A week after the IUI I went in to have my blood drawn for hormone levels. Everything was perfect for sustaining life, great news! It was at this point I had my first pregnancy 'symptom' - horribly tender breasts. A change was definitely underway whether we were ready to believe it or not! A week after the hormone testing I returned for THE test. I waited all day for the phone to ring and at the very end of the day after my class I had a message from the nurse asking me to call back. I was DYING. How could they not tell me!?! Zack and I checked the patient portal a million times that night hoping it would miraculously be updated. We were pretty crushed we didn't find out that day since Zack left first thing the next morning to visit Oregon. I called the doctor as soon as I got to work and left a message. And WAITED. Zack was constantly messaging me asking if I'd heard anything. Then Zack messaged me again and said "at 14 days it should be like 129 for 1 baby, 235 for 2" and I'm like......."ok, AND!?!" "You have...you want to skype?" "I'm at work." "You have 226." So now I'm not only pregnant, I may have twins!!! Holy cow! I was shaking. Shortly after that the nurse FINALLY called me at a normal time when I could answer the phone and said I needed to come in the next day for another hCG test which would show them if my levels were doubling properly. They were and so I scheduled a 6 week ultrasound!
Since Zack was in Oregon he was able to share the news with everyone. It was so special! We made photo albums for our parents and added this photo on the last page.
We still didn't know if it was one or two in there, but two sets of socks photographed much better than one. While Zack enjoyed his time in Oregon I kept busy with work and impatiently waited for this:
Uno!!! Everything with our little Baldwin blob was perfect! I also had more blood work and a urine test. At this point my arms looked like I was a drug addict, but I didn't care! I scheduled my 8 week appointment and started the wait again! I must add that I find ultrasound pictures a little odd and am only sharing for those who care to see. I love seeing baby at the doctor's office, but these photos are most definitely not hanging on my fridge or anything of the sort.
I've gotten to share every step of the process with my co-workers. We are definitely a family at AgriLife! It was a blessing for me with Zack being out of town to still get some support from loved ones. I also got extremely lucky this was Thanksgiving week because school wasn't in session and I was SICK. I don't know where I caught the cold from, but I was pretty miserable. Along with the cold came some bad nausea. The last couple days of the week I crawled around in the kitchen trying to get dinner together for when Z got back. I was afraid the nausea would never go away. Luckily, once I was over the cold the nausea passed as well.
I picked Zack up the Friday after Thanksgiving and we went out to eat a big juicy burger. It was so needed. I may have felt like crap, but I was forever hungry. Eating was the only thing that held back the nausea. By the end of the week I was GIANT. I was convinced I was going to be a blimp early on and I could forget about having a cute bump. It sort of shows in our Christmas photos. I LOVE how they turned out even though I was a sick, puffed up mess. We really lucked out Christine was in town and could take them for us. She won't be able to do newborn pictures for us, but we'll hopefully catch her a couple months later for some family photos. We used her beautiful photos in our Christmas cards!
Halfway through the week after Thanksgiving I was finally feeling better. Having Zack home to help me out made a world of difference too. Before we knew it my 8 week ultrasound was upon us!
Blob now had a defined head and body. Still so tiny!!! I was taking 2 hour long naps when I could swing them at this point. I felt silly being so tired, but that kidney bean sized baby really takes the energy out of you (truthfully it's the hormones, but it's baby's fault :p). I also had some lower back pain and was going to the bathroom ALL THE TIME, but that's normal! :) This was also the week I went to College Station for work training. Thankfully I was feeling well given my 'condition.' I slept like crazy once I was home though!
At our 10 week ultrasound our little blob was swimming like crazy!!!
It weirded Zack out and it was adorable! You can really see the head, body, and arms in the photo. We had our next ultrasound just a week later since it was the last time we could be seen at the fertility clinic. We received more photos, AND a video! Baby wasn't feeling like moving, but after some encouraging (and not too comfortable) taps from the nurse we got some movement! My mom was able to be there as well, which was super special since it was the only time she'll be around for a prenatal check-up. We also heard the heartbeat for the first time rather than just watching it flicker on the screen! Video can be found here: 11 Week Ultrasound
We have now graduated to a regular OB/GYN and our next appointment is on the 13th!
Some silly pregnancy things that have happened to me so far include almost peeing my pants, throwing up at work because the cleaning products stink, being constipated on a work trip, and sitting through an awesome concert with some horrendously stinky people around me. It's been new and fun! We're just so happy and excited! I may or may not have our Amazon registry all ready to go because I can't stop thinking about our baby...haha!
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