In the Beginning
Paul got back from Afghanistan on Easter, April 8th, 2012. We got pregnant on Easter, April 8th 2012. Somehow, though, I think there is going to be a HUGE wave of military brats born this winter because of the same thing. It will be our own little version of a "baby boom."
Paul and I had been talking about getting pregnant pretty much the entire deployment. We were planning out dates that would work for our careers, talking about names, but I think our plan was really just to let nature take its' course and when it happened, it happened; so when it happened instantly, it wasn't a huge, "Oh my god, what are we going to tell our parents!" moment, but we were still a little shocked it happened right away. I believe Pauls' reaction to me showing him the test was actually a high five, lol.
The first thing I started to do was the math. Date of last period... when Paul came home... kind of off by about a week. But not being regular and a 'faulty' last period meant I was fine with that. "Is there something you want to tell me?" was the response I got from my best friend, which from what I hear, isn't a completely weird question to ask a military wife with a deployed husband these days (don't even get me started about these situations!). Though I was fine with the date discrepancy, I was a little worried that Paul would think something was up. I mean, not really, but still. "I don't think you would be stupid enough to have an affair so close to me coming home," I believe was his exact response.
The second thing we did was take another pregnancy test. It was positive almost instantly. At this point we were sure, so I set up an appointment with my Family Doctor (who I had never been to yet) so that I could get a referral to an OB. I met my doctor, got a referral to the local military hospital (Tripler) and was on my way. (The military then outsourced my referral so I asked if I could go to a doctor that I chose, so I chose someone on Honolulu's Best list.) At this point, the main symptom I had was sleepiness. Until this point in my life, I could never nap during the day, it took forever to actually fall asleep. All of a sudden, I would get home from work, fall asleep till about 8, eat, sleep at 9 and sleep the entire night! It was so strange but greatly appreciated!
So I was off. Time to be healthy and incubate this thing until it was go time. About 5 weeks in, around May 7th (the second to last week of school) a new symptom, morning sickness. Morning sickness struck with a vengeance! I couldn't even sit up without having to throw up. Sitting on the toilet I had to hold a giant yogurt container to my mouth because squeezing in my stomach, I wasn't sure which end it was going to come out of. It was, to say the least, no bueno! So I ended up missing the last two weeks of school with my students, I didn't get to tell them I wasn't coming back the following year or anything. I think the worst part of the whole MS thing was that I had to make it through a family vacation!
May 18th, Paul and I flew to Mexico to meet his parents and brothers. I figured, I feel horrible so I will just keep munchies in my purse and I'll sleep the 6 hour flight from HNL to LAX and OF COURSE I had the only noisy a-holes behind me. A loud little girl, an oblivious mother, and a grandmother, sitting across the aisle, who had her headphones on and was yelling to the mother in Japanese! I thought about throwing up on one of them. I should have.
We got to LAX, exhausted, and then found out we had a 6 hour layover. I slept on the ground as Paul watched our stuff.
Finally we got to Mexico. It was painful. I wanted to do so much there, but I couldn't because I felt horrible! I was sick and tired the whole time. We finally got out of there, got to California, and got to relax for a while until Billy and Mal came up and we road tripped down to San Diego. Before that though, Paul made me hike a 7 mile, 2000 ft. elevation hike to the top of a waterfall in Yosemite. Everyone was INSANELY patient with me, and we finally got down and we were pooped!
The rest of the road trip was a lot of fun. Monterey Bay Aquarium, Highway 1, Hearst Castle, Tar Pits, Hollywood Sign, Sea World, San Diego Zoo. It was a lot, but I got through. The last night in San Diego, I felt really sick. The sickness was only worse on the flight home where I threw up twice on the plane and then hardcore when we finally landed in Honolulu. The worst part of being sick in public is the looks you get from people when you leave the stall. Yeah, like I got THIS wasted on baby bottles on the plane.
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