Thursday, July 12, 2012

My first Pregnancy at 40!!!

I am very happy to announce we are having a baby in January 2013!  My husband and I have been trying for about 4 years.  I had pretty much given up on ever getting pregnant, though deep down I still wanted it to happen.  I prayed about it for at least 3 years almost every night.  A few days before my 40th Birthday I went to my Dr for my annual female exam (a couple of years late).  She said my next step was to go to a fertility clinic if I was really serious about getting pregnant.  The longer I waited, the harder it will be for me to get pregnant.  I had went over the idea of the whole "fertility clinic" a few years back, and had decided it would never be for me.  I've had Rheumatoid Arthritis since I was 21 years old, and also diagnosed with Lupus (which has never effected any of my organs).  I just didn't want the stress of "fertility doctors".  So, I told her no.  I was going to stick with the old fashion way, and keep praying.

I want to say, that I was never one of those women who was in a rush to "get married and have babies".  Unlike all of my friends.  I wanted to finish college, date, have some fun while I was young.  I did know that eventually, I did want to settle down, but no rush.  I met my first husband at 28, and was 31 when we got married.  Really, all seemed great.  But things did not work out for us, all for the best in the end.  I met my husband, RF when I was 34.  We wanted the same things, and connected really fast.  I knew right away, that I wanted a life with him.  We were married a year after we met, and I trashed the birth control.

Every single time my period started, I would be frustrated!  But, I would tell myself we will keep trying, and if it was meant to be, it would happen.  My last period was on April 6, 2012, though I did not realize that until nearly 2 months later.  I had what I thought was my period my normal 25 days later.  But, it only lasted one day.  Odd for me, but it had happened before.  I was feeling kind of lucky.  25 days after that I had a very light 1 day "period".  When it didn't continue into the next day, or the day after.  I got very suspicious.  I had been exhausted lately, and taking naps in the middle of the day.  Was I pregnant?!  I thought there was no way!  It was Sunday, May 26th (Memorial weekend).  I ran into Dollar General, the only retail store in our small town, and bought a pregnancy test.  Went straight to the bathroom when I got back home.  It showed positive right away!  I felt myself tear up, but was still in disbelief.  I sat down and just looked at it, crying.  I just knew it was wrong somehow.  I went into the living room to tell my husband.  He was watching tv, I held the test behind my back and said "I think I will need to go to the Dr Tuesday".  He looked kind of scared, because he knew I hadn't been feeling myself (exhausted).  I pulled out the pregnancy test, smiling (trying not to cry) and showed him.  I said "It's positive".  I think he was in as much disbelief as I was.  He hugged me and said he was happy, and hoped it was true.

As the day dragged, and I couldn't get it off my mind, I decided I needed to be reassured.  So, I went back to Dollar General & bought 2 more pregnancy tests.  I took one late that evening, before bed.  It showed positive right away!  First thing the next morning, I took the other one.  Same thing, positive!  Maybe this was really true.  I had to wait until Tuesday to see the Dr to confirm it.  Monday was Memorial Day.  So, that was probably the longest Memorial Day ever.  Especially because we had nothing going on, and were just hanging out at the house all day.  Of course, I did a little research on the internet.  The spotting I had, that I thought was my period was actually implantation spotting.  A lot of people confuse it with their periods.  I kind of felt stupid, but hey, my only symptom so far was fatigue.  No morning sickness at all (awesome!!).  I also found out my approximate due date, and the size the baby would be.  The size of a prune.  So, when RF and I talked about it, we called it "the prune".  Mostly so my step daughter didn't know what we were talking about.  We wanted to wait to get a positive result from the Doctor to say anything.  I mean, I still wasn't sure it was true.  Where was all the barfing???!!  I hate throwing up with a passion, and I just knew if I ever got pregnant I would have morning sickness all day long.

Finally, it was Tuesday, but the Dr could not see me until the afternoon.  UGH!  I finally made it to the appointment.  Gave them my sample for the pregnancy test & a UTI, cause I was having symptoms for that.
Then sat, and waited in "the room" for the results.  I was so anxious.  Finally, the nurse came in and said, "It's positive".  I asked the pregnancy test or the UTI?  She said the pregnancy test.  I was so happy!!  I tried not to burst into tears.  My eyes did manage to water a bit.  She told me the Dr would come in to talk to me next.  I sent a quick text to my husband, who was very excited & happy.  The Dr came in smiling.  I said "I bet you weren't expecting to see me so soon!"  She said, "No, not for this anyway.  I'm really happy for you."  Of course we had the talk about me being high risk because of my age & Rheumatoid Arthritis.  She wanted me to stop all of my favorite drugs (Plaquenol & Mobic).  I was also on Zoloft, but she said it was better to leave me on it for now, because it is too hard for people to just stop taking it.  I've always been allergic to Tylenol, so I have taken Ibufproven & Aleve for pain.  But, no more, now that I was pregnant.  I was a little worried about this, but knew I could handle it.  She also told me I could not get my hair colored during my first trimester.  I had an appointment the next Tuesday, I would be canceling.  My gray roots were already looking pretty bad, but it would be worth it!!  Everything would be worth it. She said my due date would probably be around January 11, 2012.  We scheduled my first OB appointment in Oklahoma City with Dr McAdams with Mercy on June 21st.  OKC is about a 3 hour drive away.  Being high risk, that would be my best choice.  I would also consult with a high risk dr in okc.  And, have the baby in OKC.  I left her office very happy, and anxious for my first OB Appointment.

I called my mom & sister, and told them first.  They were very excited!!  My sister knew what I was going to say, but my Mom was surprised.  I also sent a text to a few of my closest friends, Angie Newell, Tammy, Tracy, Angie Chambers & Ginger. My husband told his close friends & his sister.  Of course all were very excited for us!!  We also shared the news with Kennedy, my husband's daughter.  She was so happy to find out she would be a big sister.  She really wants a girl.  So she can teach her dance, about girl scouts, and how to dress, and just be a girl!

My UTI was positive, and Dr Snyder put me on antibiotics.  When they were finished, I was still having bladder pain, so I went back to do another UTI to see if it cleared up.  A couple of days later, the nurse called to say it was clear and Dr Snyder wanted the detail of my pain.  I've had lots of UTI's in my life, and sometimes I would still hurt, even after the infection was gone.  I explained the pain was very low, right where my bladder was.  Dr Snyder decided she wanted me to have an ultrasound, to make sure everything was ok.  So, I was a bit freaked!  But, pretty sure it was just my bladder.  I had no discharge or cramping or anything like that, which eased my worry.  On June 19th I had my first ultrasound in Woodward, a thirty minute drive from Buffalo.  I was pretty excited, but also nervous that something may be wrong.  My bladder was not hurting so bad.  I was drinking tons of water by now, which I think helped.  I was only about 9 weeks pregnant, so they weren't sure if they would be able to see the baby with the regular ultrasound.  Lucky for me, they saw the baby right away, and everything was great.  I teared up when I first saw it, and it really, finally felt real!  I was pregnant!  And the baby was just fine.  Praise God!  Heartbeat was 166.  Nice and healthy.  Now I had pictures of my baby, and things were going good.  So, time to share my news with everyone, via Facebook of course.

This is my favorite picture of the baby from the ultrasound.
Baby Harper is only about 1 inch long!

Since all of this, I had a follow up with Dr Snyder.  We heard the heartbeat, it was 169.  I had my first visit with my OB Dr McAdams in okc.  Heartbeat was 166.  Did some lab work, everything is good so far.  I have also had an appointment with my High Risk OB Dr Smith, and another ultrasound.  Did lots of lab, and will find out in about a week the results of it.  A lot of genetic testing, because of my age.  Here is my favorite picture from that ultrasound.  The Dr thinks the baby is a girl.  We should know for sure in about 6 weeks, when I'm scheduled for my gender ultrasound.  YAY!
Baby Harper is the size of my closed fist



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