How We Found Out

Recently -- and I guess not surprisingly -- I've been asked how I found out that I was pregnant. The honest truth is that I peed on a stick and that stick then displayed two pink lines. It's not that exciting of a story. But the back story is a bit better, so I figure I'll document it. And years from now, if I forget it, I can always come back to this blog and remember it.

Let's get one thing straight: we were trying to get pregnant. However, we were entirely shocked and of course, elated, when the said stick displayed two pink lines. This would be due to the fact that for about two months, I had been using ovulation predictor test strips to try to figure out when I was ovulating. So, in theory, I had a pretty good idea if we were on the mark in the baby making department.

For those of you fortunate enough to not be in the know, these test strips are a lot like pregnancy tests. You pee on them, and if there is a certain level (a high, surging level) of what is called luteinizing hormone in your urine, the test strip -- yes, you guessed it -- will display a line on it. A purple line. It has to be dark, though. Light purple isn't good enough. When you see the dark purple line, you're about to ovulate, so it's a good time to hop in the sack and get busy. Go conceive!

OK, back to why this story is worth remembering. For two months, I peed on these sticks as directed. And for two months, these sticks never displayed the line they were supposed to display on them. I even got my period after the first month of using them, which means it is highly probable I did ovulate at some point that month; it's just that the damn sticks never told me.

After going through another month of only getting light purple lines and never the beloved dark purple line on my tests, I was kind of irritated to say the least. So I decided that it was time to invest in some digital ovulation predictor test strips. What's the difference between the digital ones and the ones I was using before? About $50. And of course, a digital display that says "Ovulating" or "Not Ovulating" rather than the purple line. I don't remember if the digital tests are actually more sensitive or better, I was just done with the faint purple lines.

So as we're approaching the day I thought I would get my period, something funny happens. I don't get my period. Jeremy suggests I take a pregnancy test, and although I really don't feel like going through another disappointing peeing on a stick experience, I agree. And much to my dismay, the stick produces a faint pink line. Which should have made me happy, because on pregnancy tests, as opposed to ovulation tests, faint colored lines are a good thing. But seeing one more faint line on a pee stick really pissed me off! So in a moderate fit of rage, I snapped the stick in half and told Jeremy I was done with peeing on sticks for a while.

A while didn't last very long, because three days later, I still hadn't gotten my period. So I peed on another pregnancy test. And this time, the line was darker. In fact, it was a pretty fat, dark line. So I peed on another stick, and that stick, too, displayed a fat, dark, definitely pregnant pink line. Still cautious of these lines, I decided to check one more time. One of the packs of tests I had purchased included a digital pregnancy test. No lines! It was time to try it out. So I peed again -- luckily, I always have to pee -- and it said "YES+."

I don't remember what we did after that. I know we were really happy, so I guess we hugged and kissed and cried a little bit in our bathroom. We celebrated not with wine, but with some ice cream, and then went to Barnes and Noble and bought a ton of pregnancy books. I started to not feel so great. And the nine month wait for Baby Bolton began.