Our baby story – Part One: “Surprise, I’m pregnant”

(BloggerDad.com turned two months old on Saturday – still wearing a diaper, but at least no longer pooping all over the place. I’ve decided now would be a good time to tell you a story about another baby – my son. I’ll spare you the conception story – I’m saving that for the ‘Member’s Only Pay Section’ :)

Instead, we’ll start with the day I found out I was going to be a father and we’ll work our way forward over the course of the week. Each day I’ll also ask you to share your story.)

My wife and I married in 2002. I was 32, she was 29. We both wanted children, though I always saw kids as something that would be nice to have… someday. You know, like a large screen TV or a Ferrari. In other words, I was in no rush. Women, however, are a little less cavalier about the matter. You know, the whole biological clock and all that womanly stuff I don’t pretend to comprehend.

We started trying to have a baby in late 2005 or so. It took some time and it was a bit frustrating for us. I’m pretty sure my sperm were holding out in attempts to “save me” from a life of fatherhood and parental responsibility. Eventually, they lost their battle and one of my swimmers found themselves lost in the deep end of the pool, saying, “uh, oh.”

Surprise!

I’ll never forget how my wife surprised me with the news. However, our recollections of the moment differ.

It was August 2006. I’d just come back home from visiting my friend in South Florida. My wife and I were standing in the kitchen and were about to go out to eat for my birthday dinner. She left the room for a moment, then came back and handed me a long jewelry box. I thought to myself, “oh crap, she got me a watch for my birthday! She knows I don’t like to wear watches. Man, I’m going to feel like a jerk if she picks up on my disappointment.”

I opened the box, mentally preparing to plaster a big fat smile on my face. Instead, a look of confusion washed over my mug.

“Is this a thermometer?” I asked, holding the pregnancy test in my hand. My mind hadn’t made the connection to what I was holding. It was seeing two plus two and coming up with 9,875. It’s kind of like seeing a canary in your refrigerator. You don’t expect to see a canary, so your brain takes a second to register what you’re looking at.

“No,” she said.

And then it hit me.

I saw the two lines.

“You’re pregnant?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said.

Now, here is where our accounts dovetail into two different stories – hers and the truth. ( I kid!)

What I remember:

Me saying something, though I can’t recall what, and hugging her.

What she remembers:

Me standing silent for an eternity, as if I’d just witnessed a jetliner crash into a school bus parked inches from a church/orphanage on a Sunday.

While our accounts differ, I do remember what I thought when she told me. It went something like this:

“RUN! Run as far and as fast as you can!”

No, not really.

So what DID I think? What did I do? Find out tomorrow in part two.

So, now it’s your turn. How did you either tell your significant other of your first pregnancy together or if you’re a guy, how did your girlfriend/wife/secretary tell you?

Click below to continue reading Our Baby Story.

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25 Responses to Our baby story – Part One: “Surprise, I’m pregnant”

  1. CK Lunchbox says:

    “Nice to have one day…” I was hoping to at least go through the dog phase before kids – skipped right over it. With my son #2, mom kept getting sick. We thought it was because the new fridge we purchased wasn’t cooling right and the food was going bad. Mom called Sears and gave them hell which resulted in an upgraded fridge. However, several days later she still was sick and decided to go to the doctor. Turns out it wasn’t the fridge at all… you can guess the rest.

    Congrats on the two month birthday (oh, and being a dad too)

    CK Lunchboxs last blog post..Reason or Doubt?

  2. Writer Dad says:

    I knew Daisy was pregnant about two weeks before she did. We had to get a pregnancy test for her to believe it, but it was only confirmation for me. Her side of the story’s the same.

    Writer Dads last blog post..Forty Days and Forty Nights

  3. You do know she had to pee on that stick right Blogger Dad? You didn’t grab it and dance around with it before picking up a sandwich, right?
    And I suspect CK’s story is going to win hands down – just brilliant!

    Tara@From Dawn Till Rusks last blog post..Things that make me go WOW! #1

  4. Sal says:

    My wife got really sick. I mean, really sick. She went to the Dr. (I was in the Navy at the time and some of the doctors, aren’t the brightest crayon in the box if you know what I mean) and the Dr. said it looked like she had food poisoning. So he perscribed her some antibiotics and some medicine to help her get some sleep. She called me at work and told me she was going to get the medicine and go lay down.

    About 30 minutes later she called back. Apparently the Dr. office called and told her not to take the medicine and to come back in immediately. Right then I knew. But I also knew that she wasn’t really ready to give up her social life. I am 4 years older than her and was ready to settle down and start a family. I told her to go ahead and give me a call when she got out of the Dr. office.

    She called me back and I swear there was about 5 minutes of silence on the other end, while I had a huge grin on my face and kept asking her what the doctor said. She finally blurted out that we were (read she was) pregnant. This, after 5 other doctors told her she wouldn’t get pregnant due to some medical issues. Go figure. I knew being Italian had something to do with it.

    Sals last blog post..Mass Hysteria Starts At Home

  5. that is a really creative way to tell you. I told my hubby over the phone while he was at work.

  6. Trish says:

    We were doing Chlomid (a fertility drug), counting days, taking temps, and we were on month six of a six month—”if something doesn’t happen by then we’ll go to the next step.”
    I felt bad at work all day, kind of crampy and just feeling ‘off’. When I got home I called my husband and asked him what he thought I should do. Following his directions I went to Wal~Mart and bought a hpt. When I called him back he answered the phone and I said: “Hi Daddy” to which he replied: “You’re sh*tting me!?”

  7. Kyddryn says:

    Boring, me – I simply called and told him…right after I called my Mum and my best friend. Priorities.

    Shade and Sweetwater,
    K

    Kyddryns last blog post..Bwahahahah!

  8. Maha says:

    OMG – love your writing. The humor is great! Anyway, although I told my husband I was pregnant (I think it was over the phone after confirmation from the lab), I don’t think he believed me until our son popped out. I think he believed it a little more the second time around, but still needed the baby for confirmation.

  9. orlund says:

    My wife handed me a book called Dad’s Advice or something like that (don’t have it with me right now) that is filled with Dad’s sayings like “If it’s not broken don’t fix it”. In side she wrote something nice. (hope my wife doesn’t read this comment cause I forgot what she wrote).

    The crazy part is I didn’t think it would happen that quick. I was looking forward to “trying” for a while.

    orlunds last blog post..Giggles And Wiggles

  10. Blogger Dad says:

    CK Lunchbox – LOL. Did you call Sears to give them hell on the baby, too? Hey, I just wanted an upgraded fridge!

    Writer Dad – What are you, psychic?

    Tara – No, but I did use it as a stir stick.

    Sal – LOL. Wow, I can’t believe they missed it at first. Glad things worked out well for you both.

    Jen – LOL. He doesn’t work on scaffolding while building skyscrapers, does he?

    Trish – LOL, all the best stories end with, “you’re sh*tting me”. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

    K – snoooze…. J/k. Thank you for sharing.

    Maha – Thank you. LOL, yeah, some guys refuse to believe even AFTER the baby is born.

    Orlund – LOL, “trying” is fun.

  11. Ok, now I want to read CK’s answer, but he must still be in bed. :)

    With each one of mine, I swear I knew the next morning. I felt possessed. :) I was scared to death to tell my husband each time. I usually cried, he usually looked like he was about to puke. But in the end, it all worked out for good.

    Jamie Simmermans last blog post..The Cure for Depression: Nick Vujicic

  12. LizP says:

    Darned if I can remember! It was two kids and 4 years ago. I do remember taking a picture of the pregnancy test though. For #2 I told hubby to drive to Walmart (rather than home). He wanted to know why and I told him he’d figure it out soon enough.

    LizPs last blog post..04/05/08 Good Advice

  13. Scott says:

    Wha…You’ve seen a canary in your refrigerator!? :) jk
    My then future ex-wife pretty much just said, I’m pregnant. It was sweet.
    -Scott

    Scotts last blog post..Hey, How is Your Day Going?

  14. Mom/Mum says:

    Loved your story. And CK’s was so funny!
    With us, 1st baby was a ‘surprise’ – I was on the pill at the time. My hubs (or boyfriend as he was then) kept saying ‘I think you’re pregnant’ (because I’d gone off my usual favourite beers) but I poo-poo-ed the idea. It was actually my BF who made me go to the pharmacy and buy a test.
    Me and the hubs-to-be did it together- I was very nervous. (obviously it was just me doing the peeing, not him you understand)We did 3 test as I just couldn’t believe them!
    We were both v quiet after the realisation dawned on us, (I was inwardly panicking that he was going to leave me because he wasn’t saying anything) then he gets up off the stairs where he’d been pondering, and envelopes me in THE biggest hug and tells me he couldn’t think of a more perfect girl to have children with….
    S W O O N! I had to marry him after that.

    Mom/Mums last blog post..The Queen speaks!

  15. Oktober Five says:

    Don’t tell my wife, but I don’t really remember. I think she just told me, “Hey, I’m pregnant.” And I was like, “Yeah, ok. Um, could you move a little to the left? You’re blocking the game.”

    No, it wasn’t like that at all! But I still can’t remember.

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  18. I have to go back 24 years ago! But basically, it probably went along the lines of the pregancy test came back positive (those were the days you went to the doctor for your test and they killed a rabbit or something). He said “Hurray!” and that was that. And then I get violently ill for 3 months, but you didn’t ask for that horror story, so I’ll spare you the details.

    Urban Panthers last blog post..Friar asked and I’m answering

  19. tjwriter says:

    With my first, I woke up at about four one morning and peed on a stick as I was late for my period. Once the lines showed up I went and woke the husband up. While he was excited, he was not thrilled that I woke him so early as he had to work a 12 hour shift that night.

    Of course, later that day he said something completely benign to me, and I ended up in the bathroom, sitting down on the floor in the corner by the tub, bawling my eyes out.

    tjwriters last blog post..Some Gut-Wrenching, Soul-Spilling Truth

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  21. Eric Hamm says:

    “how did your girlfriend/wife/secretary tell you?”
    I love you’re subtle, yet 500 pound gorilla kind of humor! :-)

    I was with my wife both times she ‘took the test’. The first time, we had a miscarriage at 12 weeks and this, the second time, we are currently at 11. But last time we never heard a heart beat and we were now able to see the peanut, heart beat and all. So we’re hoping this one works out.

    Either way, the experience is pretty intense. Eric.

    Eric Hamms last blog post..To Another 33 Years!

  22. Jen says:

    Well, funny story that is indeed. When my husband and I decided we wanted to have our first it was the summer of 2003 and I went off the pill thinking we have a few months. Wrong. Insta-pregnancy here we come. So school was about to start, my parents were moving into a new house and one random Friday I took a test. Then I took 3 more. Holy crap they all were positive. That was fast. I didn’t have a good time to tell Chris the news that day but he knew I was going to take a test soon. So the next morning as we are driving through Burger King on the way to my parents house to help them pack/move he says, “So, you know that thing? Did anything come of that?” And as I’m not one to lie, I said, “Umm, yeah. I’m pregnant.” After an eternity of stunned silence, he laughed at the ridiculousness of where we were then hugged me and we went on to help my parents move. It was intriguing to watch him wrestle with this new found knowledge without doing anything to tip any one else off. We still laugh about that today.

    Jens last blog post..a sad day, indeed

  23. Blogger Dad says:

    Sorry to everyone that it took so long to get back to this post. Somehow, I missed the email reminders to check out the comments.

    Jamie – possessed. LOL, good way to describe it.

    LizP – LOL.

    Scott – Yes, canaries are prone to hang around in my fridge where all the treats are.

    Mom/Mum – Aw, that is sweet. Thanks for sharing.

    Oktober 5 – LOL.

    Urban Panther – on behalf of everyone, thank you for sparing us the vomit stories.

    Tjwriter – LOL, pregnancy and emotions are one of life’s little rollercoasters.

    Eric – Thanks for stopping by. And thanks for picking up on that line which was one of my favorites. Sometimes I wonder if people pick up on the subtle ones. Best of luck to you and your wife this time around. I think it would have killed my wife to have had a miscarriage. Thanks for sharing your story.

    Jen – Thank you for sharing. I like that you took three more. That’s funny. If I were a woman, I’d take 20 tests and STILL not be certain.

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  25. Sofia says:

    My kids r wonderful and perfect for me and my husband our firstdaughter is 11 her name is Olivia she wasborn October 12,1998.We now had another baby girl Katie who is now a month old she was born October 1,2010. Theyare WONDERFUL!!!!!.