"Just Barely" Pregnant PS''ers

[amc80]

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If you dont mind me asking, did you have to do some kind of a bloodwork to go with your NT scan results?

I had my NT scan and then went to get blood drawn after it. About a week later, I was given my ratios. A month later I got blood drawn again and was given new ratios. Some docs have you draw your first set of blood before the NT scan so you can get your preliminary results right after the scan.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

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Well, I am officially dipping my toes in the water here... 6w5d. Hellooooooo ladies

Hi Meresal, welcome!

Sticky thoughts being sent your way, and congratulations on the great news!

(P.S. The shoes in your avatar have always made me smile each time I see one of your posts.)

 

[fleur-de-lis]

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Yay Indecisive! And a girl. I have very strong boy vibes but am on team green. Great that your work took it well. I have to tell mine next week!

Well all went well, baby measuring right on 12w2d. Hb of 156. Nuchal fold was 1.45mm and they saw a nasal bone. He was jumping around kicking his legs and drinking the amniotic fluid. One bad thing is I have an anterior placenta oh of course and a still retroverted uterus. So pics didn't come out that well.

Risk if downs was 1:2500. Other trisomies were 1:28000 and 1:78000 so I guess all is good!

GREAT numbers, mlk, so happy to hear things progressing so well!

 

[mlk]

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Lexie I am in Australia so it might be different here. I went to a pretty high tech place where they took me first for the blood test, hcg and Papp someting, then went upstairs for the scan. I waited half an hour then saw the genetic counsellor who gave me the combined results. There was no mention of any further blood testing at 15 weeks

 

[fleur-de-lis]

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I have just had the best day and I can't stop smiling. The baby was rolling around and moving his or her little fingers. The u/s technician said her guess is girl but it is not official until it is official. Little one is actually still measuring ahead so I must have ovulated earlier than I thought I did. They were showing 13 weeks or 12 weeks 5 days with the measurements but she didn't think it was a big enough difference to change the due date. I did end up telling my office and everyone was so excited. I will try to post a picture tomorrow!

What wonderful news! Congratulations, Indecisive! (It's beginning to get REALLY REAL now, isn't it? )

 

[mlk]

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Thanks fleur!

 

[fleur-de-lis]

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So ladies, the BABY WAS KICKING AND I FELT IT this last week! 15w6d. For all of you following by only a few weeks, I was reclining after dinner last Friday and felt tiny little jab in my lower abdomen which the brain instantly intuited was a little leg mightily pushing to make a readjustment in position, 5 or 6 times, separated by about 5 seconds each, very low on my abdomen. If I didn't know I was pregnant with a little being with legs in there, however, I would have described each kick as a twitch of a very small muscle, kind of an involuntary eye twitch, in a place where I didn't think I had any really small muscles.

So cool!

 

[that_someone_special]

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FDL awesome!!!!!!

 

[indecisive]

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FDL- you are exactly right!! It just feels more real now and that is amazing . I am so excited you got to feel kicks!! So amazing

 

[that_someone_special]

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Yesterday I ate: breakfast 1, breakfast 2, dinner 1, and dinner 2. Today.... Ugh..... Yucky.

 

[meresal]

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Well, I am officially dipping my toes in the water here... 6w5d. Hellooooooo ladies

Hi Meresal, welcome!

Sticky thoughts being sent your way, and congratulations on the great news!

(P.S. The shoes in your avatar have always made me smile each time I see one of your posts.)

Thanks Fleur... funny and excited to be going thru this with a whole new group this time

I made it over here Indecisive. I was waiting for our first appointment to make sure everything looked good. Now we wait another month for our next one. We get to see our little bear thru the U/S II machine, so hoping for MUCH better pics

 

[Puppmom]

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MLK and Indecisive, congrats on wonderful ultrasounds!

Meresal, welcome! Do you have an official due date? I’m so glad your first appointment went well…what a great anniversary present!

Mia, sorry for the tummy troubles. I’m in the same boat. What I can stomach is NOT healthy in the least. That, coupled with the bloat, has me holding my pants closed with a rubber band. Oh, and yay for hearing the heartbeat! I wasn’t brave enough to buy a Doppler. With DS, the doc couldn’t hear his heartbeat at my 10 week appt so I was afraid it wouldn’t work early on and my paranoia would just get worse.

Bean, sounds like we have opposite issues! I think it’s normal to lose some weight early in pregnancy depending on how you feel and how your body adjusts. When’s your next appointment? It seems like we’re all similar schedules.

FDL, movement?! That’s fantastic! I didn’t feel DS until like 21 or 22 weeks but I’m hoping to get some reassurance sooner than that this time.

AFM, I’m a hot mess. My house is a mess. I don’t even shower daily and I’m in bed by 7 but can’t sleep. My eyebrows need to be waxed like nobody’s business, I get hot flashes if I attempt to blow dry my hair and I’m holding my pants closed with a rubber band. On a positive note, the nausea has slowed down a bit and I have bigger *breaks* and take the Zofran very infrequently.

DS has become such a daddy’s boy as a result of my frequent absence/uselessness and it kind of makes me sad. Yesterday, DH was cleaning up something in the basement and DS was crying for him. Every time I tried to soothe him, he just yelled “No!” and swatted me away. All I hear all day is, “No, Daddy help. No, Daddy play. No, Daddy sit.” I’m hoping to be back into full swing soon. I miss him.

DH has been awesome. He does everything for DS…really, EVERYTHING. I haven’t changed a diaper in over two weeks. And MIL, seriously, I don’t know what we would do without her. Oh, and DD, she cleans and does the dishes every day.

I have an appointment tomorrow and I’m hoping we can hear the heartbeat (I'm right at 10 weeks). Heck, I’m pretty sure a nervous breakdown is on the horizon if I don’t.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

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Hi Puppmom (and Lexie, welcome!), sorry that it's taken a bit of time to get back here to post the information about the MaterniT21+ test and how it compares to the other tests (I waited until I could have the literature with the specific data in front of me).

So the first/older option, is what you described Puppmom; in my state, California runs the monopoly on testing ("CA Prenatal Testing Program") to make sure things are unified:

Lexie, the nt scan coupled with the blood tests is referred to as the "triple" screen or "sequential" screen. So day 1, you get the u/s and initial blood work then about 4 weeks later, you get the follow up blood work. I don't want to speak for MLK but I think the risks quoted to her by her doctor are based specifically on the u/s measurements.

There are a few us here at a similar point in pregnancy as you so hopefully we can help each other along the way. Good luck!

Sequential Integrated Blood Screening

So how it works, in essence, is that blood is drawn twice (once in wk 10-13.3, again in wk 15-20), and a nuchal translucency scan is done between weeks 12-14. The blood tests are measuring levels of certain chemicals (PAPP-A, hGC, AFP, uE3, Inhibin), the levels of which can indicate some biological defects in the fetus which correspond to Downs, Trisomy 13/18, neural tube defects and abdominal wall defects. In CA, the charge for these screens is $192; insurance may cover it. The accuracy rates for the two blood tests, when combined, are as follows:

--85/100 of Downs
--79/100 of Trisomy18
--97/100 anencephaly
--80/100 open spina bifida
--85/100 abdominal wall defects
--60/100 SLOS

Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound

Is an ultrasound which measures the back of the fetus's neck, as a thicker fold can correspond to a baby with Downs. In tandem with the blood screens above, the accuracy improves to the following:

--90/100 of Downs (increase 5 points)
--81/100 of Trisomy18 (increase 2 points)
--97/100 anencephaly
--80/100 open spina bifida
--85/100 abdominal wall defects
--60/100 SLOS

What next, traditionally?

The test results from above are then calculated against certain factors that have nothing to do with the draws above; maternal age is a big one. A 40 year old woman's odds will come back with MUCH higher odds than a 20 year old woman's odds, even if the data from the screens above are similar.

If the numbers are troubling, then the next step traditionally is the invasive procedures of CVS or amniocentesis. The accuracy of these tests are higher; for CVS it's around 97%, and amnio is close to 99%. However there are risks of miscarriage; for CVS, it's around 1/150; for amnio, it's about 1/300.


The new option:
MaterniT21+ by Sequenom, available to public since October 2011

From the website: "The MaterniT21 test analyzes circulating cell-free DNA extracted from a maternal blood sample. The test detects an increased amount of chromosomal 21, 18, and 13 material... Circulating cell-free DNA is purified from the plasma component of anti-coagulated maternal whole blood. It is then converted into a genomic DNA library for the determination of chromosome 21, 18, and 13 representation based on massively parallel genomic sequencing."

The fetal nucleic acid is thought to be cast off from the placenta. The genomes are then tested for Trisomies 13, 18, and 21. The accuracy rate was found to be 98.6% in the clinical trial (one false positive in the group), which is significantly higher than the blood screen, a bit higher than CVS, and comparable to amnio-- but without the miscarriage risks of the later.



Since doing it, each of the doctors in the practice have been grilling me for information on procedure execution and cost, calling it "the wave of the future", and ruefully saying that big insurance takes a long time to adapt and approve new tech and that as a result, they aren't supposed to bring it up to patients (!!!) but each and every one kept saying that same phrase again and again: wave of the future, it's only a matter of time. At this time, Kaiser does not cover it, but Sequenom has evolved a tiered pricing system for now. If anyone is thinking of doing it, be sure to call and check pricing first to verify under your particular insurance, but as of July 2012 the tiered pricing is as follows:

--For PPO patients, out of pocket of $235
--For HMO patients, out of pocket of $475
--For uninsured patients, cost $1912


Anyhow, those are the basics; if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!

 

[Puppmom]

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Thanks, FDL! It's interesting how insurance doesn't cover it at all but there's a discounted rate if you're insured. My doc brought it up but right away said it was very unlikely that insurance would cover it. She suggested it because I'm old.

 

[mia1181]

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Welcome Meresal! I'm glad you are officially here!

MLK Congrats on baby passing the NT scan! You must be so relieved!

Indecisive Oh you can get an ultrasound if you pass on the NT scan? I was considering passing on it too, but I think we will do it just to have another peek at the little one. I'll have to ask if we could just get a regular ultrasound if we did decide to skip the NT scan. Anyway I'm glad yours went well! I had 5 ultrasounds before there was anything really to see besides a little gray blob, I can't imagine what it must be like to actually see it doing stuff in there!

FDL Wow! Kicks already?! I can't believe it! That must be so cool!

Bean Haha your diet sounds like mine. I am either starving or completely repulsed by food. Last night I threw the biggest temper tantrum because we went to bed and I decided to strike up a long conversation with my husband. A half an hour later I finally rolled over to go to sleep and then suddenly, hunger pangs! Like I was dying! I was so upset I started crying and DH was just confused. I got up and got some Teddy Grahams and a glass of milk and sat in bed munching and crying in the dark. The good news is that I woke up this morning feeling great for a change and I made it past my shower without throwing up. I walked out of my bathroom while brushing my teeth to see that my dog and DH were awake and DH was comforting the dog who throwing up on the wood floors. I made some snarky comment about how glad I was that someone else has morning sickness for a change, and... bam! I slid the toothbrush too far back and began gagging and started to throw up myself. Spoke too soon! Poor DH had to deal with a couple of barfers this morning! Anyway I plan to have a late snack again tonight and just be more careful when brushing my teeth and not mock the dog in the morning.

Pupp Good luck at your appointment tomorrow!!!!! I hope you hear that heart! I did have my first real doppler scare on Saturday which was not fun! I did a reverse triathlon on Saturday. I definitely felt pregnant while running and noticed it was a little more difficult to breath (nothing bad though). The bike and swim were easy. But I came home and kind of had this thought that I hope my hour and twenty minute workout didn't affect the baby and decided to pull out the doppler. I could not find the baby! I think it took like twenty minutes and I even took a break and tried different things like full versus empty bladder, and eating sugary foods. Eventually, there it was. I had to hold the wand at a really odd angle but it was in there! Anyway, now I appreciate it when women say it makes them more worried than relieved. I still like it, but I definitely don't think it is for everyone! BTW, my house is a mess too! Hopefully we'll be feeling better soon! One of my books says this week is usually when hormones peak and may be the toughest week, but the coming weeks usually get better! I'm really hoping that will be for us too!


AFM, Wow! I had my first weird hormonal cry today! It was bad! I had to leave a client's house because I was feeling like I might throw up and instead only gagged a few times in the car on the way to my office. But I was listening to CNN or something on the radio and there was this debate on breastfeeding or formula feeding or something that trust me, I am not really that invested in! Anyway a woman brought up a good point about how it should be every woman's choice and for some reason when I had that split second thought of "I agree with her," I was just overcome with emotion and immediately began crying! WTH! I mean it wasn't like I cared about the topic that much I was just listening to whatever but I just burst out in tears. But then suddenly I was crying because of feeling sorry for myself, about how sick I have been, about how tired I am, how I hate working when I feel this way, the frustration of no one knowing that I am pregnant so having to cover up how awful I feel, and mostly just feeling alone. Like I can't tell anyone how I really feel or they might think I am being dramatic, or trying to get sympathy, or insensitive to others who would love to be pregnant. Anyway, I was a mess. I now I can laugh about it. So I guess that was my first official mood swing, huh?

 

[indecisive]

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Mia- My ultrasound was technically to check a cyst. The cyst was a lot larger than then expect so they wanted to monitor it. Luckily it was half the size this time. I know what you mean about a NT scan giving you a chance to see the baby though. It is amazing for them to actually look like a baby.

pupmom- thanks for the congrats! I think there is nothing wrong with a messy house and unwaxed eyebrows. Or at least that is what I am trying to tell myself right now. Don't little ones go through phases of favoring one parent over the other anyway? I am sure your little guys will be back to being a mommy's boy right when you start feeling better.

mersal- Welcome again! It took me a little while to be comfortable posting here too.

 

[Puppmom]

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Mia, how in the world did you do a triathlon? I seriously struggle to get out of bed and, the more I lay around, the more tired I feel!

Indecisive, I’ve definitely hit an all time low in terms of my appearance! But, I’m just trying to survive at the moment. You’re right, DS will come around but man does it sting when he says he wants daddy.

…so I had my appointment last night and doc couldn’t find the heartbeat. He scheduled me for an ultrasound this morning and I saw a wiggly baby with a strong heartbeat. Phew! The only weird thing is the tech asked 2 or 3 times if I was having the NT scan and when it was scheduled. She has me worried that she saw something funny but she said everything looked good.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

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Mia, Puppmom, and Indecisive, you are soooo right on the appearance/eyebrow/overall frumpiness thing in the second half of the first trimester-- me too!

(Normal me loves applying makeup with my little Chanel brushes, artfully blending and sculpting, glossing my hair, putting a little whimsy into a coordinated outfit before I leave the home... yeah, right. Not even close in weeks 9-12. Even 60 seconds with the clarisonic was too much trouble. During that period, I was proud of myself if I both brushed my hair into a ponytail and brushed my teeth-- and the latter I expect I did mostly not for hygiene and health, but rather to get that disgusting dysgeusia out of my mouth.)

... I got up and got some Teddy Grahams and a glass of milk and sat in bed munching and crying in the dark. The good news is that I woke up this morning feeling great for a change and I made it past my shower without throwing up. I walked out of my bathroom while brushing my teeth to see that my dog and DH were awake and DH was comforting the dog who throwing up on the wood floors. I made some snarky comment about how glad I was that someone else has morning sickness for a change, and... bam! I slid the toothbrush too far back and began gagging and started to throw up myself. Spoke too soon! Poor DH had to deal with a couple of barfers this morning! Anyway I plan to have a late snack again tonight and just be more careful when brushing my teeth and not mock the dog in the morning.

Your post reminds of something, Mia. My little dog began vomiting one day when I was in week 9 too! Unlike yours, my dear (and apparently luckier) man was already at work when my little fluff fell ill. That morning, I was taking care of me, then taking care of the dog, then back to me, then back to the dog; he'd never vomited so frequently in all the years we've been together. (Then again, neither had I....) I had to give up my modesty about looking and probably smelling like such a hag, tossed on some sweats and large dark sunglasses, and took a journey to the emergency vet. Fortunately, my little fluff was fine after some hydration and anti-nausea meds, but it begs the question: Mia, do you think our dogs had the "sympathy symptoms" that the pregnancy books say sometimes occurs in the spouses of pregnant women?!??

 

[mia1181]

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Pupp- I'm so glad you got to see the baby again, heartbeat and all! You must have been so nervous waiting for the ultrasound, even though 10 weeks was too early with your DS too. How long does the doctor look? I just wonder because it took me so long to find the first time, I doubt a doctor would be able to sit there as long as I did searching for a heartbeat, especially knowing it's probably just too early. So happy all is well though! I know I must sound crazy doing a triathlon when I can barely get out of bed and my house is a mess too! It was a really easy one that I registered for a long time ago. I finished in an hour and twenty minutes so just think of going to the gym and working out moderately for that time. Actually, I feel better when I exercise and even for a little while after. The problem is getting out of bed though, I haven't even taken the dog for a walk since the race! Try not to worry about the tech's questions/comments I really really doubt she saw anything this early and it wouldn't be accurate anyway. Also, only certain people/machines can do the NT scan, it's not like anyone can just make a guess on a regular ultrasound. So far I have had 2 ultrasounds with techs that were cold or seemed like they were concerned about something but I get the exact reports they send my doctor saying everything is fine. I totally understand why they arent allowed to just tell us everything looks good, but it still sucks!

FDL-sorry to hear about your ER scare with your dog, but I'm glad it turned out okay. Post a pic! I don't know about sympathy symptoms but my dog has thrown up in the morning a few times now! Maybe! Yesterday he was walking across me while I was lying on the couch and all of a sudden he stopped and started sniffing right where the baby's heartbeat is! I actually didn't notice at first, I just wondered if I spilled anything on myself, but DH was freaking out like "Oh! He knows!!!". Probably a coincidence but it totally had us wondering!

 

[that_someone_special]

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Puppmom- What a sweet DH you have. That is awesome that he is doing all of that when you are so ill! No diapers for 2 weeks? I might try to drag that out a smidge

mia- OK that cracks me up about the teddy grahams and crying in the dark. I do that with granola bars or rice crispie treats. Every few hours you can hear the crinkle of a wrapper and whimpering/ whining from my side of the bed. The other thing is that brushing my teeth ALSO makes me gag! I have never had such a strong gag reflex... what is with that? I normally love brushing my teeth and tongue, but omg every single day I gag now when I do that. I've been told that pregnant women get cavities more often and I could see why!


Speaking of vomit...

We have our house on the market and had a huge long day earlier in the week with showings. I brought all 4 of the cats to the basement and sat with them... for 7 hours. (It was only supposed to be 2!) Well, I let one of the cats out of his carrier and he just walks around puking everywhere I find some paper towels that have been sitting down there and clean it up and then take a clean one to blow my nose. Because of the vomit and the smell of the paper towels I just start barfing all over Then, once I stop doing that I get a giant bloody nose and have to use icky smelling paper towels. I thought I was dying.

This morning I wake up DH and tell him I need a puke bucket. He sits in bed for another 5 mins until he decides to get up but mid getting a bucket he decides to turn around and use the bathroom first. That's when I just started gushing vomit all over the floor on his side of the bed I am NOT the puker type and while I won't feel well, I normally don't vomit. I'm 9w2d and can not remember the last time I felt good. It was at least mid June.

The good news is that we got a full price offer on the house from a good buyer (huge chunk of $ down etc). We are now pending inspection (monday) and almost have this wrapped up. We were on the market less than 3 days This makes me happy so that I can now sit at home for 2 months being sick and not having to cry when people want to see the house.

My next OB appointment is 8/9 and my next ultrasound is 8/17. I can't wait for my OB appointment. I have developed a rash only around my eyes.. like very small red blotchy dots. I look absolutely terrible. I ALSO used to primp myself and now... ugh... be lucky I'm in pants! I just plucked my brows half-heartily for the first time in 2 weeks. The thought of putting make-up on.. HA.. you must be kidding. I have a huge stash... er... collection and even though I love contouring and all that stuff too... um, no. This parasite is making me so ill that I'd rather look like crap instead of putting any amount of energy into myself. Sounds terrible, I know.

 

[that_someone_special]

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I've also been obsessing over Mac N Cheese tonight. I made something else earlier but I STILL WANT MAC N CHEESE. Sponge Bob shaped, to be exact. I think I will go make some now.. at 1:30 am. Normally, I wouldn't do that but the scale keeps ticking down, down, down, so I am not worried about calories at ALL right now. Just food

 

[that_someone_special]

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That's how I feel today. I slept 15 hours yesterday and then 5 this morning ... and I'M STILL TIRED.

I had a smidge of light pink blood yesterday too.. like the size of a quarter that went away and did not come back... I dunno. I have an appointment this week so we will be chatting about that. I keep jokingly referring to baby as The Parasite (as a joke, saw another mom use it) and I don't think it's good for me to do that. So.... yes, just... The Baby. I don't want any bad karma

My mom keeps saying, "STOP CALLING my grandchild a parasite!" LOL It's really a joke... I read the definition to her basically saying that even if I feel like poo the baby is getting all of my nutrients. Hehe. Maybe this isn't coming across as funny to anyone else, but we just joke like that. I've felt so terrible that joking about the situation seems to help. Don't get me wrong- I luvvvv the lil bean. I just wish he wasn't making me so sick (I think it's a boy, everyone else thinks girl).

 

[Haven]

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Bean--I'm so sorry to hear you're so sick! I really hope it settles down for you soon. I've been there, and I'm so sorry to hear that you're dealing with such terrible sickness. (YAY for the offer on your house, though!)

If it makes you feel any better, I called my baby an @sshole back when I was at my sickest. I was texting with my mom, and I said, "Is my baby an @sshole? He's really giving me a lot of grief." I wasn't serious, of course, it was just our own special brand of off color humor.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

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Hey Bean,

1. Congratulations on the offer-- that's wonderful!

2.

Speaking of vomit...

We have our house on the market and had a huge long day earlier in the week with showings. I brought all 4 of the cats to the basement and sat with them... for 7 hours. (It was only supposed to be 2!) Well, I let one of the cats out of his carrier and he just walks around puking everywhere I find some paper towels that have been sitting down there and clean it up and then take a clean one to blow my nose. Because of the vomit and the smell of the paper towels I just start barfing all over Then, once I stop doing that I get a giant bloody nose and have to use icky smelling paper towels. I thought I was dying.

Oh man, that sounds miserable... but the excellent picture you drew of the scene had me laughing. You tell stories very well!

Sending well-wishes that the spotting is no big deal; I understand a little is fairly common in a healthy pregnancy. I forget-- how many weeks along are you at this point?

 

[Puppmom]

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Bean, I'm sorry you're feeling so terrible. I know what you mean re: exhaustion. Sleep just doesn't seem to help. I try to relax at night with a book or a game on the kindle but sometimes, I'm too tired for even that. There will be good days though - today was one for me. I never thought I would be so happy to do laundry and grocery shop!

...not much new going on here. I've been feeling pretty anxious with the NT scan coming up on Friday. This pregnancy I get SO nervous for ultrasounds. When I was pregnant with DS, I was so excited for ultrasounds - even the ones to check on my ovarian cyst! This time, I lay there with my eye squeezed shut so tight that I can feel my pulse in them. I just can't bare to look until they say everything looks good. DH is having some worries about life after baby that are totally reasonable - time, finances, the impact on our relationship. Things that we should discuss. I can't even go there though because, in my head, going there feels presumptuous. Worrying about life after baby assumes that there WILL BE a baby in 6 months but my head and my heart aren't there yet. Part of it is taking things one day at a time and part (more probably) of it is I'm just SO worried that something will go wrong and it will hurt worse if I let myself believe everything will be okay. Ugh - putting that to paper makes me seem so pathetic! I really am trying to just take this one day at a time and hopefully will get to a point where I can enjoy it...soon!

 

[JGator]

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Puppmom, good luck with the NT next week. I completely understand where you are coming from especially since you had a MC previously. You don't want to look too far ahead. I had a CVS at 12 weeks and it became much more real that we had a future with this baby after the results came back, and we started to share the news that I was pregnant. I am 27 weeks today, and I am still worried about the worst happening, but I have more hope every day - particularly now that I can feel movement. Good luck to you and just take it one day at a time.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Here we go.

Greetings ladies. I haven't been very active on PS lately but I found out I was pregnant yesterday and I thought "I'd better get back on PS for that JBP thread!"

So funny story......

DH and I went out to a Mexican restaurant on Friday night. We were getting woozy on margaritas when a family with a wee baby sat at the table next to us. We acknowledged the baby's chubby little features and started talking about children. DH had recently caught a case of the baby fever. I was trying to quell it as I lack that maternal gene. We got to talking and decided that life is pretty fantastic right now and we have no plans for a baby ever in our future. We are going to be just the two of us (and our pets) and that's okay. We talked about trips we want to take, hobbies we want to expand or take up, etc etc. Basically, when all was said and done, I welcomed him to the dark side with me.

Fast forward to yesterday. My period is expected but hasn't arrived. I'm breaking-out and my boobs are really sore. Totally PMSing, but to ease my mind, I pee on a stick. I'm sitting on the toilet when I see the first line appear - the "not pregnant line." I start doing a little dance from my seated position. I even said in a singsong voice "ohhhhh yeah, our freedom continues....." or something like that. As I stand up and walk over to the sink to wash my hands and throw away the test, I see the second line. "no..... No...... NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I yelled for DH. He came up, looked at the stick and walked away. Then he told me to take another one. Of course it's the last one I have, so he grabs keys and we head to Walgreens. Buy a big bottle of water and another test. Girl at the counter gives me a smile like "dead woman walking."

Guess what? Second test is positive. Great. What are we going to do? Didn't we JUST decide life is awesome as is? Why did I need to get rid of that IUD? Were the cramps and crazy heavy flow that accompanied said IUD really THAT bad? We ordered a pizza, watched the Olypmics and tried to figure out what to do (we are both vehemently pro-choice, so that option was definitely on the table). My husband was 60/40 keeping it. I was 55/45 terminating or asking our gay neighbors if they knew any couples in the market for a baby. Finally, I just looked up at him from the couch and said "you know, you have a lot of love to give, I have a lot of love to give and we bought this big house......." He gave me a big hug, told me he loved me, we high-fived and so it is. I barely slept last night. I don't particularly like children and am worried I'll turn into my mother, but c'est la vie! We're both 30, employed, healthy and stable. Actually, we're that couple I always wanted to be someday. Nice (clutter-free) house, two big friendly dogs, international vacations, money in the bank......

Due date according to interwebs is April 13, 2013. Sh*t just got real.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

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I wanted to edit my post to add something but it's too late. I truly hope I do not come off as insensitive to the women who struggled to get pregnant or stay pregnant. I'm in shock and still processing. I apologize for sounding like a total jerk, especially to someone that would love to be in my position.

 

[TooPatient]

Re:

Travel Goddess,

I'm sorry you got such a big surprise. I hope as the shock wears off you will both be able to be happy and enjoy this time. When I saw that you had posted here, my first thought was "OMG! She's going to make a great mom to a very lucky kid". It sounds like your husband is very caring and supportive!


note: I'm not pregnant or trying. Just lurking around here procrastinating on homework!

 

[that_someone_special]

Re:

Haven- I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that has thought negative things. It's hard, you know... you love that little baby but wonder why you have to feel like death to get it. I am hoping you are feeling much better too!

fdl- Today I am 9w6d! Everything is going much, much better today. I have found that the more I baby myself (no lifting things or doing chores... and saying no to invites if I'm not feeling well) I just feel better all around. I have not had any blood since that one time. It DID coincide with the time I should be getting my period if I wasn't pregnant.. I wonder if that has anything to do with it?

puppmom- I know what you mean on the part of sort of preparing for the worse. I am a worrier and will worry until baby is here (and then a different type of worry will set it ) I agree taking it one day at a time is where I am at too. I just can't stress about what I have to do tomorrow and if I'll still be pregnant tomorrow. If I'm completely honest, when I found out I was pregnant I didn't think it would last. I was convinced that my body would reject it. I'm still worried about that. Anyhoo, I hope you are feeling much better and get to do more laundry and grocery shopping more and more