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!