Oh baby, oh baby

Look out world, the Evans' have decided to procreate! Now that the cat is officially out of the bag, we've determined that it's finally safe to start documenting our adventures into parenthood and share them with the world. For those of you that would prefer to skip my incessant ramblings and get right to the good stuff, the attached pictures might suffice to tell our stories. For those of you who don't mind a bit of pontification (thanks, Word-A-Day), you may choose to skim through these entries to get a better gist of what is going on in our world as we prepare to welcome the newest addition to our family.

First, a brief recap of initial events:

Eureka!

We first discovered the good news on November 6. I took a pregnancy test at home and told Timothy as soon as he got home from the library, to which he replied, "are you serious?" I was serious. And although it is a common practice for folks in that situation to take multiple tests, if not multiple boxes of tests, the giant label that read "over 99% accurate" was good enough for me.

Misery Needs Company

After weeks of feeling sick and tired and having no one (but my loving and sympathetic husband) to share my misery with, I decided it was time to inform a select few of my condition. The long work day was difficult to bear when I had to focus all my efforts on concealing my physical ailments, so I informed the girls at work slowly, one by one, as time seemed fit. Our good friends the Primms and Reeves were also of the first to know, as with new babies of their own an pregnancy fresh in their minds, I knew they could relate to my woes and offer much needed advice and encouragement.

First Visit

Our first prenatal visit was on November 30 at the NWA Clinic for Women, where we met two nurses and discussed some of the details of the pre-baby process. Instead of taking the traditional route and working with a doctor that might not be there for the delivery, I chose a Certified Nurse Midwife that would conduct all my exams and be present to deliver the baby. Up until that point, the whole midwife concept seemed a little "crunchy granola" to me, but I really appreciated the continuity of the latter scenario, chose to release my preconceived notions, and went with my gut. A little labwork (that confirmed I was preggers) and a lot of paperwork followed, leaving us somewhat overwhelmed by the barrage of information, diaper samples, and invoices for services to be rendered. Overall, it was a good visit that left us with a lot to think about.