And baby makes three... =]

As some of you may know, I have PCOS. Ethan and I had decided to start trying to expand our family in 2007 while we were in Okinawa. A year after we started and many missed periods later, I finally had some testing done and was given this diagnosis. PCOS stands for Poly-Cystic Ovary Syndrome. Essentially, I don't always ovulate on my own every month, which makes it very hard to get pregnant when you're trying. The symptoms include obesity and sudden massive weight gain, male-pattern hair growth, oily skin, discolored skin patches, insulin resistance, elevated hormones, and the lack of regular periods, all of which I have. We were pretty much told that we'd never get pregnant on our own, and we'd have to wait until we got back to the States- in two years- to do anything about it. This was absolutely devastating to me. I broke down. I cried all the time, withdrew into myself, and struggled to just get through my day. I was working at the Kadena Youth Center at the time, and it was hard to see all the smiling faces of the kids there. Somehow I made it through, and eventually learned to just deal with it. This is what made leaving Okinawa bittersweet for me. Two years later, in September 2009, we were on a plane, not wanting to leave the island, but PCSing back to the States with the hope of a child in the near future.

I saw my OB in the beginning of February of 2010, and got a referral to the fertility specialist. I made my appointment, but the soonest they could see me was the end of March. That was the longest wait of my life! I was excited, but anxious. It was nice to finally be able to actually talk to someone who deals with this on a daily basis, rather than someone who just knows about it. So the month passed slower than a turtle running through peanut butter [I heard this on FB from someone.. HAD to use it!], and I'm at the Center for Fertility. Ethan didn't go with me, and I don't exactly remember why.. Probably because of work, I'm sure. The appointment was very fast, and I was really surprised when I walked out the door with a prescription for Clomid in hand. I don't know what I was really expecting, but I guess had it in my head that this was just a consultation type deal, and I'd get a prescription the next appointment. They did an ultrasound, and confirmed that my ovaries did show signs of cysts, of which the presence alone does not prove PCOS, but coupled with the other symptoms makes them a good indicator. Dr. London explained to me the ins and outs of PCOS, and we worked out a "Let's get Mel pregnant!" plan. I would start out on Clomid on my next cycle [April], beginning with 50mg pills, to be taken on Cycle Days[CD] 3-7, and would take it up to three months, if needed, increasing each dosage by 50mg per month. If on month three I still was not pregnant, we would move onto Metformin. I had no idea at that time that there wouldn't be a need for Metformin. We were to have sex every other day, starting on CD10 and going through CD16[Yes, I had a doctor's note that specifically said this! E wasn't complaining LoL], and on CD21 I would have a blood draw to check my progesterone levels. The level only indicates whether or not I ovulated, but nothing more about when you ovulated or the quality of the egg. Knowing that the Clomid even worked was enough to make me jump for joy! I had a beta done on CD28, but it came back negative. I will admit, I was a little disappointed, but I held onto the fact that at least we know it worked, and we'll just try again on my next cycle.

May rolls around, and we begin Round Two of Clomid, this time with 100mg, taken the same days in my cycle. This time, though, E and I decide to really buckle down. We started doing the deed on CD10, and planned to do it every other day until my period showed up, just in case. Well, as fate would have it, my cycles started in the middle of the month, so mid-cycle it's the beginning of the next month. So of course, with my luck, E finds out that he has to go to 7 Level School in Texas two weeks early. Greeeeeaaaat. We keep to it anyways, and CD21 rolls around. My blood test comes back with a little bit higher a number than the previous round, which really doesn't mean much, I don't think, but I did indeed ovulate a second time. YAY! Three days later Ethan is on a plane to Texas, and I'm left hoping that what we managed was enough.

And it was.

Ethan left on the morning of Sunday, June 6th, and I had a beta test scheduled for the upcoming Thursday morning. After I got home from the airport, I was just hanging out at home. What's the worse thing for someone who's actively trying to get pregnant? Boredom. I say that because everyone who's trying to get pregnant most certainly has some kind of stash. Ya know.. home pregnancy tests, maybe some ovulation predictor kits, and some PreSeed for good measure. And when you're bored, and close to the magical testing day, it's like the HPT's are SCREAMING at you. "Peeee ooonnn meeeeeeee!!" So that's what I did. I was trying not to get my hopes up, because I didn't want the disappointment when I just KNEW it was going to be negative. So I try and take the nonchalant route. Keyword: TRY. I pee on it, set it on the floor in front of me and pretend it's not there while I finish doing my business. Of course, that never really happens like that, and kudos to anyone who can pee on a stick and walk away, rather than stare it down like it's about to grow arms and legs, don a top hat, and start singing that "Hello my darlin'" song. So what I really did was pee on it, set it down for all of two seconds, and pick it back up again. I peer at it super close, keeping a keen eye on where that elusive second line is supposed to appear. I even do the ol' lift my glasses and look at it REALLY close, like that makes it more visible. [Looking back, I can't believe I put something with my pee on it that close to my eyeballs..] And then it happens. At first I think I'm imagining things. But no. Really. It's there. There's a second line. Oh my God. THERE'S A SECOND LINE. And then I lost it. Utterly, and totally, lost it. The rush of emotions should have knocked me off of my feet, but instead I ran up and down the stairs 3 or 4 times. Apparently it was so loud that my neighbor, Kristin, texted me and asked what the hell I was doing. I'll admit it; she was the first to know I was pregnant! I couldn't NOT tell her! I tried to compose myself enough to call Ethan and tell him, but as soon as he answered the phone, I lost it again. Figures! LoL. When I do finally calm down enough that he could understand me, I told him that I took a test, and he was going to be a Daddy.

Silence.

And then you know what he said to me?!

"Well, let's not get too excited until your test on Thursday." O_O

Really, honey? Really?!

I was on Cloud 9! So many years of trying, and we were finally there. My beta on Thursday came back positive, and a secondary draw on Monday showed that my numbers were, indeed, at least doubling. But, you know, being the POAS addict that I am, I took an HPT every. single. day. leading up to the initial blood test. I had to make sure that the second blue line wasn't imagined!! I didn't have my first ultrasound until I was exactly 7 weeks along because I went home to Kansas while E was in Texas, and then we stayed another week and a half after he finished. But boy, when we did finally get to that ultrasound, it was like music to our ears. Not only did we have a perfect little baby in there, we got to see his or her little heart fluttering, and were able to listen to the heartbeat. It was definitely love at first sight!

And so began a happy and healthy 9[10] months of pregnancy! It was an easy pregnancy, even with the gestational diabetes that I developed, but I loved every minute of it! We decided to stay Team Green and not find out the gender, and we didn't share the names we picked, either. We wanted everything to be a huge announcement! And I'll admit, it was fun seeing the looks on people's faces when we told them that we didn't want to know, and even funnier seeing them squirm because we wouldn't share the names!

Here is a picture from our first ultrasound:

Here is the last belly picture that I took. I was 36 weeks on the dot in this picture!

And SURPRISE! Four days after I took that picture, an early, but healthy, and screaming, bouncing baby BOY entered the world! Dominic Gage weighed in at a whopping 5lbs 10oz, and was 18in long.

And baby makes three.. =]