First Official Appointment

Today Robby and I went to the doctor's office for our first official appointment.

Everything is going well so far. The baby is the right size (measurements estimate it to be 7w3d - one day smaller than the due date based on my LMP). It's in the right place. The heartbeat is 170bpm. Everything went smoothly...until the bloodwork.

OMG, can you say "torture?" How many stinkin' viles are you going to fill up? I don't have THAT much blood!

Truth be told, I cried through the whole experience. Robby was sitting next to me holding my free arm as I sobbed into his shoulder. If there is anything that will keep me from even thinking about having another baby, it is the bloodwork.

I can take pain. I have run marathons and lived to tell it. Those last few miles are pure torture with every muscle in your body aching and your lungs feeling like they are burning out of your chest (at least my first marathon was like that). I know it is going to be painful to push this darn baby out of my tiny little body. But that doesn't scare me. It's the needles that scare me.

According to the midwife, she has done totally natural births with no IVs and no needles with healthy, low-risk pregnancies. That is what I'm shooting for. You better not come near me with a needle unless I am about to actually die. And don't even think about bringing the scalpal. Hmm-mmm, not gonna happen.

Anyway, here are the pictures from the ultrasound.

And Then There Were Four

So, we started off keeping the secret from everyone but Sweta (since she already knew). Now four couples know.

I told my sister over Christmas, because she wouldn't be in town for the announcement in February.

Then on Friday when we had Christmas with the Simons/Andersons I decided to tell Allison/Eric. I felt it was only fair that one person in Rob's family knew if my sister knew. Plus, she would be a good support if something happens, and I end up miscarrying.

Rob also told his boss, because he wanted to try to work out the schedule so he can come to the doctor with me on Thursday.

So now four people know (and their spouses).

After telling Allison on Friday, I got a text from her on Saturday saying that I was never going to believe it. She had been having some nausea the past two nights and was two days late. It turns out, after I told her I was pregnant and put the thought in her head, she took a test and is pregnant too!

Last year, during our Alaska cruise, the goal was for both of us to get pregnant. That way we could have cousins around the same age and they could play and all that. Plus, we could go through the pregnancy together. Well, last year, I didn't get pregnant, and two months into Allison's pregnancy, she lost the baby.

I didn't really want to ask her about when they were going to start trying again, because I didn't want to bring up any bad memories. It is a sensitive subject, miscarrying. She had a very hard time with it, and now (more than ever) I can understand why.

Allison's due date (based on her LMP) is August 30th, 8 days after mine. Garrett was 8 days early, so it is very possible that our little ones could have the same birthday. It's also possible that she could have hers before I have mine, since the second usually comes earlier than the first.

Can I say that I'm a little jealous? I really have no reason to be, since we hadn't been really trying anymore. This pregnancy was a bit of a surprise to me, a welcome surprise. But once it happened, I had expected it to be just me. All attention to me and my new baby, my first baby. I'm already the second on both sides of the family to have kids, so I don't get the joy/excitement/spoiling of having the first grandchild. And to top it all off, I can't even have my own little moment anymore, but instead have to share it with my sister-in-law.

However, in the grand scheme of things I am super excited that we are both going to have a baby at the same time. I now have someone to go through this with, who knows what I'm going through, and who has been through it once before. I'm hoping that it will bring the two of us (Allison and me) closer together. The baby will automatically have a little cousin his/her age to play with, get in trouble with, and enjoy life with. It reminds me of when I was little, and my cousin Julie would come over to visit.

The benefits far outweigh the reasons for jealousy.

My Addiction

For about 12 years I had a true addiction to sugar free gum.

It all started in Biology class in 9th grade. The guy sitting in front of me told me I had bad breath. After that, I started chewing Extra spearmint gum, secretly in class. I never got caught.

The addiction escalated as the years went on. In the gumming world there are some gums that are mild and some that have a little more kick to them. Extra spearmint is fairly mild. Extra wintergreen gets a little more strong. Eventually, I was chewing Eclipse, which would shock the senses out of a non-gum chewer. It got to the point where if I ran out of gum, I would immediately go to the store to get another pack. That's when I knew I had to stop the addiction.

Two years ago, I quit cold-turkey. I just stopped chewing. I've been able to stay away from gum ever since and turn it down when offered.

This whole pregnancy thing may change me for the worst.

Right now, I am having mild nausea most of the day. It's not bad enough to hit the toilet, but I can taste that nasty bitter taste that usually happens right before you pray to the porcelain god. That taste is in my mouth most of the time.

I remember when I was about 10 or so years old. I was visiting my cousin, who lived quite a ways away, and I caught a stomach flu. I was vomiting at her house and on the car ride back home. Halfway through the car ride, my aunt gave me a piece of bubble gum to chew. After I had that gum in my mouth, the bitter taste was gone and I didn't throw up any more.

I think I will pick up some Extra at the store today and see if it makes me feel better. Hopefully this will be a temporary set-back in my quest to conquer my addiction.

Running and Baby Names

I have decided that the baby likes my running. Last week I ran Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I did not have any spotting on those days. When I stopped running over the weekend due to travel and holiday busyness, that's when I started spotting. Yesterday I did Yasso 800s (which are two lap sprints around the track), and had no spotting. I think the baby likes it when I run.

I'm really not having a lot of morning sickness yet, but every once in awhile, I'll feel like I want to throw up. Luckily I haven't done it yet, but when I run, I feel less nausious. Hopefully the baby will continue to like it throughout the pregnancy and after birth - because s/he will be coming with me in my jogger most days.

Since we don't want to tell anyone what the name will be if it's a boy, Rob and I have come up with names to call the unborn baby. We don't know the gender yet, so for now it's a boy. I want to call the unborn baby Paul - as in Paul Simon, the singer from Simon & Garfunkle. Robby wants to call him Peter - as in the disciple Simon Peter. So for now, the little one is either Peter or Paul, depending on who you talk to. :)

Weekend Scare

This past weekend, we had a bit of a scare.

I understand that the first trimester is the most critical in that the chance of having a miscarriage is much higher than the other two trimesters. That is the main reason for us not telling many people that we are expecting this baby.

The day after we got the positive home pregnancy results, I started spotting. I looked up on the internet about spotting during the first trimester, and the site said there were three reasons for it to happen: a vaginal infection, implantation as the baby is expanding and affecting more of the uterus, and intercourse. Well, we had a celebratory romp in the sack the night before, so after the spotting went away the next day, I didn't think any more of it.

Over this past weekend, I started spotting again. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to require a panty liner. Sunday morning when I went to the bathroom, there were three thick drops of blood in the toilet - two that looked like blood and one that looked like it could be tissue or cells or something. This made me very nervous. Additionally, my breast tenderness seemed to subside some. I didn't have any cramping or back pain, but the decrease in pregnancy signs and the spotting put me on alert. I seriously thought that maybe this pregnancy was over.

I told my sister about the situation. So now my sister and Sweta know about the pregnancy.

When we returned from DC, I went to the doctor. They were able to see me and discussed my symptoms. They decided to do a vaginal ultrasound to confirm that the baby was okay. Aside from the slight uncomfort of a dildo-looking thing being stuck inside me, the ultrasound went very well. The doctor was able to see the baby and determine that it was in the right place. The measurements confirm that it appears to be about 6 weeks old - a due date of around August 22, 2010.

The doctor said that if I had any more spotting, unless it was coupled with cramping or was very heavy, I shouldn't even think twice about it. We haven't had a miscarriage...yet.

Expecting

I started this blog because, let's be honest, I'm not very good at keeping secrets. Secrets about other people, I can usually keep (except from Rob, to whom I tell everything). But secrets about myself, I'm not as good at.

Last Saturday, I took a pregnancy test. It was positive.

This time last year, Rob and I were actively trying to get pregnant. We gave up after six months of trying and just "didn't prevent" from then on out. After over a year of either trying or not preventing, I asked my OBGYN about it. She ran some tests on me and determined that there was nothing that was keeping me from getting pregnant from my side. Two weeks later, I missed my period.

I was somewhat suspect all last week. Two weeks ago would have been the week before my period. As usual, my breasts started getting tender. I figured it was just PMS as normally happens right before my period. But then I didn't get my period and my breast tenderness didn't stop.

Sweta suspected right away, when I told her that my breasts hurt when we were running. She said "you're pregnant." I wrote it off because my breasts are usually a little tender the week before my period, but she insisted. Alas, she was right.

Now that I know, I can look back on the past two weeks and identify some other signs. I'm not a cryer. I will tell you exactly what I think, but I am not very good at expressing my feelings.

One day last week, Rob and I were getting home from going somewhere. When I walk in the door of the apartment, the first thing I do is turn on the entrance light. Rob hates that light, because I turn it on and never turn it off. When he got in the door, he turned the light off, plunging us into darkness. Normally, this really isn't a big deal. I'm not afraid of dark. I just like lights - lots of lights. Well, I flipped out a little and got mad at him and started crying. Hormones.

Weekend before last, we went over to Rob's parents' house for lunch after church. I honestly don't even remember what we were arguing about, but I got upset and started crying. We had to sit outside or stand out in the cold so I could compose myself before going into their house. Hormones.

Last week I was so sleepy that I took a nap on two different days after I got home from work. I usually take naps on Sundays, but never during the week. Hormones?

So now, it is very hard to keep my excitement down. I don't want to get too excited, in case I have a miscarriage - it's still early. I'm not really sure if I am excited about it or scared or unhappy. I had actually found a little girl that I was wanting to adopt, but now that I'm going to have my own, that won't be happening. We also haven't settled down. Rob doesn't know what he's going to do for work. His car got stolen recently, and he still hasn't decided on a new one. We don't have a residence bigger than a one bedroom apartment. We aren't even sure if we are going to be living in Atlanta or Tampa.

I am a planner, so all of these things frustrate me. Especially now with the baby on the way.

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my blog. Since this is my first post, I'll give a little information about me.

First and foremost, I'm a Christian. I am a member of Norcross First United Methodist church, but am a Baptist at heart. I grew up in a Christian home and accepted Christ when I was very young. Although I strayed some while in college, I'm back and fully devoted to sharing God's love with others.

I am married to a wonderful man and have a little 8 year-old chihuahua running around the apartment. Although we haven't told anyone yet, we just found out that we have a little one on the way. More about that later.

My passion and hobby is running. I am a marathoner with a goal of running a marathon in all 50 states and DC. I've run 5 marathons so far (Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Oregon, and Virginia) and plan to run my 6th in South Carolina on Valentine's Day weekend. While I'm not anything near an elite, I run five to six days a week averaging around 40 miles. My marathon PR is currently 3:57. Someday I'd like to qualify for Boston, but that is probably a few years in the future.

At work, I am the owner of my department's Anti-fraud strategy for our company. I am a CPA and CFE (certified fraud examiner) and have worked in the audit and/or fraud industry for seven years now. I have worked at five different companies since graduating with my Masters of Accountancy from East Carolina University, including two of the Big Four Accounting Firms.

That's about it for the introduction. I'll probably be posting a lot on here for the next two months.