THE Pregnancy Test!

WARNING: Before we begin, there will talk below of periods and bodies and birth control and the like so if those words alone make you uncomfortable now is the time to close this window and go back to checking your phone for candy crush lives.  ALSO, if you are one of those people who gets weirded out by seeing peoples pregnancy tests -  that's here too (YES I did pee on it!)  Plus, like I have mentioned previously, I learned so much from women who were willing to be open about their stories that I want do the same for anyone else out there who may be wondering about . . . stuff. Right.

September 10, 2013 started off as a normal day.  We got up, got ready and headed out for work.  (At this point Ryan and I carpooled because we both worked on the other side of town.)  Nothing really felt different aside from what I thought were a few normal that-time-of-the-month symptoms (ladies you know what I’m talking about).  However, I wasn’t due to start for a several more days. 

ANYWAY while I was at work, a bride who I was helping to coordinate her wedding scheduled a last minute meeting that needed to happen.  I wasn’t prepared yet, so after work I picked Ryan up and then did some work in the car on my laptop while he drove.  I started to feel kind of carsick… which was weird because that usually doesn’t happen to me (I’m usually playing games or reading stuff on my phone during our commutes).

**Side note:  Just so you know how clueless we really were… after the meeting, we were driving home and the subject of kids came up.  I always ask Ryan when he thinks we should start a family… although he pretty much never gives me any sort of answer!  The conversation continued and I told him it would be nice to wait until the Spring so that we have time for a couple of more half marathons (me, not Ryan) and maybe a nice trip together, etc.  That’s pretty much where we ended it.

When we got home, I thought maybe I would just take a test to make sure.  (Ever since I have been married, every LITTLE thing has me convinced I am pregnant.  Stomach ache?  Take a pregnancy test. Headache?  Pregnancy test.  Elbow hurts?  Pregnancy test. )  Needless to say, I already had an extra test in the cabinet at home.  Pretty much IMMEDIATELY after snapping the cap back on the test I noticed the FAINTEST blue line you have ever seen.  I instantly started freaking out on the inside.  Convinced that I was PROBABLY just imagining it and that maybe after 2 minutes it would really just show one line, I left it in the bathroom and went to go change clothes.  Pretending like I was NOT freaking out… talking to the dog and trying to play it cool… I then went back into the bathroom.  SUPER faint line.  I walked into the living room.

Me:  Okay…DON’T freak out… but I need you to look at this and tell me what you think.

Ryan:  (Flips on the light)

Me:  It looks like there is a really faint line, but I can’t tell if it’s just my imagination or not…

Ryan:  Well, has it looked like that before?

Me:  No.

Ryan:  Well…

Me:  You know we’re going to have to go buy more of those tonight, right?

I’m not really sure what exactly was said after that point.  I know it was at that moment that we both realized what was ACTUALLY happening.  After sitting on the couch in shock, some hugs, and some happy tears (Ryan) we hopped in the car and drove our butts to CVS.  6 pregnancy tests later…. It was true.  I seriously could not believe how faint that little blue line truly was, I guess just because it was still pretty freaking early to find out.  (They actually make these digital ones now that will tell you how many weeks it thinks you are.  So crazy! 1-2 weeks, 2-3 weeks or 3+ weeks) It read 1-2, which was helpful in answering a few of MY questions… (Well really just one question - WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!)

Hey, you want to be extra sure, right?!

Were there any “signs” looking back?

Heads up: Here’s where it gets a little personal…throughout the month of August, work was extremely stressful and I was exhausted constantly.  I was so tired in fact, that I went to my doctor to have some blood work done to see if my Mono had re-activated itself.  (No I was not pregnant at this time – I actually was just stressed and exhausted!)   I had not ovulated in July or August, but I just chalked it up to the stress and lack of sleep.  (Why did I know if/when I was ovulating you ask?  No, we were not “trying”.  By practicing Natural Family Planning (NFP), I use an ovulation monitor for the opposite reason that most people would use it for… you can figure out what that means.)  Looking back now… apparently I must have ovulated in August, despite the fact that my hormone levels never reached a level high enough for this to occur.  So of course I just went on my merry way and that little red flag that usually reminds me every month to… take precautions was never on my radar.  Not sure if my hormones were jacked up (probably), if there was a user error with the monitor (maybe) or the monitor somehow messed up (eh?)… guess we’ll never know!  (Note to self… in the future I need to still pay attention to those few days when I SHOULD be ovulating… even if the monitor doesn't think I am!)

Needless to say… after 2 months of “not” ovulating I assumed I was due to start my period soon (that part WAS still happening regularly).  (I will note that my boobs hurt SO bad… a PMS symptom that I had not experienced since I got on the pill for a few months around our wedding.  That used to be normal for me though so I didn’t think anything of it.)  The morning of September 10, I woke up to my (Ryan’s) alarm.  I had just been dreaming that we had a little baby girl and she was giving me kisses.  I just thought it was a cute dream.   Then (now this was a few days before I was supposed to start my period) the monitor randomly jumped from “low fertility” to “ovulating”.   Well that’s never happened.  “Man my hormones are really messed up right now!  This is so annoying!” I said to Ryan…  I began to notice around that time that I suddenly had to pee WAY more than normal.  I’m usually like a once-every-8-hours (or longer) kind of girl (unhealthy I KNOW.  I have been lectured on this before.)  I just don’t have to go that much and I can hold it for a really long time if I have to!  However, this started to change.  I couldn’t really figure out why.  I didn’t feel like I was drinking that much more…  All of these things individually didn’t seem (to me – or probably any first-time-pregnant-peeps) like reason enough to assume that I was pregnant.  But after I started to feel carsick in the car… it was enough LITTLE things to make me think…. “Well… I guess I should at least check.  I doubt I am but… I should make sure”.  I am SO glad that I did.  :)

Last bottle from our milestone wine basket that Ryan's sisters gave to us for our wedding!  (Although, we had to save the 1 year anniversary bottle for next year because this news came first. Oops!)