Yay! We're having a baby!!! Positive test thru week 8

     We got our positive test a few days before my missed period. I had used a dollar store test and got a very faint positive, so I was convinced it was a fluke. I tested again the next day with a better known test and low and behold it was positive, just like the first!! Ryan and I were both shocked because although we were hoping it would be positive, we were prepared for it to be negative. It took awhile for it to sink in. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure it has sunk in even now!
     Our first scare happened when I was just over 5 weeks, when I started having some symptoms of miscarriage. That resulted in several blood draws to track my HCG, and an early ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that everything looked like it was a week behind where I should have been according to my last period. The ultrasound tech said that was pretty normal, so we didn’t worry too much until the doctor called to review the results. She said that she was concerned that it wouldn’t be a “viable” pregnancy, and the only way to be sure was to have another ultrasound in a week to check for growth. Trust me, when you’ve already been crying truck loads of tears when you think you could be losing a baby you’ve wanted so long, the last thing you want to hear it the word “viable” (especially said in a questioning manner!). It made everything sound so sterile & mechanical. As the next few days passed, those scary symptoms decreased until they were completely gone.  We were happy about that, until they came back with a vengeance, which of course made everything much scarier. So at just over 6 weeks I again had more labs drawn, which showed the pregnancy hormone wasn’t increasing the way it should. Then we had the second ultrasound. We were terrified that there would be no growth, but instead we watched in amazement at the fluttering tiny, tiny heartbeat. I was too stunned to cry. Our ultrasound tech was amazing, and she kept going back to the heartbeat between taking the measurements necessary to determine gestational age. Turns out, baby just started out growing a little slower than expected, but caught up to exactly where it should be by the time of that ultrasound. That day was such a relief! We got some pictures of our tiny peanut and a shot video clip of the heart beating.
     I’ve not had any morning sickness, except two days when my stomach was upset. But no throwing up or anything. I know, any woman reading this that experienced that will probably hate me a little for that, but I just figure I paid my dues when I had a broken body after my first bad car accident and had to recover from that. Trust me; you’d want morning sickness over that! So try not to hate me too much. ;) My only symptoms have been a sore chest, bloating and having to go to the bathroom all of the time. If it weren’t for the ultrasounds I’d be wondering if I was really pregnant! I’ve only experienced a few small cravings, and nothing too crazy. The first was chips & salsa. But it had to be restaurant chips & salsa, nothing else would do. The other was I really wanted mint chocolate chip ice cream. That one only lasted two days, where as the chips & salsa one lasted for like 2 weeks. Mmmmmm. So yummy! I re-learned that chips & salsa does NOT help a bloating situation, but since I felt like my pants were too tight to button starting at week 5, it was still worth it!