13 weeks
Hello! It has been a while since I actually published a post on this platform. And, I can’t believe it’s already the last month of the year! We wanted to share something exciting that is presently happening in a little family of ours – I’m pregnant! For some of our friends, I suppose this is how they will find out.
I’ve somehow accidentally come up with a really systematic way of disclosing this news to people so this is kind of like stage 2 of my news release (Stage 1 was family members and best friends). Yes, I have stage 3 (holiday card) and stage 4 (social media lol) being planned to roll later this month. Haha I’m so weird.
Today is the last day of week 13, aka the last day of the first trimester! I had an ultrasound confirmed at 7 weeks. I was initially hesitant to share this on my blog because it is out in the open web; however, this is my web journal after all so I wanted to keep it real and honest. Here is some quick Q&A for those curious (and since I’ve been asked a lot):
Was this planned?
Yes and no. Z and I have been talking about starting a family for quite some time, but we were somewhat stuck on finding the “right time”. I know I’m about to get an earful about no such thing as a perfect time to start a family (as I’ve grown to realize more as time passed by), but I do believe in “better timing” of preparing for parenthood. This residency life we are currently part of is not the most conducive timing to building a family than most people assume. Z’s life as a surgical resident frequently puts him on 90+ hours weekly (sometimes up to 110 hours, including the work he has to bring home to continue), which wouldn’t have made him the most available first-time dad on the planet. If you are going to comment on how he can better balance his work hours, try asking that again after learning more about medical residency :). Establishing stability in a new state (and not knowing anyone) with new jobs/careers was really important for us, and we worked hard to feel this place like home. Choosing to become a mother wasn’t an idea that I took lightly at all, and I simply knew I wasn’t ready to take on that role in my 20s. It is when I entered in the 30s that I truly felt confident and mature as a person that I finally began considering it more seriously.
Growing older together (as a married couple especially in this chaotic, rather lonely residency life) does mean more maturity in each of us. Over the last 4 ½ years of this journey, Z and I went through highs and lows in this relationship as we were navigating our marriage with medicine. We weren’t aggressively trying, but we weren’t avoiding trying either. We were ready to accept the pregnancy if it happened naturally.
Medical Help
In spring, we eventually sought help from a reproductive endocrinologist as I continued to struggle with irregular cycles and PCOS. Thankfully, none of the tests showed serious problems with my reproductive organs so we moved forward with being prescribed on Letrozole to control ovulation and the cycle. I had to track my ovulation religiously to confirm whether the medication was working. It took us 3 cycles (with adjusting the dosage after the 1st cycle) before getting that positive line. We feel fortunate that this method worked for us.
How did we find out?
I had been using a period/ovulation tracker app (I used Glow) and noticed that I was late. However, my cycle was never truly regular even with medication so I didn’t think much of it until about 2 weeks after my period was supposedly due. With some hopes, I stopped by at Walmart to buy the testing kit and saw a dark line indicating that I was pregnant. Z was in Chicago for a work conference that weekend so I contemplated whether to tell him by text immediately or wait until he comes back. I decided to tell him when he comes back (which was sooooo hard to do). I surprised him by putting the kit on his nightstand to check out. I recorded a video of him completely shocked! 🙂
First Trimester Symptoms
I swear that between week 5 through 9, all I wanted to do was sleep. I am already a sleepy person to begin with (this will kick my butt in the future, I know), but I would end up taking a 3-hour nap after work because I was running on fume all day. I think I literally spent the month of October hibernating. Aside from the super exhaustion, I got some of the typical early first trimester symptoms, such as sore boobs and bloating.
I was blessed with not having a crazy amount of morning sickness although mine was more of night sickness. I would be fine in the morning and then progressively feeling worse throughout the day. I didn’t go through much of actual vomiting but the sensation was often there, which was unpleasant. There was some food aversion, especially to the red meat of all things (I love meat). My body loved anything fruit or soup for a while, which made my meat-loving husband’s dinner look rather sad for a while. Additionally, my appetite significantly decreased which made eating frustrating as a food-lover. Have I mentioned how much I love to eat? I lost a couple of pounds during that time simply because I was not able to eat much. Sometime during week 12, I regained a lot of my energy and appetite so I’m feeling more like myself these days.
How did the parents react?
> My dad was elated – his first comment was, “Finally!” lol > My mom was in shock at first followed by being worried about childcare and such, because we live so far away from each other and they would not be able to help as much as they would like to. But now she is simply enjoying the news. > Z’s mom immediately started crying and was over the moon. > Z’s dad was so happy as well. Z was able to share the news in person while he was visiting him in Malaysia not a while ago. This would be the first grandchild for both sides.
While this is new and somewhat scary for both us, we are very happy and excited about how next year will unfold. We would appreciate your thoughts for a safe and healthy journey! We are looking forward to going to future appointments to see our baby grow and get stronger before making an appearance in June 2019!
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