That's right...there is going to be a plus one

For those of you who haven't heard, I will soon be getting more roundish. Baby Grammatikos will be making his/her appearance on or around April 2, 2012. (That makes me about 14 weeks along.) One of my good friends calls me Figs. (There is a reason, but it's either ridiculous or I can't recall. Or both.) And she started calling it Fig Newton. Now we just call it Newton. So, from here on out, the he/she shall be Newton.

Daniel and I could not be more excited. We have both always wanted a kid (or kids but we will see how this one goes), and God worked out this timing pretty much exactly how we wanted it. It happened a lot faster that we were expecting. So...good for us? I don't know. I didn't believe it for a long time. I took three tests, and waited the agonizing four weeks to go to the doctor to get a real test. And then, sure enough, we saw it. There is a little bean in there. Well, now it's a lemon. But you know, it's actually in there. I had a lovely bout of nausea for six weeks or so. Then it finally subsided, and now I just sleep like it's my job. Everything is going swimmingly. At our last doctor's visit, we heard Newton's heartbeat. My doc told us not to worry because sometimes it takes awhile to find where Newton is hiding. Nope! She barely had that thing on my stomach, and there it was! It was so fast! Whompwhompwhompwhomp. That was kind of mind blowing. Once again, I am not crazy, and there really is a little thing in there.

I firmly believe that Newton is a boy. Even though I was kind of hoping for a girl, from the beginning I have thought he/she is a boy. Daniel also subscribes to this belief. However, for the sake of Daniel and my father, it really NEEDS to be a boy. If it's a girl, she will have every single thing she wants. I will come home to ponies, castles, and a full size basketball court in the backyard. We shall all go bankrupt before the kid turns two. Everyone wants to know if we will find out what it is. Um...YES! I really don't understand how people DON'T find out. I need to plan, and plan, and plan some more. Knowing me, I would think it's a boy, not find out, and then have a girl living in a blue room. Not that a blue room would damage her unknowing psyche, but let's not take chances. We will be sharing the news of whether Newton is a him or a her, but we will be keeping the name to ourselves. Pry as much as you want, we aren't budging. Sorry!

I also have the opportunity to quit work, and be a stay-at-home mom. Daniel has a wonderful job, and we are blessed with the option for me to stay home. It's really interesting to see the reactions I get from people when I share this news. Quite frankly, I get more negative responses than I ever dreamed of! There is a lot of 'You are just going to rely on your husband for everything?' 'Don't you want to contribute to your household?' 'Women have worked hard to be able to not have to stay home.' Some thoughts on these tidbits...

'You are just going to rely on your husband for everything?' - YES. He is my FREAKING husband. If we didn't both agree 100% on this decision, we wouldn't be doing it. He couldn't be happier to be able to provide for his family in this way. We are both THRILLED that I get to stay home, and raise our child(ren). We lived with my grandparents for most of my growing up. They were always around. His mom only worked part time, and was able to be there for him. We loved that about our childhoods, and are excited to be able to do that for our kid(s). That doesn't mean that my kid is better than your kid or vice versa. It's our choice.

'Don't you want to contribute to your household?' - I will be. Just because I won't be bringing in income doesn't mean that I won't be working. I am excited to cook more, actually put laundry away (which never happens), find cost saving options, and actually use them. Daniel's money is my money. My money is his. There is no split down the middle. It's for our FAMILY. (Quick side note: I know there are some couples that still have separate bank accounts. I am not saying this can't work. You just have to do what is best for YOU.) My contributions will be cleaning up crappy diapers, and trying not to lose my mind when my little German/English giant is running amok.

'Women have worked hard to be able to not have to stay home.' - Yup, we sure have. I am not setting back women's lib by staying home. It's a CHOICE. And I am blessed to have options. And to be perfectly honest, I have never stayed home and tried to raise a kid. I might get six months into it, lose my sanity, and need to find a part time something to do. If that's the case, great! I will do it. But I get the option to find out if I can swing staying home full time. This isn't Real Housewives of whatever. There are no nannies.

Ok...off that tangent. More entertainingly, Daniel only speaks German to the Newton. Urgh....my belly. He sings songs, tells Newton about sports, and tells him to stop making me feel crappy. When the little giant finally arrives, Daniel will only speak German, and I will speak English. We are excited to give our kids the opportunity to be bilingual, and we are going to take advantage of it. We have seen it with a few of our friends, and honestly, it's the cutest thing EVER. Not to mention, it will only be beneficial for them in the long run.

And there we are. I am going to try REALLY hard to keep updating as we go through this journey. Our next doctor's visit is in a couple of weeks, so keep your eyes open for more news!