FYI:

“This is day number 40 and you’re 6 weeks pregnant!You have 240 days or 34 weeks left, and are 15.0% of the way there.Baby’s age since conception is 26 days or 4 weeks. You are due on 10/19/2005.

The first heartbeats have begun! The heart is dividing into chambers and will soon find a more regular rhythm. The embryo itself is about a quarter of an inch long and looks more like a tadpole than a human. It undergoes a tremendous growth spurt this week. Major organs, including the kidneys and liver, begin to grow. Your baby is smaller than a grain of rice, with a beating heart aboutthe size of a poppy seed.”

To regular readers, it may have appeared that I have not been doing much blogging over the past week. Despite appearances, I have been doing a decent amount of blogging, but have been unable to POST any of it because of the fact that I am aware that my parents read this blog. But now the secret’s out of the bag, so all is revealed. To catch up on what an eventful week this has been, please check the following newly posted entries:

Testing, Testing, 1-2-3 (2/14)
Going Digital (2/14)
Valentine’s Surprise (2/14)
Good News (2/15)
Like Wow (2/15)
“An-ti-ci-pa-tion…” (insert music here) (2/17)
Brilliant! (2/18)
Announcements (2/18)

PS: I think last night was a whopping success. Both sets of new grandparents are very excited and are now debating over who gets to be “Grandpa” etc. My dad had that giddy smile on his face the whole night and would spontaneously burst into giggles on occasion. I love that. I have to admit that while I’m still warming up to the whole idea, it does help to watch everone else be so excited.

Today is the day that the parents find out they’re going to be grandparents. We mailed a package to J’s parents that had matching Mariners T-shirts in Mens, Womens, and Baby size. The package is scheduled to be delivered at 7:00 tonight so we’ll probably be getting a phone call sometime around then.
We have the same set-up for my parents (except they’re Rangers T-shirts) and hopefully will get to deliver the goods and the news tonight, but are unsure because by some irritating coincidence, this is the busiest week of my parents’ lives. Dad has been out of town all week on business and they both have activities and committments scheduled over the weekend. So we’re hoping they will be available for dinner tonight when he gets in, since it looks like he’s going to cancel one of his previous arrangements. But it’s tough to say “hey, we need you guys to set aside some time together so we can tell you something VERY IMPORTANT” without giving away the surprise. Especially since my mom asks me if I’m pregnant every time I eat a banana and a pickle within half an hour of each other.
So we’re stuck with “hey, are you guys available for dinner, just because, since we haven’t seen you all week?” Doesn’t exactly inspire “drop everything and go” action, but what can you do.
This has been a very news-filled week. In addition to finding out that our family is growing, two of my closest friends got engaged. One is having a family-only wedding in April, so I don’t have to worry about that, but my best friend wants to get married in August. Translate as “my best friend wants to get married when I’m round, fat and grumpy.” WHY???
And have you seen the available maternity brides maid dresses? UGH. I hope I don’t have to take a black sharpie to all her wedding pictures.

So we’re hoping to buy a house when our lease expires in June. There’s just a small problem with the downpayment, or lack thereof. But never fear, being the ingenious people we are, we have devised a way to raise the funds neccessary for our dream house.

We can put our baby’s name up for auction on Ebay.

We think this prospect could easily bring in a few hundred thousand dollars, and would be a spectacular deal for the company who paid for the advertisement, because unlike the guy who auctioned off his forehead for 3 months, this advertising could last like 85 years! It would be at least 18 years before the kid could legally change his/her name, right?

And if your name is Frito Lay, you’re bound to get some attention, so the company wouldn’t have to worry about guaranteed exposure.

Are we brilliant or what?

I’m intentionally delaying the setting of my first pre-natal doctors appointment. I think the biggest problem with this whole pregnancy thing is my inate phobia of pain. And upon reading this…

“This will probably be the longest visit you have with your doctor or midwife (unless you encounter problems along the way)…At your initial appointment your doctor or midwife will take your family history, and give you a thorough physical, including a pelvic exam. You will also get a Pap smear to test for cervical cancer. Routine blood tests are taken to identify your blood type, Rh factor, and whether you’re deficient in iron. You will also be tested for immunity to German measles (rubella) as well as for sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis. Depending on your ethnic background and medical history, you may also be tested for sickle-cell anemia, Tay-Sachs disease, and thalassemia.”

That’s medical terminology for “they’re going to stick me.” And this is the part where I run and hide under the nearest examination table.

I hate needles. Hate them. They are one of the few things in life that can actually make me cry in public, which is embarrasing and frustrating and makes me hate them even more. This first appointment sounds like it will include a lot of needles. And a pap smear. FAN-TAST-IC.