1 in 4

I thought I was done with the throwing up part. I mean, I am in my second trimester now all the books and online resources say that “most women start feel better around the 10-12 week.” Usually there is always the pre-cautionary disclaimer of “but some unlucky women feel sick their entire pregnancy.” Awesome. I am actually feeling a lot better. I no longer feel like I want to die or think that I am about to die. I am still tired but it’s now safe for me to drive without fear of falling asleep at the wheel because I just can’t seem to manage to keep my eyes open. So my throwing up took me by surprise. I honestly think it was mostly due to the awful day I had. Early in the day I found out that a friend of mine that I have known since middle school, who was exactly one week ahead of me in her pregnancy, lost her baby.
It happened last week, when she was 15 weeks, just where I am. Two other of our friends from middle and high school are also pregnant, all of us due within a week of each other. We were so excited to be pregnant together, we had already planned a Fall prego girls weekend, where we would do belly casts together and take lots of pictures. When I first found out we were all pregnant, the statistic of 1 in 4 women suffering a miscarriage flashed through my mind. I cried to Peter that night, saying one of us is not going to make it if that statistic is true. He went on to try and explain a complicated statistical formula of why it wouldn’t apply to us (he’s an engineer). But I had a bad feeling. When we all heard heartbeats and got to 12 weeks, we celebrated and I thought all was well. And then we heard from Kelly. Of course I cried, and all day I was upset and finally at the end of the day my body was so stressed from being upset and crying that I threw up. Immediately after I found out about Kelly, I called the Birth Cottage and asked if they could fit me in to hear my baby’s heartbeat. I wanted reassurance that my baby was ok and I could not wait till my next week’s appointment. When I heard my baby’s heartbeat it made me cry again. Diana, the other midwife I see at the Birth Cottage, said the heartbeat was perfect and strong. When I finally got the courage to call Kelly and send my love, she was doing fine. She and her husband have a strong faith and know that everything happens on God’s timing.