I'm a female. I'm 32 and I'm 20 weeks pregnant with my first child. My husband and I currently live in Lousiville, Kentucky. Together we have 3 cats - Oscar (6), Rocky (6) and CoCo (5). The cats even have a stroller and two of them have websites, but don't tell the third one that. By the time you get to the third one you stop taking pictures all together and websites and "fan clubs" for the little darlings don't even enter your mind. The same is probably true for kids and maybe someday I'll find out.
Currently in the house, the cats rule. But we all know that by the end of August, that is going to change. When we announced our pregnancy to friends and family through Facebook, we did so with a fake press release in which the cats even got to make their own statement:
For Immediate Release
February 23, 2009
New Venture: Pregnancy now in Second Trimester!
(Louisville, KY) – Today, Emily and Achim proudly announced that the couple will take on a new venture and officially enter parenthood in late August or early September of 2009.
“We’re really excited for this time in our lives and are looking forward to becoming parents!” said Emily.
“We had been planning to take this step this year and are just so happy to finally be able to share our news with everyone,” added Achim.
The couple discovered the pregnancy just before Christmas and recently passed the three month mark. At a check-up today, the baby’s heartbeat could be heard loud and clear.
“It was amazing,” said Achim. “It sounded like the squeaking of a bed. I’m not sure what that entirely means, though.”
The timing of conception has been traced back to Emily and Achim’s long-delayed honeymoon to South Africa in late November, qualifying this pregnancy as an “Obama-baby.”
“After being able to play a small role in a very big Election Day for our party and our nation, I guess our excitement and optimism got to us,” said Emily. “I’m sure the beauty of South Africa and the relaxation of not having nine meetings and eight conference calls the next day didn’t hurt, either.”
The gender of the baby is not yet known, but we do plan to find out within the next six weeks. Additionally, we continue to exercise, work and play competitive UNO.
The couple’s three cats, Oscar, Rocky and Coco, responded with a joint statement, “We are very excited about the opportunity to have a younger brother or sister but it is critical that we maintain the same benefits we have been receiving to date. Adding to the family does not mean existing family members should expect less attention or treats. We look forward to negotiating with family management and hopefully avoiding any sort of hostage situation.”
It will be an adjustment for them, for sure.
We generally call the baby "Barf" because it seems to like to make me throw up all the time. For instance, three times today. But I give Barf credit because it has been a good two weeks since I've had to hurl and spend the day on the couch watching TLC's Baby Story and The First 36 Hours, like I did today. I don't feel good about wasting my day away like that, especially when my husband is working out of his office downstairs and I know he knows what I'm up too. But if one thing is true about pregnancy, it's that you can't make yourself do anything your body doesn't want to do. You can't push yourself anymore.
Barf's gender status is currently unknown. We do want to find out. In fact, we are supposed to know already. But good old Barf didn't cooperate at the 20 week ultrasound and the ruling was that Barf is definitley a girl or a boy but "it's too close to call." Barf sat with legs crossed and umbilical cord inbetween the legs for the 20 minute ultrasound. I know it's the last "big surprise" in the world, the gender of your baby and wouldn't it be special to wait to find out...but I'm a planner. I want to know, at least the first time around.
I mean..what if I'm growing a little penis inside of me. I need some time to think this through and how I feel about it. If it's a girl, I have to think about the college and the wedding we will have to pay for and readjust my "there goes our retirement" attutude.
