Bump Ahead

Jus had classes Friday mornings, so (being the awesome wifey I am) I made him a hot breakfast before he went to school. One day I decided to make some of those yummy looking cinnamon roll pancakes that were all over Pinterest. They weren’t as good as I hoped (might have been better if I actually followed the recipe, but who does that?). After we were done eating, I walked him to the door, he gave me his signature HuggyKissySqueezeyBum and left for class.

I walked back into the kitchen and got a whiff of cinnamon. It was HORRIBLE! I made a mad dash to the bathroom and lost my breakfast. After avoiding cinnamon for two weeks (even a tiny hint made me queasy), I finally bought a box of EPT’s. At first there was one blurry line, but after a few seconds it became two distinct pink lines. I was going to be a mom!

We saw a midwife for the first time when I was 12 weeks along. Two things happened at that meeting. First, we were able to hear our baby’s heartbeat! It was INCREDIBLE! This was the first time we felt like we were really going to have a baby! The second thing that happened was we found out I have hyperthyroidism and my pregnancy was high risk. I was no longer able to see a midwife because baby and I needed special care.

I started seeing an endocrinologist and she put me on medication to reduce the amount of thyroid hormone my body was producing. She informed us of the risks we faced because I was hyperthyroid and pregnant (which had us worried) and we discussed what might be the cause of my overactive thyroid (we knew the cause of our pregnancy, so we weren’t worried about that).

An ultrasound was performed on my neck and we found a nodule on my thyroid which is why it was overactive. However, what we didn’t know was why there was a nodule. My doctor suggested it may be cancer and I needed a biopsy. We decided to wait until after our baby was born to do the biopsy. After all, if it was cancer I couldn’t be treated because I was pregnant. We weren’t too worried though. Most types of thyroid cancer are easy to get rid of, and I didn’t feel like it was cancer (eight months later we learned I was right).

We also started going to the High Risk OB’s. Due to all the different risks (miscarriage, stillbirth, premature, IUGR, to name a few), our baby needed to be monitored closely. We had our first ultrasound when I was 16 weeks. We were relieved to learn that our baby was doing just fine! We also received a surprise, we were having a little boy!

When we learned all of the risks associated with our pregnancy, we were more than a little stressed. One night after coming home from a walk, Jus gave me a blessing of comfort. In it, I was told that if I listened to the doctors, and did all I could to be healthy and strong, then my sweet baby boy would also be healthy and strong. However, I was also told that I would cherish the time I had with my child, however short it may be. I immediately knew in my heart that I wouldn’t have much time with my baby, and it tore me apart. After all, whether it’s two or 32 years it’s never enough time.

I was pretty upset for a few days, then I realized something. I needed to enjoy each day and stop worrying about what life had in store for us. From that moment on I was able to enjoy all the perks of being pregnant, like the weird dreams, random cravings (vinegar anyone?), each little baby movement, maternity pants (whoever invented them is my hero), the fact that Jus would shave my legs when I got too big to reach (isn't he amazing?) and even the sneeze-pees (yes, they really happen). In the end, I had an easy pregnancy, which I will always be grateful for.