My First Pregnancy

Since I was younger, I dreamt of being a wife and mother "someday." Twenty-seven seemed to be the marrying age to my uninitiated self. But life later revealed that one of these dreams would come much later - during my 30s. Last year, I married the man I love. Who'd have known that by next year, the other dream will also come to reality? An irregular period had been my issue since high school. I had a history of endometriosis and PCOS. But despite these reproductive health concerns... Yes, we're having a baby!

I recall my OB saying that things usually normalize when someone gets pregnant. But that was during my college days and it wasn't the best solution. Haha! A few years later, another doctor suggested to go back to her once I'm ready to start a family because pills can help fertility. My husband and I haven't done this yet. Instead, we decided to give it around six months into our marriage before seeking intervention. To our joy and surprise, our prayer was answered!

Here are the things that led to the discovery:

1. I always craved for food after work (something sweet, salty, or chocolatey) but lately, the cravings were more specific. Instead of categories, it's a certain item that pops in my head like crema de fruita or semi-ripe mango with bagoong.

2. My tummy felt weird. There were a lot of times I felt like throwing up which never really pushed through.

3. For two months, I didn't have my period. It used to be irregular, yes, but it never went beyond half a month of delay. What alarmed me was spotting and pain as if my period is about to start. If you'll look it up online, these are actually symptoms of early pregnancy.

4. So what prevented me from believing I'm pregnant when these could have been clear signs? Well, I turned out to be negative on the drugstore pregnancy test kit twice. Thinking that something's wrong, I consulted an OB who requested an ultrasound. I also mentioned that my breasts felt sore - another sign of early pregnancy!

5. Even minutes before the ultrasound procedure, I told the doctor with conviction that I'm not pregnant, offering to show the test result. But soon as she started what we had to do, she asked "Bakit may baby?" and all I could say was "Talaga po?!", nervously looking at the monitor.

This is my story and just like anything special, I wanted it to be on Merrywanna. Praying that our baby will always be safe and healthy in the course of its development.