We have a baby!

On July 15, Cristina took a home pregnancy test and found out she was pregnant. Then she took two more just to be sure. When I got home from work that night there was a black gift bag and a card waiting for me on the table. I opened the gift first. It was a green baby outfit that said "I love you daddy" on the bib. Up until then I wasn't sure exactly how I would react when that news finally came. I was a bit in disbelief. But it was happy news! I kept on asking Cristina, "Are you sure?" I was like, it's not scientifically certain unless there are at least two or three tests. So she showed me the three home pregnancy tests. One had a faint red line, the other two read "pregnant." I was VERY probably a daddy!

Cristina had already scheduled an appointment to test at Kaiser the next morning. I went with her. We waited for the results. Then the nurse finally came to give us the bad news. She put her hands on our shoulders and said, "I'm sorry. The test was negative." Cristina was bummed at first and probably perplexed. You would think the test at the doctor's office would be more certain. But, like I said, it can't be confirmed or disconfirmed with just one test; you need two or three for reasonable certainty. So we comforted ourselves with the fact that the strong likelihood was that the home tests were correct and that it was just too early for the proper hormone levels to be detectabile in the urine test. She re-scheduled for a week later to take the test again. If it were to show up negative, a blood test would be ordered for more definitive confirmation either way.

On July 22, on her morning break, Cristina went down the street to our local Kaiser clinic and took the urine test again. By the time she had gotten back to work she had an email notification that her results were in. She quickly logged in online and found out that she indeed was pregnant! She texted me with the news. That night I brought her home a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Our task was now to inform our parents. We found nice cards at Hallmark. Then we went to Babies R Us and found little picture frames that say "I love U grandpa" and picture memory books for grandma and we bought three of each. But we wanted to present them in non-suspicious gift bags, just as Cristina had done for me. So we went to Target to get them, but ran into some friends right in the middle of the card and gift section. We, of course, could not yet let on about why we were there. Good thing I also was looking for something for work and I was able to use that as an excuse. We went and looked at that. Then, so as not to run into anyone else or rouse any further suspicion, we skipped the gift bags and went straight home.

It wasn't until late Friday after work that I was finally able to get some gifts bags, which was crucial because we had to tell our parents the next day! That night I printed out a picture of a baby at 6-weeks-old, the approximate age of our baby at the time. I taped it to the grandpas' frames and wrapped the gifts.

On Saturday morning, Diane and Bill stopped by to pick up something. Boy, were they excited when they found out what! Once they left, Cristina finished a birthday cake and we delivered it. Then we called my mom and dad to see if we could bring lunch over. We brought Baker's and a big surprise! Immediately after, we went to pick up Colin and drove to see Jeff and Penny, and two of Penny's grandsons, Dakota and Brenden. We spent a pleasant afternoon watching a movie, having dinner, and talking before we meandered to the backyard arbor and finally presented them with the news.

Once we had gotten home that night Colin had been teasing Caity that he knew something she didn't know. So she called us and we told her the news. On Sunday, we met Ryan and Michelle for lunch at Red Robin and told them they were going to have a niece or nephew. We still had a little time in the afternoon so we stopped by my grandparents house and told them and my uncle Mike the news. Then we called Cristina's grandma's Maria and Bea. So all our immediate family knew the news.

Throughout the week we worked on meeting, calling, and instant messaging some of our closest, dearest and oldest friends. Finally, on Friday, we told our young adult group at church. From then on we have been telling people as we see them.

This morning, Tuesday, August 11, we went in for our first official doctor's appointment. The OB/GYN asked the standard questions and did the standard tests. Then, the ultrasound revealed to us for the first time our new baby's heartbeat! "Little C" is only 1.24 cm (Crown Rump Length), but has a strong heartbeat and is experiencing normal development. The measurement of the CRL also revealed the Gestational Age to be 7 weeks and 3 days.

It's still hard to believe, but there is no way to deny: we have a baby!

We'll be keeping you updated. For now be looking for the debut of Little C sometime between March 22-27. Until then please be praying for the health of both Cristina and our baby.