How We Found Out We are Pregnant

Read to find out how we found out we are pregnant and all the details of those first emotions including shock and overwhelming joy.

So YES, if you haven’t heard, my husband Mark and I are PREGNANT!!! And to say we are thrilled is an absolute understatement. I can’t even begin to truly put into words all the emotions and feelings that have flooded our hearts since we started this journey. Last week I made the big announcement to all of you in THIS post so make sure to check it out to read a little bit about our history and journey getting to that positive pregnancy test. At the time of this post being published, I am about 25 1/2 weeks pregnant.

So after you read last week’s post about the journey we have been on with having a baby, you know that it wasn’t always so simple and a fairy tale like some people speak of. There have been ups and downs with tear filled days and nights, but GOD was faithful and continues to be! So because of this little journey over the last several years, you must understand the complete shock I felt the day I looked down and that test was positive.

The first pregnancy red flag came on a Thursday evening. For those that don’t know, I currently work in a school and had just returned for pre-planning before the school year kicked off. That Thursday night I just wasn’t feeling like myself and wasn’t sure if I was coming down with a bug. I was annoyed because I thought maybe I had already caught something and was sick just after going back to the school without any kids for a few days. I was off the Friday before school started Monday. As soon as I woke up, I was nauseated. (Any mention of pregnancy symptoms is not me complaining truthfully. I am grateful for my pregnancy. I just want to be sure to explain the details as much as possible.)

I am talking about nausea that just won’t go away no matter what you do. I didn’t want to move my body one inch for fear that I would lose everything completely. I layed on the couch and would barely even turn over. Mark was trying to get me to eat and nothing sounded good at all. I was also laying there crying and frustrated because I thought I was starting to have hormone issues again. Not only had I been nauseated, I was also TIRED. Tired beyond any description or feeling I can ever explain. On top of that I was using the bathroom during the night about 2-3 times. Add 2 missed periods as well, and you can see why I was getting so frustrated. Missed periods in the past was normal for me so that didn’t make me run to take a test. Pregnancy was the last thing on my mind.

I had a nail appointment later in the morning and really didn’t feel like even going. Mark convinced me to get up and keep my appointment thinking it might help me feel better. I did okay through the appointment, but by the time I got home, I was so exhausted and went straight back to the couch. Mark kept trying to get me to eat but nothing sounded good. So ginger ale and lime sherbet was all I could handle. Saturday morning came and nothing had changed. I knew the first day of school was Monday so I couldn’t call out of work already. I stayed on the couch just trying to get as  much rest as possible.

Saturday night came and Mark again convinced me to get ready and at least leave the house for a little bit just to get out. I still was not eating much so I wanted to try and eat something just to get some strength because I dehydrate so easily. I decided on Firehouse Subs and just tried to make myself eat what little I could. As we are sitting at the table eating, Mark looks at me and says, “I think you’re pregnant.” I’m sitting there thinking this man is crazy. Of course I denied it out of the sole reason that I didn’t want to be disappointed again. I had taken multiple tests in the past and all negative so why put myself on that emotional roller coaster and have my hopes up for nothing.

The more we sat and talked, he asked me to do just one thing for him. He wanted me to take a test and just rule it out because if I didn’t feel better and had to go to doctor then the first question they would ask is, “When was your last missed period?”. I had been through that before and they would make me take a test anyways. Because I’m so frugal, I would rather spend money on a test than having to go to urgent care. So after much discussion, I finally caved and said I would go get a test, but I wasn’t spending a bunch of money on one just to throw it in the trash. There just so happened to be a Dollar Tree across the street from where we were eating so I bought a couple there.

I wasn’t planning to take the test that night but rather the next morning, but again Mark insisted. It’s like he truly knew in his heart and didn’t want to delay finding out. Once we got home, I took the test and left it laying on the kitchen counter. Mark set a timer and I completely walked away. He couldn’t believe I didn’t want to stand around and wait to see the results. I wasn’t feeling well but had tried to make myself get up and do laundry earlier so I went to the washer to switch out towels to the dryer. I’m not going to lie. At this point, my heart was fluttering some and all those thoughts passed through my head “What if it’s positive?”.

The next thing I heard was Mark saying, “UHHHH????? You might want to take another one.” I told him to stop playing around and making jokes because that wasn’t something to tease about. He walks into the laundry room with the stick and says, “You are pregnant.” I told him he must have looked at the picture on the box wrong that tells you which is positive and negative. I double checked the box and my mouth just dropped completely open. No words, no tears, just pure shock!! You would think after so many negative tests and the struggles that I would at least have some kind of emotion or tear. The tears didn’t hit me until about a week or two later. Then the floodgates opened.

I hugged Mark and couldn’t stop saying, “We are pregnant.” We immediately rushed to CVS and grabbed another test but one that would actually say “pregnant.” I know they are all the same basically and we wasted money getting it, but I just had to. Sure enough it was positive too. I carried that stick around the rest of the night and for days would just pick it up to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I still pick it up occasionally and just relive that moment over and over.

Now for the hard part of not telling everyone we knew… Of course I wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but I also wanted to wait until after my first ultrasound at least. Trying to hide the nausea wasn’t easy either. I am also the worst at keeping secrets. This would be one of the hardest secrets to keep, but I am proud to say I was successful and didn’t ruin it.

In the coming weeks, I plan to share more of our story in hopes that it will give someone else hope and joy no matter what part of their journey they are on. I will be sharing next those big events of the first trimester as well as how we told everyone so stay tuned. Thank you for all the comments as well on last week’s post. It really blessed my heart to hear your stories and how personal something like this can be.