I'm Back With...Interesting News!

~Rapunzel
Hey, all....So for the past couple of days, I've felt odd bumps and movement INSIDE of me, on top of feeling like I was going to throw up,(even going into dry heaves on especially bad days)...that's why I haven't been posting for awhile...I've been so sick in the mornings.  Anyway, I haven't told Eugene about the bumping sensations, because quite frankly, I have no clue what's going on.  Maybe I was made with some factory defect that hasn't appeared until now?  I don't know. But I hope it goes away soon!  I knew one thing, though, for sure: and that was that I was going to talk with Tangled Fan today. 

Luckily, I didn't feel quite so sick this morning, so I asked Eugene if he would be okay with the girls while I went to talk with Tangled Fan. 

Tangled Fan took me over to HER bed so she could sit down and talk.  After a, quite frankly, embarrassing look-over, she nodded. 
"I never knew Disney dolls could really become expectant, but I guess I HAVE seen some stories.  Mattel, yes, but Disney, no, not except for Ariel dolls.  There was one time, though...without a good outcome for either.  Mattel can have kids fine, but..." she trailed off and changed the subject.  I felt even sicker.  Expectant?  "Have you been feeling lightheaded or sick to your stomach lately?" 
"Yes, for about two and a half weeks.  This was the first day I didn't feel  as sick.  And I feel almost like something's bumping my belly on the inside." 
"Mmmhm.  Your term will be around nine weeks, and I'd say you're three weeks along already.  That bumping feeling is the baby kicking you," Tangled Fan gave me a smile. 
I felt like I was going to pass out.
"But what about the 'but'?"  I asked, getting to the point once more. 
"It's pretty dangerous and rare for Disney dolls to have children.  Mattel dolls can, and will come through it okay, but Disney...not so much.  But don't worry too much, or that will only heighten the risk of something going wrong.  Any babies born before their due date have a rough time of it, most don't make it through.  And any babies born any time later than their due date can cause complications, and you can lose both mother and baby.  So it's a fine line, I'll tell you that upfront, but don't worry." 
DON'T WORRY??!  Was she insane?!
I bit my lip, nodding, and she continued.
"We'll have to have weekly checkups, and that's when I'll need to put you in a hot water soak.  That'll do your ankles and back good, but it will help your plastic expand as the baby grows.  Your plastic will shrink back to normal a few days after you have him or her, don't worry.  I'll make sure you have more clothes that will fit you.  I'll get you in a soak now," she said.   She explained a few more things, and then took me to soak.  She drew some hot water and set me in the sink in her bathroom, giving me a human washcloth to wrap up in.  She told me that I would have to soak for one hour, and she would leave a dress on the table for me that would fit.
I settled down in the water, which felt pretty great.  The warmth soaked in and saturated the washcloth I had wrapped around myself, and I tried to keep my hair out of the water.  After a little while, I felt the tension in my misdsection ease up.  I also saw my belly expanding...I didn't expect it to really get bigger quite yet...I felt a couple quick taps coming from my stomach, and I couldn't help but smile.  I was terrified, but at the same time, knowing there was a little kiddo in there was pretty fascinating to me, too.

When Tangled Fan finally took me back to our side of the table, wrapped in a dry washcloth, she told me that my new dress would be waiting on the table.
Eugene met me with a concerned look.  I couldn't see the girls, but I would investigate once I was actually dressed. 
The second Tangled Fan dropped me on the table and left, I brushed past his waiting arms to scurry behind the cutout. 
"Cold, wet, cold, wet...cold...wet..." I muttered, quickly drying myself with the washcloth.  Only....then I realized that the dress wasn't behind the cutout.  "Uhh...Eugene?  Is there a dress out there?" 
"Mmhmm," he cleared his throat, and within seconds, I saw the dress hanging from his hand.  To his credit, he kept his eyes and entire face averted, though I had to grin at how red his ears were. 
"Thank you soo much...you are a lifesaver, bud,"
"But of course I am," he teased, still not looking as I quickly wrapped the simple, homemade dress around myself and cinched the ribbon tightly around myself, directly above my belly.  The dress's loose shape hid small bump that had developed in the past hour, luckily. (Even though that bump looked HUGE to me...I just know I'm overreacting about the size, though.)

And then I took a deep breath and went to tell my husband.  I wasn't sure why I was so scared.
He gave me a smile as soon as he saw me.  "You look nice,"
"Thanks," I blushed, "uh...where are the girls?" 
"Zelia came over, and when I said you were with Tangled Fan because you hadn't been well, she said she would take the kids for the day.  Soo...what's wrong?  Did she know?" 
"Uhh..." my voice shook.  Why was I so nervous about telling him?!  "Well..."
"What?  You can tell me anything, you know that!  What's wrong?  I've been worried for you," he admitted, cupping my cheeks in his hands and giving me a pensive stare, as if he could stare my secret out of me.
"Let's sit, and I'll explain everything."  I said, leading him over to the chair.  I backed away as soon as he sat, deciding if I should stand in front of him or sit on the box beside the chair.  I ended up standing in front, fiddling with my dress.  "I'm, uh...er...expectant." 
"What?"  he quirked a brow.  "What's..." he trailed off and got extremely quiet, his gaze dropping to my midsection.  Snorting, he looked back up at me.  "Tangled Fan's wayyy off, then, because you're stick--"
I silently clasped my hands under my belly, smoothing the fabric out so I could accentuate the baby's small bulge.
Eugene gulped.  "O-oh.  You...when...when did that happen?  I mean....the belly.  You weren't that way this morning.  I mean, you--okay, that sounded really rude of me, you--"
I couldn't help but laugh at his awkwardness before I explained everything Tangled Fan told me.  He didn't seem to be worried about the fact that there is a good chance of something happening, which was a surprise.
When I had finished, his face slowly lit up with a smile, standing up to grab me into a huge bear hug.
"Wow...so I guess we can forget about talking to Tangled Fan about adopting again?"
"If everything goes well, yeah," I said quietly.
"Everything will," he pulled away to wink.
"Didn't you hear anything I said about the risks?!"
He nodded.  "I heard, but I have faith that everything will go well.  Don't you?"
"No..." I mumbled.
He sat down in the wicker chair before pulling me down onto his lap.  "I know it's scary, but don't worry, okay?  Stress won't be good for you, or the baby."
I gave a small smile despite myself when he held me as close to him as he could, keeping his arms around me and planting a kiss on my cheek. "I'll try not to worry, but...you know me."
He chuckled.  "If you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me. Or if you don't feel comfortable talking to me, talk to Zelia,"
I snorted. "Could you imagine Zelia talking to me, reassuring me, about THIS?"
He laughed.  "Just another option..."
"Not much of one, if you ask me," I cleared my throat pointedly.
He was quiet for a minute, and then spoke up hesitantly.  "Mood swings?  Do dolls get them?"
"Yes.  Why?"
"No reason," he chuckled, tightening his arms around me.  "So...when will we get to meet the newest addition?" 
We talked for what seemed like a pretty long time, just about babies and stuff in general, and I remember him saying something about names, but then I guess I dozed off, because the next thing I remember was waking up, still on my hubby's lap. 
I cleared my throat and looked up at his face, catching his gentle gaze before he quickly looked away for a second, replacing his expression with a teasing grin. 
"Have a good nap, Sleeping Beauty?"
"Mmh...how long was I asleep?  I'm sorry,"
"No clue...long enough for my legs to go completely numb."  he chuckled. 
I started to unfurl my legs hurriedly, getting ready to jump up because I was so embarrassed and felt kinda bad, but he slid his arms around me and kept me in his lap. 
"Sorry--"
"It's fine," he reassured me.  "You're bound to sleep a lot more...carrying a little one will probably take a lot out of you.  Plus, I didn't mind watching you sleep, either," he admitted with a wink, his cheeks turning red. 
I grinned, cuddling up against him again.  "So...when do we tell Belle and Zelia?  Or should we wait until I really start to show...or..?" 
He made some hum of uncertainty.  "We should probably tell Zelia today...she'll kill you otherwise.  No, she'll kill BOTH of us.  It's up to you about Belle, though,"
I nodded, giggling.  "True. Oh, and Ray, too..."
"Speaking of which, have you seen how she looks when she talks about Ray?  Has she talked about you about him, or something?  Maybe it's none of my business, but.."
"She hasn't, but I've noticed, too...Oh wow, could you IMAGINE if they got married?!"  I squeaked with excitement, my little matchmaker heart squeezing at the thought.  They practically COMPLETED one another, and I'd never seen my sister acting kindly towards others...plus, she's been HELPING Ray get over his temper.  ZELIA.  HELPING...!!! I giggled excitedly, and he laughed. 
"I'll stay out of it, but let's just say that I wouldn't be surprised.  Not much can surprise me anymore," he chuckled. 
"Not even finding out that your wife is expectant, which is something that doesn't usually happen?" 
"After hearing THAT, not much can surprise me," he amended teasingly. 


When Zelia brought the girls back around nine PM, she pulled me aside immediately. 
"So...how did things go?"  she asked quietly.   "I had a feeling you weren't well these past couple of weeks, but I didn't want to pry for once." 
"I'm pregnant," I said simply, shrugging.  I didn't want to tell her about the risks involved.
She gasped and grabbed me into a hug.  "Congratulations!  When--wait.  What aren't you telling me?"  she pulled away.  "You didn't sound as excited as you would probably be any other time." 
I shrugged again, but she nagged at me until I told her that it was rare and dangerous, etc.
She nodded, surprisingly cool about it.  "You'll be okay, and the baby will be okay.  Everything'll go okay, I'm sure.  And I'm also going to be staying around here a lot more so I can help you out when you get further along in your term, just so you know."
I nodded.  "I would argue with you, but I'm really sleepy and don't want to bother, so thank you."
"Ahh, so all I have to do is catch you when you're tired, and you'll agree with everything I say?  Awesome." 
I giggled.  "No...."
"Are you kidding me?  So that means you won't agree if I said Eugene was annoying?" 
"Definitely not, Zelia," I tried not to laugh at her look of disgust. 
"Well, you're no fun.  Okay...since I got everyone over here in one piece -- which was no easy feat..they were all getting pretty tired and grumpy --I guess I'll leave you guys to your normal evening routine.  I'll see you tomorrow, sis." 
"Yep...thanks for watching the kids," I told her, giving her a quick hug before she left. 

So...um...that's how I found out that I'm going to have a baby.
 Terrified?  Yes.
 Excited?  Yes.