The First Trimester

First of all, it was INCREDIBLY hard not to tell absolutely everyone I know the moment we found out we were pregnant. Originally we were going to wait a month, but that plan was blown out of the water pretty much from day one.

All medications were out the door the second I learned we'd conceived. I'd just begun physical therapy for my headaches, but was still relying on Excedrin way too much, as well as the ibuprofen for the cramps. Yes, I was VERY disappointed to learn that cramps don't necessarily go away during pregnancy. Online on all the boards I've been to they post "mild cramps are OK, and somewhat normal". There's nothing mild about what I've got going on, though I've always been privvy to more muscular pain than normal. The doctor OK'ed a heating pad, though, so that works. I ended up missing those first 4 days of work, headaches in overload and couldn't get up from the dizziness and sickness from it all. NOT fun. Having just signed my contract at work, I knew I had to tell my boss, who was incredibly understanding, having had some very rough pregnancies herself.

Two weeks later we finally hired on someone to work my front desk with me so I no longer had to pull the 8AM-6PM shift, plus 1 hour commute each way. Her first day, a Friday, I told her "I'm about to hit 6 weeks, which is when morning sickness often hits; in case I come in feeling crappy you'll know why." That Monday, 6 weeks began and it HIT. I asked the doctor if there was anything he could do. Not really, he said, and went over the normal dos and donts (mild food, always keep something in your stomach, stay hydrated, etc., etc.). But I missed 2 more days of work, just from the nausea being so bad. Finally I decided to "relieve" the nausea by letting it all go. Sadly, I couldn't stop, and ended up in the ER for a day getting fluids pumped in. It wasn't as bad as my previous hospital visits this year, though, in that they gave me a special gynecology private room off the main ER and we were able to turn on the TV and turn off the lights while I let saline fill my veins. Another three days the doctor had me take off work, and finally started me on an extremely low dose of Zofran to help the nausea, which I'm still on, but hope to be off within the next week.

So yeah, with the fact that my boss and my coworker knew, and that it quickly spread throughout my office, we had to call parents, close friends, and let the news gradually spread (not that our moms could keep it to themselves. My dad gave me a great reaction; I thought he was going to crash the car driving with his cell phone, and church friends excitedly jumping up and down was great, too. :) Some of my closest friends knew the second I called without having to open my mouth, though I let one go on for about half hour about her stuff before saying a word, because it does feel strange suddenly having all the attention on me (not that I entirely mind, of course!).

It's been tough; it's been tiring, headachey, nauseous, and I've missed out on some summer fun (particularly when my little sis came to visit for 10 days, pretty much the 10 days leading up to my hospital visit, so I was crabby the first 5 days, managed to get a hold of my emotions, and was then sick the other 5). But going in with my husband the other week for my 10-week check-up, and seeing my little ET-like spawn's heartbeat, knowing in 6-1/2 months it's going to give me a day of insane pain (I honestly have no idea if I'm going to try going natural or not) and a few months of sleepless nights, yet all the joy in the world, makes it all worth it!