Let's get started with the background:
Between my ovarian cysts, and Daniel's daily dose of medicine know to cause temporary sterility in males, the odds were stacked against us from the beginning but God had plans for our family to grow! My VERY regular monthly cycle didn't come in June of this year as it is normally only off by a day or two at most, we took a home test which came up negative. I was a little relieved because honestly the thought of REALLY becoming a mommy was scary. Daniel was honestly heart broken, at the end of May we had found out we would become an aunt an uncle and he was a little sad that we could not share in the joy of parenthood too. But as the days turned into weeks, Daniel insisted we check again and sure enough on a Thursday morning before we left our separate ways to go to work we stood crying and holding each other in the sweetest embrace as instantly the test came back positive and we knew our lives would be changed forever from that point on!
We had originally NOT wanted to make the grand announcement too fast due to a close family friend's loss of two babies just a year earlier at an early gestational age. Our goal was to wait until the first trimester was over to make our announcement to the world. Things changed. As I drove to work in shock, awe, wonder, and amazement of all that was already going on inside my body, I knew one thing for certain... I had to tell my boss and coworkers that I was pregnant. As the knots grew larger in my stomach as the miles stretched on towards work, I knew I would break the news to my supervisor first. Being a chemist this meant the world around me was about to change, not that we are reckless in what we use and how we handle the chemicals we do but there are certain chemicals a grown adult can be exposed to in small doses that a fetus CANNOT, under any circumstances be exposed to. I walked in and with a knot in my throat, closed my supervisor's door and said I have some news, to which she said, oh no it's not bad I hope, as she began to see tears streaming down my face. I replied with a croaked no, it's not bad, very good actually and finished quietly breaking the news that I was expecting. After a joyful embrace, it was time to break it to my coworkers. I approached them each individually and it was hardest to approach one male who had recently lost a child at a later gestational age as he had to watch his wife give birth to a still born child. My heart broke as I approached him with my sweet news knowing inside his heart was still breaking for the son he would never know. He smiled and congratulated me but in my mind it was a struggle to get out.
After work, I called Daniel, wanting reassurance of our plan to wait to inform our families. During our conversation, I let him know I wanted our family to find out from us, not through the grapevine. Since my coworkers knew, and knew not to tell the world I hoped our secret wouldn't get out but was afraid how our family would feel if they were the "last" to know. We decided to tell our family together. So, that is just what we did. On the very day we found out our family also found out as well as a few close friends. We were beside ourselves and totally overjoyed at the blessing God was bestowing upon us.
The following weekend, I did not feel my best but figured it was the excitement, lack of sleep, and stress that had gone on throughout the week. Monday morning as I got ready for work morning sickness reared her ugly head and stayed with me the entire day so I could not keep water, sprite, crackers, or even ginger-ale down. At lunch I called a new doctor that I hoped I would like based on a friend's professional opinion since my GYN did not do OB. I was calling to see what, if anything I could be given for such horrible nausea. He wanted to see me that afternoon so I informed Daniel who met me there with open arms, which was a total surprise. I love how he has been overly supportive throughout my entire pregnancy. That day, the doctor made it official and scheduled our first ultrasound. Based on his calculations, our due date was February 6, 2012.
At our "gummy bear" ultrasound a week later, we measured eight weeks putting the due date as February 15, 2012 and has remained our due date throughout. Zofran quickly became my friend and daily companion although it's dizzying side effect left me spinning on my morning commute. I had to pull over several times on my thirty minute commute. After changing my dosage time to just before bed I could combat sickness and the dizziness was minimized. Each weekend I tried to come off the Zofran and each weekend I threw up until I would finally give in and take the pill that saved my stomach and my poor hubby from witnessing the relentless wrenching of my body on our bathroom floor. The nausea has been the only constant reminder of my pregnancy and if I miss a dose, to this day, by even an hour, my body will let me know and the stomach pain and nausea resume.
This pregnancy has been rather uneventful until the beginning of November. On the day I was to have my glucose test, I insisted Daniel not take time off work. This would not be an eventful doctors visit, no exciting ultrasound, no big milestones, just a lot of sitting and waiting for blood work. All was going well until the doctor asked me if I felt the baby move at least 4-5 times a day and I answered no and I only feel it every couple of days. After checking for a heartbeat and finding it rather quiet, he cleared the ultra sound tech's schedule to watch our baby until we could see it move. As I waited, texting both my hubby and mom of my worries, I began to cry unsure of what the doctor's concern meant for our little one. I lay on the table with poking and prodding for 30 minutes and then she went to get the doctor out of concern. He pushed alongside her and finally they saw movement, which I still could not feel. Our sweet baby had been sleeping and now stretched with arched back as if a baby would do when waking from a nap. Following that it twirled it's umbilical cord and kicked and punched with force without my knowledge. Shaken, I cried at the joyous movement I saw before my eyes. It was also at this appointment I gained weight for the first time in my pregnancy. In the beginning I was so sick and did not want to eat that I had actually lost weight.
Our little one continues to do well, move little, and make me gain weight. I do not have gestational diabetes and besides needing extra sleep and to take nausea medicine I have remained a fairly mellow pregnant mama. We do not definitively know what gender our little one is, although the "glimpses" we have seen make us feel as though it is a girl, we truly are unsure and will gladly accept whichever little blessing God bestows upon us. As of last week, I begin my two week doctor's visits which just reminds me of how close we are to meeting our little one. We are currently at 31 weeks gestational age and it is somewhat comforting to know that if our little was born now, although tiny, she would be able to survive. We have set up birthing and breast feeding classes and are excited as we head into the new year as lots of surprises await us.
Oh and we have names picked out: Wesley Owen Winn or Margaret "Maggie" Grace Winn. Wesley Owen, because it is one of the ONLY boy names we could agree on. Margaret "Maggie" Grace after my maternal grandmother, Margaret, whose name I have always loved and Grace because it's different but equally sweet.
Watch for weekly baby updates on Wednesdays hopefully each week until our little one arrives.
The following weekend, I did not feel my best but figured it was the excitement, lack of sleep, and stress that had gone on throughout the week. Monday morning as I got ready for work morning sickness reared her ugly head and stayed with me the entire day so I could not keep water, sprite, crackers, or even ginger-ale down. At lunch I called a new doctor that I hoped I would like based on a friend's professional opinion since my GYN did not do OB. I was calling to see what, if anything I could be given for such horrible nausea. He wanted to see me that afternoon so I informed Daniel who met me there with open arms, which was a total surprise. I love how he has been overly supportive throughout my entire pregnancy. That day, the doctor made it official and scheduled our first ultrasound. Based on his calculations, our due date was February 6, 2012.
At our "gummy bear" ultrasound a week later, we measured eight weeks putting the due date as February 15, 2012 and has remained our due date throughout. Zofran quickly became my friend and daily companion although it's dizzying side effect left me spinning on my morning commute. I had to pull over several times on my thirty minute commute. After changing my dosage time to just before bed I could combat sickness and the dizziness was minimized. Each weekend I tried to come off the Zofran and each weekend I threw up until I would finally give in and take the pill that saved my stomach and my poor hubby from witnessing the relentless wrenching of my body on our bathroom floor. The nausea has been the only constant reminder of my pregnancy and if I miss a dose, to this day, by even an hour, my body will let me know and the stomach pain and nausea resume.
This pregnancy has been rather uneventful until the beginning of November. On the day I was to have my glucose test, I insisted Daniel not take time off work. This would not be an eventful doctors visit, no exciting ultrasound, no big milestones, just a lot of sitting and waiting for blood work. All was going well until the doctor asked me if I felt the baby move at least 4-5 times a day and I answered no and I only feel it every couple of days. After checking for a heartbeat and finding it rather quiet, he cleared the ultra sound tech's schedule to watch our baby until we could see it move. As I waited, texting both my hubby and mom of my worries, I began to cry unsure of what the doctor's concern meant for our little one. I lay on the table with poking and prodding for 30 minutes and then she went to get the doctor out of concern. He pushed alongside her and finally they saw movement, which I still could not feel. Our sweet baby had been sleeping and now stretched with arched back as if a baby would do when waking from a nap. Following that it twirled it's umbilical cord and kicked and punched with force without my knowledge. Shaken, I cried at the joyous movement I saw before my eyes. It was also at this appointment I gained weight for the first time in my pregnancy. In the beginning I was so sick and did not want to eat that I had actually lost weight.
Our little one continues to do well, move little, and make me gain weight. I do not have gestational diabetes and besides needing extra sleep and to take nausea medicine I have remained a fairly mellow pregnant mama. We do not definitively know what gender our little one is, although the "glimpses" we have seen make us feel as though it is a girl, we truly are unsure and will gladly accept whichever little blessing God bestows upon us. As of last week, I begin my two week doctor's visits which just reminds me of how close we are to meeting our little one. We are currently at 31 weeks gestational age and it is somewhat comforting to know that if our little was born now, although tiny, she would be able to survive. We have set up birthing and breast feeding classes and are excited as we head into the new year as lots of surprises await us.
Oh and we have names picked out: Wesley Owen Winn or Margaret "Maggie" Grace Winn. Wesley Owen, because it is one of the ONLY boy names we could agree on. Margaret "Maggie" Grace after my maternal grandmother, Margaret, whose name I have always loved and Grace because it's different but equally sweet.
Watch for weekly baby updates on Wednesdays hopefully each week until our little one arrives.
