Bun in the Oven

It’s true! Autrey and I are expecting our first child to arrive right about Thanksgiving this year. Yay! I am currently 14 weeks along and into my second trimester. We are so excited. A lot of time and effort have gone into bringing us to this point. For posterity’s sake, and so I don’t have to repeat myself again and again, here come the details. Those of you not interested in hearing all of this, feel free to stop reading. You might get more information than you bargained for.

Autrey and I have wanted to become parents for a couple of years, but we felt we needed to wait until Autrey was closer to finishing grad school. At the beginning of last summer we finally decided the time was right. We were unsuccessful throughout the summer, which didn’t help my growing baby hunger/baby jealousy. The thought that there might be a connection between my hypothyroidism, my mom's 7 miscarriages, and my childless situation led me to see a doctor who specializes in fertility and high risk pregnancies in September. (Thanks for the recommendation, Rainee and Meggan!) After many visits and 2 surgeries –an HSG and a laparoscopy- he discovered that in addition to my hypothyroidism, I have a heart-shaped uterus, my left fallopian tube does not function properly, and I have major deficiencies in my B-vitamins and folic acid levels that could result in physical/mental issues for a baby if untreated (the deficiencies were discovered after I tested ANA+ and the doctor suspected I had Lupus). Interesting tidbit: 2 weeks ago at my “First Look” screening ultrasound at the hospital, two doctors each saw the baby but could not find my left kidney. I may only have one. Good thing I never decided to donate my right one. So, basically I am a little messed up inside, but most of you already knew that…haha. And by the way, I was still teaching throughout the year and Autrey was down in Houston doing a clinical during all of January and February when all of the surgical procedures were occurring. I was lonely while he was away, but I kept my morale up by calling family, visiting friends, working out my pre-pregnancy body, reading the entire book “What to Expect When You are Expecting” cover to cover, and we finalized our baby names. That list might sound weird, but I needed to feel like I was getting closer to having a baby in some way. This year has definitely been a roller coaster ride for me. Thank heavens for good doctors and modern medicine! Anyway, Autrey came back home on March 3 and with the help of Clomid (egg stimulator) I became pregnant and found out on the 25th, which just happened to be my 26th birthday. Happy birthday to me! Here is a picture of how I shared the news with Autrey (writing words in a speech bubble upside down and backwards on a bloated belly is not as easy as you might think, just so you know):
(If you are thinking: “Too much information. I wish I didn’t just read all that or look at that picture.” I’m sorry, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. You read/looked at your own risk.)

It has taken me a while to go public with the news because of my fear that I would be a high risk pregnancy that would miscarry. Growing up watching my mom bravely struggle with her miscarriages and the events of this past year have given me a healthy respect for the complexity of creating a life. I, for one, will never take it for granted. I am still cautious, but very excited to have made it this far and wanted you to share in my joy. I truly appreciate all of the outpouring of love, prayers, and support given to me by those I love. Baby Duke is on the way!

P.S. – Happy 28th Anniversary Mom and Dad! I love you! :)