Middle of June, I left for Romania where I spent ten days with my family. We all had a great time with each other, but I particularly enjoyed my nieces and nephews. I would just sit and look at them playing, laughing, crying, wining (oh, were they good at that...) and just being goofy and happy.
We were all looking forward to the road trip to Greece and our one week at the beach there. The trip went very well and we made it in one piece to the beautiful Halkidiki area. Michael flew from the States and met us there and the thirteen of us had a fantastic week. The time we spent together had the exact effect I was hoping for: it solidified our relationships, helped us reveal ourselves to each other, brought back some fun childhood memories, overall it made us feel like a whole, a family happy to be together. There were moments of frustration and tension too, but those were necessary too so we could see whom we've become and how we've changed over the years. All in all it was a memorable trip all of us will treasure for a long time!
We returned to the States on July first, not realizing the next thirty days will be a tough time for me. It helped some that we came back to a longer weekend thanks to the Fourth of July weekend so we had a few days to recover and get over the jet lag. Somehow this trip it hit me harder than other times and that weekend I had no energy whatsoever. I felt like a legume whose only purpose was to rest, sleep, stay inside and be away from people.
Somehow I managed to start work that Tuesday, July 5th, but just like every time I came back from a longer trip abroad, I had a hard time adjusting to my job, to the well known and pretty boring routine. Michael was involved in this demanding project in Alabama so he was down there three weeks out of four that month. When he was away, all I did was get up, go to work, come back home, eat and go to sleep. I was lethargic and depressed, but I tried to keep up exercising because I knew that would do me good. A few mornings a week I would get up and go for an early Bikram class and that seemed to help a little, some days I would go to gym during lunch times and if the weather wasn't too hot, I would walk home from work some evenings.
Somehow I dragged myself through the entire month but towards the end of it, during Michael's last trip to AL, a crazy thought crossed my mind: "What if I were pregnant?" I have to share this other bit of information that made me think of that possibility: at the beginning of July, I got on a pill called Metmorfin recommended by a specialist doctor I saw before I went on vacation. The pill was supposed to help me get my period back which stopped in August 2009 when I discontinued taking the pill. I knew i it would take me some time until my body came back to a natural balance but that just wouldn't happen on its own. I figured I should give it a try and go with what the doctor recommended.
On Thursday morning, July 29th I peed on a stick and I couldn't believe my eyes: there was a plus sign staring back at me!! WHAT?? When? How? Well, I knew the how part but it didn't make sense I could be pregnant as I was still without my menstrual cycle. Michael came back from his trip that evening and I shared the interesting news. We were both taken by surprise and didn't know what to believe. We were somehow warming up to the baby idea but we weren't quite there yet. I called my gynecologist but the first available appointment was in a week! While waiting anxiously for that day to arrive, I took the test four times just to see if that plus sign would come back... it did, every single time!
On August 5th, on a rainy Thursday afternoon my gynecologist told me: "Congratulations, you are pregnant!" WOW... there I had it, the so wanted confirmation! He asked me how far along did I think I was and the only thing that made sense to me was that this pill Metformin helped me ovulate. My logic was this: I started taking the pill at the beginning of July, so I must have been two three weeks, not more than that. He arranged for a sonogram so while waiting for it, the whole month of July flashed before my eyes: my moods, lack of energy, craving carbs many evenings (would actually stop by a restaurant's market cafe on the way home and buy some bread rolls I would munch while walking home). I guess I was pregnant and I had no idea. WOW again...
The very pleasant nurse who did the sonogram started to show me on the screen this little creature that was inside of me!! I was staring and staring and not believing my eyes... I've seen so many times those pictures posted by friends on Facebook profiles, that it felt surreal that I would have now an image like that of my own! While staring at the screen, I heard her saying something that first it didn't register.... "yes, it looks like you are 11 weeks pregnant." I started doing some quick math in my mind but it wouldn't make sense... How in the world can I be pregnant for almost three months and have no clue?? I know I can be a bit naive at times, but not this naive. The nurse also said everything looked good and the heart beat was perfect. WOW again...
I went back into the doctor's office and using his special calendar, he told me I conceived around May 29th and my due date was February 19th. I had to scribble down the dates right away as I was still in shock and everything happening in that last half an hour seemed to be a dream rather than reality. By the time I left the cabinet, I had my first appointment with my new ob-gyn doctor scheduled for the upcoming Monday afternoon.
I stepped outside and by now the rain stopped and the sun was coming out from behind the clouds. Staring at the sonogram pictures, I dialed Michael's number "hope you are sitting down babe..."
