Meeting Dr. Heckman

Our first appointment with an obstetrician was Tuesday, March 6th. I had been getting pretty stressed about finding a great doctor. Because of all of my past health issues, I know the importance of a wonderful doctor, which also includes a friendly and helpful office staff, and knowledgeable and available (reachable) nurses. I wanted a male, with lots of experience, and whom delivered at the big Baylor Hospital in downtown Dallas. I picked this hospital (first, before I chose a doctor) because it is one of the best hospitals in the area, and has a level III nicu. Anyways, after choosing Baylor, and doing lots of online research for amazing Ob-Gyns in Dallas, I chose Dr. Heckman. I was excited about my decision, and relieved to have picked someone, but still a little nervous...until we met him. He exceeded even my high expectations. He was warm, personable, friendly, professional, kind, direct and detailed, and best of all, he made Zac and I feel like we were his only patients and his number one priority. The appointment was at 3, but we did not get to actually see him until 4:30. He apologized profusely, and explained that he squeezed three additional women into his schedule this afternoon, because they had each experienced some bleeding. (This actually earned him points in my book, because it made me happy to know that if I am ever the one who needs to be seen in a crunch, he'd find a way to make it happen.) We chatted in his office for awhile, then he asked if we'd mind doing things a little out of order, since his sonographer leaves at 5, and he wanted to make sure we got a picture of our little one. :) Of course we didn't mind, we couldn't wait to see pics of the little gummy bear. =) After seeing our baby, and hearing the heartbeat, I told the sonographer that she was my new best friend, and she said 'yeah, I'm pretty well liked around here.' Look at this precious picture...

After the sonogram, we went back to his office and talked for another 45 minutes. I was so relieved (and almost surprised!) to hear him say over and over that he didn't want me to feel like I was fragile or that I should walk on eggshells. He told me to live my normal life, and quit worrying about miscarriage. (He said my chance of miscarriage was less that 2%, now that I am past eight weeks.) Pure relief!
At times, Dr. Heckman would speak directly to Zac. I liked that about him, and I think it made Zac feel important too. We planned to see him again on March 27th, and left the office on a complete high. We headed to Pei Wei for a celebratory dinner, where Zac took this picture of me and Sweet Pea.

After dinner we went and got dessert (ahem, I alone, got dessert) at The Cupcakery. It was delish! What a wonderful day, that I'll never ever forget. =D

Symptom Manifestation...

Before we REALLY found out I was pregnant, I was already pretty sure that I was, based on my symptoms. I was so exhausted, I mean just constantly pooped. I would come home at 4 and get in bed, Zac would wake me up around 6:30 to eat, I'd try to stay awake for an hour (or maybe two!) and then go back to bed.
I was also a little nauseous. Although I did throw up one night, it was mostly just a constant feeling of queasiness. Sometimes I wished I would actually throw up, because I thought it'd make me feel better, but I never did. It was particularly noticable when I woke up in the mornings, and from naps, or if I waited too long in between meals. I kept a sleeve of crackers on my night stand, in my car, Zac's car, and in my desk at work. Anytime I felt the tummy twirls come on, I'd eat some crackers.
But the MAIN reason I just "knew!" I was pregnant, was that I needed to tinkle all the time! I was waking up four or five times a night to go pee. I decided that being tired or nauseous could technically be my brain playing tricks on me, (cause, ya know, the pregnancy stuff really did take over my life while we were trying, so it's no surprise that my body would play the game) but the frequent urinating was almost comforting to me...I didn't think that my psyche could "make" me need to pee more. I thought that peeing all the time was my own little confirmation that I was pregnant. Turns out, I was right! :)
After we found out I was pregnant, the exhaustion, mild nausea, and frequent tinkling continued. I couldn't complain, because I was way too excited and joyful to be negative (and I also felt quite lucky to have such minor issues). When my OB took me off of the progesterone (that Dr. Le had prescribed me), it was a night and day difference! The very day after I got off the progesterone, I had more energy. It was like the "tired cloud" lifted off of me, and I felt a little more myself. Around this time is when my co-workers started saying I was "glowing" and that I looked like I was on cloud nine. :) I really was already on Cloud 9 mentally, but I guess not being so tired helped my physical appearance. LOL!

Start spreading the news...

Part of the fun of finding out we were preggers, was sharing the news with those we love. We had so many people rooting for us, and cheering us on, and they felt invested and as much a part of our journey as we did.
Zac and I decided to head to Austin on that Friday (that we found out for sure) to tell our families in person. Knowing that we would not get to see her for awhile, the first person we told was my sister, by phone. She is pregnant, and due in April, so we thought it was cool that her youngest, and our oldest would be only five months apart!
We called my dad and told him we were coming to town, but wanted to surprise Mom. He had no clue what we were up to, but helped arrange a dinner in Round Rock. When we got to "Homefield Grill," my mom and dad were waiting for a table. Mom was so shocked and happy when she saw us walk up. We shared lots of hugs, and told her it'd been a long week (which technically wasn't a lie, since all the anticipation and excitement was a lot) so we wanted to come spend the weekend with them. I had told my mother that we wouldn't get to find anything out until Sunday, and she admitted to me later that when we arrived, she thought 'oh good...now they will be here when we get to find out if she's pregnant!' When we were seated, the waitress took our drink orders, then disappeared, so we pounced on the moment alone to share the good news. Except, it kind of flopped. I said "well, we have some news to share with y'all about Molly." I had their attention, and knew it was going to be awesome. I went on..."Molly is going to be a big sister!" I waited for the shrieks of jubilation, but nothing came but blank stares. I was confused and staring back, until Zac said "a human baby!" at the same time I finally blurted out "I'm PREGNANT!" We laughed and cried and got up and hugged all over again, then laughed some more. Papa had thought we were getting another dog, and mom said she was thinking 'I thought Molly's mom and dad, Susie and Elvis, were both dead? How is Molly going to be a big sister?' We laughed about botching the big news, but it was such a joyful dinner. ;)
The next evening, Eli had rounded up ALL of the Oldhams to meet for dinner at El Arroyo. (Zac ate there on our wedding day, and claims he plans on eating there every time he has an important event in his life.)  Everyone was already seated when we got there, so just us showing up was excitement enough. They stood to hug us, and as everyone had sat down (and Zac and I were still standing) I said "Well, we had to come, to tell you the good news in person!" Of course, I didn't even need to say more before everyone stood up again and we hugged and smiled and shared the special moment. The rest of the night we were on a high.

Finding Out

Dr. Le told us that we should not take a pregnancy test until Friday, February 3rd. I knew I had a big day with my students that day, so we decided to wait until Saturday to take a home pregnancy test, that way we could also be together when we found out. Yep, that WAS the plan. LOL. But of course I got impatient and took a test the first morning the box said I could...Wednesday morning. I woke up early and took the test. The horizontal line was bold, but the vertical line (to make it a plus sign) was hardly there. It was there, but very faint. I just shrugged and figured it was too early. I didn't think much of it during the day, but Zac texted me at one point in the morning and told me he was sad and disappointed. Later he called me and said he had called EPT to ask about the faint line. The customer service worker told him not to give up...that if I'm not pregnant, there shouldn't be a vertical line at all. When he told me this, I didn't think much more about the results...just that I thought it was precious that he took the time to call EPT. :) I had a training after school that day, so I got home late. Without planning it out, or thinking about it in advance, I took another test. Zac walked through the front door right when the three minutes was up, and I called him into the bathroom. This is the beautiful sight we saw...

We hugged until we cried (Okay, I cried. Not sure about the mister.), then went out to eat to celebrate. (Matt's Rancho Martinez, in Cedar Hill was the celebratory restaurant). It was an exciting night, but it still seemed to good to be true. Thursday morning I took another test, just to make sure it was real. Yep...still pregnant! :) Even though I wasn't supposed to test until Friday, I went ahead and called Dr. Le's office and told them that I'd taken a few home tests that showed a precious plus sign. She said I could go ahead and get blood work done, so I drove to Mansfield on my conference period. When the woman was checking me in, she said "congratulations Mama!" I told her we weren't certain yet, and she winked at me and said "I think you are!" That was before I'd even had my blood work, and I know she was a random stranger, but I'll never forget how sweet it was to hear someone call me mama. :) Knowing I wouldn't get results until sometime Friday, and still certain that I couldn't have possibly gotten pregnant the very first month, I took another test Thursday night. (another pretty plus sign!!) Friday morning, I had one test left, so I thought "what the heck...hopefully this is real and I won't need it anyways...might as well use it!" It showed a plus sign, but even after five home tests, I still wasn't going to be totally satisfied and convinced until the doctor's office called me. It happened around 10:30am. I was at the high school, for a Special Olympics basketball practice, so when I saw who was calling, I ran to the nearest door, and slipped out into the quiet hall. The nurse's voice was perky and congratulatory. She was so excited for me...you would've thought we'd been friends for years! :) She said my hCG level was at 71, and I was definitely pregnant. MUSIC TO MY EARS!! When I hung up with her, I stood alone in the hall, just geeking out. When I composed myself, I called Zac and shared the good news with him. He was relieved to hear it. He said he thought we were preggers, but the confirmation was a relief. We made a quick (and last minute) plan to head to Austin to surprise our families with the news, then hung up and went about our day. I wanted to scream "I'm PREGNANT!!!!" when I walked back into the gym, but of course I didn't. But I'm pretty sure the HUGE smile on my face didn't leave for the rest of the day. :) And every since that day, I've been smiling.