Elaborating...

For those that do not know, here are the details surrounding our newest pregnancy:

A little TMI, but perhaps not. I got my first cycle since having Evie on Thanksgiving Day...making for a wonderful holiday addition (that's sarcasm, if you didn't catch it). Exactly 28 days later would be Christmas day, so I was just thrilled that my second cycle would fall on another holiday! My SIL Kerri and I happen to keep very close tabs on each other, including our cycles, so when mine started two days early, on December 23rd, I immediately called her to see about hers. She told me that yes, hers had come the day before. Mine was so light, though, that I did find it a little odd. The next day, Christmas Eve, I ran out to do a couple errands. I was so heavy that day that I was going through a tampon every 1-2 hours...so unlike me. And I had this odd stabbing pain...also an abnormal symptom for me. I never get cramps, and this did NOT feel like what I think cramps would feel like. I load up on the Advil and feel slightly better. I was in utter misery during our entire Christmas Eve Candlelight service. We had our traditional lasagna dinner at our house for the entire family, but instead of being the hostess that I love to be, I ended up sitting on the couch with my legs reclined doped up on even more Advil. My MIL commented on how she was so worried about me and was concerned that perhaps I was even having an ectopic pregnancy. I did not think that was the case, just perhaps cramps for me would feel like this...and Lianne even confirmed that she's had those kinds of cramps before. A funny thing that I said to Lianne was, "I've been crying while watching the girls' Disney movies and reading their Disney stories! The last time that happened, I was pregnant with Evie...if I didn't know any better, I would think I was pregnant, but I know I'm not!" That night is when Kerri announced to us that she was pregnant! I couldn't believe that she didn't tell me, and that she even told me she had started her period! Christmas morning I still had slight pains, but the bleeding had gone down significantly. By Friday, I had no more bleeding and my period appeared to be over...again, very abnormal for me - I usually have five solid days. I vowed that I would call the OBGYN Monday morning since I was due for a check-up anyways.

Of course Monday came and went, and I did not call. I felt completely normal and just figured I'd be calling to make a normal appointment soon...like within the next week or two. Kerri was getting anxious to talk about me trying to get pregnant over the next couple weeks. Then she mentioned that she was talking to our MIL about my symptoms and since the bleeding and pains had subsided, she said, "Well, maybe she's just pregnant?" I just laughed. I told Bran about all the conversations going on and he said, "well, you have been sleeping really deep lately, and I only see you sleep like that when you're pregnant..." So, with all this talk of pregnancy, Bran and I have a serious talk that night about having a fourth child. We came to the conclusion that our hearts really did want another child, but we were unsure at what point in the future we'd be ready. We said if we used our heads we should decide to be done since we are barely scraping by financially right now as it is.

Tuesday, Kerri called to tell me that she picked me up a double pregnancy test. I laughed, and she said to take one now and one in a month after we've been "trying."

Then Wednesday was New Year's Eve. Our plans changed, and we decided we would just stay home and enjoy the night together drinking wine, eating snacks, and watching movies. When Bran called to say he was on his way home from work, I thought, "Gosh, maybe I should just take one of those tests real quick just to ease my mind before I indulge in some wine." So I run out and grab the test where Kerri had left it and go into my bathroom. "Why am I even doing this? This is such a waste of time and money..." So I proceed to take the test and leave it on the counter and try to do other things while a few minutes tick by. Finally I go in and see the unmistakable two lines and suddenly feel light-headed and almost fall over. Once I got my stability back, my eyes immediately fill with tears and a smile comes across my face. Only a couple minutes pass before Bran comes home. I somehow, nonchalantly, lure him into the bathroom and point to the little test sitting on the counter. Stunned, he asks, "What does that mean?" When I say POSITIVE, he takes a step back, but then picked me up and swung me around and was so ecstatic.

The thoughts of my bleeding the prior week made me think perhaps I took a faulty test…even though I know it is rare that you get a false positive…so I decided I had to take the second one before we shared the news with family. The second one came up positive instantly. So we met up with Kerri and Marshall and told them, then all of us headed to Bran & Marshall’s parents to share the news there. Everyone was stunned and excited! My parents weren’t home, so we couldn’t tell them till the next day. By this time, Rae knew what was going on and, before Bran and I were even in my parent’s house, she was already telling them that “mommy has a new baby in her tummy!” My mom said, “What! Did she just say what I think she said?!” We also told a few close friends and some of our church family.

I called my midwife and left her a message regarding my concern for the bleeding and pains. Then I made an appointment with the OBGYN (see, I knew I’d be calling the OB soon!) for when I would be eight weeks along. The person making my appointment didn’t seem too concerned about the bleeding and pain, so that made me feel better for a short while. Then horrible scenarios began consuming my every thought until I could hardly take it anymore. I finally had to take a third test two weeks later, which, of course, came up positive as well. Kerri and I had our appointments on the same day, so we went together. I don’t think I breathed easily until the OB did the ultrasound and I finally saw the baby’s tiny fluttering heart! It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! So, she gave me a due date of September 3^rd and Kerri one of September 1^st!

So far I really haven’t felt too bad. With my other three pregnancies, I had horrible nausea where I could barely eat and had to drink Ensures in order to get some kind of nutrition and even had to give myself vitamin B6 shots and eventually lost over 10 pounds. This time around, I have maybe an hour a day where I feel just a little yucky. I usually can help myself feel better with a sip or two of soda. I am still loosing some weight, but not nearly to the degree as with the others. Plus I haven’t really lost any of Evie’s baby weight and consider myself a little overweight to begin with anyway. I probably won’t be sharing my profile pics this time around!

Anyways, I will be going to the OB one more time and then will be seeing my midwife after that. I’ll be sure to keep you all up to date with each appointment. This past month and next few weeks are very busy for me, so I probably won’t be posting regularly until the end of February. But please don’t leave me! xoxoxoxo