Our Story: Not Pregnant

I have started writing a book: this is an edited excerpt. I didn't wanna type everything out again, so just go with the flow...

My title, you ask? The title to my book is Surprise, You're Pregnant - Shock, It's Twins: A first time mom gives common sense advice.



It was a false alarm. I had been married to my husband, Ryan, for only four months. I had been on birth control since before we were married. It had worked just fine, with no problems, since I’d been on it. But in late November, we had a scare. Uh oh! I called the doctor and set up an appointment for the next day.

At the appointment, I got to pee in a cup, just to be on the safe side. I had a quick exam by the doctor. I took a deep breath. How did the pee test turn out? I’d only been married a few months. Ryan and I wanted to wait a few years before we had kids. We wanted to be more established, with some of our bills under control. The doctor checked on the results. “The test came back negative.” I sighed. I felt some relief, some disappointment. It was strange to feel disappointment when you weren’t even expecting to be pregnant in the first place. I was also given some antibiotics for a slight stuffy nose and sent on my way.

Ryan and I met my mom for lunch at a local hot spot. Since I wasn’t pregnant and caffeine wouldn’t hurt my non-existent baby, I ordered a very large Dr Pepper along with my meal. We had told his parents and my mom that there was a bit of a ‘scare’ but now, crisis over. I admitted that I was a bit disappointed to my mom. She understood. Ryan, I think, was surprised by this admission. But everything was back to normal, except my sniffles. I filled my antibiotics and birth control prescriptions that evening.

A few days later, I started to feel crappy. I was sensitive to smells, to light and loud noises, and an achy feeling all over my body. It must be a migraine and my sniffles turning into a full blown cold. I took some Advil and rested. A few days later, I was still feeling bad. The doctor said that if I wasn’t feeling better by the time my antibiotics ran out, to call the office. After a quick phone call, I had another prescription for more antibiotics. Surely, I’ll feel better in a few days.

My symptoms never got better. The smells became stronger. I became more tired. I started to wonder if I truly was pregnant. I read up on ‘symptoms’ online. I had 6 of 10. My odds of being pregnant had increased in my mind. Nervous, I went to the drugstore on my lunch break and got a 3 pack of pregnancy tests. I wanted to know right away, but I couldn’t bring myself to use the drugstore bathroom. I quickly drove home, knowing I’d be a few minutes late back to work. I couldn’t do the test without support. Ryan was at work, and had no idea I was still having symptoms, let alone I was taking another pregnancy test. I called my sister, Heidi, in Las Vegas. She sat on the phone with me while I waited the awful 3 minutes for the results. Again, the test was negative. And again, I felt relief and disappointment. But these symptoms had me thinking.

Three days had passed since a home pregnancy test said negative, yet, I was still having pregnancy type symptoms. I decided to do another test. Heck, I had purchased a 3 pack. Why not? This time, I had the courage to go it alone. Three long minutes: another negative result. Okay. I must not be pregnant.

My sniffles or cold or whatever it was had mostly gone away. I had been taking my antibiotics as prescribed. I was going to start feeling better. Any day now. Any day.

Another week went by. Still exhausted, still nauseated. I was peeing all the time. I was hungry all the time. I was a little light headed. I had been thinking about taking that one last home pregnancy test for a few days. The doctor had said almost two weeks ago that I wasn’t pregnant. Two home tests had said I wasn’t pregnant. I still had my 6 out of 10 internet symptoms. I was confused. I read that morning urine was more accurate than any other time urine for testing. I decided I’d take the test the next morning, December 12.