Girl
meets boy. Girl marries boy. Girl gets to travel the world with
boy. Oh wait, you thought we would
automatically insert…girl gets knocked-up by boy? No, this is not the case with Ryan and I. We have spent the last 11 months
enjoying the journeys that Europe has provided for us. Time to learn even more about each
other, to tackle life events thrown our way and that goes with a fresh
marriage. After speaking with some
friends about the miracle of pregnancy and how lucky of an opportunity it
really is, we became more open to the idea of trying sooner rather then
later. One thing I have to say is
I don’t like when people ask “Were you trying?” Kind of personal.
We are mature adults in our 30’s, what do you think? DUH! Let’s just say, we wanted to take the pressure/edge off of
the whole TRYING, heck, we executed!
Anyways, one thing I do love and probably won’t ever forget is the
timing of the whole realization that I was in fact pregnant.
Ryan
and I spent our Christmas down in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, our/MY favorite place
in Germany. After eating like a
bird over the fabulous Bavarian meals and feeling different…I had an idea that
something was up. Ryan could even
feel my vibe was a little off. I
kept pushing the idea out of my head until we got home the day after
Christmas. I didn’t even unload
the car…I ran up the stairs and immediately came back with a positive pregnancy
test. I am so shocked that I
didn’t scream with excitement; instead I ran down the stairs and let Ryan know
that I forgot one last gift for him.
The ULTIMATE gift! Happy
Birthday and Merry Christmas to us.
We both were excited but immediately humble to the thought of it knowing
the risks at this point in a pregnancy.
I went the next day and had it confirmed by the lab. I was 5 weeks pregnant at that point
and as I write this I am 8 weeks. (Jan. 19th).
Ryan
and I had our first consultation at the OBGYN that went over our medical
history and labs. The labs were
funny because two things happened.
One, I had to get 12 vials of blood drawn which was ridiculous. Mr. Airmen didn’t double label the
vials to take less blood; so instead, I blacked out and threw up all over him,
the lab and myself. Not my finest moment,
but that is the only time I have been sick thus far. Also, I found out that I have never had the chicken
pox. In second grade I missed a
field trip to the Hands on Museum in Ann Arbor because my parents thought they
spotted the itchy specks all over me…I even thought I had them. So…anyone with specked kids…stay away
from me from now until Sept. 1.
The nurse reassured us that everything from the labs looked fantastic
and that we were on the right track.
We still wanted to move forward and get through the infamous first
trimester to have a little piece of mind.
We had a wonderful time with the nurse and she was able to answer all of
our questions and then some. We
are going to aim to deliver there, but we have the option of the German
hospital although rumor has it that they do not look highly on anesthesia. I want that option…no tree holding for
me. (Inside joke…watch Pregnant In
Heels).
10
Weeks exactly today.
In
a week we will have our first ultrasound and full-up appointment. We will be able to hear the heartbeat
and find out the actual size, and a more exact due date. We are ecstatic. Ryan has been fabulous… Completely
supportive, curious and willing to learn with this whole process. He has kept me very grounded and yet
lifts me up with positive energy.
I couldn’t have picked a better baby-daddy!
A
few weeks have passed now and since then Ryan and I have had our first Dr.’s
appointment. There is nothing
quite like hearing the sound of your baby’s heartbeat for the first time or
seeing the shape of a lima bean. It
happened so fast we both were not even sure what we were seeing or hearing…plus
the image did not come out as clear as we hoped. The 20-week ultra sound is more focused on the appearance of
the baby (measurements, limbs, anatomical make-up and so on) and will also be
when we find out if we are having a boy or girl.
Later
in the week Ryan and I announced to friends about our exciting news. Ryan played a huge role in the idea for
our announcement taking it to a music/rap related style. It was actually quite catchy and well
thought out. The day after we told
friends, we had an extra special thing happen. A friend of mine administers mammograms to women at the
hospital in radiology. She
informed me that I could get a crisper picture of our little one the day I met
her for lunch…so I was blessed with a quick additional snap-shot of Lil’ Hyatt
that was much more clear. An
unexpected thing happened while I was lying there, and that was seeing the arms
actually flutter and the legs kick.
I look forward to the actual feeling of movement in there.
We
continue to remain humble through the next few weeks but are happy that
everyone remains healthy now.
We
are officially at 3 months yesterday (Feb. 17th) and still feeling good. People have stated saying that I am
slightly showing…I guess I am not aware of it yet or waiting for the big pop to
come. Since the last update, Ryan
and I have had one major Dr.’s
appointment. We elected to do the
first trimester screen to look for certain genetic/chromosomal defects that
could be seen through ultrasound and blood work and also by age. The Dr. did not see anything through
ultrasound and is confident that all should be fine. However, we did not expect him to deliver us other
news. While our ultrasound tech
(who was wonderful by the way…able to pick up in banter between Ryan and I) detected
a mass (fibroid) within my uterine wall.
Asking I had ever seen or known about this before, I responded with a
NO! She said they are very common
and typically do not interfere with the pregnancy, but assured us that the Dr.
would be in to speak to us about the subject; and he did. Unbelievably it is the size of a
softball and taking up quite a bit of space. We were informed that it will most likely shrink in size
after the pregnancy and should not complicated matters during. However, if it continues to grow it
could cause issues such as preterm labor, affect the placenta and significant
pain to me. It is not surprising
that I have one now during pregnancy he said because of the additional hormones
in that area. Between 30-80% of
pregnant women have them and most often they are just an annoyance. Because of the size of this THING, I
now am going back to the high risk department of OBGYN to do my 20 week
ultrasound (which is when we find out if it is a Lil’ Girl or Lil’ Boy) and
they will then take measurements of the fibroid hoping that it will have stayed
the same or shrunk. If it grows, then I will continue to see them and we will start taking steps to
make sure that mama and Lil’ Hyatt are safe and healthy for remainder of
pregnancy. I was a little thrown
for all of this, as I just wasn’t expecting it. It was not end of the world news and all of us to still look
good and seem healthy. In fact,
all during the screening ultrasound baby Hyatt was already dancing, crossing
it’s legs, being a drama queen with its’ hand over its forehead and many other
hilarious things. At one point the
tech had to literally rattle my tummy with the ultrasound wand to probe Lil’
Hyatt who was taking a nap in an inconvenient position. It is funny to wonder what
personalities our offspring will gain from each of us…will it be my
stubbornness and positive energy or Ryan’s perseverance and desire to try all
things good and bad. We won’t know
until we meet our little addition.
I
hope that you have enjoyed our journey thus far into the ups and downs of this
adventure. We are so excited to
see what else comes our way.
