What Did I Get Myself Into??? (a.k.a. "Symptoms")

In a continual effort to get us caught up to present day in this pregnancy "documentation", yet another blog entry...sorry, it's a long one!


Once we had the positive HPTs, I called the doctor to get an appointment. That was Monday, August 25th. We scheduled the appointment for Wednesday, September 17th, which seemed like forever away -- I thought they would want to see me the very next day! I mean this seemed like an URGENT matter to me...but I was just going to have to wait.

By the next afternoon, I started having cramps, just like us girls might get monthly, but WAY stronger than what I had ever experienced. I had never heard of cramps being a symptom of pregnancy. On my way home from work that evening, they were so bad, I pulled off the highway into a parking lot and passed out!! No kidding! Now, I can't say for sure that the cramping or the pregnancy was what caused me to pass out. Knowing myself like I do, there is a very good chance that I was just mentally freaking out about the cramps and they scared me enough so that I started hyperventilating...the silly things I do!

Whatever the cause, the next morning, I called the nurse who asked me if I had called 911 when this happened. I was pretty surprised by her reaction (I hadn't even thought of that). I replied "no", and told her that I have a history of passing out when it comes to most things medical. I was advised to do so if it happened again, and then she requested that I go to a nearby lab to have blood taken. She obviously was not understanding my aversion to most things medical... She requested that I go that day and then again on Thursday so that she could ensure my "levels were normal" and that my "HCG" level was doubling every two days. As you can imagine, I thought having blood taken was a fabulous idea. The thought of passing out again thrilled me to no end.

To make a LONG story a little bit shorter, I went that day (with Chip as my chaperone), and it went "okay" --I ended up laying down to stop myself from passing out. And this will be my strategy every time I have blood taken for the rest of my life! Since I had done "okay" on Tuesday, I told Chip I could go on Thursday by myself. And that time went even better. Eureka! Finally a breakthrough!

When the nurse called that afternoon with the results, she confirmed based on the blood tests that I was, indeed, pregnant. It was official. She also assured me that cramping was normal, and that I would most likely have them until the following Thursday (something called "implantation"?!). I called Chip to tell him the news. When I told him it was "official" his voice was so excited and I could tell he was choked up. It brought tears to my eyes...I wasn't sure how this whole pregnancy thing would go over with him once it actually happened. But I think he might have been more excited than me!

To make a long story l-o-n-g-e-r, by that afternoon I started experiencing stomach cramps/aches. (At this point, being preggers was not seeming to be the great and fabulous thing that so many women go on and on about...) This continued for several days and the pain was bad enough to wake me up once or twice a night. By Monday, Chip demanded that I call the doctor. Since neither of us were getting good sleep, I obeyed. I called on Tuesday, and the doctor's office set up an appointment for me the next day to make sure everything was okay. Just one catch -- my doctor, a female, was not available, so I would be seeing a MALE doctor. I had never had a male obgyn before! I wasn't thrilled with the idea, but knew I needed to get in to see someone, so I scheduled the appointment.

It was our first OB appointment, so Chip tagged along. The doctor checked everything out (I even had an ultrasound, which showed a blob with a white dot at the top and another at the bottom - I think it was the "yolk sac" -- ewwww!) and said everything looked perfectly normal. He also requested another blood test -- yippee!! Before heading to the lab, I asked the doctor if he was able to rule out an ectopic pregnancy (something the nurse had brought up). He told me it was a good question and that he was able to rule it out, which was partly what he was doing during the ultrasound. He then commented that they are very rare unless the conception is not "natural", prompting him to ask Chip and I if ours was "natural". I was kinda confused as to what he meant, but Chip puffed up his chest and said something to the effect of "you better believe it", to which the doctor (a young guy, maybe in his early 30s) grinned widely. For a moment there, I thought the doctor and Chip might chest bump!

After this showing of testosterone, we were off to the lab down the hall. Everything went well this time too! I was on a roll.

When the nurse called the following Friday, she confirmed that everything looked good with the blood test. Apparently I was having a perfectly healthy pregnancy. I had mistakenly thought that the only symptoms you had from early pregnancy were exhaustion (which I was certainly experiencing) and morning sickness (which I have been blessed to have none of). Come to find out, cramping is normal and I can only guess that my digestive system was out of whack due to the changes in my body. Oh - and my boobs are swelling too! I thought that only happens at the end of your third trimester! (Chip is thrilled at this "development".)

By the time the nurse called, the cramping and stomach aches had pretty much stopped (at just the time the nurse had originally told me they would). From that point up until now, things have been much better. I've luckily had no other problems and now that I am in my 10th week, I can finally feel some energy coming back to me. I even did some chores this week (poor Chip has been doing EVERYTHING, and I am so grateful for his help -- he has really been pampering me). Hopefully it's all roses from here on out -- only time will tell!! :)