Biggest Surprise of my Life!

We're having TWINS! OMG.... TWINS!!

I went for my first doctor's appointment this morning. I should mention that this is a different doctor than the one from the previous post. I received a recommendation from a girlfriend to see Dr. Golden at Magnolia OB/GYN so I made an appointment.... and I'm SO glad I did! The whole staff was nicer in general and the doctor's seemed to care more about me than my other doctor's office!

Dave didn't come because I was told that there would be no ultrasound... it's too early to see anything but the amniotic sac. I arrived, answered some questions and had a pelvic exam. Then the doctor asked me about the cramping that I've had. I told her that last Friday they were pretty severe but have been better since. She said it was probably a temporary cyst on my ovary but wanted to do an ultrasound just to make sure I didn't have an ectopic pregnancy. I got dressed and went back out to the waiting room until the ultrasonographer was ready for me.

When she led me to the ultrasound room she reiterated that I'm very early and we wouldn't even be able to see a heartbeat yet. All she was looking for was an amniotic sac. She didn't want me to be disappointed. I told her I completely understood and we got started. It was a transvaginal ultrasound and the technician "looked" in several different directions before she told me she'd be right back and left the room.

The technician came back with Dr. Golden who introduced herself and proceeded to tell me that I'm carrying twins. I didn't believe her at first. I thought she was just messing with me. So, she told me to lay back down and she'd show me.... sure enough, two little blips on the screen. Two healthy amniotic sacs, both containing an embryo!

I called Dave and told him I needed to talk to him. I told him he could either come home or I could come to Wild Wing.... he chose to come home. When he got here I sat him down on the couch and told him the exciting (shocking) news.... like me, he was floored, in disbelief, and totally excited! I went to work, told my boss, told my co-workers and managed to do absolutely no work for the rest of the day.

Lesson Learned Early!

I took the morning off work so I could go to the doctor's office to fill out some paperwork and pick up some information and prenatal vitamin samples. After I completed the paperwork I handed it back to the nurse and asked if they would be doing an ultrasound to hear the heartbeat at my first appointment (which is now scheduled for 11-14-07... I'll be 8 weeks and 2 days). They said no :-( I was hoping they would do that but I guess there's no need for Dave to come along to this appointment.

My boss has offered free flu shots to everyone in the office and I read online somewhere that it's not really a good idea during the first trimester. So I asked the nurses at the front desk and one of them automatically said "Sure, no problem! We actually recommend them!" At which point I looked at her and said I'm only 4 weeks pregnant is it really safe for the baby this early? The other nurse went to ask the doctor and the doctor said "No way! Wait until you're further along" Lesson learned: Don't always believe what the nurses say.... if you have doubts, keep questioning!

So many things to think about...

Last night I was woken by cramps in my abdomen. I've had them for 11 days now but never so bad that they woke me up. I lay awake for a little while and eventually drifted back to sleep. I told myself that if they weren't better in the morning or if I had bleeding I would call the doctor. Today I'm still not technically "late" and I certainly don't want to get my period!

I woke up at 6:00 AM, popped the thermometer in my mouth (keeping an eye on your temp is a good way to know if anything is going wrong with your pregnancy) and immediately checked the temp in the bathroom when the thermometer beeped.... Dave was still asleep and I didn't want to wake him by turning on the light. It was 98.49 which is actually higher than it has been...good news! The cramping was better and there has been no bleeding. No need to call the doctor today!

Until I got to work and went to request the day off for my first doctor's visit. November 8, 2007. I looked on the calendar and, of course, that is the day of the one seminar I'm required to attend for work every year! Guess I have to reschedule for the 13th....I sure hope they have something open that day. I need to stop by the doctor's office on Wednesday morning to pick up an informational packet so I'll just reschedule when I go in. So many little things to think about, I'm going to have to start carrying around a planner or something!

Sharing the big news...

The day we found out I was pregnant (Thursday, October 11, 2007) Dave and I sat at the kitchen table and had breakfast together. Still in shock over our discovery, we discussed when we would tell others. We decided not to tell anybody until after my first doctor's appointment. That day, during my lunch hour, I made an appointment for November 8, 2007. Exactly four weeks away. We had toyed with telling our parents right away but, in the end, decided that this was so early in the game (I hadn't even missed a period yet as I tested 3 days before that was supposed to happen) we would just wait.

The fact that my first appointment would be just a few days before Dave's parents came to town for a visit solidified our decision to wait. We planned it all out. We would have both sets of parents over for dinner. We would hand each parent a box and inside those boxes would be onesies that said different things about "Grandma" and "Grandpa". While we knew it would be so hard to keep it from them, we wanted to see Dave's parents faces when we told them and thought it would be even more fun if they all found out at the same time!

So the plan was set. We would tell the parents just before Thanksgiving and then tell only close friends until my graduation party when I would be headed into my second trimester. We knew it was going to be hard but we didn't know how hard!

Friday, October 12, 2007. I woke up and peed on another stick. It was one of those fancy new digital sticks. No lines to guess at... just "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant". It showed "Pregnant" and I was happy all over again. Later that day a friend call to ask us if we wanted to hang out with them that night. Of course, we say yes! We arrive at the condo that they have for the weekend and promptly tell them that I'm on antibiotics (we concocted our story in the car on the way to see them) and won't be drinking. Well, Kristene decided they wouldn't have it! They finally have a weekend away from all kids and are ready to party. She tries to talk me into drinking with her....she tries to talk Dave into just ordering shots.... she's not taking no for an answer! I don't blame her, I would have done the same thing! After dinner, we stop at the grocery store for beer and head back to their condo. Walking in, Dave and I quietly decide that we don't like lying, that it's too hard and we're just going to come clean. This is a couple we can trust with our secret and they have a 2 year old so it will be nice to have someone to talk to who just went through this whole pregnancy thing. Once we get inside and have the beer tucked safely inside the fridge, Dave calls for a "huddle" in the living room....Kristene looks at me and says "Are you pregnant?" I scream yes and there's hugs all around! It was so exciting to tell somebody! It made the whole scenario more real for me.

Knowing we would be going out again the following night with different friends and also knowing we really weren't ready to tell these friends yet, Liz talks a bit when she's drinking and I knew this would be too big for her to keep to herself, Dave and I came up with yet another plan to keep it a secret on the car ride home.

Saturday, October 13, 2007. Liz and I attend Tammy and Calli's wedding at 2:00 PM. After the wedding we go back to Liz's house and wait for Jeffrey to come home from work. Liz hands me a beer. I open it and head to the bathroom where I pour the beer down the sink, rinse out the can and fill it with water. I head back to the living room with my Mich Ultra can filled with water and pretend that I'm drinking my beer. Liz has no clue! I think this is going to actually work!

We all go to the hotel bar and order beer. I, again, go to the bathroom and fill my can with water. When it's time for another "beer" I take my empty to the bar and tell the very sweet bartender that I need her to just fill my beer can with water each time and she happily helps me out. This goes on for a couple of hours and I should have just stuck with this plan as it was working out very well... nobody suspected a thing! From there we go to the Boulevard Grill for food and I order a club soda with lime (we were the first to arrive) and I put a little drink stirrer in it to make it look like a vodka tonic. Still, nobody suspected anything. After we ate, we walked down to International Cafe and I ask Dave to order me a "crown and coke".... well, apparently the bartender didn't get it because he gave me a coke in a regular glass with regular straw (instead of making it look like a cocktail). That was the end of my secret. Liz saw I had a coke and started badgering me about it. I tried telling her that I was kind of tired and just needed a little caffeine. She wouldn't hear of it! Finally I looked at Dave and she looked at me and said "Oh my God! Are you pregnant?" I nod, she squeals and says "I have to tell somebody!" (just as I suspected) .... so she goes down the bar and tells Tammy, the newlywed, and soon the whole group knows our secret. Everybody is super happy but I felt bad about letting it slip on a night that was supposed to be about Tammy & Calli!

After that, we went to Fat Harold's and the Spanish Galleon and Dave I were in bed by 11:00.... exhausted! So much for not telling anybody! It is still our plan to tell the parents all together in mid-November. I feel bad that they weren't the first to know but I'm just weak when it comes to my friends and they get very suspicious when I'm out and I'm not drinking.....

So fast!

I've always wanted to be a mother. That has always been a part my definition of success. A wonderful marriage, a career, a house and children. My dream was derailed for a while in my early twenties. I married the wrong guy (there goes the wonderful marriage), I was working retail and, while it can be a great career for some, just wasn't my "thing". And while my ex and I weren't "trying", there were several times that I really should have gotten knocked up (thank God I didn't). So naturally, I'm thinking I would have some trouble trying to conceive.

Fast forward about 6 years. I'm now so happily married it's ridiculous and I have a great career as the supervising paralegal of the real estate department in a law firm. I will be finished with my bachelor's degree (another thing that went awry in my very early twenties) in a couple of months and for my 30th birthday, in July of 2007, decided it was time to go off birth control. Everything is going great! In September I decided that I was going to chart by CM and BBT in order to understand my cycles and possibly spot any potential problems early on.

Every morning the alarm goes off at 6:00 AM. I hit snooze and pop the thermometer in my mouth. I chart everything on fertilityfriend.com and, aside from erratic temperatures (high-low-high-low) and a fairly early ovulation (12 dpo instead of the "standard" 15 dpo) everything looks normal. Now Dave knew I was charting and knew it was my fertile time and it just so happens that we timed the BD perfectly on my peak ovulation day.
Starting on 8 dpo I started experiencing mild cramping. Like the kind you get with your period but just not nearly as bad. Implantation cramp? Maybe.....
I continued to watch my temperature go up and down and on 11 dpo I had a spike. Triphasic chart signifying pregnancy? I was hoping! 12 dpo the temp dropped again and so did my hopes for that triphasic chart! I decided that if my temp was back up the next day I would test.

Sure enough, another temp spike on 13 dpo! I got out of bed, peed on a stick and set it on the bathroom counter. I brushed my hair and tried to wake up a little....then I looked at the stick and thought I was imagining a very faint second line. So I waited and watched for a couple of minutes and sure enough, that line got darker. I stood in the bathroom in complete disbelief for a minute or so, not sure how to tell Dave, who was still sound asleep in the bedroom. I opened the bathroom door with stick in hand and sat beside him on the bed. "Honey, can I turn on the light and show you something?" Dave sleepily responds "sure". So I reach over and turn on the lamp by my bed and rub his arm. "Bear, I need you to wake up a little".... "Are you going to show me a blue stick". I reply "well, sort of" (it was really a stick with pink lines.... but same difference). He picks his head up and says "Are you pregnant?" All I can do is grin and nod, at which point my half-asleep husband gives me a high five and says "Congratulations!" This struck me as funny so I start laughing and crying and he pulls me to him. Who would have known it would happen so fast! October 11, 2007 goes down in history as one of the happiest days of my life!