Can It Be True?

There comes a time when you think you might be pregnant. You wonder about it. You may even be hoping for it to be true.

Then you take the pregnancy test. The little line says, "You're pregnant."

Even if you've been hoping, especially if you've been hoping, you're suddenly consumed by the next question: "What if the test wasn't accurate?"

So you grab a bottle of water, guzzle it down, and head for the restroom again. (Thank goodness they give you more than one test strip in the box!)

The little line says, "You're pregnant."

Still. Can it really be true? This is a human life for which you'll be responsible the next twenty years or so. That's a big deal. That's scary. Did we really want this? Are we going to be good parents? How on earth did this happen? No thought is too crazy to skitter across your brain in that moment.

So you read the fine print on the box. After all, everyone's heard the phrase "false positive," right? What if this is a false positive?

Sure enough, there it is, in black and white. Turns out you can get a false negative, "Frequent urination - or a diluted sample - can decrease the amount of hCG in your urine, interfering with early-detection," but almost never a false positive. Even the hospital, after a quick call said, "If you got a positive on a home pregnancy test, that's good enough for us. You're pregnant."

But maybe another brand would be more accurate. A quick trip to the store, guzzle some more water, and it's back to the restroom. Remember that diluted sample deal? Yeah, still pregnant.

And still pregnant.

And still pregnant.

Yep.

We're pregnant.

And the odyssey of the baby begins.