8.5 Weeks

Well, since I haven’t “officially” blogged about how we found ourselves to be in this happy condition, I suppose I should do so. 🙂

In February, our wonderful fertility specialist, Dr. Bachus, prescribed Clomid for me. This was intended to get me ovulating again as well as to help my hormone levels. Dr. Bachus said we would try it for 3-6 months and he was hopeful that would be all we would need. He was right. We only needed two. I almost don’t even count that first month since I started the prescription a couple days later in my cycle than I was supposed to as well. Awesome stuff.

I was about a week late when I decided to take a pregnancy test on Tuesday, April 28th, after my MOPS group was over. I was trying really hard to not get my hopes up, since my cycles had been so late each month. But try as I might, I was still really hoping we would have better results this time.

The “Pregnant” result came up right away. I think I was as excited for this pregnancy as I was for our first. I cannot even begin to explain the elation I felt. I immediately ran upstairs and interrupted Greg’s work day with the good news. It couldn’t wait. 🙂

I also called Dr. Bachus’s office right away. They were happy for me (of course) and within an hour, at their request, I found myself at Labcorp getting bloodwork to check my hormone levels. They also prescribed baby aspirin (to reduce blood clotting) and progesterone to help get my hormones back up to where they need to be in order to keep the pregnancy.

I was also cautioned that if I experienced any bleeding that I would need to get the Rhogam shot right away since I am RH- and Greg is RH+. This made me think back to our last pregnancy. I don’t remember this being one of the measures my other doctor took when I started having complications. Between this and my hormone levels needing “help” to be at a healthy level to keep a pregnancy, it is hard not to wonder if things would’ve turned out better if only we’d known more about my condition or been more insistent for additional tests. Or gotten a 2nd opinion. *sigh* Scarred but smarter. And also another reason I have decided that we will be seeing a new OBGYN for this pregnancy.

The day after we found out we were expecting, we headed out to Kansas. Greg was to go on a fishing trip with his dad and grandpa. Meanwhile, Marilyn, Kristi, Grandma Reimer, Adrianna, and I had a nice girls’ time and a tea party. It was really hard to keep our secret during this time, especially when I had to drive to Wichita for an additional blood test. But when Greg returned from the fishing trip on Sunday, he decided to break the news casually over lunch, simply stating, “If everything goes well, Adrianna should be a big sister around Christmas time.”

Back to the fertility specialist. His office has been so wonderful. They are on top of things and are monitoring things closely. We have had one ultrasound already, on May 15th, just to check on things and put my mind at ease. The baby looked great. It was the right size for being 6.5 weeks along and we could already see the heartbeat. I am scheduled to have a second ultrasound on Wednesday. I do think these are as much for my own reassurance as they are to check on things, but for that I am so grateful. I love that our concerns and anxieties are taken seriously.

I also have my first appointment with our new OBGYN on Wednesday afternoon. He was recommended to me by two friends and when I told Dr. Bachus what the new OBGYN’s name was, he said that he went to medical school with him. 🙂

Another blessing is that the hospital where Adrianna was born is back in our insurance network. That may seem like a small thing, but we had such a good experience there with Adrianna that we are thrilled. Greg had even considered us going there and paying extra had it remained out-of-network since we liked it better than the hospital where we were seen for our 2nd pregnancy. So we are glad that it is back in-network!

Today marks an important milestone for me. I am now 8.5 weeks along. I have been anxious to safely arrive at this day since we first found out we were expecting, for it was at 8.5 weeks when we lost our last baby. Every little weird twinge of pain or unexplained feeling has brought me some anxiety this pregnancy. I am not exaggerating when I say that every time I go to the bathroom, I check for blood and breathe a huge sigh of relief when I find none. (Sorry if that is TMI.)

But now that we have reached this milestone, I am feeling more encouraged and hopeful. So far, there haven’t been any complications. I have been lucky to escape morning sickness as well. Other than the fact that my pants already getting too tight and uncomfortable and I feel exhausted and sleepy almost all the time, things couldn’t be better. I am thankful that Adrianna often will entertain herself quietly in her playroom so that I can get a nap in after work. I also appreciate that Greg will sometimes take a break from work to watch her for me, making up for those work hours later in the evening.

Adrianna talks about the baby all the time. I am still nervously waiting for more tough questions from her, but I am glad she is excited about being a big sister.

Our due date is December 30th. I guess we won’t be making any big Christmas plans this year. 🙂