It’s a moment I suspect most of us never forget: the exact second when you find out that you're pregnant. I was at home, standing in front of the bathroom counter watching the test as my partner waited patiently outside the door. I had thought pregnancy could be a possibility for a couple of days, but I knew for certain I needed to test when I realized I could suddenly smell the office fridge from my desk, which sounds grosser than it actually was. Thankfully, my nausea hadn’t kicked in, but it still struck me as strange that out of nowhere, I had this bionic sense of smell (My partner likes to repeat the story by starting with, “Did you know pregnant women have superpowers?"). It was only the beginning of the crazy physical side effects of pregnancy.
It’s a moment that happens in slow-motion, giving your mind a chance to run through every possible emotion before deciding where to land. As for me, I laughed out loud, but didn’t cry like I know many women have. It wasn't the reaction I thought I'd have, but to be fair, parenthood isn't always what I thought it'd be. I laughed because I didn’t know what else to do. Logically, I knew that life would never be the same again. But emotionally? Psh. That’s impossible to define. Obviously, depending on the circumstances surrounding your pregnancy news, the thoughts and feelings you experience will...vary. Like, someone who has been trying to get pregnant for years is likely going to have a different reaction than someone who just unexpectedly found out they're pregnant by someone they just met. But for most of us, in addition to a lot of other, more specific and personal thoughts, these are a sampling of what goes through our minds as soon as we see two lines.