Cat’s Out of the Bag

Now that we’re coming to the end of the first trimester, Alan and I have decided that it’s time to start telling the rest of the family and the wider world about the baby. Of course, for some reason my mother failed to absorb the "we’re don’t want to tell everyone yet" message and has already told my grandmother. Fortunately, it’s not likely that my dad told his sister, since he’s probably still mad at her. And I doubt he would have told his father, though apparently he did tell some old friends. My mom rarely talks to her brothers and sisters and she has a hard enough time remembering that I’m two hours behind Vermont time, so trying to reach family in California probably won’t be happening anytime soon. So I guess it’s fine that Grammy knows.

Alan called Zach yesterday, whose first reaction was "Does Mom know?" and only then the obligatory congratulations. He also texted me this morning to say congrats and to say he would take time off work to come visit when the baby gets here. I guess now that he’s actually pursuing his goal of being a tattoo artist, he feels less enslaved by his work commitments. And that’s a good thing.

Alan also talked to his grandfather in Florida yesterday and told him. "I guess congratulations are in order, then." And then he apparently moved on to other topics. When Alan told his mom what he’d said she called him an asshole. I just called him a jerk. LOL. I understand where he’s coming from though. Peter is a very cautious guy, a planner. He probably doesn’t think we’re financially ready for kids yet. I have no doubt that Kerry will be much more enthusiastic and that if she has anything to say about our preparedness, it will be framed by worry for us and excitement about being a great-grandma.

Lastly, Alan called his dad’s father this morning. Now, Lisa told him that we should lie and say the due date was March 14th, rather than the 4th because of how close it is to his dad’s birthday. They’re very superstitious and I guess when Lisa was pregnant with Zach they were worried about his due date because a friend of theirs had died that day, or some such nonsense. Even Alan was a little afraid that they might take it as an omen, since Bill Sr.’s dad died young, as did Bill Jr. So I think the line of warped reasoning would that sharing a birthday with Bill Jr. would be bad luck if ever second generation dies young? I’m not really clear on that. I figure the cluster of family birthdays around late February and early March is a good sign. At any rate, he didn’t lie and Alan’s grandfather was very excited and rushed off to call his wife.

That really just leaves Rich and Kathy to tell. I’ve never been as close to my aunts and uncles as Alan has, since mine all lived quite far away when I was growing up (California, Ohio, Iowa, South Carolina, Florida). I figure I’ll put it about on Facebook to let it trickle through the rest of my second cousins and then their parents. I’m pretty sure I have at least one cousin from each bit of the family on Facebook. I know I have Jennifer and Ryan. I can count on my grandmother and Ryan to get it to Kay and all her kids. And if Jen tells her dad it’ll be through the whole damn clan in a matter of hours. Charlie is a very friendly, loquacious sort of man and will find any excuse for a chat.

Tomorrow I have a nuchal translucency screening, which is apparently very effective at determining the odds for certain genetic defects. The midwife said that while it wasn’t very likely given my age, it was a good idea because I have a second cousin with Downs Syndrome. At the same, it’s unlikely that there’s a genetic predisposition to it because Joy’s younger sister, Katie, has no chromosomal anomalies.

Alan and I still can’t decide on a girls name. I may just drop it until we find out the sex. We can deal with a girls’ name if it turns out to be a girl. It’s funny because I started rattling off names last night and he goes "What was wrong with Pippa?" He decided he didn’t like it and now he brings it back up. Pain in the ass.

But hey, awesomeness…. My morning sickness is gone! I’ve given up wearing the dreadful seasickness bands, although I have a red mark where the little nubs pressed my wrists. I’ve also got a much heightened gag reflex. I can’t even hold things in my mouth for three seconds, like pens, hair clips, or twist ties for bread. And I have some chest congestion so that every time I cough, I feel like I’m going to vomit too. No fun. But better than constant nausea!

~Liz