"Shut Up!:" An Announcement

In March, just before spring break, I started experiencing a lot of acid reflux.  I would wake up with pain in my chest.  Sometimes I would even feel sick.  This is not unheard of for me.  I was diagnosed with a hernia in 2008, and so this will be a life-long problem for me.  Sometimes it gets out of control, and I go to the doctor to get some medication for it.  It's no big deal.  This time, though, I was also feeling really tired.  I was taking two naps a day for a few weeks. When I am tired, etc., I also usually go through an "I hate Jonathan" spell.  Again, this comes once every so often and is usually a result of stress and hormones.  All in all I was not feeling myself, so I decided to go to see the doctor.

My doctor is pretty awesome. She's a really funny, really smart, really Jewish, and overall really caring lady.  I met with her and told her how I was feeling.  She listened and then asked the usual list of questions..."Do you take drugs?" "How often do you drink?" "When was your last period?" "Etc.?" I couldn't really remember my last period.  I'm nursing and have fertility problems so...there's no real point of keeping track of that sort of thing.  But, it had been a while, I thought.  I had considered taking a pregnancy test earlier, but had forgotten about it, since I knew it was impossible that it would be positive.  As for the drinking and drugs, I said, "I'm not a drinker. I'm Mormon."  I've gotten used to giving this answer since college. In my early twenties, when I told doctors that I don't drink they just gave me a look that said, "Come on, I'm not stupid".  However, when I explain that I'm Mormon, well, they believe anything I tell them.

After throwing out the Mormon card, we went on to have a comical discussion about why Mormons don't drink coffee and tea. She used to live in Utah and was always confused and annoyed about how Mormons will drink tons of Coke or energy drinks but not coffee or tea.  She even went on to say recent literature actually says that coffee and alcohol are good for you in correct doses.  Blah, blah, blah.  I told her I agree.  It is an annoying part of our religion, especially with all the contradictory behaviors and explanations that Mormons display.  I told her that for me, it's an obedience thing.  I made a commitment not to use those substances, so I don't.  I also explained that free-agency (the ability to choose how to live your life) is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us. We have the ability to make mistakes, to learn, to be forgiven, and then to go on to make good choices.  When we take part in substances that cause addiction or that impair our ability to make decisions, it might seem like we are taking advantage of that gift. And plus, she's Jewish right? She has her own set of quirky eating restrictions!  It was a light-hearted, jocular conversation mostly.

Once we got back on track she said that there was a medicine she wanted to prescribe, but she wasn't sure I could take it if I was breastfeeding, and I definitely couldn't take it if I was pregnant.  So, while she checked about breastfeeding, why don't I go down to the lab to pee in a cup so they could run a pregnancy test?  I am always willing to take a pregnancy test.  I mean, even though I know that it's impossible, the suspense is still fun, right?  However, to be honest, at the time I didn't even give it a second thought.  There was no way I was pregnant, and I knew that.  I was busy with Sawyer and stressed about my hernia.  I wasn't even thinking about being pregnant, AT ALL.

So, I went down to the lab and then returned to my little exam room to play on my phone.  I waited there for a while until finally my doctor returned to the room with a little slip of paper and a mischievous smile on her face.  She looked at me and said, "What would you do if I told you, you are pregnant!"  I just looked at her and a deep resentment filled me heart, "Shut Up!  That's not funny."  We had been joking so much earlier, prodding each other, and the news was so impossible, that I assumed she was messing around with me.  Her face suddenly turned serious and she nervously said, "No, really, see here are the results," and she showed me the paper.  And then I bawled.  She patted my back and with true concern she quietly whispered, "This is a good thing, you know? Right?"  And through my tears I yelled, "Of course this is a good thing!!  My doctors told me that this could never ever happen!"  She stood up, gave me this look like she was so proud of me, and with the fierce attitude of a woman and a mother she said, "I guess they weren't right about YOU, were they?!"  I dried my eyes and we happily chatted for a little while longer.  We decided that my symptoms were probably explained by my pregnancy and that I needed a blood test to figure out exactly how far along I was.  I called Jonathan as I was heading back down to the lab and his reaction was exactly the same as mine, "Shut Up!"  Which was followed by, "No wonder you've been such a [witch] lately."  I love Jonathan.  Ahh....  It was one of the happiest moments of our lives!

So the blood test and then the ultrasound revealed I was like 8 weeks along!  Currently I am almost 22 weeks pregnant with a little GIRL.  Here are a few previews of miracle Baby Girl Strads due on October 31st, 2012.

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