When life gives you a lemon...

We've got ourselves a lemon, folks! (For those of you keeping score on the produce scale, last week was a peach. Don't ask me why lemons are bigger than peaches... apparently I need to pay more attention next time I visit the grocery store. But for now, I'll take our little Lemon Loughman!) As I enter the second trimester, I thought I'd recap the first. Here are the top 5 questions I've heard since announcing the news.


1. How are you feeling?!
I feel great! I threw up exactly zero times. My biggest pregnancy symptom was probably feeling tired all the time. Oh, and that pregnancy glow they talk about? Mine was more like pregnancy zits. I'm still waiting on that glow. Let me know if you see it.
2. When did you find out?!
July 5th, the day after running the Peachtree Road Race for the first time. To be completely honest, I had a pretty strong hint around mile 5, strong enough that I took a test the next day. Regardless of the hunch, it was still shocking to actually see the words pop up on the test. Oh, and I strongly recommend the digital read-out that will tell you in plain English one way or another. See? Nice and obvious. You'll still have to look at it four or five times before you believe it though.
3. Are you showing yet?
Only after I eat. So I'm not sure that counts. In the morning, I look normal. By lunch, it looks like I swallowed a cantaloupe. Maybe by the time the baby is actually the size of a cantaloupe, I'll look officially pregnant, and not like I just lost self-control at the McDonald's drive-thru.
4. Any cravings?
Um, dessert? But I always want dessert. I've been a little obsessed with Caesar salads lately. The other day I really wanted a hamburger. But none of the weird pickles-and-ice-cream people always talk about.
5. Can I touch your belly?
Okay, this one isn't true. People don't ask. They just swoop in and start rubbing. It's not a magic lamp, people. And as you can see from number 3 above, there's not much there, folks! Right now, you're just feeling some chub, and perhaps my McDonald's lunch. (Although when Tatum put his hand over my belly and intoned "blessings," I really did feel blessed.)

And now, things I'm looking forward to in the second trimester. A real belly. Maternity clothes (or rather, shopping for them). The X or Y results! Ten fingers and ten toes. Getting to park in the expectant mothers space at Kroger without getting dirty looks.

Hello Week 13! No new ultra sound pictures this week, but Amoeba had another excellent heartbeat at our checkup. (Future mommy is doing okay too, but we all know who the real star of the show is now.) But because we can't get enough of our peach (yep, baby is peach-sized on the produce comparison scale), here is a picture from four weeks ago.

If I am pregnant, I will feel...

A word of wisdom should you ever find yourself in a university health center for a pregnancy test. Be prepared. And don't worry if no one initially jumps to the "congrats!"

After taking a home test the night before, I scheduled an appointment at UGA's health center the next day (coincidentally, the first day of July classes). Once there, I had to take an online survey answering the question "If I am pregnant, I will feel..." The options included: happy, sad, nervous, confused, devastated, terrified, etc. One lone positive emotion, followed by a range of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad feelings. A little strange, but at least my choice was pretty easy to make.

Next, the nurse took me to a room for the blood pressure, scale, temperature routine. Once in there, she gave me a careful look. "So..." she asked hesitantly, "were you trying to get pregnant?" When I assured her that yes, we did this on purpose, she looked relieved.

After the test, I'm in yet another room, waiting on the results. I was pretty confident, but still. Finally the doctor walked in. Again, the careful look. "So..." she started, hovering reluctantly near the door, "...congratulations???" "YAY!" I said with a big grin. And only then did the doctor smile back.

Then I realized. It is a university health center, after all. I guess they're not used to happy reactions to the positive news. Plus, once they realized I was glad, they were all very nice and congratulatory. Good times!