Surprise! I'm pregnant!

I would be lying if I said happiness was the first emotion that swept over me the day I peered at the white, plastic stick teetering on the edge of my bathroom sink and literally saw my life change before my eyes. There was that beautiful blue plus sign, but where was my elation?

Instead, there were just so many questions: How are we going to afford a baby? Is it smarter for my husband, Morgan, to stay in the Army after all? How are we going to renovate and sell our house before my due date? What about our upcoming, long-over due honeymoon to Aruba? Is that a chocolate bar over there?

And concerns: I don’t want to give birth in a military hospital. I hope my holiday drinking didn’t have an adverse effect on the fetus.

The positive test result at least explained my bloated belly, incessant headaches and psychotic episodes (sorry, honey).

It’s been three weeks since I found out I was pregnant. Since then I’ve chosen an amazing nurse-midwife named Julie to be my care provider, I’ve had my first ultrasound and I've heard my baby’s strong heart beat. I’ve felt the tendons around my stomach pull and stretch, winced at how sore my swelling breasts are and relished in my skin’s new dewy glow.

As each day goes by, I fall more and more in love with my unborn son or daughter and with the idea of being a mother.

Ask me what I want to have -- a boy or a girl -- and I’ll tell you, “I want a healthy baby.”

Monday I go in for my 12-week check-up. That’s when Julie and her staff will conduct the various screening tests such as a nuchal translucency screening and triple and quadruple screening tests. These screening tests will determine our chances of having a child with Down syndrome, trisomy 18 and other chromosomal abnormalities.

Now, I know some people decline these tests because they simple don’t want to know if something's wrong with their baby. That's their choice, but Morgan and I talked it over and we both feel it’s important to have them done to prepare for the road ahead.

Tell me your feelings on screening tests. Would you want to know? Did you have the tests done when you were pregnant? Are you a first time mother-to-be?

Welcome to my blog! Please continue to follow me on my journey to first-time motherhood. This will be a multi-media blog that contains pictures, helpful and interesting links and video (thanks to my new HD Flip Cam).

My next post will tell the story of a woman (who may or may not be me) who thought she was six weeks pregnant when she was really 10. I'll also share with you how my second ultrasound went (hopefully I can bring my Flip Cam into the room and record the images and heart beat), and also when I plan to tell my employers and human resources about the pregnancy.

Oh and did I fail to mention MY due date? It's Aug. 22, the day after my mom's birthday.