The Journey to Week 17

You guys!  THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the loving comments, emails, texts, etc.  It means the world to both me and Vishnu and makes us just that much more excited to see everyone else’s excitement!  Here’s to the next chapter – parenthood!

To be completely honest, I don’t know how to share my journey thus far, so I’m just going to type and see where it takes me.  Hopefully this post makes sense!

How we found out I was pregnant – I took a pregnancy test one night before bed but ended up throwing it away immediately because it was a bit early in the whole process, and I felt silly for even checking.  I also didn’t want to see a negative test result and feel sad because my best friend Roshni and her husband Samir were coming to visit us that weekend.  When I woke up the next morning, a voice in my head told me to pull the test out of the trash and take a look.  So I did.  Annnnd…it was positive!  I couldn’t believe it.  I woke Vishnu up and made him take a look to confirm I wasn’t crazy. He said he saw a second line but that he preferred I tested again in 48 hours before getting too excited.  So I did just that.  And it was still positive (and darker).  I then proceeded to take two more tests on Sunday and three more on Monday (I even ran to the grocery store during my lunch break to buy a different kind of test to make sure we weren’t seeing false positives!).  I then called my doctor’s office to ask about next steps.  I went in for some blood work that Thursday, and they confirmed the pregnancy the next day!

Family reactions – As you can imagine, our families are over the moon!  This is the first grandchild on both sides, so excited doesn’t begin to describe it.  My mom already has her own special nickname for the baby, and Vishnu’s mom bought the baby jewelry when she went to India.  Our dads are a little less expressive but just as excited!  This kid is going to be SO loved!  Our siblings are also really excited.  My sister is ready to be the best aunt and pediatrician ever (so thankful to have her so close!), and Vishnu’s brother is already planning on setting up personal tennis and soccer lessons for our little nugget!

How the baby is doing – I may be a tad bit biased, but our baby is a little cutie.  We’ve had three ultrasounds done so far, and it’s incredible to see how quickly he/she is growing!  At our 10 week ultrasound, I was convinced we had a baby genius on our hands.  When the ultrasound tech commented on how active our baby is, I looked at Vishnu and said, “Our baby is so special and smart!!”  He asked why and I said because it’s moving so much. The tech started laughing and said most babies move a lot at this stage.  Whatever!  My baby’s the smartest! 🙂  He/she also has a strong/fast little heartbeat.  Seeing and hearing it for the first time (ok fine, every time) brought on the waterworks!

How I’m doing – For some reason, I really thought I would have a horrible first trimester.  Thankfully, it’s been the opposite of that.  I haven’t experienced any morning sickness, food aversions, food cravings, etc.  Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been easy, but I’m very aware of how good I had/have it.  Beyond thankful this has been the case so far!  My issues are more so related to sleep.  In the beginning, I would wake up soaking wet and sweaty, unable to fall back asleep for hours.  Then I had trouble falling asleep (it would take an hour + even if I was exhausted).  Now, it’s about comfort – it’s so hard to get comfortable.  I wake up every time I switch from one side to the other.  Oh well!  It’s a very small price to pay!  Also, this is probably just prepping me for the sleepless nights to come. 🙂

Other than the above, I’ve experienced a little bit (or a lot…if you ask Vishnu) of moodiness.  In the first trimester, I would go from laughing and joking around to a full blown tear fest in a matter of minutes.  My now favorite story is how I crawled into Vishnu’s lap after an episode of This Is Us and started uncontrollably sobbing because…I felt so much love for him.  Needless to say, he was super confused!  Thankfully, I have a husband who usually sees the humor in all of this and can calm me down pretty easily!

How Vishnu’s doing – In the beginning, Vishnu played the role of doctor versus husband/soon-to-be dad.  He approached the whole thing with cautious optimism.  At first, it annoyed the crap out of me, but then I realized his attitude was based on what he’s seen and experienced in his job. Sadly, not everyone experiences a happy ending.

Now that we’re in the second trimester, he’s a lot more excited and taking on the dad role with no reservations.  I also think it was harder for him to be excited because I looked the same for so long, but now that I’m growing and the baby actually looks like a baby in the ultrasounds, it’s all way more real.

One of the things I’m really looking forward to is seeing Vishnu as a dad.  I absolutely know he’s going to knock this job out of the park!

How far along I am – 17 weeks yesterday!

Due date – July 12th

Are we going to find out the sex of the baby – YES and very soon!

Changes to MIS – MIS is not changing!  I do plan to share our journey in this space, but in no way do I intend to turn this into a baby/mommy blog. It’s just one more thing to write about!  With that being said, I apologize for the number of pregnancy related posts that may pop up over the next month or two.  I’m playing catch-up!

I think this covers the basics of what’s been going on over the past 17 ish weeks.  Like I said, I have so much I want to share, so be on the lookout for more of Par’s pregnancy adventures, lessons learned, etc.!

Happy Friday eve, my friends!  And thank you again for all the baby love!!!