An Announcement
This is just to say
That Aatish and I will be
Welcoming
A new,
Very small
Member of our family
In early July, 2014.
Ok, William Carlos Williams aside, this is clearly not "just to say." This is a big, enormous, life-changing thing, and I am thrilled to be far enough along in my pregnancy (13 weeks) to be able to share this news in a more public way.
It was a long road for us to become pregnant, and in the words of my mother we "applaud the universe, mystery, and science simultaneously" for finally getting us to this point. Further along the vein of "science is awesome" we had early pre-natal testing done and now know that the baby has a) no trisomy disorders and b) is in possession of a vulva. We are irrationally thrilled about both these pieces of information (ok, being thrilled about the first one iisn't irrationabut I admit), and also cheerfully acknowledge that this means we know absolutely nothing about what the gender identity of this child will look like.
Many of you know how much we both enjoy children, and we are really excited to find out who is growing inside me and what that person will be like. I'm pretty sure the reality of being a parent will beggar my expectations in a number of dimensions, and I'm looking forward to that part of the adventure as well.
On the physical front, now that I finally am pregnant, things have been pretty spectacularly easy--certainly much easier than some of my friends have reported. While I've experienced both nausea and the need for a bit of extra sleep, neither have been particularly distracting or difficult to deal with. My body is beginning to change in ways visible to those who aren't me, and this is novel and fun. Perhaps the most frustrating thing is that I am hungry all the time and sometimes get to the end of the day feeling weary of the work of figuring out what I want to eat and how to keep my diet sufficiently varied.
On a more personal note, some of you have been tremendous supports for me and for us during this long process, and my gratitude to you is boundless. Thank you for talking us through the waiting, and for your joy at this news.
To those of you who haven't been in on the gory details along the way--thank you for being part of a community that I know will welcome and embrace this child with love, acceptance, and support. We are so blessed to know you, and this small one will be too.