On March 14th My Entire World Turned Upside Down

On March 14, 2010, we found out that I am pregnant. The news was a huge shock and my initial reaction was terror and disbelief – not the overwhelming glee I anticipated. After nearly a week of letting the news sink in (spending every day reading pregnancy websites and every night reading “what to expect” books) I started to get excited. Other than intermittent cramping, I haven’t had any symptoms yet, which worries me. I know this is probably a stupid thing to wish for, but I wish I had morning sickness so that I had some signal or indication that this is real. Yesterday I had some heavy, bright red spotting. I sobbed (and realized that I AM happy and excited about the pregnancy). But now, we are both more than a little nervous. My first appointment is March 31, 2010. Until then, I think we will both be much more reserved and cautious in our excitement.

It is hard to classify whether this pregnancy was a “surprise” or whether we were “trying.” I went off the birth control pill in October of 2006. Since late 2007, no attempts to avoid pregnancy have been made. So, after talking to doctors (Clomid was prescribed but never pursued) we more or less concluded that getting pregnant wasn’t going to happen without medical help.

In December of 2009, frustrated with incessant stomach aches and constipation, I went on the “paleo diet” – consisting primarily of veggies, fruits, meat/poultry/fish and nuts. I eliminated legumes, starches, grains and dairy. I made (huge) exceptions for my insane sweet tooth. Almost immediately I lost five pounds and my nausea and constipation abated. We suspect that a wheat allergy or celiac may have been causing inflammation that prevented me from getting pregnant sooner. That said, I was sooooo swamped at work in the last few weeks of February (working, in some cases, until 3 a.m.) that I abandoned my healthy eating and reverted to a “normal” diet. After finding out I was pregnant, I went back to the paleo diet + dairy + desserts. I think it is telling that I got pregnant so quickly after changing my diet and also is coincidental that I abandoned the diet around the time of conception. Maybe my body was just begging for fuel in whatever form. At least, that is what I will tell myself.