The Sweetest Sound

First, let me start by saying that technology is AMAZING! I was beyond shocked to learn that our parents did not even have the technology of ultrasound! I cannot imagine. After announcing my pregnancy to Jay's family we heard the funniest story, which I will recount here, before moving on to the real topic of this thread:
Since there was no such thing as an ultrasound when Jay's grandmother was pregnant, she actually learned she was having twins...get this...IN THE DELIVERY ROOM!
WHAT!? IMAGINE!?
A phone call was placed to Jay's grandfather: "We have a surprise! Your wife gave birth to twins! Get to the hospital right away!"
Upon arriving to the hospital, he was greeted by another doctor (not the one who placed the phone call):
"Mr. Reed! We have a surprise! There was another baby!"
"TRIPLETS!?"
Whoops - no - just twins :-) The second doctor was not aware of the first doctor's phone call. Great story.


Ok, moving on. A few weeks ago I purchased an amazing piece of technology. A home fetal doppler device. Although the baby's heart was technically beating, I knew I wouldn't be able to hear it that early, but I was still excited to make the purchase. A few days later it arrived, and as expected, I couldn't hear a thing. Well, to be more specific, I heard a lot of static and my OWN heartbeat... Not very exciting.
I repeated this process every few days or so, still without luck - until this morning!! I HEARD THE BABY'S HEARTBEAT!!!


It was the sweetest sound. I wish that Jason was home to experience it with me. He wasn't, but I'm sure I'll find it again for him and we can share that moment again and again.
It didn't sound the way that I expected - and I think it's because it's still early. It didn't sound much like a heartbeat at all, but more like a whooooosh, or more like putting your ear to a sea shell. I knew I found it though because 1) I hadn't heard this sound before and 2) my monitor consistently showed a heartbeat around 165 which I was never able to detect before.
WOOHOO!!!


What an amazing thing... I'm hoping that this device will help me bond with the baby in those months before I will actually be able to feel the baby move. I really feel like it's REAL now. Sure, my nausea and growing gut were signs, but this was REAL. I heard her :-) 
(yes, her, we're convinced it's a girl!!)


By the way, if anyone is curious about the device that I used, I bought the Sonoline B.

Tilt-a-Whirl

When I first found out that I was pregnant, I felt GREAT! I figured, hey, I feel so great, I must be one of those lucky few that don't get morning sickness! Woohoo! Pregnant women everywhere are going to hate me, but I don't care! I've never felt better!


Hahahahaha.... think again mama! Fast forward a few weeks when the high levels of hcg kick in and HELLO nausea! The only way that I can explain the feeling is to compare it with riding the tilt-a-whirl 15 times in a row. And feeling like that constantly. Or if you've ever experienced motion sickness on a boat... it's that. But worse. And it doesn't go away.


Remember - food is ALL that I had left!! And now my one source of comfort makes me gag! OH NO. Now I'm nauseous, hungry, and worried I'm not providing enough nutrients for my baby. Begin downward spiral of moodiness and depression.


I couldn't concentrate on work, I hated food, I resented my husband merrily eating his dinner with glass of wine in hand, and I needed help fast. Ok - let's go to the internet. What can I do to make this go away?

Fast forward a few days and I'm home sipping ginger ale, sucking on ginger flavored preggie pops, nibbling on ginger snaps, with sea band wrist thingies on. Yes, this was most definitely a sight to see. Oh, and I was in tears I might add. None of this crap was working and I was fed up.
So I made a call to my wonderful understanding nurse Nancy, left a weepy message and begged for some help.


Enter - Zofran! *Ta Da!* Kind of sounds like the name of a super hero doesn't it? Well IT IS! It's the morning sickness super hero and it was here to take all of my problems away! (sort of)
You see, many pregnant chicks don't have a loving doctor like I do. Or perhaps they didn't complain enough (hehe) but mine, however, loved me (or got sick of me calling - you choose) and decided to prescribe me Zofran. This is a medication that was originally created to help the nausea associated with chemotherapy treatments. And it's safe for pregnant chicks. YES! YES! YES!
Is the medication perfect? Nope. I still need to make sure I keep food in my belly, and I need to take it early enough in the morning before the nausea settles in, but it really is a miracle drug. I don't know what I'd do without it.
I will spare you the details of the other side effects (anyone who's taken this medication knows what it is) but let's just say I'd rather not puke than not poop :-)


So - if you have a pregnant friend who is suffering, please pass along this post, or at least the name of my superhero friend, because there is hope. 

Here - pee in this...

That's a phrase and activity I'm going to be getting REALLY comfortable with!!


We had our first doctor's appointment last week. It's the first prenatal appointment of MANY more to come. It was exciting and scary all at the same time. The first appointment is mainly an 'informative' type of appointment.
You sit down in a room with the prenatal nurse and you review both mom and dad's medical history, family history, etc. You take a look at the date of your last period and estimate your due date (May 1st - what a beautiful time for a baby huh?). And then you start talking about your 'testing options.'


Let me start by saying that I am not a woman who likes surprises. With so much out of my control and so much happening to my body (already!) I want to know as much as I can about the baby and the process. So yes, we are going to find out the sex of the baby. And when asked 'Do you want to perform genetic testing?' we answered with a loud 'HELL YES.'
We believe in taking advantage of all that modern technology has to offer. So, after receiving a stack of pamphlets and baby magazines, I was whisked off to provide blood and urine samples.
We were tested for first, the obvious - a pregnancy. Surprise! Positive. hehe
We were also tested for the usual immunity stuff. I was tested for toxoplasmosis immunity which is done if you have cats. I'm not immune so lucky and loving Jay will be changing the litter until May :-) And finally I was tested for cystic fibrosis. I am not a carrier and so Jay does not need to be tested (phew!)
First round of tests, under our belt. We're almost pros at this already! (Who am I kidding...)


Our next appointment will be the most special of them all. We will hear the heartbeat. I am both anxious and excited and like any mom I worry. I worry we won't hear it, I worry it won't be strong enough. But every day I try to force those fears to the side and I try to focus on enjoying each day. Jason is a great comfort and assures me that everything will be ok, and deep down inside I know that it will.

Now What!?

Yeah, so all that excitement and happiness and joy that I expressed in the previous post - that all comes to a screeching halt when you realize the following:
I drink. I smoke. I love coffee. I have a trip planned to Canobie Lake next month.


OH. SHIT. I'm pregnant and my life is about to DRASTICALLY change. 
Let's start with the obvious. From the moment I found out, I knew that I would never ever smoke another cigarette. I would not wean myself off, I would be quitting cold turkey. I wouldn't have 'just one more' and say goodbye. That last cigarette, whenever it was, was the very last. 


That last drink? That was the last too - at least until I'm safely into my second trimester. And even then, let's be honest, although I truly do love the taste of wine and pumpkin beer (not together of course) - I drink to feel the effects of alcohol. One measly glass of wine from time to time is just going to be a tease. Also, I plan on breastfeeding (further extending my period of sobriety.) I probably won't be drunk again for another year!


WHOA. Is this pregnancy or rehab!!?? Wait, they let you smoke cigarettes in rehab :-) *sigh*


Now, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change my situation for the world... I was still REALLY happy and excited. I was just coming to grips with my situation (and my nicotine withdrawals.) And this would last a few weeks. If I'm honest with myself, I'm still adapting to the situation a month later, but it's much much easier now.


Ok - so we covered the obvious - booze, done. Cigarettes, done. But WAIT. There is a list of foods that I can't have either!!?? Food is all that I have left right now! No deli meats!? No feta cheese!? What is this craziness that you speak of!? And what the hell constitutes 200mg of caffeine a day. There's hidden caffeine in chocolate!? How much!? 
Over the last month I've gotten more comfortable with my dietary constrictions. I'm not going to be a slave to this list. I'm an adult and I can make my own choices. I've given in to drinking decaf coffee so I don't have to give up soda completely. I've gone to my favorite sub shop and asked them to verify that their feta cheese is made from pasteurized milk and I'm happy to be eating greek salads again. I won't eat sushi but I'll have a ham and cheese calzone...


I'll be skipping that trip to Canobie Lake but I'll go visit my niece and nephew and do something fun with them and will enjoy my day regardless.


Basically - you learn to adapt, and as you adapt you grow to love the little lima bean growing inside you more than you could possibly ever imagine. These things no longer feel like sacrifices, but more like temporary adjustments on the road to creating the greatest gift I could ever imagine. <3

'PREGNANT'

Whoa! It works! We made a baby!
The one thing that I've been hearing, as we spread the news is, 'wow you guys move quick!'


Sure, we've only been married since May, but we've been together for 4 years and neither of us saw any reason to wait. I was definitely surprised how quick it happened though. I wanted to start right away because I was afraid we might run into issues, or that it might take 6 months to a year.
NOPE! We're both healthy and well, I'll spare you the details. You all know how babies are made :-)


We found out on August 22nd. I was home and I was SURE that I was getting my period. Bloated, slightly crampy, moody. We went camping the weekend before and I brought with me tampons and a new bottle of midol (HA!) Well, that period never came and so I thought, what the hell, I'll take a test.


I walked away from the test and didn't think about it, didn't hover over it, just went back to work in my home office. A few minutes later I remembered that it was sitting on the sink waiting for me. It was one of those digital tests and SURPRISE! It clearly read PREGNANT.
NO. WAY.


Instantly I contacted Jay by sending him a chat message over our Gmail account. 

1:03 PM me: um

  are you there?

 Jason: yes

 me: my pregnancy test came back "pregnant"

1:04 PM going to retest

  figured I'd take one since I didn't get my period yet today

 Jason: oh boyyyyyyyyyyyy

I was really concerned about 'false negatives' so I forced myself to take another one. I absolutely needed to be sure. So, after an hour or so of drinking water and trying my hardest to pee, I took another one.

I called Jay and confirmed. I called my sister and laughed and cried and shook with excitement. I called my aunt and did the same. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.