March 20, 2012 - The Confirmation

Chip and I went to visit Dr. North on Tuesday, March 20th. My regular annual visit was scheduled for March 3rd, but being that I knew we were trying I figured I would be 5 weeks come the 20th so I rescheduled hoping to know more. We got to the doctors’ office and Chip remembered where his “waiting area” was so he found his old/new cubby hole and waited for me to do my routine pee in a cup- - take blood pressure - - get blood work done.

Ms. Katie Brown, everyone’s ray of sunshine, was there to greet me and hug me just as she does everyone and has for over 45 years. She is a true angel. As I sat in the chair waiting for my blood work to be done she was the one to bring over the paper confirming my expectations that my urine test was positive. I unknowingly gave out a little giddy giggle and the lady about to take my blood smiled and said, “Let’s get you some different paperwork and take extra blood!” It’s a fun different feeling when you see it on paper, not like I didn’t know, but it just became more real! I’m pretty sure I said a little “Yay!” and did a little tapping jig with my feet as I always do when I’m excited or eating good food.

Dr. North came into the exam room with a sweet smile and joyous congratulations to us! Expecting no less than 6,000 questions from me, Dr. North was very sympathetic, as always, to my spastic OCD list of questions and nonsense. Although I did surprise myself by getting more emotional than I thought I would. I’ve had the talk with myself about how I was prepared for whatever and ready, yadda yadda yadda but once the words came out of my mouth to another human that my baby may have a craniofacial deformity - - I lost it. My questions of being a high risk pregnancy and wanting more sonograms may have been more of a public outcry than kind request. Dr. North in all his wisdom said he was trying to place himself in my shoes and understand but at the same time he didn’t want me to obsess over the development of my baby. We would do sonograms, but not every 2 weeks for my mental stability – I’d go insane and stress myself out. He was right.

He suggested we do AFP (alpha-fetoprotein) testing at 16 weeks. I don’t know if this is normal protocol as I can’t remember if we had this done with Hill or not, but it just checks the development of the neural tube (brain & spine formation) to make sure everything closes and is covered with skin and bone appropriately. Being that a cleft happens when formation of the mouth and nose don’t fully come together…I assume this developmental test will give us more of a heads up?!? I tried to non-freakoutingly ask how this test was performed. Just blood work. Whew, fabulous. I was picturing an amniocentesis with a huge ass needle going in my stomach and in my vivid visualization I all of a sudden became a magic act trick where the needle would go all the way through my body out the other side and I would rotate while floating in the air. I can handle blood work, no prob. At all. Yet, if the test does come back abnormal then I would have the amniocentesis and probably by that point I’ll either be in a medically induced coma due to mental issues or willing to do whatever I need to do -- you know that “mama can take on the world adrenaline” that starts pumping when needed. I’ve had that feeling way too many times in Hill’s short little 2 year life. God sure is smart for having created adrenaline…so interesting how you can lift cars and climb sky scrapers by a triggered emotion and a gland in your body.

So anyway, we have a plan and you all know how much I like plans. The cherry on top of the plan was that I get a sonogram on April 3rd (two weeks from my March 20th appointment.) That is 6 weeks sooner than I got my first sonogram with Hill (at week 13.) I’ll try not to push my luck with the Sonogram God’s but I sure hope I can find out everything about this baby top to bottom -side to side - eyeball to booty crack before he/she even gets here. I feel like I somewhat deserve that…maybe? Maybe I should be nonchalant like I was with Hill? I know it’s all in God’s hands but I just want to watch Him work…you know, maybe be the supervisor on the construction site. The general contractor of sorts. Keep an eye on things. Strange analogy? Yes. Give me a break, I’m pregnant.

Back to the appointment. I filled Dr. North in on how I knew I was pregnant 8 days after conception because I was nauseated starting at 4:00 pm on the dot Tuesday, March 6th as I traveled from Jackson back to Kosciusko from work. I thought I had eaten something bad, but my lunch was so good, a gyro from Kristo’s with extra sauce. Yum! So it couldn’t be that. I text my friend Hollee to tell her I couldn’t make the JA meeting I must have eaten something bad. She text back that I was pregnant and I told her that it must be the Son of God then. There was a little ‘LOL’ smiley face and haha in there, but she was right. Then the next day I ate lunch at the Café with a friend and there was an onion grown from the roots of hell that over powered my nose hairs. I commented to my friend about it and she said, “I don’t smell it, you must be pregnant.” WHAT? What was she talking about? That’s silly talk. Change the subject. Thursday I bought every stick to tt on that CVS offered. They were all negative. Stupid tests, you don’t know what you are talking about. I really think I told one of them that out loud like it would be offended at its uselessness. So Friday morning I called my trusty neighbor, my nurse, my friend, my angel Leigh Ann to explain to her what I knew. She said blood work would tell all.

She was right the blood work told all and confirmed my theory! I wanted to tell Chip, but the next day (Saturday, March 10th) was my birthday and I wanted to do something special since Chip had plans to take me out to dinner and a movie.

We went to Madison to see the silent movie “The Artist,” it was really good. Definitely not something I’d have picked for my birthday but I’m glad we went to see it because it was surprisingly fantastic. We decided to hit the matinee up first then eat dinner so we didn’t have a late night and could pick Hill up at Chip’s dads before 9:00. (The beauty of being an old Mamaw.) Once we got to the restaurant, Ely’s, I “had to go to the bathroom” which really meant that I had to give the waitress a fake special menu and explain to her what I was doing.

Tonight’s Specials
March 10, 2012

Sugar and spice and all things nice
Or
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails

Guess we will find out soon enough what we can have!

The waitress brought this card and Chip didn’t get it. I thought it was cute, but he didn’t get it. He thought that maybe it was like a clue to a guessing game for what tonight’s special was. Seriously? I can not believe I’ve kept this a secret for over 24 hours and you don’t even get my cutesy way of telling you! I was shattered. He knew I was disappointed that he didn’t get it. So once I explained it to him he was in shock.

Honestly had I not had time myself to go through the emotional motions and take a few steps back from the realization of bringing another life into this world to care for I’d have been extremely upset at his reaction. You know the uhh what the hell was I thinking? Wait, this is what we wanted. Wow, that was fast (fertile mertyle.) Holy mother we are having a baby and I’m not prepared. Oh gosh, we are having a baby. Then once it had time to absorb the shocked look never left his face but he was excited.

I continued on chronologically with Dr. North that the nausea since that Tuesday the 6th hadn’t gone away, I didn’t need to throw up but I was just not ok. It was constant. Day and night 24 hours just blah for a solid week and a day. Then we went over to our friends’ house Wednesday night the 14th for a pizza party only to be woken up at 3am Thursday morning by pizza acid shooting me out of bed to finally throw up. It wasn’t a really successful throw up because I still felt blah but then Thursday afternoon it was like a light switch. I was well. Yet then I started feeling like my blood pressure was up. I don’t know what this feels like, but I assumed my symptoms were blood pressure - my heart palpitated non-stop and my face was going to burst off my neck. The lady at the cosmetic counter Friday asked if I needed anything for my red undertones. What red undertones I replied? I don’t have red blotchy skin. She kindly handed me a mirror to show me how my cheeks were blood red. Oh, um, Hmmm, must be my blood pressure I said. Not knowing what the H E double hockey stick I was talking about. I decided to run to Target where they have everything, including someone that could take my blood pressure. The pharmacist took my presh-ah and said it was fine, but I knew I wasn’t feeling normal. Suck it up you’re fine you hypochondriac psycho pregnant lady.

Plus I couldn’t be “not ok” because Chip was on the coast that weekend and it was just Hill and me so I had to be tough. Hill and I hung out and went and played with Harvey and tried to go to bed super early because my tiredness is uncontrollable. We made pillow pallets in the bed and watched Mickey, Dora, & Yo Gabba Gabba and I never wanted that time to end.

So there we were….Tuesday, March 20th in the doctors’ office summing up my every life move to Dr. North since the conception of this child - I’m so sure that he’s missed the stew outta me.