Consolation Prize

When we were trying to conceive the first time (2003-2005), it seemed like everyone I knew got pregnant. Everyone except me. I finally started keeping track of all the pregnant women I knew. Somewhere on my computer is a Word file that lists, in chronological order, the (almost 20) women that I knew who got pregnant before me during that time period. Two women on that list managed to get pregnant twice during that time. Adding further insult is that another two of these “women” were (1) one of my eighth grade students and (2) my mother-in-law’s dog. When I reached the point that I couldn’t take just one more instance of someone else getting pregnant, I told the Hubster that I needed something to help me look forward to the pregnancy announcements of friends, acquaintances and coworkers.

This was the inspiration for the “Consolation Prize.” I told the Hubster that, from that point forward, whenever another woman who we knew announced she was pregnant, he needed to buy me a present. That way, I’d look forward to the pregnancy of others, because it would bring me something, too.

Don’t you know, before I was able to collect a single consolation prize, I got a positive pregnancy test. When I woke the Hubster up that Monday morning in April 2005 to show him the test, his exact words were, “Wow… Now you owe me a present.”

As of today, I’m 39 weeks 4 days pregnant. Although this isn’t anything that would in an average pregnancy cause concern, when I throw my uncooperative cervix and (possibly) giant baby into the mix, the looming of my due date is causing me considerable stress. And there’s been nothing going on to indicate that, well, anything is going on.

But, as my due date is just three days away, I’m forming a new consolation prize plan… to commence in four days.