No News is Good News

Wow, I hadn't realized how much time had passed since my last post! I guess time really is flying by. I'm so sorry for letting my loyal readers wait for an update. Happy New Year everybody! The holidays have really kept us busy at Chez Sticky, as has an office move at work (don't worry - I didn't lift anything). And considering my new bedtime is a whopping 9pm, I have not been given much opportunity to blog. I must say first and foremost that no news is, in fact, good news.

Christmas was pretty uneventful. We had our traditional gift-giving and lots of good food. My grandmother made her "famous" macaroni salad with shrimp. I think I ate 3/4 of the bowl it was so delicious. I racked up on presents like pj's, perfume, clothes, and a new Kate Spade bag but it just didn't seem to matter too much. Not that I was ungrateful by any means. But like I had said before, Santa came early for us this year. All that mattered was that the little life inside of me was still alive.

New Years Eve was also pretty calm. We had a dinner at a fabulous restaurant in downtown Annapolis and went home to watch the ball drop on TV. It may not have been the most exciting evening but it was perfect and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I did a bit of reflecting on 2007 and decided it was certainly a rollercoaster of ups and downs for us. We had the really bad (a second miscarriage), as well as some good (beginning treatment in January with the RE and getting a diagnosis, getting our first BFP since our miscarriage in 2005 in April, new jobs for DH and myself, DH getting his masters in August), with the peak being our current state. It is still hard to believe that the year ended on a good note. I find myself still in disbelief that we are here. Again. The reflecting made it seem even more unreal. We had certainly gone through our fair share of emotions in 2007. I wondered what 2008 would have in store for us.

As if it were a premonition, New Years Day brought us a bit of action. In the early afternoon, I started cramping. Mild cramps but constant, unlike the pulling twinges I tend to get. Fearing the worst, we decided to get checked out at the local ER. I had no spotting but I embellished a bit at the desk to ensure we would get an ultrasound. I bit my nails and held my bladder as we waited for a room. A few hours later, we were taken back to radiology. It was an abdominal ultrasound so it was nice not to have to drop trou for once. It only took seconds for us to see our little one. Sunshine measured a day ahead at 8w6d, and had a strong heartbeat of 176bpm. We couldn't have been happier.

However, Sunshine is not the only inhabitant in my ute. The tech noticed that I have a 3cm fibroid in the top layer of my uterus. The doctors did not seem very concerned at all and dismissed it as a side effect of the first trimester hormones. They said it could shrink and disappear later in the pregnancy, or it could grow. If it does grow, it would press on my outer organs and cause some pain and possibly some spotting. My first concern was intrauterine growth restriction, but they assured me that it is far enough away from the baby that it would not affect our little wonder. Dr. Google says this puts me at risk for breech presentation but if a c-section is all I have to worry about, I consider myself lucky. Has anyone else experienced this early on? I'd love to hear about how things turned out.

We also had another milestone this very morning. We heard the heartbeat on our home doppler. We are only 9w2d so I thought it would be a bit early for our olive-sized sweetie but decided to give it a try with a full bladder. I tried by myself at first and found it briefly, but our little one jolted before I could get a clear number on the digital readout. When DH tried a few minutes later, we found it fairly quickly on the opposite side of where I had originally heard it. 182bpm - clear as day. It sounded like a train, not a drum beat as I had thought. But it was definitely fast and strong. Music to my ears. Pure relief.

We have been sitting on cloud nine ever since. We are now past the point at which our Snowflake melted so I am feeling pretty good about things. I know there are no guarantees but I am relishing the fact that at this moment, I am, dare I say, pregnant and could very well bring a baby home this summer.