This picture was taken in September before I knew I was pregnant. I was just trying to be funny. Little did I know that in one month's time, I wouldn't think it was so funny.
I'M PREGNANT!!!!!!
I found out that I was pregnant in October. In the middle of the month, I realized that I was late. I went to the store and bought a few home pregnancy tests. The first one was negative. The second one was subjective, the line was too faint. Casey wanted to be the judge of the next one, so we waited a day and did another one. He examined the stick before I peed, just to be sure there was no faint line there, and then examined it after. Another faint line appeared, but neither of us were convinced. We wanted solid evidence. I had an appointment with my physician that week and decided to do a more advanced pee test there. I've been doing a lot of peeing on demand lately, and so far so good. :)
Anyways, the doctor came in the room where I was waiting and said, "So you're pregnant, that's good." He was all nonchalant. I looked up at him and said, "Wait. Really? I am? They already have the results? Are you positive? I'm pregnant?" So it was his turn to be shocked. "Oh, well, yes you are. Did they not tell you that already? Oh. Yes. You're pregnant!" He tried to muster some excitement in that last statement. I started laughing and said, "Oh good, thanks for letting me know. Wow, okay." And then he followed it all up with, "This is a good thing, right? I mean, are you married? Did you want to be pregnant?" That made me laugh harder, and I said, "Yes, I'm married. And yes, I want a baby. It's all just really surreal right now." He continued on with the physical and then sent me over to get my blood work done.
There I was, sitting in the lobby, and all of a sudden there were all of these moms everywhere with their babies and a bunch of pregnant girls. That's when it hit me. I started crying and laughing all at the same time and making a spectacle of myself. I texted Casey, "Guess what? You're going to be a Daddy!!!!!!!" He called me and we were both just kind of in shock, laughing, crying, and talking about how surreal it all was that we were really going to have a baby. So that's how it all started.
THROWING UP NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD
A week later I went to Utah over Halloween to take care of my Dad. I was kind of feeling a little bit squeamish, but nothing bad. I totally thought I was going to be one of those lucky pregnant woman that doesn't get sick. I was almost 7 weeks by then, and I feel like I cursed myself. That next week I started feeling terrible. I woke up feeling bad, then it progressively got worse while I was at work. The next thing I know, I'm running from my desk to the bathroom down the hall and throwing up at work. Low point. Sitting on the work bathroom floor and hugging the porcelain, very low point. And I still haven't told anyone at work that I'm preggars, so I'm now the bulimic girl. Oh joy. I thought throwing up at work was going to be the worst it could get. Boy, was I wrong. Throwing up at work is now just part of my workday routine. Check my email, check my voicemail, get organized, throw up, attend a meeting, and so on and so forth with the puking intermixed.
A few weeks later, I was at the gyno begging for anti-nausea pills. Zofran. The miracle pill. One little pill could curb my nausea for almost an entire work day. The medication in no way makes you feel better, it just takes the edge off of constantly dry-heaving and throwing up. I still felt extremely nauseated all day long, but I stopped throwing up almost all together. Except for a few really bad days here and there where I would just spend most of the day experimenting with what food would help. Apple sauce? Yes, wait noooooo. Down the toilet. Toast? Yes, wait maybe noooooooot. Flush. Cereal? Ugh, no. Crackers? Nope. Those days Zofran didn't help, but those days only came once a week. The best part is when people would say to me, "Well it's a good sign that you're sick. Means your baby is healthy and active." I would look at them and want to say awful things that I should never repeat again. But I guess since my baby is doing somersaults in my stomach and making me hate life and feel miserable, that I have something to be grateful for. Like I said before, making a baby is hard work.
BABY SIGHTING #1 (7 weeks)
The first ultra sound went well except for the part where they didn't tell me it was an inner-ultra sound. Imagine my surprise when they were like take your pants off and open up. I was picturing how they do it in the movies all cute with the jelly on your tummy. Sorry, no. Not for the first one at least. Let's just say it was a bit painful, with pressure, and awkward. But I guess I need to get used to all of that stuff down there. The doctor said everything looked great. Strong heartbeat, good size, and everything that was supposed to be in there, was there. Doctor said, "Kind of looks like a gummy bear, doesn't it?" To which my helpful husband replied, "I LOVE gummy bears." Good Casey. Maybe you'll have that in common?
BABY SIGHTING #2 (11 weeks)
Second ultra sound was a little rocky, but worked out in the end. Apparently my uterus is really far back, not sure what that means. The doctor tried doing the cute jelly on your tummy routine with me, but to no avail. She couldn't find the baby. What? Seriously? So once again I had a play date with the inner-ultra sound thingy, but since it was old news to me by now, I was a pro. Then it took like 30 mins of her jabbing around inside me to try to get a good shot of the baby. She kept saying, "Wow, you're baby is so long that I'm having a hard time fitting all of him on the screen." Casey was beaming at that point. I just wanted the jabbing to stop. Finally she got a few good shots of the baby and said that everything looked great. Her guess was 70% chance it's a boy. Casey, beaming, all over again.
BABY SIGHTING #3 (12 weeks)
The third ultra sound went fantastically. It was a sequential screen where they measure the back of the baby's neck to check for down syndrome and other various genetic disorders. This one was the best, by far! It was just like the movies. A dark, quiet, warm room with scented candles and Christmas music playing in the background. Casey and I holding hands while we watched our baby on the plasma TV. And a warm jelly on the belly ultra sound. I loved every minute of it. I wanted to stay in there all day long looking at our baby. We got great shots of his profile, his hands (he was totally waving at us, my kid's a genius), his legs, and his little body. And we got to hear his little heartbeat! It was so much fun. Luckily our baby was moving around so much that the nurse couldn't get a clear shot of the neck. So we were in there forever just checking out baby Patterson. I know now why I've been so sick. This baby is a mover and a shaker. He was dancing and jumping all over the place and would do exactly opposite of whatever the nurse needed him to do in order to get a good shot. It was hysterical. Then all of a sudden he went to sleep. Which made me super sleepy. I totally fell asleep on the table with my baby asleep inside me. Awww, so cute. Then another doctor had to come in to help the nurse get a good shot of the neck. They both said that everything looks really great, and they think it's a boy, but still too early to tell.
ENTER SECOND TRIMESTER
I'm 14 weeks right now and finally in the second trimester. I'm actually starting to feel a lot better. I have only had two Zofran in the last four days, which is huge. And the nausea is now tolerable. I don't feel sick all day long, but I throw up at least once a day still. Hopefully the sickness will be over soon, and I can start really enjoying this little baby inside of me. I can't wait to start feeling him moving around and kicking. Despite all of my complaining, I really feel so blessed to be carrying one of God's children inside of me. I cannot wait to be a mom. I wish my Mom was still here with us to enjoy this with me. But I'm so happy that my Dad is still here with us. He is doing really good. Check out his Phil Brown Updates blog in my family section if you want to know more about how he is doing.
We will be finding out the sex in mid-January, so I'll let you know how that goes. Boy or Girl, Casey and I are so happy to be entering the parent/family stage of our lives.
