Throughout the first trimester and the first few weeks of the second, I experienced really bad back pain. I had other common pregnancy symptoms, like fatigue and nauseousness, but the back pain was one to be remembered. It is common for women to have lower back pain during pregnancy that is similar to cramping during menstrual cycles. But this pain was different. It would start in my lower back at the beginning of the day, move to the middle of my back, and by the end of the day, my upper back and shoulders would be in excruciating pain. This wasn’t pain like the menstrual cramps I usually felt. It was agonizing, like cramps x10. I found myself, more often than not, on the couch with a heating pad all day. No medication worked. I tried stretching which sometimes helped, but sometimes made it worse. These backpains would typically last about three days at a time, and all of a sudden I would wake up one morning and it would be gone. Week after week I kept experiencing this, so at 10 weeks I decided to go to the doctor.

My second ultrasound was actually at week 10. When you’re pregnant, you kind of get bumped to the front of the line for appointments if you have issues. So when I called about my back pain, I saw an OBGYN the next day. They took an ultrasound to make sure baby was okay and asked about my pain. Pregnancy can bring a plethora of physical symptoms. High blood pressure, headaches, swelling, etc. are all linked to various well-known pregnancy complications. But back pain can be for a variety of reasons. My doctor explained this to me and basically sent me on my way, reasoning that the baby had a healthy heartbeat and was growing well, so everything must be fine. I couldn’t argue with that, but I knew it wasn’t normal.

Two weeks later, I was back in the OB office for my 12 week ultrasound. This appointment is generally longer than the others because the OB will sit down and go over history, different types of testing available, etc. With the exception of our prior miscarriage, we had an uneventful first pregnancy and this one was showing to be the same. My husband and I opted to do the genetic testing available, which screens for common conditions like Down syndrome, trisomy 13, and trisomy 18. We opted to not find out the gender and wanted to wait until the anatomy scan (apparently we thought the suspense was thrilling. It wasn’t).

Between weeks 12 and 16, the back pain began to decrease in frequency, and eventually went away. The random nauseousness and fatigue also lightened and became more manageable. At week 16, we had another ultrasound. All four of the ultrasounds (week 7, 10, 12 and 16) showed a perfectly normal baby with healthy growth and a strong heartbeat. It was at this point that I finally began to relax. Pregnancy began to be enjoyable and I started to get really excited about our new little one. I allowed myself to think about how I would decorate the nursery, what baby items we would need, and dreaming about the possibility of having a boy.

Let me go on a tangent for a second. There are myths that certain pregnancy symptoms mean you’re having a boy versus a girl and vice versa. For instance, women who experience more morning sickness are theoretically having a girl, whereas women who crave salty food are having a boy (there are a ton of contradictive myths to these statements). Let me just say that all of this is completely bogus. Not true. Unreal. Don’t believe it for a second. I’ve had friends who have had terrible morning sickness their entire pregnancy and had beautiful baby boys. In my first pregnancy, I wanted McDonald’s french fries every waking moment of the day and had a little girl. Then there are my odd ball friends that literally had ZERO symptoms and had both genders. So the way I see it, everyone is different and pregnancy myths are for the birds. Back to the story.

Now that pregnancy was progressing and the reality of a new baby entering our family was becoming real, life just seemed brighter. Summer was approaching, the pool was opening, vacations were planned. Work burdens seemed less important. Life was just good.

For about four weeks.

Little did I know that the upcoming June would change my life forever.

To be continued…