this is going to change everything

Yep, I have big news. If you haven't already heard, you're probably among those who've been wondering just when you'd hear. Well, here it is: Baby Weston #1 is on the way! Baby is set to arrive around June 8, 2009, at which time our lives will be turned upside down and sideways (all for the better, if I believe all the moms I know). I keep getting a couple questions from people, so I'll answer them here.

"Are you excited?" I like to answer this question with a quotation from Armageddon, that beacon of wisdom starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck. There's a scene in there where Owen Wilson is ready to take off in the spaceship and he's asked how he's feeling, and he says "I'm, like, 98% excited and 2% scared. Or maybe its 2% excited and 98% scared." That's how I feel.

I'm not worried about pregnancy, I'm worried about the small helpless alien that will be left fully in my care about 8 months from now. Its a good thing I have some time to prepare, though right now I'm thinking I'd be OK with an elephant's gestational period of about 2 years. Two years would be enough time to prepare I think.

"How do you feel?" I feel pretty good, except for a few nagging first-trimester symptoms (or side effects, as I prefer to call them). I'm tired a lot. My understanding and patient husband has been wonderful letting me sleep in every morning as he walks the dog, take naps in the afternoon while ... he walks the dog. And my lunch time naps are a little more necessary than they used to be.

I'm hungry a lot. I can't eat a lot in one sitting, but I have to eat every two hours. If I don't, nausea starts setting in, which is an awful feeling. I'm quite thankful I don't have traditional morning sickness, as many of my friends have had. I haven't thrown up once and I'm able to be at work on time every day (well, I WOULD be on time if it weren't for the tiredness that makes it so hard to get out of bed). I've just learned its good to have saltines with me wherever I go.

Speaking of food, I'm not really craving much. But there are a few things I haven't really wanted ... like coffee (WEIRD) and too much sweet stuff (WEIRDER). I baked a double batch of chocolate chip cookies last week and never even taste tested a single one. Pregnancy is a strange strange world.

I have a couple of the more obscure side effects that I find interesting. Every afternoon, like clockwork, I get this weird metal taste in my mouth. There's not much I can do but wait for it to go away, which usually happens by dinner time. I also have a stuffy nose. At first I thought I had a cold, and even stayed home from work on Monday this week to try and kick it quickly. But it never spread beyond the stuffy nose, and I still have it several days later. I've since learned this is not only a normal pregnancy symptom, but even has a name ... rhinitis something (I'll look it up later). It can last all 9 months of pregnancy. Good nose-blowing fun.

I had my first doctor's appointment yesterday, and he says everything is good and healthy. He says I can do whatever I feel like doing, except snow skiing and water skiing. "Right," I say. And I can eat anything but fish that are at the top of the food chain. "But I was going to have Great White shark for dinner!" I really like my doctor, which is an awesome blessing. He started yesterday's appointment by sitting down and just chatting with me about pregnancy, what to expect and what not to eat or do. It was great.

The one entertaining part of yesterday's doctor's appointment was getting my blood drawn by the trainee. Oh yes, trainee. She actually did a fine job, but her constant questioning of her supervisor about whether or not she was doing it right didn't exactly put me at ease. At least all ended well.

I'm about 7 1/2 weeks along, so this is all still really new. And honestly, it hasn't totally sunk in. I think I'll feel freer to really start planning and preparing once I'm past the first trimester, the most tenuous part of pregnancy. That will be around Thanksgiving. My biggest dilemma right now is what to do with a little spending money I have ... I want clothes, but why buy something that won't fit me in a couple months? I don't know what to do, and don't even feel much like shopping (again, WEIRD).

So, Caleb and I are about to be parents ... whether or not we're ready or in any way prepared. Go us!