Results

This morning I got the results back from my Wednesday blood tests. I was surprised to hear back so soon and relieved that everything came back normal. I'll have my blood drawn to check thyroid levels periodically throughout the pregnancy and then after the baby is born. The odds are fairly good I'll have postpartum thyroiditis again. The only difference is this time we know to watch for it. I'll also be able to take medication to shrink the goiter. I'm so glad I'll finally get treatment and that the pregnancy most likely won't be effected at all.

Early Visit

Today my worry came to a head. After several days of not feeling the side ache pain that I had been having, I woke up this morning feeling it stronger than ever. When I pushed around on my abdomen it felt very tender. I called my OB's office and left a message for the nurse. It took her a bit to call me back and I started to worry she might not call until the end of the day. I made the girls some lunch and just waited. All the while analyzing every possible thing that could be causing my side cramp. Before I could think of anything too terrible the phone rang and I had an appointment at 1pm. It was 12:15.

I hurried the girls through their lunch and whisked them off to my Mom's house. Luckily we live in a small town and I was there on time no problem. I filled out the standard stack of new paperwork and waited in the lobby for what seemed like forever. By the time they called me back into the exam room I was feeling nervous. I kept second guessing myself. I wondered if maybe I should've just waited. Bottom line, I didn't want to hear any bad news.

The second my Doctor came in I felt at ease. He was so friendly and upbeat. He assured me he would do an ultrasound. The second the screen came on it was clear that everything was okay with the baby. I could see the sac right away. He zoomed in and at 6 weeks 1 day the little heart was beating fast and strong. He found the baby no problem right in the uterus where he/she should be. Whew. The relief brought tears to my eyes. It turns out I have a very small cyst on my ovary. Nothing to worry about at all. I never claimed to have a high tolerance for pain.

Aside from the fact that I now know things are progressing, there is another reason that I am so glad I went today. My Doctor was concerned about my thyroid levels. The last time I had them checked was the beginning of the year and they were normal, but he still wanted them ran again. He said my goiter is "huge" and needs to be shrunk. I'm glad I had all my blood work done today vs. three weeks from now. I'll know the results in just a couple of days.

So, I left the office completely different then I arrived. Relaxed and with a picture of our new little Jelly Bean in hand. For some reason I can't scan it right, but you really can see the baby. The girls love it and I think it makes it that much more real to them. Me too.

Feeling Worse, Feeling Better?

Maybe I should count my yo-yoing emotions as a symptom. When I feel good I feel bad and when I feel bad I feel good. Confusing I know. I was so relieved last night to lay in bed feeling sick to my stomach. Very weird. Pregnancy does strange things to people I tell ya. I felt a little better this morning. I've been able to eat just fine, made it to church, and helped out in the nursery with no problem. Still, I am definitely starting to feel the hormonal surge. I'm tired. Really tired. Mildly sick to my stomach in the afternoons/evenings, and feeling emotional to boot. To top it all off, this makes me really happy. Plus the side cramping is gone today which makes me feel so much better. We'll see what this week holds....

Every Day

It's hard to really think of much to say at this point. More accurately what to actually type at this point. I have so many thoughts. I must admit I spend a great deal of time worrying. Every cramp, twinge, side ache, etc. drives me insane. I'm sure this was true in my past pregnancies but really I've forgotten much about the beginnings. In that way the Internet is way more harmful than helpful. Google is not my friend right now. Every day. That's what I keep telling myself. Every day is one day closer to hearing the heart beat and having some reassurance that everything will indeed be okay. I know worrying is useless. It's never ending as well. There will always be something I could worry about I just have to choose to trust that worrying is not the way to go.

Sleeping In

I think the first symptom I've noticed with every pregnancy has been exhaustion. It usually comes on fast and it's the I need to lay down right now kind of tired. Even though I have definitely noticed myself tiring more easily I couldn't be happier to be experiencing early pregnancy during summer vacation. Sleeping until 9 is amazing. I think because of that I never really get the full blown exhausted feeling. We'll see what happens in the weeks to come, but I think that by the time school starts back up and early mornings are a part of everyday life, I'll be far enough along to handle it just fine.

Hmmmm

I saw this while browsing some pregnancy info and found it kind of interesting. Might be fun. I'm not sure how reliable it would be. Has anyone ever tried one of these or do you know anyone who has?

Changes

Today I called my former OB's office to make an initial appointment. I was surprised to find out that he is no longer solo and is now part of a group practice affiliated with the hospital. This is different, but I'm not bothered. He was my doctor for both Midge and Boo and missed both deliveries so I know in the end it won't matter much.

My first appointment is August 17th. As far off as this seems now, I know it will come soon enough. Plus by then I'll get to hear that heartbeat and that will make the wait worth the while. I'm still feeling "normal." I think I've finally got myself to just enjoy feeling well and not worry too much.

The baby also received his/her first gift today. My little sister bought a set of baby wash clothes with money she earned washing cars in her neighborhood. This makes me happy and teary all at the same time. Too sweet! Before I forget, when I first told Chiggie we were going to have another baby she was very excited. A little later in the day she came up to me and asked me how many more babies we were going to have. I told her I was pretty sure this baby would be it for us. She nodded and said "I was just wondering if we were going to be like the Duggar family." Nothing against the Duggars' at all, but I laughed pretty good at that one. I reassured her we weren't going to get our own t.v. show!

Feeling Great

I think pregnancy may be the only time that feeling great actually worries me. I know every time is different but I worry when I feel too good. I don't think I could get lucky enough just to have a whole 9 months of bliss. I guess I just expect any day now to wake up green in the face and unable to roll out of bed. While I hope that doesn't happen, of course, at least it's reassuring that everything is moving on. I'm a bit of a worrier anyway so that's magnified during pregnancy. I doesn't matter how many times you go through it. You still question and wonder about every little thing.

Moving on, we have a lot of work to do around the house to get ready for the baby. Sure we have a good bit of time, but still I'd like to get started so we're not overwhelmed at the end. We need to clean out the extra bedroom upstairs and turn it into Boo's room. She has a corner of our room (which is really big) right now that I will eventually turn into a baby nook. It's going to be a real job to sort through baby stuff and clear out that room. Pace myself, that's what I need to do.

Sounds So Good

I've have some morning sickness with every pregnancy. In two of my pregnancies it was 3 months of constant, can't get off the couch, nausea. I'm hoping it's not like that this time. So far I've had some very mild nausea but nothing major at all. It's still really early though. One symptom I have that I've always had is my eyes are way too big for my stomach. I'll plan a dinner I'm excited about, sit down to eat, and after a few bites I'm done. It always sounds so good, but I can't eat much. I'm hoping not to gain nearly as much weight this time as I usually do, so maybe this will work in my favor. I'm taking my vitamins and drinking extra milk, so I know I'm nutritionally sound. I just hope this isn't a precursor to the major nausea.

We are very excited. The girls know and they're excited too. I try not to spend much time worrying. All the what ifs and wonderings just aren't very productive. I'll see the doctor next month and hopefully get to hear the heartbeat. That will be exciting and reassuring.

Here We Go Again

The title of this blog is in no way meant to imply that this pregnancy wasn't a planned one. It's more that I never would've have imagined I would be expecting our 5th child. I wanted to create a 2nd blog as a way to chronicle even the minute events of pregnancy. I didn't want our family blog to become a pregnancy blog I suppose. So feel free to follow along on this journey which I am sure will prove to be exciting in many ways!