Your What? Pregnant!!

Yes the Menvielle household is growing….although it’s just my belly at the moment.

So how did I get myself into this predicament other than the obvious? Well, Gregory and I have been talking about “starting a family” for over a year now, but never felt “right time” was upon us. Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen and brain cells from all my training in the French Alpes, but I started to have a change of heart while in France last year. Maybe it was seeing the European family values and watching new mothers with their children; the love, discipline, and amazing relationships the French have with their children. I don’t know what did it, but I was finally “ok” with the idea of having a child.

I was also starting to have a change in heart towards “science.” I have been shying away from anything chemistry, anything science and everything related to the big corporate world since my bad experience down in Houston. This has been an amazing experience in itself as I have created another unique niche for myself in the world of website development. I believe that you can never have enough knowledge or skill sets…and you are a fool if you think you will be doing the same thing for the rest of your life! But, you can only suppress your desires for so long….I was beginning to feel the science itch again. Not exactly for chemistry; I am leaning more towards medicine. There are a number of reasons behind this, but that is for another post. People seem to forget that I am only 28…wait, I just turned 29…oh well, still in the 20’s! Plenty of time for another degree…and just because I am cheap and don’t want to go into debt, I plan on doing the 8 year MD/PhD program…heck, what’s another PhD?? All kidding aside about money, this is the route I would love to pursue because I love the research aspect of the doctorate program; it supplies an opportunity to satisfy you scientific curiosity to the maximum level, which is exactly why I want to do it…

Oh wait…I am pregnant…how did I get to going back to school for 8 years?? Well, that is why Gregory and I decided to “start” trying for a baby. In 8 years, I will be pushing the age limits for a healthy pregnancy, and Gregory will be over 40. We DEFINITELY did not want to do that or wait that long. I also did not want to have a child during med-school; and I also wanted to give myself the opportunity to see how motherhood shapes me before committing myself and my husband to 8 more years of school! This is not just my decision, this is a family decision. Perhaps this will all change; I know that what you plan is not always what happens and I am realistic to acknowledge that. All I do know is that Gregory and I have a gift, an amazing gift arriving in 6 months!

So, there you have it; after I completed Ironman Wisconsin we decided to give it a try. We honestly thought it might take a while. Getting pregnant is actually a complex thing (other than the how). If you do the reading you find that many things need to go “right” at the “right” time in order for a baby to be made. But, low and behold, at the end of October, I had a wonky period and headed to the doctor. Sometimes you don’t test positive on the home-tests and honestly, at the rate at which I was going through those pee-on-stick tests because I am so impatient I was going to put Gregory and I into bankruptcy. So, I decided doctor co-pay would be a better alternative. What did I find out? That I was NOT pregnant, but I was also infertile for the time being!!

Yes, in my doctor’s words, I was not ovulating. Turns out that when you have thyroid disease (I have Hashimoto’s) any changes in lifestyle such as going from Ironman training to “normal” activity will throw you for a loop. I was overmedicated at the time and was referred to an endocrinologist for monitoring and “family planning”. It usually takes 4-6 weeks for a new dosage of thyroid medicine to take effect and that could take many cycles and new dosages. So, basically, I was told not to hold my breath and it might take months to start ovulating again.

So, what does a girl do in these circumstances? Well, personally, I thought it was a great idea to sign up for the Vegas marathon and book a vacation trip and party it up in Vegas. Anyways, might be one of the last times I will have the freedom to do so, right?... I started running more, 16 miles, 18 miles and then 20 miles…all of which were miserable!! I would bloat out like you would not believe, have to pee like there is no tomorrow and the sugar highs and lows were nothing I had ever experienced! I told myself it was all due to my retarded thyroid. The only thing that tipped me off that it might be something more is my jiggly boobs.

You see, this Is unique. For those of you who know me, you know I have NO boobs whatsoever. In the off season, the weight goes to my belly, butt and thighs, but NEVER to my boobs. I have NEVER EVER jiggled when I run. So you can imagine my amazement and concern when the girls started bobbing around. Maybe it was a mother’s instinct or the fact that I was ravenous for chocolate and the chocolate isle in Walgreens happened to be strategically placed beside the “womens needs/pregnancy” section of the store. Anyhow, I secretly bought another pregnancy test…and hid it from Gregory; he would literally strangle me if he knew I paid for more pee-on-sticks.

The next morning, bright and early I peed, half asleep. I told myself it would be “negative” and then I would crawl back into bed and Gregory would never know. You can imagine my surprise when that little blue line darkened to show a “positive.” Let’s just say that Gregory’s “good morning” was not the usual, snuggle and/or cup of tea ready….No, I was not romantic, nor did I plan a sentimental way to “break the news”. I went stomping into the bedroom at 6:30 am and it went something like this:

Erin (standing across room yelling with stick in hand):”Guess What?”

Gregory:”Grunt, moan, rollover…it’s too early, come back to bed”

Erin:”GUESS WHAT”

Gregory (starting to get cranky): “what…”

Erin:”I am pregnant”

Gregory: silence….

Erin:”Did you hear me??”

Gregory: “Are you sure?”

Erin (run’s across room and shoves stick in Gregory’s groggy face to see) “yes!”

Gregory:”You should take another one”

Erin (thinking, well duhh, that’s why I bought the two pack!!...run’s back to bathroom and returns with another positive) “Seeee, told you so!”

Gregory: “You need to go to the doctor to make sure”

So, that morning I was off to the doctor’s office to see a PA and confirm. It is a surreal experience when you wait in the doctor’s office and they walk in. You are expecting a “sorry, false alarm” or some sort of other explanation, but when they walk into the room and say “congratulations” it sinks in. That is when it hit me for the first time (and it keeps hitting you!) that this was real. Turns out I was 4.5 weeks along…and I WAS ovulating, contrary to what my blood results showed…..funny how things turn out. But, given that my body had everything going against it at the time of conception I had better watch out when this kid is born because I am a fertile turtle!

Needless to say, Vegas never happened and my so called “party days” are long over. Diet sprite is my cocktail of choice and a “late” night is 9:30 pm.

The proverbial first trimester “dump truck” hit me at 6 weeks….and let’s just say that I have been reminded DAILY, that I AM pregnant. More on that in a further post; for this one, we are savoring the beauty of creating a baby! Not what the baby does to the mother for the first 3 months…if I knew what awaited me, I would have savored that last 20 mile run a lot more!

Finally, An Interesting Post!

So, I promised you all some more interesting posts…heck, even updating once and a while might be better than the couple month break that I took from writing. I would like to attribute it to the “off-season”, or “better things to do”, but honestly, I had a secret. If you know me well, I do not do secrets very well. The past few months have been full of excitement, changes and beginnings for me, all of which I had to keep to myself. Until today….

Yup, I am spilling the beans…but, before I do that, I need to give a little background information and reflection on 2009. It is the New Year! 2009 was an awesome year for me!! Not full of earth-shattering success, but full of changes and learning experiences. I experienced setbacks in my racing/training/job which I learned from and developed a new sense of confidence and maturity. I guess you would call it the proverbial “growing-up” (although I think we are always “growing-up and maturing through our experiences). I also grew in my career, learning new techniques and applications as a website developer (not too shabby coming from a doctor of chemistry).

But, and there are always a lot of buts! I found myself feeling very run-down and empty by the time I finished Ironman Wisconsin. I had given it my all throughout the year in training, work and my marriage. Truthfully, I could not see myself taking the “usual” 2 weeks off and hopping back to it. I wanted to grow independent in my job as well as explore further options in the sciences. I wanted to spend more time with my husband and support him through his endeavors as he has always supported me 200%. I wanted to get back to the root of what I enjoy in sport, do it for fun without counting numbers and hours (and trust me, those can add up during Ironman training). Most important, I wanted to start growing the family….

So, now you can probably guess what my big secret is; I am pregnant. This upcoming Friday I will be at the 1st trimester mark. The latest due date is somewhere between July 30th and August 6th. Gregory and I have a very exciting 2010 ahead of us and we are already working towards the transition. Our “in-home” office will now become a nursery and our white rug that looks like something out of “swamp thing” (and our vacuum cleaner just did a number on it as it snagged and chewed up a portion!) will be torn up and replaced. Alongside many more changes and renovations!....the only thing I am dreaming about is the baby-jogger though!

I will keep my “all about pregnancy” post to the next one (and these I promise will be more frequent as now I have something to talk about!). But for now, digest the information and then sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!

New York!!

Alright, so after Canada we returned to Boulder for a few days and then it was off to New York to meet Gregory's mom Joelle!! We had a blast!! I could not believe we accomplished what we did in the time allotted. Starting Friday-Sunday we walked a LOT, saw the Empire State, went to Staton Island to see the Statue of Liberty, saw to the "Phantom of the Opera", Radio City Hall, the Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Ground Zero, the Frick Exibit walked in Central Park and on 5th street (and yes, visited the LARGEST Tiffany's store ever!!)...let me catch my breath. We also ATE a lot! Ranging from Steakhouse, Italian, Mediterranian, Seafood and my personal favorite the "River Cafe" (It's underneath the Brooklyn Bridge and you have a view of New York...beautiful!..and the food is amazing!)

So, here are a few pictures of the trip:

Joelle arriving and within 5 minutes emptying her suitcase filled with goodies!! Yes, we are spoiled! 3 boxes of French Chocolate!
Gregory and I posing at the Statue of Liberty

Freezing in Central Park

I couldn't resist this picture; a dessert at the "River Cafe" . Gregory ordered mousse and ice cream which came constructed like this! Wow

The end of a great meal and a great trip!!

Merci Beaucoup Joelle et Joyous Anniversarie Cocole!

Christmas in Pictures

As you might have noticed, this blog is in the process of getting a "face-lift". Don't worry, interesting posts to follow!

But for now, I will leave you with some pictures of Christmas in Canada with my folks and sister.

This is our backyard...it looks pretty and the sun in shining, but it is darn cold!!
This is our dog Rupert. He likes to have his belly scratched and he likes to eat timbits!

Another beautiful pic from our backyard

Chewy the eskimo and Rupert posing after a brisk walk (or crawl through knee deep sections of snow!)

My hubby...he does not wear mitts! he is crazy!

Gregory and I with our new "Eddie Hats" Thanks santa!

Me and my sister goofing around.

Four hours and a complete 500 piece puzzle!

Mom and dad. Aren't they cute!!

Dad feeding the cows in the morning (the sun comes up at 8:30 am!!)