A Positive Reaction

Exhaustion is the name of the game lately. I am *so* tired! Work has been stressful and the hours have been long, and then there's life to deal with after that. Throw early pregnancy fatigue to the mix, and when I have down time I'm sleeping.
So much has been going on in our stepfamily life that I can't even process it all. And I haven't really wanted to think about it after dealing with it, so I haven't written about it here. Let's just say, I don't appreciate hypocrites. But for once, The Ex's ridiculous need for control (legally, she has sole custody) is biting her in the ass. Haha. Ha.
We're still in that early pregnancy limbo where we haven't told anyone except our families. My parents are thrilled as this first grandchild for them. The Husband's mother is super excited and hoping for a girl. She hardly got to be involved with The Kid when he was little because The Ex doesn't like her and did her best to keep the baby away, so having a grandchild she can spend unlimited time with is really exciting for her. My sister already started buying things and she calls me every day to ask what's happening developmentally that day (as if I know!).
My sister-in-law, on the other hand, is pissed. She is 6 years older than me, and has been married to my brother for 8 years but has no children yet. They aren't sure they want children and have never tried. But when she found out I was expecting she cried and told me it wasn't fair, that she should have been the first. Now, every time I see her she asks if I'm showing yet or if it's just me getting fat. Passive aggressive behavior at it's finest.
I was most nervous to tell The Kid. My hormones have me crying at the strangest things, and a poor reaction from him would send me into uncontrollable sobs. I didn't want to be there when The Husband told him, just in case.
Well, The Husband had an opportunity last night to tell The Kid while I was cooking dinner. They were out in the yard. I knew what was going on but stayed in the kitchen. I thought I heard The Kid start to cry and I felt the lump start to form in my throat. My mind went spinning in all sorts of directions (...you know...). I continued stirring the soup and staring down into the pot. I heard the screen door slide open and someone walk into the kitchen. It was The Kid.
I turned around and he had the biggest smile on his face. No tears. He gave me a huge hug and then put his head down by my lower abdomen and said, "Hi baby sibling!" He then turned to me and said, "You'll be a great mom. You already are!" (yes, I did melt)
He was happy! Seeing him smile at the news lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. I hadn't realized how much wondering about his reaction was stressing me out. Honestly, I haven't been excited at all...until now. I feel like knowing that everyone is on board with this change makes it a little more real. It doesn't matter what his mother says to him about the new sibling because he's happy. And frankly, anything negative she says about our baby will only work against her since she is planning on having "a new family."
After his dad told him, The Kid spent the next two hours talking about his new sibling. He's slightly obsessed with the Friday the 13th series right now and thinks we should name the baby Jason (not happening) or maybe something from The Godfather like Vito or Santino (also not happening).
He talks to the baby all the time and he worries about my well being. My husband has a bad habit of driving over curbs when turning (we have an ORV so it's not too bad, but still...) and every time he does The Kid yells at his dad and then asks if I'm okay. He can't wait to be a part of the process and wants to be at the hospital when baby is born ("but I don't want to look at it until they clean it up! Gross!"). He's counting down the days until he can feel the kicks and has already planned out the first five years of little sibling torture. Did I mention baby is going to dress as Jason from Friday the 13th for his or her first Halloween?
I suppose my defense mechanism is to always assume the worst. I think it's classic stepmom behavior. Then, if the worst happens we were expecting it and anything other than that is an improvement. In this case, I couldn't have asked for a better situation. Or a better stepson.
Otherwise, I've had a very easy early pregnancy. No sickness (I know, I'm lucky!), just fatigue and some crazy mood swings. I actually cried at an episode of Little Chocolatiers while on the treadmill at the gym. I don't cry at TV shows! I don't cry in public! I'd never even seen that show before! And my poor husband...he doesn't now how to deal with this suddenly hyper-sensitized woman living in his house. His philosophy (and it's a good one) is just to keep his mouth shut.
We're going away this weekend, just us, to the lake for some R&R. It's a belated birthday present to me (my birthday was last month but I couldn't take any time off because of my crazy work schedule). We're turning off our phones, disconnecting from technology and enjoying each others company. And, for the first time since we found out, rejoicing in the changes coming our way as we grow our family.