The Nub

16 Dec 2010 (8 weeks)

The day of my first OB appointment. I was prepared for all the questions, the urine test, the blood tests, the epic list of stuff you can and can't eat. I anxiously waded through it all, not really thinking anything was real, until the doctor rolled in the ultrasound to check the age of the baby.

In the dark, with 'the wand.'

Dr. G: "There is your baby!

Dr. C: "Oh my gosh, really?"

It was, perhaps the highest high. To see the little kidney shaped nub, its little heart beating away inside of me, was simply the best. The weeks of worry finally melted away and I felt pregnant, I felt like a mom. I can't tell you how many times Dr. R and I looked at this blurry, back and white photo and felt like Christmas came a little early.

It's in my DNA

27 Nov 2010 - 15 Dec 2010 (weeks 5 through 8):

Has time ever moved slower? Perhaps not since Christmas eve, 1988. The days crawled by as I anxiously waiting for my doctor first appointment as well as any sign of pregnancy, other than those two pink lines. On a daily basis I scanned my body for any hint of the textbook pregnancy symptoms. I woke-up hopeful that this would be the day, the day the horrible pregnancy symptoms hit! Did I feel nauseous? Nope, not even if I hung out near the butcher at the grocery store? Have my tastes changed? I'm still craving olives. Am I more tired than normal? Well I gave up caffeine, so yes, but I never had a caffeine-free baseline so that was inconclusive. Am I peeing more frequently? Sensitivity to smells? Feeling dizzy? Food cravings or aversions? No. No. No. No. The internet searches only made it worse.

I (shockingly) worried.

Baby A: The early days

The beginning: 26 Nov 2010, A studio in Austin, TX, 5 weeks

Dr. R: "I'm really looking forward to making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner tonight."

Dr. C: "Me too. Oh, by the way, I think I might be pregnant."

Dr. R. "Well, I guess you should take a pregnancy test."

A quick trip to the grocery store followed. Did anyone sense our irritation in check-out line as we not-so-patiently waited while the woman in front of us in the checkout line insisted on going back into the store to retrieve a forgotten gallon of milk? Perhaps. Did I feel as embarrassed about buying a home pregnancy test as a pre-teen buying tampons? Absolutely.

We couldn't get out of the store fast enough. Back to the studio, me into the studio bathroom. I knew I had to pee, but why couldn't I at that moment? Finally. And then, the wait. Looking for two pink lines, I only see one. Oh, that's the control (every good experiment has a control). I burst out of the bathroom.

Dr. C: "Well, there is only one line so I guess I'm not pregnant."

Dr. R: "Really, let me see."

Dr. C: taking a second look "Wait, there is a second line."

Dr. R: "Really? Are you sure."

Dr. C: "Take a look."

Dr. R: "Whoa, that looks positive to me. It looks like we're having a baby.

Dr. C: The false positive rate is > 99%.

Hugs and Kisses

Dr. R: "Did you know a home pregnancy test is really just an ELISA test on paper?"