Since then, we found a new doctor that is closer and so much better. We've already had several ultrasounds (I love being able to see the baby), and lots of normal tests. I got the What to Expect book, of course. I also got Mitch a men's pregnancy book, although he reads mine too.
The first trimester I didn't have any morning sickness (thank goodness!) but I was just exhausted. I really thought I was having thyroid problems. I've since tested (and will need to continue testing every month) and everything is normal. I quit smoking the day I found out, quit drinking alcohol(except for the few drinks I had when I thought I wasn't pregnant those two weeks), limited caffiene to 1 cup of coffee if that and taken a renewed interest in eating healthily. Excercise wasn't even being thought of until recently. I really would pretty much crash and burn when I got home those first months. I felt bad about being so lazy, but getting through the day at work was enough for me! :)
This last month has been much better as I've come into the second trimester. I've found my energy, but lost some of my wardrobe! My clothes were the right fit before, and now they are very snug and I feel like a sausage crammed into my jeans and work pants. I went and bought my first pair of maternity pants (I LOVE THEM!), a new bra and a few shirts. I'm still getting by with the clothes I can wear and my new items, but soon its going to be time to get a few more staples I think. In a few more weeks I should round out, but for now my belly is just sort of pushing the fat out a bit more than usual. This of course makes me feel wonderful. :)
The baby is now the size of chicken breast they say (as I've finally gotten out of the produce, going from blueberry to strawberry, nectarine, apple and orange), and soon I'll be going in for a detailed ultrasound in which if we want to know the sex they may be able to tell. I don't want to know, but I'm afraid I will cave when they ask. I'm really okay with either, but it would make shopping a lot easier to know! Is that a crappy reason for ruining the surprise?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
False Alarm! Still Pregnant...
The first couple of months were a bit wacky. Basically, Mitch and I agreed that although we were both scared and less prepared than maybe we would have liked, we were happy and excited about having a baby together. At first we decided not to tell people, but both of us were too excited to hold it in and started to spread the news to family and friends. Just as soon as we had really gotten that ball rolling, a very scary Saturday morning happened in which we thought we lost the baby.
GROSS WARNING - I was walking through the kitchen when I felt a wetness. I looked down and was horrified to see that my pink pajama pants had bright red blood soaking through the legs. I called to Mitch and told him I was bleeding. He met me in the bathroom and asked if I was okay, what could he do. I told him that I wasn't in any pain, I just started bleeding all of a sudden. I was sitting on the toilet and I felt some bigger clots pass. I thought, "Oh God, that was it...that was the baby."
I just sat there, not really sure what to do. I wasn't bleeding very heavily anymore. Mitch jumped on Google told me what the signs of miscarriage were (I didn't have any pain or cramping) and also told me that sometimes your body rejects the fetus for no reason, a surprising 25% of first pregnancies end up miscarried for no reason. I got in the shower and by the time I finished, I felt sort of numb. Not physically, I mean emotionally. Physically, I was totally fine. There was still no pain or cramping and then I sort of had a normal period for the next few hours.
Over the next week we broke the news to friends and family that I'd lost the baby. He and I went to Chicago to visit my family for Thanksgiving. I had a glass of wine, now that I 'wasn't pregnant' anymore. When we got back I went to my regular OB/GYN. He didn't want to do an ultrasound and just took my blood, saying we could look at it now and then in another week to determine if I needed to have a DNC or if everything would pass naturally. Well, two weeks later (it was hard to get a responce from him or his office), he tells me he doesn't like the results and needs to see me in his office as soon as possible. Of course, I start worrying. At this point, I had told my boss because I had several doctor appointments going on.
Mitch and I drive to the doctor's main office in Monroe and first thing they do is an ultrasound. I explain the situation to the technician (they couldn't find my chart and weren't sure why I was there; I've since changed doctors). The tech tells me that I certainly don't need a DNC because there is a perfectly healthy baby in there the right size (11 weeks now), and turns the speaker on so we can hear the heartbeat. OHMYGOODNESS!!! We were totally surprised, and thrilled. We both got a bit teary and left the office with our first baby pictures to show off. Can you imagine? I really was scared that something was very wrong with me, that I had a disease or my insides were all messed up. I really didn't think, "oh hey, you are still pregnant. Congrats!"
We called everyone a second time. I've found out since that there are two possibilites, either a vanishing twin, or that blood gets sort of trapped between the uterus and amniotic sac that finally made its way out in a splash. My current doctor (who I like very much and knows my and Mitch's names!) said its nothing to worry about and just sort of happens sometimes. Okay by me!
I think I'm sort of glad things happened that way. Even though it was scary, Mitch and I realized how sad we were that we had 'lost the baby', and talked about trying again maybe in a few months when we were a bit more prepared. Before, I think maybe at first it was something that happened and okay, that is what is happening, lets work it out. But then when we both started talking about how we were sad and really happy and excited about the baby, it was that much sweeter to know we were still on that track.
GROSS WARNING - I was walking through the kitchen when I felt a wetness. I looked down and was horrified to see that my pink pajama pants had bright red blood soaking through the legs. I called to Mitch and told him I was bleeding. He met me in the bathroom and asked if I was okay, what could he do. I told him that I wasn't in any pain, I just started bleeding all of a sudden. I was sitting on the toilet and I felt some bigger clots pass. I thought, "Oh God, that was it...that was the baby."
I just sat there, not really sure what to do. I wasn't bleeding very heavily anymore. Mitch jumped on Google told me what the signs of miscarriage were (I didn't have any pain or cramping) and also told me that sometimes your body rejects the fetus for no reason, a surprising 25% of first pregnancies end up miscarried for no reason. I got in the shower and by the time I finished, I felt sort of numb. Not physically, I mean emotionally. Physically, I was totally fine. There was still no pain or cramping and then I sort of had a normal period for the next few hours.
Over the next week we broke the news to friends and family that I'd lost the baby. He and I went to Chicago to visit my family for Thanksgiving. I had a glass of wine, now that I 'wasn't pregnant' anymore. When we got back I went to my regular OB/GYN. He didn't want to do an ultrasound and just took my blood, saying we could look at it now and then in another week to determine if I needed to have a DNC or if everything would pass naturally. Well, two weeks later (it was hard to get a responce from him or his office), he tells me he doesn't like the results and needs to see me in his office as soon as possible. Of course, I start worrying. At this point, I had told my boss because I had several doctor appointments going on.
Mitch and I drive to the doctor's main office in Monroe and first thing they do is an ultrasound. I explain the situation to the technician (they couldn't find my chart and weren't sure why I was there; I've since changed doctors). The tech tells me that I certainly don't need a DNC because there is a perfectly healthy baby in there the right size (11 weeks now), and turns the speaker on so we can hear the heartbeat. OHMYGOODNESS!!! We were totally surprised, and thrilled. We both got a bit teary and left the office with our first baby pictures to show off. Can you imagine? I really was scared that something was very wrong with me, that I had a disease or my insides were all messed up. I really didn't think, "oh hey, you are still pregnant. Congrats!"
We called everyone a second time. I've found out since that there are two possibilites, either a vanishing twin, or that blood gets sort of trapped between the uterus and amniotic sac that finally made its way out in a splash. My current doctor (who I like very much and knows my and Mitch's names!) said its nothing to worry about and just sort of happens sometimes. Okay by me!
I think I'm sort of glad things happened that way. Even though it was scary, Mitch and I realized how sad we were that we had 'lost the baby', and talked about trying again maybe in a few months when we were a bit more prepared. Before, I think maybe at first it was something that happened and okay, that is what is happening, lets work it out. But then when we both started talking about how we were sad and really happy and excited about the baby, it was that much sweeter to know we were still on that track.
Friday, January 22, 2010
"maybe you are pregnant"
So, I'd been feeling extremely tired late October and seriously thought something was wrong with my thyroid. I decided that it was time to go see an Endrocrinologist ASAP. A co-worker announced that his wife was pregnant around this time an joked with us anytime someone said something about their health that 'they might be pregnant!' This is when a small bell rang in my mind and I started to take inventory. When was I supposed to be visited by Aunt Flow this month? Ah, next week....all good, or so I thought! But that was still nagging in my mind...maybe you are pregnant. We all do this, right? Even though there is NO WAY, we approach that time of month with a little nervousness...maybe I'm pregnant. And I was one of those...there was NO WAY I could be, but I looked up symptoms online out of curiousity. I had like 9 of the 12 or 13!
GROSS/PERSONAL WARNING - Yeah I was tired, like REALLY tired, and super constipated! I had the weird smell thing a few times where I smelled things nobody else could. And the girls had been sore recently, now that you mention it! And cramps...I was having them, but nothing else (except bloating, another symptom). And I'm usually a start right away kind of person, like within ten or so minutes of the first uterus flinch. I also had some light headaches and quesyness I wrote off as well. And my night trips to the bathroom had increased as well. You might wonder how I could not have known, but these are also all PMS symptoms, so I thought I was just being a little funky and waiting for the period....any moment now....
I double checked the calendar...wait...I was off, I should have had my monthly friend LAST WEEK. "I think I'm pregnant! Ohgosh, I think I'm pregnant!" was all I could think of for the rest of the day. I drove right to CVS after work and bought a two for one package of something or another You Might Be Pregnant tests and went home. Wait for morning pee, no way! I was peeing on that stick as soon as I could. I waited the tormenting minutes and went back in to look. Two lines=baby and that is what I had. Well, I hadn't told Mitch yet and decided that I wouldn't yet, until morning when I took the second test and for sure knew. Whatever, I already for sure knew. Still...I thought, I'll wait till the morning.
I went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Mitch looks over at me and is like "what"? I don't think I was containing anything very well. I wanted to just start laughing...I do that, when I'm not quite sure how to react. I had a cat that had seizures and the first time it happened, I started screaming and then laughing while I was driving to the pet hospital. It wasn't funny, that isn't why I was laughing. Wait, wait...it wasn't a horrible moment though so maybe this a bad comparison. Anywho, I told him to go into the bathroom and look on the counter. He did and yelled back out at me, "Does two lines mean yes or no? There isn't a plus or minus sign." How cute, haha! "Two lines means I am." The morning test turned out to be the same, duh!
GROSS/PERSONAL WARNING - Yeah I was tired, like REALLY tired, and super constipated! I had the weird smell thing a few times where I smelled things nobody else could. And the girls had been sore recently, now that you mention it! And cramps...I was having them, but nothing else (except bloating, another symptom). And I'm usually a start right away kind of person, like within ten or so minutes of the first uterus flinch. I also had some light headaches and quesyness I wrote off as well. And my night trips to the bathroom had increased as well. You might wonder how I could not have known, but these are also all PMS symptoms, so I thought I was just being a little funky and waiting for the period....any moment now....
I double checked the calendar...wait...I was off, I should have had my monthly friend LAST WEEK. "I think I'm pregnant! Ohgosh, I think I'm pregnant!" was all I could think of for the rest of the day. I drove right to CVS after work and bought a two for one package of something or another You Might Be Pregnant tests and went home. Wait for morning pee, no way! I was peeing on that stick as soon as I could. I waited the tormenting minutes and went back in to look. Two lines=baby and that is what I had. Well, I hadn't told Mitch yet and decided that I wouldn't yet, until morning when I took the second test and for sure knew. Whatever, I already for sure knew. Still...I thought, I'll wait till the morning.
I went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Mitch looks over at me and is like "what"? I don't think I was containing anything very well. I wanted to just start laughing...I do that, when I'm not quite sure how to react. I had a cat that had seizures and the first time it happened, I started screaming and then laughing while I was driving to the pet hospital. It wasn't funny, that isn't why I was laughing. Wait, wait...it wasn't a horrible moment though so maybe this a bad comparison. Anywho, I told him to go into the bathroom and look on the counter. He did and yelled back out at me, "Does two lines mean yes or no? There isn't a plus or minus sign." How cute, haha! "Two lines means I am." The morning test turned out to be the same, duh!
Monday, January 18, 2010
A new adventure - I'm PREGNANT!
I can't believe that I've only been back in the real world for less than four months. It already seems like ages ago I was hiking and driving the country. So much has happened! I decided to keep the blog going, because after all, I'm still continuing on in my adventures, right? I guess this next period will just be an adventure of a different sort, albeit a very personal one.
I decided to blog about my pregnancy (16 weeks yesterday!) because I don't want to talk the ears off Mitch, my co-workers, and non-kid having friends...I don't want to be that girl!
The whole point of my blogging about my epic adventure was that so I could go back and read over it later. Like an on-line journal, that if anyone still interested can read also, but mostly, its still for me. As I've been going on-line doing research, I've found lots of preggo ladies and read their preggo blogs, that have been enjoyable, just as reading AT blogs were for me a year ago. Well, onward and upward with my newest epic adventure! I re-named the blog and thought it was fitting and funny. You don't have to agree, I like it...
Of course I hope to have other things to talk about, however I'll be honest, it is sort of all I can think about right now. Just as I did with hiking, I'm not planning on holding anything back. The good, the bad the ugly...it is what it is still. There is your fair warning! If anything, I'm consistent. I mean, you can read all about technical terms and symptoms in the books, but what I enjoy most so far in the preggo blogs are the topics those books don't cover or really hit with any sort of detail that make you really feel secure or normal with what is happening to your body or the emotional nutbag you watch yourself being.
Stay tuned in for all those details and more next time while I recap my experience so far and keep it coming until July 4th (that's the day our peanut is supposed to make his/her entrance)! This has been the warm up, ease into it update for anyone that hadn't yet heard the good news yet...and the fair warning for anyone who thinks pregnancy stuff is gross, weird or just isn't interested.
I decided to blog about my pregnancy (16 weeks yesterday!) because I don't want to talk the ears off Mitch, my co-workers, and non-kid having friends...I don't want to be that girl!
The whole point of my blogging about my epic adventure was that so I could go back and read over it later. Like an on-line journal, that if anyone still interested can read also, but mostly, its still for me. As I've been going on-line doing research, I've found lots of preggo ladies and read their preggo blogs, that have been enjoyable, just as reading AT blogs were for me a year ago. Well, onward and upward with my newest epic adventure! I re-named the blog and thought it was fitting and funny. You don't have to agree, I like it...
Of course I hope to have other things to talk about, however I'll be honest, it is sort of all I can think about right now. Just as I did with hiking, I'm not planning on holding anything back. The good, the bad the ugly...it is what it is still. There is your fair warning! If anything, I'm consistent. I mean, you can read all about technical terms and symptoms in the books, but what I enjoy most so far in the preggo blogs are the topics those books don't cover or really hit with any sort of detail that make you really feel secure or normal with what is happening to your body or the emotional nutbag you watch yourself being.
Stay tuned in for all those details and more next time while I recap my experience so far and keep it coming until July 4th (that's the day our peanut is supposed to make his/her entrance)! This has been the warm up, ease into it update for anyone that hadn't yet heard the good news yet...and the fair warning for anyone who thinks pregnancy stuff is gross, weird or just isn't interested.
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