It's Official!

I'm pregnant! Officially. (My beta, for those of you who know about those things, was 1174) Not that I needed the results of a blood test to tell me what I've known for over a week. Sparing you the specifics, here's a recap of my journey to this point.

It took a year of meds to help my body recover from years of hormones and neglect, and two cycles of fertility drugs to get here, and even then it was a surprise. After agonizing over basal body temperatures, cover lines, OPKs, and the texture of certain bodily fluids I guarantee you don't want to know about, I was convinced that the treatment wasn't working and November's attempt was a bust. But, I went for the blood work anyway, mostly because I wanted a higher dose of the fertility drugs for the next attempt and wanted the negative test to prompt the doctor to up my prescription.

But, on Friday, November 21st, the test came back positive meaning the fertility drugs worked and there was a chance I could be pregnant. A slim chance, but a chance none the less. I chalked it up to another hurdle overcome, and went back to thinking that we would try again next month. Luckily that Friday I also ate a ton of sushi and got my hair colored.

Over the weekend I began to get cramps - not unusual for the end of a cycle. But, when my boobs started to really hurt and my period hadn't arrived, I knew something was up. Monday morning, November 24th, I took a home pregnancy test (OK, I took two) and got a positive, both times. After waking Joe (by jumping on the bed and scaring the crap out of him) to tell him the news, I called my doctor. She wanted me to wait a week just to make sure we could get a good result on the blood test, hence the official confirmation today.

Meanwhile, my pregnancy symptoms have arrived in full force. I am so tired in the late afternoons I feel like someone drugged me and my muscles will no longer function until I go to sleep. I have to sleep in a bra to control the boob soreness. On the day of Mandy's wedding, November 28th, morning sickness arrived. Yesterday, it became all-day sickness. This was painfully evident when, on a quick stop at Borders after work for The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy, the smell of coffee from the cafe sent me running outside to puke in the bushes.

So here I am. 5 weeks pregnant. I can't say all of it has been great so far, but I know it will get better and the end result will be worth it.

I also have to say that Joe has been a good sport and a great husband through all of this. He was excited at the news, and even brought home roses and sparkling cider that night to celebrate (too bad I was already asleep on the couch). He has made several emergency trips to the grocery store for sprite and crackers and fruit. He gets the dad-to-be weekly newsletter from babycenter.org. He even stayed behind to buy me the pregnancy books at Borders so I could go outside and rendezvous with the bushes and not have to come back inside afterward. The next few months are not going to be easy, but I am lucky to have him and I know he will dutifully get me crab-flavored chicken wings when I need them.