Well, I think most anyone who actually reads this blog has received a personal "I'm pregnant" phone call/ e-mail, so now I suppose I can begin actually sharing some of the minute details of what life's been like! It all started back in February, when I was about at my wit's end with this whole TTC thing. This was the first month we'd used the TTC aid "instead cups" and lo and behold it worked-- thankfully so, the entire process had become way too clinical for my taste.
Frank's parents were in town that weekend, and after they left on Sunday I felt a little funny... the next day, I told Frank that he would probably think that I was crazy - but I was pregnant. That was at 9 DPO. The next day, I traveled out of town for work, and spent the night away. After returning home the next day, temperature still up!, I decided to try an evening test. About 7 PM, after "holding it" for an appropriate amount of time, I headed off to test in peace. Two tests later, I'm fairly positive that they both are faintly positive! At that point, I hear a knock on the door... Frank (who is aware that our test date is rapidly approaching) sarcastically asks, "Are you peeing on something in there?!?" So I flung open the door to show him a test and coyly respond, "YES! And I'm pretty sure it's positive!" Six tests later, they all are faintly positive and my heart is about to beat out of my chest. After over 5 months of the TTC process, I had begun to think that positive tests were an urban myth. Apparently not! Frank, of course, totally didn't see the line, and did not (or didn't let himself) believe that they were actually positive.
So.... Off I go to photograph the tests so that I can post them to the Fertility Friend website and send them to a group of special ladies who KNOW what positive tests look like! Two hours and about 60 photos later, I have confirmation from my unknown anonymous friends at Fertility Friend... and tentative "I see the lines" from my special ladies! Could it really be true? I couldn't wait to go to sleep so that I could wake up to pee on something.
Fastforward to the next morning - 6 more tests, 6 more positives. This time, Frank sees a line "he can get behind!" So it's true - I'm pregnant! Confirmed that afternoon with a digital that pretty quickly reads "pregnant." Halleluiah! I'm officially three weeks and six days pregnant. That was the first week of March. For a good week or so, there were about 15 positive tests on the back of our toilet at any given time.
I literally held my breath until March 31st, the date of my first ultrasound. Fertility Friend is fabulous for providing online charting services and information for those TTC, but it's also pretty depressing--at least a few times a day there are posts from ladies who lose their little ones ("LO"), and so I'm well-versed in the delicate nature of early pregnancy. Frank and I hang on, don't tell a soul, and wait a few more weeks to tell our parents. But just in case, I take a test every few days. Seriously - I peed on things for fun. At a certain point, the tests turned positive so fast that the actual reference line had not even begun to appear yet. Looks like things were going to be ok!
Still hoping for the best, we tell our parents when I reach six weeks. Frank's parents handle it pretty well, they are excited and hopeful, but realistic. My parents, on the other hand, flip out. They want names picked, nurseries decorated, and grandparent names established. Immediately. Grandmother ("Mimi") pulls out every item of clothing I have ever worn, baby blankets made by my deceased maternal grandmother, among other items. To that point, I had been able to remain somewhat detached, hoping for the best but trying to avoid becoming consumed with the fact that I'm actually pregnant. It all went out the window. I mean, how tiny are some of these clothes? We ask grandparents to keep it under wraps, until we have the ultrasound and make sure LO is where he/she is supposed to be and healthy.
7 weeks 3 days, March 31 - we have our first ultrasound! I make the appointment at 9:00 AM so that Frank and I would be able to get in and out and to work without too much delay, only to wait 30 minutes to be called back, meet with the OB for a while, and then wait another hour to actually GET the ultrasound. So at 11 AM, we finally walked in. Frank laughs at the "latex cover" (a.k.a. condom) that they use on the ultrasound wand - and then the tech begins. Two seconds in, we find a healthy little bean, measuring 7 weeks 3 days with a heartbeat of 137 BPM!
It was well worth the wait, both that morning and the months that it took us to conceive our LO. Hearing the heartbeat - and knowing that it was beating inside my belly is an awesome experience! Frank was truly excited, it was a neat moment and one that I will certainly never forget.
We asked my parents to keep the news quiet for a few more weeks, as we were told by my Dr. that once I reach 10 weeks the risk of miscarrying is under 1 % - to no avail. The moment Grand-dad (aka "Papa") receives the pictures of the peanut he shares the news.
Most of the questions that I've been getting have been about how I'm feeling... Well, I have been pretty blessed I have to say. I haven't had the dry heaves, haven't thrown up, and haven't been nauseated 24/7. I have waives of nausea, and have had some pretty strange food aversions. I take a couple bites of things, and then they taste bad and I stop eating them. Mainly, I'm just tired. Overwhelmingly tired, to the point where when I get home from work each night, it's a struggle to get off the couch and walk myself to bed. I've also had some fairly harsh back pain, likely from the fact that my uterus is apparently tilted and is likely pressing on my spine... which may also be to blame for the recent "full" feeling I have after I eat a couple of bits of anything (uterus pressing up on my stomach instead of outward like most other ones). I'm not complaining though - I swear I wouldn't care if I had thrown up 10 times a day from the moment I got a positive test, knowing that on November 14 (or before) I'll have a child with Frank is totally worth it!
I could probably eat pizza every meal of the day without an issue, and salty fast food french fries hit the spot. I have tried to avoid them too often though, because I know the LO needs more nutritious foods than that! Grapes, apples, organic granola bars, cereal bars, and trail mix have been my snacks of choice lately, and they seem to taste pretty good most of the time.
Although I let myself gain about 10 lbs prior to getting pregnant (in the hopes of conceiving faster), I'm not doing a good job letting go of weight-gain worry now that I'm pregnant. Since I got the positive test, I've probably gained about 4 pounds (which means I'm up 14 over my normal weight, and have already - in the first trimester- seen a number on the scale which I have NEVER seen before), I was up six at one point but am back down two pounds. I suppose, in my tenth week now, I'm hitting the "in between" stage, where I just look fat (at least to me) and not pregnant yet. I am determined, however, to begin walking this week - I know it's good for both me and the LO, to help "guide" the weight into the right areas and to help me to carry the excess weight that's the normal part of being pregnant. At the moment, when people tell me "You've got that glow" I can't help but think about when people say "she's got such a pretty face" about girls who need to drop a few. Know what I mean? So with that said, I am ready for the "bump" to appear!
All in all, our prayers were answered, invasive and expensive medical treatment was avoided, and all is well on my end.
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