Well, that's interesting...

The last we left off, I was dealing with not being able to have the insemination. I didn't cry any after my last post and I was able to enjoy what was left of my vacation. I don't think I mentioned it in my previous posts, but we were actually on vacation while all of that transpired. I was so relieved that everything had fallen into place and was going to happen while we were on vacation so I didn't have to worry about leaving work for appointments. My parents had rented a lake house about an hour and a half from our house, so I was able to drive to Macon for each of my appointments.

I had to go back to work the following Monday and worked through Thursday so that I could have Friday-Monday off at the lake. We had a great time and enjoyed being on the water. On Friday, it looked like I was about to start my period. I was disappointed, of course, but I was also expecting it. On the positive side, that Friday was day 28 of my cycle, so it meant that my body was actually acting like it was supposed to. But it didn't come. And Tuesday would have been the day I took a pregnancy test if I hadn't started yet if we had done the insemination.

I had to work on Tuesday and I came home to an empty house because Thomas and Amelia were still at the lake. I took the test and busied myself with laundry while it processed. I went back to look at this is what it said...

I was shaking and had to keep looking at it to make sure it was real. I texted Thomas a picture of it and told him to call me ASAP. He didn't call me after about 30 seconds (impatient? Yes!), so I called my mom and asked to speak to Thomas. I told him to look at his phone and call me right back. He did and his first words were, "See? We don't need them!" We talked for a few more minutes and he said, "So can we tell your mom now?" I said yes but only if I could tell her. So I FaceTimed her and showed her the result. Needless to say, she was ecstatic. I made a few more phone calls and was actually able to go to sleep that night. I called the doctor's office the next day to see if I needed to come in for blood work and they scheduled me to come in on Thursday morning. My hCG level on Thursday was 206. I had to go back on Saturday to make sure the level was still going up. The nurse said they were looking for it to go up by at least 60%. When she called me later, my result was 577. Whoo hoo! Then we scheduled my first ultrasound for August 13th.

I'm writing this on August 11th and I am 7 weeks, 1 day. Several people have said they think I'm having twins, but we shall see on Wednesday! I am so ready to see a heartbeat and hear that things are looking good. I have felt really awful for the past few days and I didn't have this kind of nausea with Amelia. I've only thrown up a few times and it's been when I brush my teeth. I know each pregnancy is different, but this one is kicking my butt!

So, here's to a great heartbeat and great check-up on Wednesday!

Drumroll please...

But before I go on (ha ha!), I would like to ask for a favor. I haven't posted this news on Facebook or Twitter and I don't plan to for a little while longer. So, please don't mention anything on those sites yet! I just can't keep it off here since I know a lot of people are waiting!

In the words of my nurse Cynthia, I am "very much pregnant!"

Let me back up a few days to share some stressful moments! On Tuesday afternoon, I woke up from a nap on the couch with a slightly sore neck, like I had slept on it wrong. As the day went on, it got worse and worse and began to involve not only the muscles, but felt like my spine too. It even went down in between my shoulder blades. I called in sick to work on Wednesday because I had some cold symptoms too and they were making me feel very blah. By the time I went to bed, I was in tears because I was in so much pain and I couldn't take anything stronger than Tylenol in case I was pregnant. I had hoped that a good night's sleep would make it better, but I woke up about 7 AM because I couldn't get comfortable anymore. With my overactive imagination being what it is, I jumped to the worst possibility: could it be meningitis? I just have seen so many patients in the hospital who ignored symptoms and they ended up worse off than if they had come in earlier. And I didn't want to be one of those people. I considered going to the Med Stop, but I figured they might send me to the hospital ER any way if I needed x-rays or blood work. I went to the ER at the Med and there was not a single soul in the waiting room! I couldn't believe it. They took me back to triage quickly and got my vitals, which were all normal. The doctor saw me soon after and he told me I had the mild flu. Which was the last thing I thought it could be since I had the seasonal and H1N1 vaccines. Other than my neck and some mild cold symptoms, I didn't feel that bad. I told the doctor about the possibility that I could be pregnant and he offered to do a test. We opted for the urine test first and the whole time I was waiting for the result, I was crying. When he came back in, he told me that he thought it was probably too soon for a urine test to show up and the nurse said she was expecting it to be negative even if I was pregnant. So that made me feel a little better, but I was still upset. The doctor said we could go ahead and do a blood test or wait until Friday when I was supposed to find out. We decided to just wait....what's a few more days??

Fast-forward to today....

Thomas had to work last night, so I wanted to wait until he got home to take my test. I wanted him there to share the excitement and to be there for me to cry on if it was negative. When he got home, he gave me the sweetest card that talked about how this pregnancy journey has strengthened our relationship and how he's looking forward to the baby strengthening our relationship even more. I'm about to cry now just typing it! Needless to say, I bawled my eyes out after reading that this morning...and it was BEFORE I took my test!

So 3 minutes after I took my test, I went to look at it fully prepared to see the one reference line. I've seen it so many times before. But there was a faint second line there and that I'd never seen before. So of course we're like, "Now what?" I called the doctor's office and luckily Cynthia was available to talk. I told her what it said and she said that a faint or bold line usually means positive. She said to come in for a blood test and I told her we'd be there as soon as we could. We got there about 10:30. I took my home test (in a ziploc bag for freshness!) and she said it was definitely positive.



She drew my blood and said she'd call me in 2 hours with the results. We had already planned to go to one of our favorite brunch restaurants, J. Christopher's, while we were waiting for the phone call. My mom was already meeting us, but my dad surprised us by showing up too. Before my mom got there, Cynthia called me (less than an hour after we left) and said that my numbers looked very good and I was "very much pregnant!" She told me to continue my Prometrium and come back in Sunday morning for another blood test to make sure my numbers continue to go up. If everything looks good, they'll schedule my OB scan. My mom had picked up some roses for my dad to give me. So sweet! They're a dozen yellow roses and they're beautiful.

It's still very surreal. I know we're in the very early stages, but I'm trying to keep positive thoughts. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

How Far Along: 3 weeks and 5 days
Total weight gain: I don't plan on getting on a scale until I have to
Maternity clothes: None yet. Clothes still fit fine.
Sleep: I'm tired at work in the mornings and when I get a chance to sit down at work...which is rare
Best Moment this week: Finding out our amazing news!
Movement: None yet
Gender: I'm guessing boy or girl
Labor signs: None and I hope not to see any for a long time!
Belly button: Innie
Cravings: Nothing yet
What I miss: Nothing. I can tell you what I don't miss: wondering if it will ever happen!
Stretch Marks: No new ones
Weekly wisdom: Things do work out and the power of prayer is amazing.
What I am looking forward to this week: Telling people and seeing their reaction