Seven tests...

Monday, November 10: Mom had just left the day before after being here for a week to help us through Emma's surgery. Julie came by around 8:45am to pick up Charlotte and take her to school for me because I didn't think Emma could handle taking Charlotte and not being able to stay herself. Test #1: Sometime around 9:30am, I decide to go ahead and take a pregnancy test because I'm a little late and when it's negative I'll know that I can expect my dear friend to arrive any day. Months ago Barbara had given me a gag gift that consisted of several Dollar Store pregnancy tests, which only cost, you guessed it, $1. The reason they're $1 is because you have to pee in a cup and then use a dropper (provided of course) to carefully place four drops of urine on the test. I'd used them to discover Charlotte was on the way, so I was confident (or so I thought) in their reliability. I couldn't believe my eyes--one dark line (that means the test is working) and one really faint line (that means I need to take another test).

Test #2: another really, really faint 2nd line. No way! Ok, be calm, they're Dollar Store tests. How reliable can they be? Oh, here's a Clear Blue Easy digital test deep under the sink left over from when Charlotte was discovered and we didn't really quite trust the tests that only cost $1.

Test #3: Pregnant. In clear English. Pregnant. How am I going to tell Chris? We were supposed to wait until he had a full-time, real income job. I'm excited but also really nervous about telling Chris. Not because he's going to be mad or unhappy but because I know the burden another child will be on him. He's trying desperately to finish his PhD and looking for work and providing for his family with one or sometimes two part-time jobs. He's driving 2 hours, one-way, three days a week. How am I going to tell him?

Julie brings lunch and Charlotte home. I want to tell somebody but don't dare tell her before telling my husband. Emma's feeling pretty good so we make a Target run. I need to buy another test. The Clear Blue Easy test had expired in October so maybe it's not as reliable as it was a month ago. Charlotte chews on the box in the basket. Nice. Later that evening, Chris comes home and I realize the test is not in the Target bag. He sees me rummaging for something in the bag. "What are you looking for?" "Oh, nothing. Just something didn't make it into my bag." "What?" "Just something." "What?" "A pregnancy test." "A what?" I quickly explain the events of the morning. Chris clings to my theory that two of the tests only cost $1 and one of them was expired. We have to get another test. Wait--I think I have a couple more Dollar Store tests. Let me try those. Tests #4 and #5: only 1 line = negative. Disappointment. I do really want this baby. I can't not be pregnant. Load up the girls, drive to Target, buy a box with 2 tests.

Test #6: No. Now I'm really disappointed. And Chris is too. What does this mean? Am I or am I not? I decide to wait until morning to take the final test. The instructions say the best time to take them is first thing in the morning when HCG levels are the highest. I hardly sleep a wink. I really want this baby that I've only known about a few hours.

Test #7: 6:30am: Yes! Yay!! Surely, this means that I am really pregnant with baby #3. It took 7 tests but a majority of them were positive. My sweet husband sees the positive test on the counter and joins me with the girls in bed. "I love you, new mama." Everything is going to be okay. We've always been taken care of. We're having another baby!