May 14th 2009

I had mentioned how on Mother's Day 2009 I was walking around the park thinking to myself how one day I would love to be a mother. I had no idea that it was already starting. The week leading up to May 14th 2009 should have been been a clear signal to me that something was going on.

-I was listening to a mix I made for my friend's baby girl and would always cry when "To Zion" by Lauryn Hill came on. I listened to "When I Grow Up (to be a man)" by The Beach Boys on repeat as well.

-My mom mentioned, out of the blue, how someone in our family was going to have a baby soon (I'm telling you Dominican Voodoo lady).

-My dad called me saying how it would be nice if Joel and I had a baby soon so we would move closer to family (to which I replied, "daaaaaaaad, I'm not having a baby!!!!").

-My mom kept telling me that she had an extra pack and play from work and if only I was pregnant then she could get one for me.

I had a doctor's appointment at 3:30pm on the 14th and I truly felt that I wasn't pregnant but I was going to tell him that I was late. I had to share this info because of the blood pressure medication I was on. He immediately wanted me to get blood work done and was already looking into an alternative prescription, all the while I am telling him, "I'm TOTALLY not pregnant". The nurses told me just to go take an at home pregnancy test.

When I met up with Joel after the appointment I definitely said something along the lines of, "So, yeah guess what I have to go do now?". We laughed all the way to Target to pick up the cheapest pregnancy test we could find. I took one out of the box peed on it and after 5 minutes without an answer I realized I did it wrong. Out of all the times NOT to read the instructions. Joel was forcing water down my throat so I could go try again. I was all, "chill man, please". I waited 20 minutes or so to take the other & last test in the package and actually did what I was supposed to do. Bam, Bam, Bam, within seconds the result pops up and I run back into the living room shoving the test into Joel's face (okay not literally because that would be gross) demanding, "what the f@&k is this?". And Joel just screams, "We're having a baby!!!! That's AWESOME". I thought he was totally faking but the look on his face was pure excitement and joy. He asked me if I wanted to get another test and I did so we drove to a Rite Aid and now picked up the most expensive test we could find. Two more times peeing on a stick and two more IMMEDIATE answers that I was indeed pregnant. I was beside myself with happiness, fear, and uncertainty.

Joel and I had all these plans and weren't going to think about babies for another year or so, but Jonah changed all of that. I don't think it's something I need to hide from our baby that he wasn't necessarily planned. Although it was an accident that we got pregnant, it was by no means a mistake. I instantly felt blessed that this was happening, in a way it was as if all the stars were aligning. I wanted to tell everyone but truly wanted to tell our parents in person first, which is hard when you live 3 hours away. I couldn't sleep so around 3 am I emailed my friend Kristin because I had to tell someone. Before I even knew I was pregnant I would "blame" her and her beautiful family for making me so baby crazy in the first place. I finally fell asleep grateful for what our future held.

I'm all for thick eyebrows, but OH MY GOODNESS! Posing with the 2nd test that actually told us our fate.

Why not pose with all three pregnancy tests, right?

The contest is ending on the 16th. We would love your vote!