So there I was; pregnant and homeless, but totally over the moon.
As I stood in the bathroom shaking, I knew that this was not a secret I could keep. I needed to find a way to tell Dom ASAP, but he was at work and this probably wasn't the right situation to send him a txt!
Our two year wedding anniversary was five days away but I knew that there was no way I could wait until then. I decided that I would first txt him to find out where he was (on site at a job or in the office) and use the excuse that I wanted to bring him a coffee.
Luckily for me he was in the office and he was ready for his next coffee!
I headed off to our local Robert Harris which was conveniently attached to a supermarket, so as the coffee was being made I whipped in and grabbed a 'Happy Anniversary' card.
Hot coffees and card in hand I headed to the car to write six little words (ok there were a few more) that would change Dom's world forever.
'You're going to be a dad.'
Writing those words on paper certainly made it all feel a little more real.
I took the coffee and the card to Dom's work, where he met me in the carpark. I handed over the coffee and then the card. After asking what it was for and if he had forgotten our anniversary (!) I waited with such excitement and anticipation as he read the card.
He closed the card, said thank you and then asked what I was up to until I started work....ummmm what?!!
I asked if he had read the card.
He needed to read the card three more times before it actually registered!! Then a huge smile appeared across his face. We had done it!
Now it was time for the fun to begin, we were off to my parents at the beach for the weekend, so only had to wait a few days to share our news. I purchased some toys and a baby top as a special way to tell them. It was all so exciting.
We headed to the doctors the day we found out and booked a scan for the following day. My cycles had been completely irregular so it was possible I was already eight weeks along- the excitement continued to build!
We arrived at the scan full of nerves and excitement and waited with anticipation as the appointments were running late.
As I lay down on the bed and the lady put the gel on my belly, Dom and I locked eyes - a silent exchange. This is it, were were going to see our baby.
Three dots appeared on the screen.
I instinctively asked the lady why there were three! Unfortunately for us the ultrasound technician must have been having a bad day. Her reply was that it was possibly a yolk sac and an embryo but at this stage I was too early (4weeks and 5days) and her woulds were "I can't even tell you if its a viable pregnancy"
Well shit. Just like that our little bubble of excitement burst.
She told us we would need to come back in a week to see if anything had progressed. Pretty shattering news for two people who were very new to this pregnancy thing. Trying not to be discouraged and hoping that everything would go well we decided to carry on and tell our parents as we had planned. Just half a day of work to go and then we could head to the beach for the weekend.
I headed to a friends after work to wait for Dom to finish his last job. Our car was packed up (we were still homeless at this stage - living between friends and my parents in the weekends) and we were ready to go.
At 5pm my phone rang. It was my GP ringing she had received the results of the scan.
What the ultrasound technician had failed to mention was they had found a 4.5cm cyst on my right ovary. The phone call went something like this:
Me: Hello Caitlyn Speaking
GP: Hi Caitlyn its XXXX from XXXXX. We have received the results of your scan this afternoon.
Me: OK
GP: Unfortunately there is a 4.5cm cyst on your right ovary and there is also fluid in your abdomen which may be internal bleeding.It is possible you have an ectopic pregnancy. I need you to go to the hospital emergency department now, they are waiting for you.
Cue tears.
Lots of tears.
My wonderful friend gave me a hug, waited while I called Dom and suggested I have a shower at their place and got changed out of my uniform. (She also made me a cup of tea and a snack box for me and Dom - We are so lucky to have amazing friends!)
I went out to my car, standing on the side of the road, with our car packed to the brim with our belongings, I searched for some hospital appropriate clothes and phoned my mum.
What a heart breaking moment. My world felt like it was crashing down around me as I said the words "Mum, I'm pregnant but they think it is ectopic and I have a 4.5cm cyst on my ovary and fluid in my abdomen which they think might be internal bleeding, and I have to go to the hospital"
Calling my mum, on the side of the road, completely in tears. This was the worst moment of my life.
Dom and I headed to the hospital filled with nerves. Unsure what the night would bring us.
I was admitted and had blood tests.
My HCG from the day before was 880 and we knew it needed to almost double to let us know that the baby was growing.
They examined my tummy and said everything felt normal, that was a relief.
After hours of waiting the doctor and her student came in.
"Your HCG results are 880" I shot Dom a look of utter heartbreak...but before I even had time to burst into tears the student piped up with "you are looking at yesterdays results, they are 1200 now!" Whoah what a relief...cue tears again.
After waiting around for a bit longer and being told I needed a follow up scan in a week, we left at 10pm headed for the beach.
A mama hug has never felt so good!
A week later we headed to the hospital for our next scan at 5weeks 5days. There was an embryo and a yolk sac and the cyst had gone down to 2cm in size. As an added bonus the ultrasound technician was a lot friendlier this time!
The next scan was booked for 7weeks 2days - I had started to feel the effects of morning (who am I kidding...all day) sickness by now.
There it was, flickering on the screen. We had a heartbeat. Our little baby was growing.
Now we had the long wait until the 12 week scan.
All day sickness was horrible. I had an allergic reaction to some anti nausea tablets at around 9weeks (I like to keep life interesting!)
The worst part about about the 'sickness' was the hazy feeling. I didn't feel myself at all. I had no desire to be creative, to eat anything with flavour and I had no energy.
To top it all off, we bought a house. One that needed a lot of renovations...