my husband and I simultaneously said “Who was that?”, had a laugh, and walked on. Anyway, some people seem to think the world owns your pregnancy. You might work on snappy comebacks now!

In any event, best of everything to you! Nothing compares to watching a young 'un go from cuddly lump to inquisitive toddler to sullen teenager, with all the stops in between. Enjoy!!

15

Conga-rats!!

Mrs beagledave abd I are expecting our first in July.

Adding to Sue’s ideas… I second the notion about not getting a changing table. We got a nice used dresser that we spruced up…the height is right to slap a changing pad on…and the kid will need a dresser anyway…

The “What To Expect” book is definately the most popular book. While it’s OK (IMHO) …I think (as does mrs beagledave)…that an even better choice is the Sears series of books (William Sears, pediatrician…wife Martha is a nurse)…they have books on pregnancy…birth…babies…breast feeding etc…

For online resources…start with babycenter.com on the web…if you like newsgroups, check out misc.kids.pregnancy

A great list of net resources can be found at Parenting with a Net - TidBITS

16

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Just think, now you have 9 whole months to get prepared!

Tripler
Another little Doper comes to the world.

17

Congrats! And hey, at least you have a clue that you ARE preggers - one woman at work was TRYING, and didn’t realize she was preggers until she was more than 6 weeks late! (she’d gone off the pill, and had been told to expect her cycles to be whacked for a bit…)

As for book recommendations, I like The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby - lots of complete and useful info, not preachy (lets you decide which way to go, but gives complete info so you can go there more informed), and talks to you like you have a brain. Very appropriate to SD-types.

(I also recommend the due-date-related bbs - storknet.com or babycenter.com are the ones I’d recommend… I know at least one other Doper is on the storknet due date bbs!)

18

Congratulations! You’re going to be just fine. We have two littles ones in a small two-bedroom apartment and we’re managing. They just want to be with Mom and Dad all the time when they’re little anyway!

The worst part of being pregnant is the first couple of months and the last couple of days. The rest of the time I thought it was kind of fun. Get lots of rest and try to get regular exercise, too–you’re going to need your strength.

19

Like hedra said, come join us on the Storknet bb. 3 Dopers would be even cooler than 2. Don’t worry about the amount of space you have–as others have said, babies don’t take up much room. My husband and I are looking for a bigger place to rent, but only because he works at home, so it’ll be a bit crowded while I’m maternity leave.

Enjoy it! This has been an incredibly exciting time for me (it’s my first). You’ll be great.

20

Yay! How exciting and scary and wonderful for you! Accidentally is how my boy came into the world, but that doesn’t make him any less loved or wanted. Congratulations!

I am with Sue Dunhym on this one, get “What to expect when you’re expecting”. Absolutely wonderful.

SLEEP WHILE YOU CAN. It was six months after I had my boy that I got a full night’s sleep.

ENJOY YOUR LAST ‘COUPLE’ TIME WITH YOUR SO. It’ll be a loong time before you get it again.

DO NOT BUY NEWBORN SIZED ANYTHING. They will only fit for a week or two. Honest. Trust me on this one. Ok, maybe newborn diapers, but only one package 'cause the little doper may not be so little. Mine was almost 9 lbs.

One of the best things I had for my baby was a pack-n-play, a portable play-pen. It was absolutely indispensible for trips, even just going to a friends’ for a few hours. I could open it up in 30 seconds flat and there was a bed and play area for the buglet.
This will also be great since you’re in a ‘tiny’ place.

DO NOT BUY A BASSINET. It will only work for a few months and then it’ll just take up space and collect dust. Yeah, they’re pretty, but you don’t have the room.

LISTEN TO YOUR MOM. My mom and I have our differences of opinion, but she was a valuable resource for information (my mom the library) and just for venting. If your mom isn’t around, rely on your friends for advice. Everyone has a different story.

DON’T LET OTHERS SCARE YOU with their painful delivery stories, because you honestly will forget all of the pain. Just don’t tell that to your SO or the baby when he/she is older. Hold it over their heads. Good for you, you’re starting to think like a mom! Yay!

VITAMIN E CREAM on your belly. So you don’t end up looking like my sister after hers were born [shudder]

RELAX! It’s just a baby! They don’t break. Unless you drop them. A lot.

Congratulations!!!

Ginger