2 pink lines

It was May 25, 2011. It was the night I was playing single parent while Jeremy golfed after work. The forecast was a hot and sticky mess that later produced funnel clouds. In the midst of frantically signing them up online for swim lessons, fixing supper and hearing the tornado warning sirens, I saw 2 pink lines.

It was 5:30 p.m.  I was pregnant. I smiled to myself momentarily, celebrating the moment, and then life demanded my attention elsewhere.

Unable to keep the excitement to myself for long, I tried texting Jeremy, knowing he was busy.
"I've got news" was the text and it got no response.

It was storming, indeed and a tornado watch we were under. It wasn't until I called the gym needing help singing up for swim lessons did I learn that we were under a tornado warning. And then, a few minutes later, the sirens sounded. Although, after looking outside and seeing the sky I didn't need a siren. Stories from my father's childhood and the tornado that hit our farmhouse confirmed that I should be in the basement.

My heart raced for a few hours, from the weather and from the  2 pink lines I saw earlier. No tornado ever touched down, but the half hour that was 5:30-6:00 p.m. that night, produced the most excitement surrounding a pregnancy test I'd ever taken.

So how did I tell my husband? I sent him a text. I should have known better. He's not one for reading into things.

I sent: "All 4 of us are in the basement."

and he responded with: "You, Auds, Allie and Rapunzel? (Audrey's favorite Disney character as of late)

See what I mean? I should have just come out and said, "Took a pregnancy test and it was positive. Congrats. "

The confusion went on for a few more texts until I told him the 4th was baby number 3. He was shocked and excited. He'd wanted this pregnancy since January, and I said, no, give me 6 months. Jeremy's theory as of now with child producing, is, while you're in the trenches of diapers and middle of the night wake-ups just stay in the trenches until you can dig yourself out for good. I don't disagree, but Allie's first year was hard, and mostly because she wouldn't sleep. Plus, I wanted to lose weight first. The thought of 30 pounds on top of my current weight scared me. I told him to give me 6 months.

And that brings us to May 25th. I'm very excited about being pregnant for the 4th time, with our 3rd child. I didn't lose the weight I wanted, but I did build a lot of muscle from January--April.

A small tidbit: How did I know i was ready to get pregnant again? Life sent me to a urologist in early May. When he gave me the good news that everything looked good I asked him if it was ok to get pregnant. This was a  doctor I had never met before that day. He said go for it! That was when I knew it wouldn't be long.

I'm due February 5th. Several ultra sounds have the baby looking good, this last one he/she wouldn't stop moving long enough to get a decent picture, and I'm pretty sure he/she had hiccups. But we tracked a heartbeat at 145.

The day before, life took me into the OB office to hear the baby's heart tones after a little scare while in the Dells. That time, it was 163.

We discovered after the ultrasound that I have early placenta previa. At this stage it's likely to move up, out of the way, resulting in a normal pregnancy. That's what we're hoping for. I'm now 14 weeks. They hope by 18 weeks, I can continue life as normal. For now, no lifting over 10 pounds (except when I HAVE to pick up my 30 and 41 pound children), pelvic rest, etc.

I saw those 2 pink positive pregnancy test lines when I was 3.5 weeks. Told my mom when I was 5.5 weeks. Told the family on Father's Day and officially announced it after a sonogram on July 26th, at 12 weeks.

So far in this pregnancy:

weight: haven't gained a pound.

cravings: they fluctuate a lot. The first two weeks (before I even knew) I was craving ice cream a lot. Then it was chips and salsa. Anything with chips and salsa. Then the nausea kicked in like it's never before and I stopped eating a lot of much. A mixture of 7-Up and Orange Juice got me through those rough days. That, and bland gluten free crackers. This week I craved enchiladas, so I made some.

Food aversions: meat, Fritos, popcorn, now at 12 weeks, chips and salsa, and ice cream. Oh and homemade ribs. My husband spent a lot of time smoking ribs this spring/summer and the sauce he makes to go with them makes my stomach turn. The night we told family, we served the best ribs he'd ever made, and I couldn't stay out of them (without the sauce).

boy/girl: can't decide if I want to find out or not. At my 12 week sono the tech asked if I wanted her to look to see if she could tell and without hesitation I said, "Sure!" So, I'm not positive that I can hold out until the baby is born. I do like the idea of being surprised, but I also like to plan ahead.

baby is measuring: right on target. The dates I gave her initially matched up perfectly to how the baby was progressing. I'm getting good at tracking!









Sarah