Is it strange that I have saved these reminders of the moment I learned I was to become a mother for the first, second or third time? That I even saved the one that came out negative?
I don't know. I don't know why I just don't throw them away. Once, when I was early-on pregnant with Tukey, and not showing, I toted Ajers and Diva into the drycleaners to pick up hubby's suits and crisp, medium-starched shirts.
"You pregnant?" The cute little Chinese lady asked.
Oh my God, I was like six weeks pregnant, not telling anyone, yet here this little lady must have been able to tell, or maybe she was psychic?
I touched my belly, and asked, "You can tell already?"
"No," she said. "I found this in the laundry you brought." She showed me the test stick, one I had written on. She knew it belonged to us.
"Can I have it back?" I asked. I don't know why I wanted it back. Like maybe the sticks are symbolic of my pregnancies. Maybe I'll give them away as gifts to the kids on their eighteenth birthdays, or their wedding days, or the day they tell me that I will become a grandmother. I don't know.
I kept a journal throughout each of my pregnancies. Here are the entries on the days I discovered I was pregnant with each one:
Ajers. February 26, 1997, Wednesday:
I was looking for this spiral last night cuz I had an entry I wanted to start this journal with. Simply "No blood yet." Today is day 37 of my last period, and we were hoping to be pregnant but weren't going to take a test till Saturday. But S called me at work today and said he had a favor to ask. He wanted us to take the test tonight. So we did, and we are!
Finally, since July we've been trying. It was starting to get frustrating, but you're finally here, inside me, inside us! I told myself I would never do it, but we ran to the bookstore and looked at books. According to one, our due date is October 28, 1997. Too cool. I felt nauseous (I can't spell that word) all day Monday before we knew but I was afraid I was psyching myself out. My thoughts are of everything, and of nothing. I am calling S "Daddio." We are not telling anyone yet which is going to be maddening! I have a doctor appointment March 7 that I had scheduled before cuz I was thinking I needed to talk to the doctor cuz it took a while for that one good spermie to fly through the tube but it's there!
So, I bought a corny book and am going to read some now. How old are you now? Last period was January 21 - 37 days - they count from that day - are you five weeks old? We did the ovulation test this month and it musta really worked -- plus we did 'it' five days in a row. I think conception was February 7. That's what I'm saying anyway. Now I have to start worrying about ectopic or miscarriage. Please bless us with a healthy baby. WE CAN'T WAIT TO BE A MOMMY AND DADDY! Bye for now. Love, Your soon to be Mommy.
Diva. September 1, 1998; 10:30 p.m. Tuesday:
Well, I guess I'll just write. It's only fair that I document the first nine months of our second baby's life as I did for Ajers. We're pregnant! Blessed with #2. God willing, I pray this will be just as successful as Ajers pregnancy. I kind of had a feeling but wasn't sure. Today is Day 39 of the cycle since the last period, which started July 25. I went to Eckerd's and was going to buy either tampons or a pregnancy test. I chose the latter item. When I got home, I asked S if I should take the test and he said to wait a couple days but I was anxious. I asked him if he wanted to come watch the results. I didn't pee on the stick too much so I thought maybe it wasn't working. Then, the double line showed up. My comment: "We're fucking pregnant!" I laughed when I said it. It seems so unbelievable right now. It took seven months to conceive Ajers and it took practically nothing for this one...
Sidenote: The name I had written down that very night for a girl is the name of our daughter; I never wavered on that throughout the whole pregnancy.
Tukey, December 21, 2000, Thursday:
Okay, Baby #3, God-willing, here you come! I can't even believe that we are pregnant with our third child! I am just as excited as with your brother and your sister. I truly did not think I was pregnant, but we are. Oh man! My last period was November 16 and so today marks 36 days and the end of the fifth week already. I pray that you are well inside me, growing safely and strongly. Your name, if you're a boy is already decided. If you're a daughter, we've got some thinking. I love the name Elise, but not as a first name, although Lecey would be a cute nickname. We like Shane for a girl - have to go with an Irish flair. Maybe we'd just make up another name like we did for your sister! This was our second month of trying and we did it 13 days in a row. I know, you don't need to know this stuff! I am so excited! I don't feel any symptoms right now...I am excited and so very thankful that you are in my life, my womb, already. God bless you my baby, my special one!
Those are my sticks & stories. Do you have one to share? Did you keep the stick?
23 comments:
thankfully so far all mine have only had one line *phew!* but when I do want (and hopefully get!) that second line, I will totally keep them. I thought I was going to get two a few months back, even though timing, guy, everything else woulda been not quite right, I was kinda disappointed :( ever since I realised how old I was turning this year (which really isn't THAT old in the grand scheme of things), my biological clock has been ticking so damn loud. how old were you when you had Ajers? (if I can ask lol)
Nicola, I have no secrets from you! I was 28 for Ajers, 30 for Diva and 32 for Tukey. (I was pregnant at some point during each of these years: 1997, 98, 99, 00, and 01!)
If I could rewind and be 34 now, and have Tukey be only 2, I would go for a fourth, but alas, I am on the other side of mid-thirty now, and have finally gotten back into fitful sleeping!
I saved the test from when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. When I found I was pregnant with my son I was at my doctor's office because I thought I had a really severe case of stomach flu.
Awwww ... I think it's cute that you saved them! It's totally something I would do. (But not for a LONG, LONG time!! LOL)
it's nice that you kept them...i think.
maybe you can string them into some type of necklace ;)
do you have sonogram photos, too?
Does keeping scorecards from golf courses I've played and programs from sporting events I've attended count?
They have little significance to finding out we were pregnant.
Some do have memories associated with them...such as watching the Yankees play ball while on vacation or our favorite college football team winning on the last play of the game on my wife's birthday.
Pregnancy test sticks....interesting idea. Would it make for a good coffee table book?
Not to that point in my life yet, although I don't see myself keeping them.
ha! i thought i was the only wack job who kept them! my two positive tests (for each of my kids; with dates written on them) are buried in my bathroom cupboards somewhere. thanks for the memories!
I think it's sweet, but I'm too much of a germaphobe to keep those. LOL
Sweet entry. Are you going to show the entries to the kids when they're older?
Princess--stomach flu, son, same difference! LOL.
Swish--I wanna be a godmother!
Hotwire--Necklace--good idea! And I do have sonogram pics of the kids, but funny, I couldn't tell you where those are, but I know where the sticks are! And hubby wrote me a letter after each child was born, written from the child, and each one made me weep like a nut, and I've got all three of those letters framed in their bedrooms. Maybe I should post those!
R Martini said: Does keeping scorecards from golf courses I've played and programs from sporting events I've attended count?
Manic said: I don't know R, did you pee on them??!?!?!? Oh God, I am so hysterically amusing!
B--you never know until ya pee and there's that double line staring ya smack right in the face, if you'll keep 'em or not. I guess I thought if I threw them away it would be bad luck. I dunno.
Kara--Here's to a fellow whack job! And I thought I was the only person who used that phrase! (Although you see I spell whack "whack" while you spell whack "wack."
Andie--didn't you see that Survivor episode where one guy got bit by something in the ocean and the way to cleanse the wound was for another Survivor member to pee on the injury? Urine is sterile, completely clean and safe! No germs there! So, when it happens, keep the stick. If anything else, you'll probably be peeing on it one day, and think, "Oh God, Manic Mom and her stupid superstitions!"
I kept all of mine too, and at the very beginngin of each pregnancy, when you don't look pregnant or feel it, I would constantly look at it "Yep, pregnant. Still pregnant." as if the stick would magically change if, god forbid, something should happen.
Yes, I have all the ultrasound pictures too.
You realize of course that your kids are going to figure out you had sex. This may cause some trauma.
Steph~
Your journal entries are so precious! You are such a good mommy! I thought I was the only crazy person who saved my sticks! I only saved the positive ones though or I'd have enough to build a pregnancy stick house, I'd take a test if I was like an hour late! :) I broke mine apart because and taped the paper with the two positive lines into the boy's babybooks. I figured they wouldn't want the stick since I probably peed all over it! :)
hugs,
the other steph
I don't have my stick...but we did take pictures of it. :)
I do wish I had kept a pregnancy journal...but I'm not so good at journaling. Maia will have to make due with scattered blog posts and my date book to see the story of her pregnancy...but I have a t-shirt with her first sonogram picture on it.
I know if we got pregnant my honey would want to keep the sticks. He kept a toenail that was removed on a string to frighten his neices and nephews.. Somehow I misplaced it when I moved in...
But alas kids are not in the cards for me, unless we special order one later down the road, when we have more money..honey does still like to dream every now and again though and so do I. We believe in miracles!
Well I think it's neat you saved those sticks. It's like having kept your first memorable thing from a first date. Weird to think you keep things you pee on, but I totally understand!
Funny ... think you are the first person I have come across who keeps the sticks! Great work on having interesting hobbies.
Cheers
Can you imagine if I kept condoms? Ewwwwwwwwwwwww!
I'm really boring I've never kept the sticks, and to be honest (no offense here) it just grosses me out a bit, only because I have this yuck factor with body fluids, I've kept a journal for the first, attempted the second and had no time for the third? I suspect the third child will spend years in therapy over this.... :(
RR
I'm a pregnancy stick pack rat myself. In fact your post compelled me to pull mine out and write a post about it. Thanks for the memories.
That is such a sweet entry! :)
so i dont know if i am freaking myself out but i am pretty sure that i am pregnant...and your entry was amazing lol i was balling my eyes out..i need to go buy another test i took one 3 days ago but it was negative :(
Oh ANON!!! It's comments like yours that I wish were NOT ANON!!! I do hope things work out for you! As you can see, this is a post I had written a very long time ago, but I still get updates when people leave comments! I Hope you came back here to see if I replied, and if you did, please let me know how things turn out! Good luck, God Bless!
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