So this is the chart that started it all. Don't worry about the details - the message is that I am quite pregnant from the red crosshairs forward. We didn't find out until 15 days later, though I sorta figured the cycle would end in two pink lines when I noticed my temps never dropped. The 4th and final 2 week wait turned into the beginning of a 40 week wait to parenthood.
March 7th: The first of the last set of POSITIVES!
So this greeted me on Friday morning instead of what we've lovingly started to call Aunt Flo. It's faint, but after inspection under every lamp, window and angle possible, we determined this is definitely a positive test. I should know - I have about 35 negatives in my bathroom cabinet to compare. Oh, and the peeing on a stick madness did not stop with this one - I have about three packs worth of positives in another cabinet, all increasingly darker. If you've ever peed on a stick, you understand the addiction. The Turners officially made a human.
The next few weeks were full of mixed feelings. The select few of you who have been following this saga since December know we recently suffered an early miscarriage that was nothing short of devastating. I lost my first bean at 6 weeks, so I knew I wouldn't be comfortable until I passed that mile-marker. We didn't mention the news to anyone and engaged in a new (but different) 2 week wait to the finish line. Fortunately we sailed through that week, although not without incident. Nausea. The whole thing about morning sickness is a total joke - I felt like I was on a tiny boat from Week 4 to about Week 7. It was OK though - it meant this bean was making itself at home and I was OK with that.
March 24th: Introducing Peanut Turner
My new doctor is really cool. I called her after Week 6 came and she agreed to have me come in and have an ultrasound done, just to confirm that everything was progressing well. Typically, the first ultrasound is done around week 9 or 10, so this was very nice of her, and it saved us from a lot of unecessary anxiety. I didn't sleep the night before, and I arrived at the doctor's office expecting the worst, but hoping for the best. The last ultrasound I had did not go well, so in my mind, I had to prepare myself for seeing a screen full of fuzzy grey noise. Instead I got this.
That little white seahorse is our baby. I saw it immediately and breathed for the first time in 6 weeks. The tech showed me the tiny baby, the yolk sac, and even let me see and hear the heartbeat. Keep in mind, that little tiny baby is virtually microscopic, but it had the strongest heartbeat ever at around 100 beats per minute. I can't say I didn't get a little emotional, but I'm a walking hormonal tragedy anyway so this is not new behavior. Anyway, that's my baby's first picture. Fabulous.
This picture gave us the confidence to start breaking the news to the family. The next few weeks were more of the same - being on a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean, craving pickles and other salty items, and going back and forth between monster bitch and the sweetest wife ever. The stereotypes are all true.
April 8th: Peanut gets comfy
So here is Peanut looking less like a seahorse, more like a Peanut, and still not really human. Granted, this is the worst ultrasound picture ever, but after hours of staring at it (no, I'm not exaggerating) I think I've made out a head, some legs, and maybe an arm. I've been told I'm way off, but we can still dream, right? By the way, Peanut is the little white item inside the black item. Measuring in at an inch and a half, Peanut is right on schedule. This shot was done at 8 weeks, 5 days with Peanut literally measuring 8 weeks, 1 day. My baby takes after me, just a little smaller than average. The heart was racing away at about 150 beats per minute, which is right on target for a baby measuring an inch and a half in length. We didn't get to hear it this time, ironically, my doctor is on maternity leave, so we had her replacement rush in, show us our human, and leave, all within 7 minutes. My doctor should be back in June, so we won't have Speedy Gonzalez for too much longer.
From 8 weeks to 10, things have been a lot easier, so I hope that lasts. The "morning" sickness is gone, and the belly bump is just starting to set in. It's unfortunate that my pants don't button anymore but I've learned some neat tricks involving rubber bands, safety pins, and tube tops for your belly that have all worked pretty well. When I found out I was pregnant in December, I stopped running religiously and from January to conception of Peanut, I pretty much did nothing and ate ice cream, so I can't blame it all on the baby. I'm starting to get more comfortable with the idea that I can maintain this pregnancy because Peanut has shown me nothing but a strong heartbeat and continued growth, but we still won't make our official announcement for a few more weeks.
So there it is - from a chart to a human in 10 weeks. Impressive.
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