Surprise!!!!

I'm pregnant!!!!

Even though I never completely gave up hope that it would eventually happen, there were definitely times when I wondered if I'd ever get to say those words. But here I am!

It started around July 11th. It was getting close to time for my period to start and I was having some cramping down below. It felt similar to menstrual cramps, but maybe not exactly like them. However, I don't normally have cramps until after my period has arrived, so it was kind of strange. I haven't been temping regularly at all, but I took my temperature the morning of the 12th and it was quite high. I had also had some nausea. So I started to wonder if, after all this time, I could possibly be pregnant.

Shortly after I got home from work on the 12th, I took a HPT. For the first time in my life, I saw two lines! (With my first pregnancy, I never took a HPT. I discovered I was pregnant via labwork.) What a nice surprise! However, the test I had taken had an expiration date of July 2012. I figured it was still okay, but I'm paranoid, so I took another one that was not expiring any time soon. It was positive too! So I figured it must be really true. (I also took another one later that night and one in the morning.)

My husband was not home from work yet. I felt the need to tell someone, but I didn't want to tell him over the phone. So I called my parents and told them! They were very excited. They know we've been trying a long time. When my husband got home, I showed him the tests. Very creative way to tell your husband he's going to be a dad! He was on the phone when he walked in and I just wanted him to stop talking so I could tell him! He was excited, but also scared. So many things are going to change and we had plans for the future that now have to be altered. But he is looking forward to being a daddy!

I called my doctor's office the next morning, July 13th, to see if I could get a blood test done to confirm the pregnancy. My beta came back at 534 and my progesterone was 21.3. On the 15th, the beta was 1,383 and the progesterone was 22.8. My doctor (I'm still being followed by my RE at this point, even though I didn't conceive through fertility treatment) wanted me to have an ultrasound done the following week, so that was scheduled for the 21st. I asked if I could have my labs drawn again in preparation for the ultrasound and I'm glad I did. On the 21st, my beta was 10,778, but my progesterone had dropped to 16.9. Of course that drop worried me. I know progesterone fluctuates, but that seemed to be a pretty large drop to me.

At our ultrasound that afternoon, all we saw was the gestational sac, which was to be expected that early on. (Plus, I think the ultrasound equipment he was using was kind of old. I don't know if a newer and better machine would have seen more at that point.) I was 5w2d going by my LMP. He prescribed me some Prometrium for progesterone support and I started it that evening. He told me to take it orally and to take 100 mg three times a day. But I decided I would rather take it vaginally. He said that was okay, but dropped the dose down to 100 mg twice a day.

He noted that there was  large area of fluid in my uterus on the ultrasound, but did not say what it was. I thought he said he didn't know, but I'm not sure. He said it wasn't close to the baby and that it would not move around, so it wasn't something I needed to worry about. Of course, I worried about it anyway. He told me to come back in a week for another ultrasound and an appointment with the other doctor in the practice. My regular RE would be out that day and I didn't want to see this other doctor, but I wanted to have the ultrasound that day, so I just went with it. (I saw the other doctor one time, when we were first starting to seek out an answer to why we weren't getting pregnant. Neither my husband nor I liked her at all. It was such an awkward appointment and I didn't care for her bedside manner. Our personalities just did not mesh at all.)

Fast forward to the 28th and our second ultrasound. They took all the measurements this time and it took quite a while. The ultrasound tech said she would take a few minutes to get the measurements and then turn the screen around so we could look at it. Of course I was afraid there would be no baby there or that something would be wrong. I knew that at 6w2d, we might or might not see the heartbeat. Even though I knew it might be too early, I knew I'd worry about it if we didn't see it yet. So I was shaking a little from nerves while I was laying there on the table waiting for her to get done. Finally, she turned the screen around. And we saw the yolk sac and our sweet little baby. She did not show us the heartbeat, but she was able to measure it and it was 131 bpm. The baby measured just right at 6w2d. We got several good pictures. (Not that there's a whole lot to see, but it's still awesome to have!) Plus, they tested my progesterone again and it was up to 29.3, so that was good news.

I felt some relief after the ultrasound because everything was where it was supposed to be and the baby had a detectable heartbeat, which is a good sign.

Then we met with Dr. Awkward. Both J and I really like our RE. He is very personable and I feel comfortable asking him questions. He doesn't make us nervous or make us feel uncomfortable. He is the one who did my lap surgery last November. I trust him. But Dr. Awkward...ugh. Neither J or I were looking forward to meeting with her. Anyway, she said the ultrasound looked good. I asked her about the fluid in my uterus and she said it could be a subchorionic bleed. This is not exactly common in pregnancy, but it happens and most of the time it's not a big deal. Sometimes women will bleed out and the baby will be fine. Sometimes it is reabsorbed. Sometimes it causes problems. She was kind of negative about it. Even though the statistics I've found say there's a low chance it will cause the loss of the baby. But she seems like the kind of person who is kind of gloom and doom. I mean, I'm all for honesty, of course. I don't want the doctor to give me false hope. But I've done some research on this and I know that there is generally more reason to expect things to be okay than not with this particular issue.

The ultrasound report says this probably is a subchorionic bleed. Apparently my RE is out right now, but I've left a message for him to ask him if it's something I need to be concerned about based on the size and location. I wish I didn't have this to worry about because everything else seems to be going along pretty well. The ultrasound also showed a uterine fibroid that I was not aware of and I don't think my RE was either. I knew I had one, but they apparently found another small one. Why can't my uterus just be normal?

Anyway, overall things seem to be going well. I'm anxious to hear back from the doctor on his opinion of the bleed. If he says it's small and nothing to worry about, I'll feel better. I'm sure I'll still worry, but maybe not as much. I know worrying about it doesn't help. I've been praying a lot about the baby and I know other people are praying too. We have another ultrasound on August 11th. I think this is mostly to check on the bleed, but I guess we'll be able to see the baby again too. Bonus!

Baby R is due on March 20, 2012! (Which happens to be my mom's birthday!)

Summer fun.

Last month, my husband surprised me with tickets to the NKOTBSB concert in town. (That's New Kids on the Block and the Backstreet Boys, for those of you who didn't listen to boy bands when you were a kid.) I was pretty excited! (And J got the tickets from his job and didn't have to pay for them, so that made it even better.) I was never a huge fan of the BSB, but I did like NKOTB when I was younger. It was fun (and cheesy) hearing all those songs from the old days. And there is nothing like 40 year old men trying to be as "cool" as they were when they were teenagers. It was hilarious. Even J seemed to have a good time, although I think he is hesitant to admit this since it involves losing his "man card".

We also recently went to a theme park to enjoy a day of fun, rollercoasters (and other rides, of course) and people watching. Oh, the people. I think it is possible that I saw more tattoos in that one day than I have in all the previous days of my life put together. It was crazy. I have a couple of tattoos (small ones) so I'm not against them. But most of these were just not attractive and too big! Don't they know how they're going to look when they're 80 years old? I'm guessing most of them don't care or haven't thought about it. At any rate, it was interesting.

I'm supposed to be studying for the LSAT that I'm retaking in October, but I haven't spent much time on it lately. It is so boring and it's pretty easy for me to find something else to do that's more important or pressing. I mean, I have to do laundry and cook dinner, right? And by the time I get home from work and do all the stuff around the house, my brain is too tired to study. I can easily stay up until midnight or later most nights, but not if I'm trying to read something. Even if it's something I want to read, it puts me to sleep. And, trust me, the LSAT study books and questions are not things that anyone (in their right mind) wants to read.

I fully intend to get some pictures on here at some point. I promise! Blogs are so much better with pictures (in my opinion).