MrsD627's: Pregnancy Diary

Posted Tuesday, November 16, 2010 11:25 AM

"Today is one of those days where I just have to keep reminding myself that I am indeed very, very lucky..."

Our long awaited BFP!

So now I am officially 10 weeks, 1 day pregnant, with an estimated due date of July 7, 2010. I found out I was pregnant on Thursday, October 29. I had a hunch, so I took a pregnancy test after work that day. (It wasn't really a strong hunch, though--I have probably taken two dozen PG tests over the past few years.) So I shot off some e-mails, puttered around the house, then went back in the bathroom to look at it. It was a digital test and clear as day, it said "Pregnant." And upon seeing this, I exclaimed, "Holy f****** s***!" about 10 times. Sorry, Baby, your mom swears like a sailor. May as well get used to it now.

I had to go pick up Tim at the train about 20 minutes after that, so I took the test with me, After he got in the car, I pulled it out and said, "Look, honey!" He examined it for a couple minutes and then asked, "Wait, is this yours?" And then he shook it and asked if it was broken. Um yes, it's mine, and no, not broken! He asked later if it was just set to "husband freak-out mode." Nope!! It's for real. Although, it felt very surreal to me for a while, too! By the end of the night, Tim was much more used to the idea and was already reading aloud to the baby. Granted, he was reading a chapter out of "How Wars Are Won," but hey, it was a start.

The last six weeks have been a BIG adjustment, mostly because I have every pregnancy symptom in the book. Don't worry, you'll get all the gory details. Well, maybe not all of them. Gory is an understatement. As I have learned, pregnancy is not for the weak! And it is nothing like I expected...

The scare

Last night, I fell asleep watching a movie on the couch with Tim. Woke up around 10:30 needing the bathroom, and the next thing I knew, the toilet water was bright red. With clots. It looked like I had just had a heavy period, and the blood wasn't stopping. Ok, I have had a lot of pregnancy symptoms, but I was pretty sure this was a symptom of the OPPOSITE of pregnancy.

Tim rushed me to CDH and all I could think on the way was that it was all over and my worst nightmare had come true. Plus, I was 12 weeks and had JUST told pretty much the entire world I was pregnant. I couldn't imagine losing my baby, and then having to share that with everyone as well. At Christmas.

I was admitted to emergency and they took my blood pressure, had me change into a gown, etc. I wasn't really feeling any abnormal pain or cramping, so that was a good sign. An OB came in, did a pap smear and said my cervix looked good and the bleeding had stopped, but they were going to run the doppler for a heartbeat. The nurse came in a while after that with a doppler, but couldn't find it. Well, she said she thought she heard it, but wasn't certain. Sorry, but I heard the baby's heartbeat a week ago and I am sure I only heard my own tonight.

About an hour of waiting and panicking later, they had me go in for an ultrasound. FINALLY, here is the happy part--after she started rolling the apparatus over my abdomen, the U/S tech looked at the screen and started smiling right away and said, "Yup, the baby's bouncing around in there!" She did an internal U/S as well to get some better measurements and let me look at the screen--and holy cow, this is an active little guy or girl, doing flips and mooning the camera! She said it looked perfectly healthy and viable. And it is at least five times the size it was at my last U/S! Before it was just a cute little nugget--now it has long legs and arms and everything. WOW!

I was released about a half hour later--the OB said they didn't know why I had bled like that--some women just do that--but to take it easy and follow up with my doctor in a few days. So, by 2 AM, Tim and I were home, exhausted but relieved. It will still be a Merry Christmas for us!

The "big" appointment!

Here's how it all played out! I had an appointment to be at LaGrange Hospital by 1 on Friday for my "big" ultrasound--the last one I would probably get, and the one that would hopefully let us know Baby's gender. I got a call from the hospital at noon saying that oops, they have to cancel my appointment because one of their computers was down (WTF?!?), but they could get me in next Thursday at 2. I gave her my sob story about how I wouldn't be able to take off work again, and she was nice, called around, and got me in to the Hinsdale Hospital at 3. Whew! Homicide committed by me averted!

So Tim and I got to the Hinsdale Hospital, and we got down to business. I had a GREAT U/S tech! I told her we wanted to know if it was a boy or girl, and she started doing her thing, pointing out each part of Baby as she went along. And then before I knew, it she started typing out, "IT'S A BOY!!!!" on the screen. Tim grinned, gave me a high five and said, 'I knew we could do it!" (haha) Baby gave us a great show--he waved his hands in front of his face to shield from the paparazzi, reached down and scratched his legs, put his fingers in his mouth. He weighs 10 ounces and was measuring at 19 weeks, 3 days, so she guessed the due date as July 6. All the dates seem to be right around the first week of July!

I can't even express how awesome it is to see my baby on the screen! This will probably be my last ultrasound, which is good news because it means that he is healthy, but I will definitely miss getting to see him over the next few months. I just can't wait to meet him!

Baby shower of all baby showers

On Sunday, Tim's sister Kellyann hosted the baby shower of all baby showers for us. Let me start off by saying that Kellyann never half-asses anything she does--anything she cooks is amazing, she always looks gorgeous, and her parties are awesome. This was no exception!

She and Kurt hosted about 30 of our family and friends for the shower. Actually, it was kind of two parties in one. Upstairs were all the ladies, and downstairs were Tim, his friends and the dudes in Kurt's family watching the Blackhawks, drinking beers and generally avoiding the estrogen-fest :)

The food was unbelievable! She had the same friends cater it who had catered our engagement party that she held for us nearly 7 years before, and the menu was just as awesome, if not better. Mini sliders, mashed potatoes, chicken fried steak, tacos with mango salsa, salad, guacamole bites--YUM! The cake was awesome too--my mom ordered it and they decorated it to match the fabric in the nursery. How cool is that?

All the little details were just so perfect too. Since our nursery is in baby blue and chocolate brown, so were all the decorations, favors, and accessories, down to the forks and napkins. So cute!

The best part about the shower? The guests! I didn't know who had RSVP'd, so every time I turned around, I was so excited and surprised to see each face! From former co-workers and old neighbors to friends since high school, family and college roommates, I had all the most important people in my life in one room at once, and that was just awesome in so many ways. I was so touched to feel everyone's love and support for me, Tim and Baby Doyle. Plus, everyone's generosity was definitely appreciated--we got a ton of great baby items that will be put to good use!

Lucky

Today is one of those days where I just have to keep reminding myself that I am indeed very, very lucky... because if I didn't, I'd just be miserable and feeling sorry for myself.

*I am lucky that I've been up since 4 AM with hip pain, because that means I am still pregnant, and Baby Doyle is cooking away, growing healthy and strong.

*I am lucky that, while I complain about aforementioned hip pain, that's really the worst of my worries. I didn't miscarry this baby back in December when I had that scary bleeding episode. I didn't go into preterm labor back in April when I had to go into L&D with contractions. Shoot, I'm lucky that my prayers were answered and I was able to get pregnant at all.

*I am lucky that, even though I can't wait to go on maternity leave, I am currently at my job--one that I really love, with great people and a mission that matters. (Even though I wouldn't mind b*tchslapping certain people who can't stop commenting on my size.)

*I am lucky that so many people ask me every day how I'm feeling, because that means they all care about me!

*I am lucky that, while I feel gigantic, I haven't gained an unhealthy amount of weight, I don't have gestational diabetes, and I can still eat whatever I want. Which is good, because I am craving sweets more than ever. Sidenote: I am also lucky that my husband tells me how beautiful I am every day, whether it's true or not!

Here comes baby!

On Sunday, 4th of July, I started having contractions around 10:30 PM--like usual, all week. I decided to start logging the times, thinking, oh, a fat lot of good that will do. Some were 15 min apart, some were 10, some were 20. I went to bed at 12:30 and a few minutes later felt a CONTRACTION. Like no other before. 5 minutes later, another, and then again. I woke up Tim, he called the doctor, and soon we were on our way to the hospital! On the drive there, they were coming 2-3 min apart. I was scared we'd have the baby on the side of the road!

We got to the hospital at 2 AM and admitted me. Wow, let me tell you, the contractions were godawful. I was howling through them and they had me lying on a bed and I started throwing up from the pain. Oh and the resident was a total ***, so that didn't help either. Then around 4 AM I had a painkiller put in my IV to help take the edge off and sat in the rocking chair, which really helped.

**Ok, note: I started this blog entry at 9 AMish, and it is now 7:15 PM. Busy day taking care of baby!**

So I finally got an epidural at 5:30 AM, and it did help a lot. Tim called my mom so she could be there for the labor, and she came pretty quickly. I snoozed off and on until 11 AM when the doctor said I could start pushing.

Well. That was an exercise in futility. They even gave me Pitocin to speed up the contractions, but it didn't help. I pushed off and on for over 4 hours with basically no progress. Man, that sucked. They could see a little hair on his head at one point, but his head was tilted up and he just didn't want to budge. The epidural wasn't working all that great by that point either--I felt a LOT of pressure with every contraction, and I had a horrible stitch in my side, even with the epidural. I was starving that whole time too, and puking from the pain. Not a fun combination.

So another doctor came in and told me I had 2 choices: either have a C-section, or keep pushing for another hour and a half, and they would take away the epidural. At that point, I was so wiped out, and it was going to be more efficient to have an epidural, so that was the best choice...even though I was terrified.

Things moved really quickly then--within half an hour, I was wheeled into the OR, everyone was scrubbed up, I was given more epidurals and the party started. Tim held my hand through the whole thing, the anesthesiologist made some awkward jokes to lighten the mood (it didn't) and the next thing I knew, I felt a lot of tugging and pulling and I started just crying and grinning knowing that our baby was almost here! And Colin James entered the world at 4:01 PM, healthy and happy and with a full head of hair.

Recovery has been really tough, since I basically get to recover from both a normal delivery AND a C-section, but I am making it through. We have been home for 2 days now and we have managed to not screw up too badly just yet, so that's a plus! Tim is an awesome hands-on daddy, and my mom has been extremely helpful too. And Colin is indescribable. He makes the best faces and the cutest little sounds, and is such a snuggler. And knock on wood, he is a relatively easy baby--so far he doesn't cry too much at all. We are very lucky, happy and loving life as a family of three!

>> Want to share your pregnancy story? Email it to echu@theknot.com