| .... up to Week 8 |
| ** So I am starting this at Week 8. I've learned so much about my body since Jason and I started this adventure. With the help of Fertility Friend.com and Baby Center.com, I've learned that there is a small window of time (12-24 hours) that the sperm can catch the egg. And you can take your basal body temperature (BBT) every morning before getting out of bed to help predict when you are going to ovulate. The egg travels from 12-24 hours before it leaves your body. Scientist say that sperm can live anywhere from 2-3 days. So if you plan it right, you have a three day (maximum) grace period. According to my December chart, Jason and I had missed that time frame by one day. I was sure that we would not get pregnant in December. I stopped taking my temperature in the mornings and stopped looking at my chart everyday. In fact, I stopped looking all together! I wasn't until my boobs were unusually sore, that I looked to see when I should start ... not knowing I was already FOUR days late! |
| I've wanted babies ever since I relinguished a bond with children from an early age. But since my time of adolescence, selfishness overrode broodiness and having children never entered my mind. Until, that is, I met the love of my life. About 6 months into our marriage and the new pregnancy of a close friend ignited an acute case of baby lust, and suddenly there was no turning back. Thankfully, Jason was as ready as I was! I ceremoniously threw my birth control to the back of the drawer and decided to play it by ear. This strategy worked for almost one day. My curiosty got the best of me (always does!) I am an information seeker by nature, and although I believe information is power, I now believe that too much information can cripple. Searching the internet, I joined Fertility Friend.com and Baby Center.com. Together, they focus on timing, conception and help through what they like to call "the two week wait". I poured over the information as if I were to take an exam the next day ... all of my focus was here. |
| Weight prior to pregnancy = 120 pounds Height = 5'7" |
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| Jason and I spent the first week looking at each other in disbelief. We really did it! Every once in a while, someone will say, "You can't tell until you're twelve weeks pregnant," and I just shake my head ... If, God forbid, I were to miscarry, should I shoulder that responsibilty myself and suffer in silence? Are you meant to lie to friends and family and pretend nothing's happened??! I immediatley made an appointment to get an official test done at the OBGYN clinic here at Duke. They said for me to walk in ... I went, and it was a positive ... (big sigh)!! Since then, I have made notice of all the changes going on inside me ... (and outside me, for that matter!) My belly started bulging almost immediatley. Jason was the only one for a few weeks that also noticed. Until one night when his parents brought over a pregnancy picture book, I showed them b/c it was obvious through my pj's. They were astounded! I later got to show my parents, and that made them even more excited! My boobs have grown and have been very VERY sore ... and my pants no longer fit. I will need to go buy maternity clothes this week. Right now, I have one pair of stretch jeans that will button, but everything else is off limits b/c they are so UNCOMFORTABLE! I am craving spicy foods and some salty foods. Mostly, I crave asian food and veggies! Usually I am a stickler for keeping my food separated on my dinner plate, but I could care less now. As long as I can get as much on there as possible, I am happy. I am eating about every two hours. Usually small helping or heavy snacks, but I could always eat more! I had been very tired up until this week. Almost to the point where I could nap every few hours. VERY SLEEPY! I found that going to bed early helped since sleeping through the night had become an unaccomplished chore! Today I noticed that my lips are fuller than normal. I'm not sure if that is b/c of the salt/sodium in my "diet", but it is okay for now. It doesn't look weird - and probably no one else would be able to tell but me. |
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| Busy digesting all of this new information, I would discover that every month, I would start my period. How could that be? I guess I thought, since you avoid pregnancy your entire life like a plague, that once I started I would had become contagious instantly?! This changed everything. My body had betrayed me. Using my handy reference links, I began to diagnose myself with problems. It didn't take long to realize that I was OBSESSING! So this turned into 6 months of TRYING and stressing ... I continued to surf the internet for help, advice, and guidance. I'm sure that I could pass the medical board exam in obstetrics if given the chance! So, as we know ... I was so frustrated by December, that I just stopped and took a break. So that brings us to the day I found out I was pregnant!! The night I told Jason. I had gone to the mall and bought some baby K-Swiss (size 1) shoes and wrapped them in a box. On top, I stuck a note that read "Daddy, I can't wait to meet you in August. Love, Baby Ruger". He took a second to digest the information and he looked up and asked (I was already crying) "Are we pregnant!?" I nodded and he cried and hugged and cried and yelled (in joy) and hugged me somemore. He cancled his plans for that night and we took a trip to his parents house. I had bagged up a pajama and bib set in a bag and had a smiliar note attached "Grandpa and Grandma Ruger, I can't wait to meet you both in August! Love, Baby Ruger"! It took them a second or two to let it sink in and the room filled with tears and joy! That same night we went to my parents house with the same scenerio. Our parents could not have been more happy!! From that point, there were no more secrets ... everyone knew! The first thing you learn when you're pregnant is that you're "four weeks pregnant" when in fact you have only just missed your period and the little embryo can't be more than two weeks old. But that is the way it is measured and timed and in early pregnancy - every day is a milestone. So being 4 weeks pregnant is a BONUS! Everytime I go to the bathroom, I expect Aunt Flo to appear and when she doesn't, I breathe again ... |