Well I promised I'd update the blog after we announced the pregnancy and it turns out I've been a bit preoccupied with this whole pregnancy thing. I'm 17 weeks now and still not feeling fabulous, here's hoping.
So hopefully those of you who have been following our journey remember that last November we decided to start trying to get me pregnant. We expected the journey to take at least 6 months, but turns out second time was the charm for me! Granted I did have medical interventions involved in my process that we never tried with Jennie. The actual story of conception isn't too exciting. It was a jam packed weekend for us and our donor. Jennie was headed out of town for a funeral, I had a lot going on, and our donor was out of town at a conference. We had a very specific window of time that we needed to inseminate because I had taken a trigger shot, which meant I needed to inseminate exactly 36 hours from the shot. Given that it was February in Colorado we were a bit worried that our donor may not make it back from his conference in the exact window he needed to, but everything worked out just fine and he made it just in time. I left the house and came back after he was gone.
After insemination there is a 14 day waiting period that can be brutal. Really this time around I didn't think about it too much. The first time we tried with me I was reading into every little thing and was so sure I was pregnant. So this time around I decided really on day one that it hadn't worked--I was so sure I wasn't pregnant. As the 14 day mark approached and Jennie asked how I was feeling I told her I was feeling cramps like I would before starting a period, which to me was a sure sign that I wasn't pregnant. Well turns out I didn't start my period on day 14. My mom was visiting from out of town so we decided that if I hadn't started by the time she left (day 16) we'd take a pregnancy test that day. Well without talking to Jennie I decided to go ahead and take a pregnancy test on day 15 before hoping in the shower. I thought for sure I wasn't pregnant and seeing the negative sign on the pregnancy test would allow me to go ahead and start my period--I figured it was all psychological.
Well needless to say the test actually read positive and I was freaking out! I wasn't anticipating a positive and hadn't even told Jennie I was taking the test. Plus my mom was downstairs and we had decided we'd wait to tell anyone we were pregnant until the pregnancy was confirmed by the endocronologist so that made things even more complicated. After I was out of the shower and dressed I asked Jennie to come upstairs to look at something and handed her the test. She was in total shock and caught off guard. She basically tried to scream without making any noise so that we didn't alarm my mom. So for the next 36 hours we tried to sneak excited looks and have side conversations without letting my mom in on the secret (just yet!). After my mom went home we could talk more openly and process everything that was going on. And then the whirlwind began!
Our first steps were to contact the endocronologist so that they could confirm the pregnancy. I had several blood draws to check my hormone levels, one of which was a bit low so I had to take some medication until I reached 10 weeks. We also had an ultrasound at 6 weeks 2 days to confirm the heartbeat and measurements. We learned at that appointment that we were really through the woods and everything looked great. At this point we decided we'd tell our families and close friends. I Facetimed my mom and held up the ultrasound photos. She started crying right away because she was so happy. I swore her to secrecy until I told the rest of my family, which if you know my mom is nearly impossible.
The next step was for us to find a provider we wanted to work with for the remainder of the pregnancy and the birth. I knew I wanted to work with a midwife, but I also wanted the option to get an epidural if that's what I ended up wanting. So we decided to find a Certified Nurse Midwife who worked in a practice where that was an option. So we'll be delivering in a hospital with a midwife.
I'm definitely not the poster child for pregnancy--I've felt awful and have been sick from the day I hit 6 weeks. I'm trying to keep this all in perspective and be happy for the chance to bring a little one into the universe, a privilege that not all people get to experience and so many people want, and at the same time I've been super miserable.
Thank you everyone for the outpouring of love and support that you've given Jennie and I. I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging through out this, but I'll try to keep you updated. Given that I'm feeling so crappy and we're actively caring for a 10 month old I haven't had a ton of down time.
