She Says… Hi, Facebook friends!

Since we’re finally 12 weeks along, Benjamin and I thought it was an appropriate time to share our exciting news with Facebook (and, thus, almost everyone in our lives). So to all those coming to our blog for the first time… we’re pregnant! Want proof? Here are some pictures of my expanding waistline.

I say finally because, unfortunately for us, getting pregnant was not as easy as we expected it to be. We were surprised and saddened to find out that I have a condition called Lean Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which means my body doesn’t ovulate on its own. If you didn’t sleep through 6th grade Health class entirely, you know that makes it pretty darn hard for us to make a baby. We were lucky to figure out that there was a problem almost immediately after we started “trying”, and we were able to see a fertility specialist and take some magical drugs that forced my body to ovulate. After many months of frustrating diagnostic tests and trial and error of various treatments, we did it! You can see the timeline of events here.

When we started the blog, we thought it would be a fun way to keep track of the pregnancy and eventually become a place where friends and family could go to see pictures of our inevitably adorable baby. However, as things progressed without seeing that little plus sign, the blog became therapy, an outlet for the frustration that came from our struggle with infertility, and a window into an amazing community of young, healthy women going through the same confusing process. Since we decided not to tell very many people about our struggle (I was dead-set on it being a surprise when we told people we were pregnant… I figured we could tell them the sob story later), the blog was sometimes the only place we could vent or find support throughout the difficult process.

Somewhere along the line it became my personal agenda to share the news about how widespread infertility issues are, and raise awareness so that when women (and their partners) come up against these frightening odds, they don’t feel quite so alone. Which is why I’m willing to put my fat stomach and unattractive pregnancy symptoms on display for all of the internet (and now Facebook!) to see. I’m a success story for all the other women out there dealing with infertility in one way or another.

That, and I’m pretty excited to be pregnant after all that we’ve gone through.

Enjoy

P.S. We call the baby Piccolini, which means “Little One” in Italian.

She Says… 12 Weeks!

You did it, Piccolini! You made it to 12 weeks!

I am so proud of you. And me, frankly. For most of 2009, I thought this day would never come. And for a few weeks of the first trimester, I thought I might not ever recover from being so incredibly exhausted and constantly nauseous. But we both made it. After this week, the risk of miscarriage drops to less than 1%. Those are odds even a very conservative gambler would take! I can finally begin to believe that you are real, and that I’ll see your precious little face in August.

As we move into the second trimester, you shift into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks of critical development, almost all of your systems are fully formed. Wow. Now all you have to do is grow, grow, grow! I’d like you to be a bit bigger than a plum when you join the world, mmmkay? You can now move spontaneously, suck your thumb, and even get hiccups! How cute. Although I might not think so when your hiccups shake my stomach in a few more weeks. Your vocal cords are completely formed and you can (and sometimes do) cry silently. That just about breaks my heart. But I know you’re not really sad in there, you’re just testing out your tiny body.

I am beginning to sport quite the little baby bump! My stomach has a soft curve that is slowly but surely looking less fat and more pregnant. When I stood up yesterday, a close friend at work pointed and smiled. She guessed! Apparently that means it’s no longer a secret. I made an announcement when I introduced myself to the group of new hires who I am training this week and it was SO MUCH FUN to say out loud, “I’m expecting my first baby in August!”. I only wish that your daddy could be having the same sort of daily excitement as I am at this point. My energy is coming back as I recover from my cold and my nausea is almost entirely gone, so aside from needing to eat often and less than normal at each sitting, I am beginning to feel like my pre-pregnancy self again. I think I’m going to like this next trimester

I’m so excited to share you with others as I begin to show. I love knowing that you’re nestled down in my tummy, and that you’re with me all the time. I love protecting you and changing my life and my habits to accommodate you.

You are already the best thing I’ve ever had a hand in making. I love you.
Mama