Shock and Elation!

In case you don't know me personally and haven't already read the "about", I'm a married, 40 year old, mom of two sons (at the time of this post, they are 19 and almost 12) as well as Pia.

That's where the shock comes in.  I was completely under the assumption that I was perimenopausal and no longer a candidate for pregnancy.

I'll explain and set the TMI tone right now (as I'm sure this journal will be full of that)... Due to recurring cysts, I had my left ovary removed back in the fall of 2014.  I turned 40 in November of 2015 and was feeling pretty awesome up until February of 2016.  That's when I quit taking birth control and begin a roller coaster ride of emotions, chronic fatigue, and weight gain.  In fact, those symptoms are what caused me to visit my GP in the first place.  I was sure I was in perimenopause or having thyroid issues.  Imagine my shock when she called me the morning of July 1st, 2016 and told me that my lab work showed that I was pregnant.  The conversation went kind of like this...

Her: Hi, Jami!  I got the rest of your lab work back.
Me:  Awesome.
Her: I want to be the first to congratulate you.
Me: <silence and confusion>
Her: You're pregnant!
Me: Stop it!
Her: No, you're really pregnant.  I bet that's a surprise.
Me: I'm 40.
Her: Yes, and pregnant...

There was more, but you get the jest.  I was surprised, to say the least.

I hung up the phone and impatiently waited for my husband (we work from home) to finish his conversation so I could spring the news on him.  He'd just paid off our house the day before, so I had no clue what his reaction would be.  When I told him, he broke into the biggest grin!  I'd never felt so relieved in my life.  ***More TMI*** For months, I'd been telling him we were fine, no contraceptives needed.  I truly believed that with all my heart, but boy was I ever wrong.  I even took a home pregnancy test to make sure my GP hadn't mixed up the labs...

So much for a mix up.  No mistaking that result.

The next few days were filled scheduling ob/gyn appt, mad googling of pregnant 40 year olds, pregnant fitness instructors, and cute maternity workout clothes.  Of course I took the obligatory belly shot the day after we found out (we decided to refer to Pia as "Pineapple" so we could talk about her without letting the kids know so early)....


May not look like much to most, but for me it was great to finally know what had caused my weight gain, fatigue, and crazy emotions.  A precious surprise baby trumps menopause or thyroid problems any day!