6 Weeks Pregnant Discovery

by Natalie's Mom
(USA)

6 Weeks Pregnant Discovery

My husband and I had started trying to conceive in September of 2005. My periods were usually all over the place, so I never really knew when to expect one. I remember Thanksgiving dinner, 2005. We celebrated with our families, and couldn't wait to eat the massive spread set before us. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and I'm known to have at least 2-3 servings each year!! This particular Thanksgiving, however, my stomach felt almost like it had a brick in it. I didn't feel hungry at all, and I could only get one serving down- and that was pushing it. When my husband and I left the gathering, we went home and settled down to watch tv as we usually do on holiday evenings.

I remember sitting and thinking how odd it was that my stomach felt so strange. I stood up, and without mentioning anything to my husband, went into the bathroom to take a pregnancy test. After dipping the stick into my urine, the unmistakable POSITIVE sign came up almost immediately.. I was absolutely ecstatic. I ran, crying with joy to tell my husband, and we spent the night calling our relatives. I ended up running to the drugstore and buying 16 more pregnancy tests that night! I guess it didn't feel real to me, so I had to continually convince myself that a baby was growing in my belly. The Monday after Thanksgiving I went to see my doctor, and my pregnancy was again confirmed with a blood test. The Doctor ordered an ultrasound to see how pregnant I was, and I was 6 weeks pregnant and 3 days.

Around my fourth month of pregnancy, I began getting sick. I was vomiting every single day, sometimes more than that, and my blood pressure was on the rise. At 18 weeks, my husband I found out we were having a baby girl, to be named Natalie. We were thrilled. Unfortunately, my pregnancy wasn't getting any better. At one doctor's appointment the presence of protein was shown to be spilling from my kidneys, and I was ordered to stay overnight at the local hospital for observation because of my high blood pressure.

The next day I was sent home, but I was taken out of work to be put on light bed rest. I had been diagnosed with Pre-Eclampsia.I was overweight by about 60 lbs. when I became pregnant, so this could have contributed to my sickness I was told. I had cravings of salty things while pregnant (buffalo sauce, salad dressing, marinades), so I had to be cautious because all of the salt I was taking in was helping my blood pressure to rise. I was scheduled for an induction around 36 weeks (early because the pregnancy was so hard on my body). I went through about 4 hours of early labor before being sent into the operating room for an emergency C-Section. I was put on magnesium sulfate to lower my blood pressure quickly during surgery. The C-Section went beautifully. Natalie, our beautiful healthy baby girl, was delivered on July 7, 2006. My blood pressure stayed high for a few months after Natalie's birth. With medication, I was able to control it. I did also develop Postpartum Depression after Natalie's birth, but that, too, was controlled with medication. All in all, I had a terrible pregnancy, from the time I was 6 weeks pregnant up until the end. Throwing up all the time, the swelling and headaches from the blood pressure and the postpartum depression were all so frustrating. But I'd go through it all again, for my beautiful Natalie.