Ready or Not: A Pregnancy Blog - Week 14

Hi, my name is Charlotte. I'm 14 weeks pregnant with my first human child. I'm a 30-something Cancer who enjoys travel, bar trivia competitions, Fantasy Football and that's all you get for now. Trust me when I say that you'll get to know me plenty over the next 26-28 weeks. I'll be blogging weekly about my maternity journey: doctor's appointments, family celebrations, big decisions, you name it. You'll get to read about every gory detail. So, I hope you'll understand if I leave some things to the imagination for now.

But I have no problem throwing my husband to the wolves. You can get to know him all you like. Cam is a 6'5” Capricorn who enjoys woodworking, fly-fishing and desserts of all persuasions. We met at Boise State (Go Broncos!), where he asked me out over MySpace. Who does that? I said no, like a sensible person, but then my mom pulled the whole “is it going to kill you to let a cute boy buy you dinner?” line. She won. We've been married for seven years.

If Cam was here right now well, that's it. Cam just really wishes he was here right now. The biggest challenge we've faced in this pregnancy so far came about three weeks ago. Cam recently changed careers and, as many of you I'm sure know, that can be a very long and stressful process with a lot of unknowns. I can't tell you how thrilled we were when he received an offer three weeks ago such a relief after so much worry!

The catch and it's a big catch is that this job is in Baker City, Oregon. Which isn't that far, but at roughly 2 hours from our house, it's definitely too far to drive every day. So, until this particular job ends in September, he'll live in Baker City four days a week and then drive home on the weekends. We're so grateful this opportunity came along we know we have more than so many other families but I'd be lying if I said it's ideal for a young couple expecting their first child.

So, all this means Cam is going to miss out on some pregnancy moments and milestones, which crushes him even more than it does me. He missed our doctor's appointment last week, which I'm bummed about because I really wanted to see the look on his face when they pulled out the speculum. He's also missing some pretty spectacular hormonal pyrotechnics, like when I collapsed on the bathroom floor crying because I couldn't get my hair to stop frizzing (don't judge you know you've done it). And when will he find time to start working on the nursery, which right now is affectionately called “the junk room”?

In all seriousness, though, he might miss out on some big things. I found myself wondering today if he'll be there the first time the baby kicks, or when we find out the sex at the second trimester ultrasound. Come to think of it, do I even want to know the sex if he can't be there? I kind of like the guy I can't imagine not sharing those milestones with him.

But I'm sure it will all work itself out. These are the moments that test relationships and show you what your marriage is really made of, right? That's the adult thing I'm supposed to say. If I'm being my (PG-rated) self, I'll just say it sucks. It sucks big time.

Stay tuned for next week's blog, where I will regale you with stories of pelvic exams and giant needles and medical questions that made even me say, “Huh?” I'll see you then!