The First Five Weeks

Thought I’d give a little background before getting into updates…

My doctor called me mid-August with some test results and told me that our chances of getting pregnant were extremely small and it most likely wasn’t going to happen.  We’d just finished a round of taking fertility medication (again) so we figured we’d see it through, but all the hope was gone from it.  There was a small shred of hope that came back when I got my first positive ovulation test ever!  But it didn’t keep me hopeful very long.  By the time the date that I could reasonably take an accurate pregnancy test came around, Aaron and I had already accepted what the doctor had said.  Instead of rushing off to a fertility clinic, we decided to shelve the whole thing for at least a year and just save money for when we had to face the expensive options like IVF or adoption.  So on September 6^th when I knew I could take a pregnancy test, it felt more like I was just getting the bad news over with so we could move on with our new plan.  Needless to say, I was STUNNED when I read the test results!!  

I told Aaron that evening when he came home, but it wasn’t a big surprise for him because he said he could already read it all over my face.  That man knows me too well.  :)  The way I told him was fun though because I gave him this:

Within 24 hours of telling Aaron, my entire immediate family knew.  They were all SO excited!  My dad just said “I TOLD you not to believe doctors!!!”  (Did I mention my dad is a doctor? lol)  I didn’t have a cute way for telling my brothers other than just calling them and saying I was pregnant, but they were THRILLED!  It was so much fun.  I told my mom, Jacob and Macy and my dad through skype.  I showed my dad this over the webcam:

The day I found out was a Tuesday and on Friday I started having some really bad cramps at work.  I called my doctor and described the pain and she told me to go to the ER immediately.  I decided not to go because I thought it was an over-reaction.  I didn’t feel like anything was truly wrong.  I talked to my general manager, Rachael, and she told me firmly to always over-react when it’s pregnancy-related.  She said to leave and get to the hospital immediately.  I guess my GM has more authority in my mind than my doctor, because I went.  I couldn’t get a hold of Aaron which was a little nerve-racking.  Once I was in the ER, he finally called and I told him to come right away.  He showed up sooner than I expected (I suspect speeding was involved…).  I surprisingly stayed very calm throughout the whole thing.  A doctor came in and said that based on the pain they suspected it might be an ectopic pregnancy.  I started getting nervous at that point because my mom had been through that and they’d suspected me of having one before (when it was actually an ovarian cyst rupturing), so the emotions were familiar.  

They did an ultrasound and saw some fluid in my uterus that they said could either be normal, or it could indicate that it was an ectopic pregnancy about to rupture.  She said she wanted to keep me overnight because if it did rupture I could bleed to death within minutes.  I thought the doctor looked really nervous, which freaked me out, so I had my two minute emotional meltdown at that point.  Then I got over it and went back to the “stay calm until knowing anything for sure” attitude.  They admitted me and I had to sit there for 24 hours waiting for intense pain that could indicate the end of everything I was so excited for.  So much fun…

Oh and Aaron’s mom and brother were coming back through town that evening to pick up their puppies and spend the night.  So we had to call them and re-route them to the hospital instead of our house.  So that was a really unusual way for them to find out the good news!  It went something like, “Well the good news is that Janae is pregnant, and the bad news is we’re not sure if this is going to stay good news…”.  

The next morning they ran more tests and said everything looked completely normal and they no longer suspected an ectopic pregnancy.  False alarm - whew!!!  They also said that all my levels were really high which made them very comfortable and everything was most likely fine.  Yay!  I went back for follow-up testing the next week and they said my levels were fantastic and they weren’t worried about any risks at all at that point.  My progesterone was over TWICE what's considered a good/safe level and my HCG levels are doubling normally and then some.  It's nice to know my intuition was correct and the baby is safe and healthy right now.

So with that overwhelming reassurance from the doctors, we determined it was safe to tell everyone our good news, since now we know it will remain good news :)  Plus, I'm way too excited to keep it a secret!!