Before the Baby

I suppose I should start with why Bryn and I are having a baby. We aren't married. I'm still in school. It doesn't seem like the most rational choice. But it is, sort of.
While I'm in school I'm legally protected. I can take the time I need and not be penalized. They have to let me nurse or pump when I return. In Vermont, there are a lot of allowances for pregnant and new mothers in the workforce, but it's hard to not be a burden when the majority of employers have fewer than 50 employees. I also would not have wanted to put off having a baby much longer and asking for maternity leave soon after getting hired in a career just seems rude.
So, that is how we decided to become parents to a new baby while I work on my Master's degree.
About the married thing... We'd love to. And it may happen before the baby comes, but as it stands, financially it is more prudent to remain living in blissful sin.

We decided to start trying in August. Life grabbed us by the throats and shook us around a bit, so after the initial decision we thought no more about it until mid-September. I joined a study here at UVM that is looking into pre-eclampsia. I'm a pretty decent candidate for the study, but after the initial tests they really need the subjects to get pregnant. So they gave me ovulation and pregnancy tests. As many as I wanted. I took an ovulation test every day for over a month. I started charting my temperature. I was using computer programs, graphs, marking the calendar, and making appointments with Bryn. It was terribly romantic. Then about two months after I started this it occurred to me that we are still relatively young and I'm stressing out about this more than is really necessary.

I was tired after getting the six year-old on the bus and Bryn out the door, so I went back to bed on Monday, December 19, 2011. I had a dream that I woke up to Bryn and Alex coming in the front door and waking me up from dozing while side-nursing my infant son. I woke up suddenly and took a pregnancy test. It took a while for the result to register and even longer for it to register with me. "Blithe, you are a Master's of English candidate. You can read a simple word. It says what you think it says." But I still needed to check a few more times.

I called Bryn and asked him if there were any three-bedroom apartments on our side of the townline and he sounded confused so I let him get back to work.* When he came home we were both in shock-ish and went down to Planned Parenthood, where I ran over a curb, went in the out and tried to get in the backdoor, but they verified the results on the little wee-stick.

Just in time for Christmas!

* the decision to have a baby means possibly moving again. None of us like moving, but even within UVM housing it would mean crossing the townline into Essex Junction from Colchester. That means Alex would have to change schools. Again. Colchester is the jackpot for elementary schools in Vermont, so I hate the idea of leaving this town for the one three blocks away, but Alex seems okay with the idea. I hope she's not expecting Smartboards and computers in every room at the new school.