Of Seahorses and Prayers

Mr. J and I have been on pins and needles since 08.08.08. The reason being, that was the day we found out we were pregnant! The day before, a Thursday, I went for my routine annual exam with my gynecologist. It was nothing out of the ordinary, pap smear, lab, consultation, all packed in a compressed 1 hour visit and I left the doctor’s with nary a second thought.

August 8, 2008

We received a phone call in the morning from Cherie, my gynae’s assistant. She goes into this spiel of how my lab work comes back and every thing looks fine BUT… and I was like “Oh dear, what is she going to tell me??? Abnormal cells? Hormonal imbalance? Diabetes???!!!”. Anyways, in the midst of those torrential thoughts, I hear the word ‘pregnant’. And there were are, by the kitchen bar and my husband is looking at me dumbfounded and asking me who’s pregnant??? I guess it’s me!!! Ha ha Cherie later told us that our sheer delight are the rewards of her job and I can understand why!!! She gets to deliver the good news that our prayers were answered!

She did caution me that it seems that we had merely just conceived so to ensure it is progressing normally, I had to come in the next week to draw another lab test. I have not had so much blood withdrawn as I had with this pregnancy, in as much as I dread it, knowing that it’s a means to an end is consolation. I guess any mother would do just about anything for their little one!

August 13, 2008

Second lab test. HcG levels have doubled, pregnancy is progressing well. I am prescribed prometrium in addition to prenatal vitamins. Apparently prometrium helps thicken the linings of the uterus so that the fetus/embryo has a nice cushy layer to nestle in. I am to take this till Week 13. This night was the first time I took it and boy, it knocked me out, the next day, waking up, I had to wonder if I got run over by a truck in my sleep judging from how achy I felt!

By this time, Mr. J has been called away for over 3 weeks of military exercise in Mississippi, so little baby, little puppy and a very alone mummy tried to cope through morning sickness, housebreaking, working, studying and everything else the best we can!

September 2, 2008

Our very first ultrasound! Needless to say, this day has been all we’ve been looking forward to ever since we found out that we are having a little one. Had I known just how much occurs during this visit [took us 4 hours!], we would have had breakfast or at least brought a snack along.

We first started with the ultrasound; this was, hands down, the most fun. After a mess of warm jelly was slathered all over my belly, it was time to peek in at the little one. It did not take too much searching and there she/he was! Such a relief to know the little one is where it’s supposed to be. Worries about ectopic pregnancies melted away as the glee we felt overcame us.

The husband’s first reaction was “Holy crap! It looks like a tadpole!”… then it was “Holy crap, it looks like an alien!”, to my disapproving grunts, he took that one back, then it was “Holy crap, look at it’s tail, it looks like a seahorse!”… All this while, the hubby was alternating between squeezing my feet, grasping his head, rubbing his eyes, there surely was no lack of emotions going on for sure!






The 'fiery' looking globe is the yolk sac... Hubby has a point, it kind of looks like a baby dragon spitting blobs of flame :)

See the little heartbeat for the first time was a surreal feeling for sure, a healthy 154 bpm, it validates the nausea, headaches, elevated heartbeats, frequent got-to-go’s, bloating and the list goes on!

The rest of the visit was pretty much routine met with my Obstetrician and went over the vital signs and the last stop was the lab to drop off some blood. By this time, the hubby was more than ready to go. Men, they are all cranky when tired :)

September 10, 2008

We finally broke down and told the parents. I was so afraid his mother was going to have coronary failure, she was in her own little piece of heaven. This will be her very first grandchild from her only child so I can imagine her relief and excitement as she probably didn’t think her son would ever get married, much less have an offspring :)

What a relief, we no longer have to make a conscious effort to not let it slip that Mr. Stork will be paying us a visit!

Present Day

Mr. J needs to read a book on pregnancy! I don’t think he is sympathetic enough just because he can’t relate to the changes I am going through. He’s a food police, always forcing me to eat when the mere thought of it is enough to cause heaving reactions. He barks at me if I wear anything close to form fitting since he thinks it’s going to suffocate baby so I walk around in maternity sacks and I’m only 2 months along! Oh well, I guess no one notices.