Miracles Definitely Happen

Who knew that the road to getting pregnant could be such a roller coaster, or that you could learn so much through the process.

When our journey began, we were so naive. We thought that it was easy, and that everyone got pregnant on their first try. We would only hear about the couples who were excited to announce their pregnancy, not the ones who were struggling with infertility and frustrated that they hadn't reached that point in their marriage. It wasn't until we were a year into our process that we began to understand that infertility is something that a lot of people deal with, but not a lot of people talk about. It was more common than we realized and nothing to be ashamed of. After the first year, we decided to talk with my doctor. She suggested that we try some fertility treatments, and she recommended us to a fertility specialist. Several tests and multiple vials of blood later, we were given a diagnosis: unexplained infertility. Um...what? How can that be a diagnosis? Frustrated that they hadn't found "a problem", but hopeful that eventually something would work, we decided to start a treatment program. In September, we started our first round of treatments which involved a lot of self-injections and multiple doctor's visits. At the end of the month, we found out that the treatment hadn't worked. About the same time, Chris dislocated his shoulder, had surgery, and we moved to Pensacola, FL. In Pensacola, I went to a new doctor who found some cysts on my ovaries. So instead of starting our second round of treatments (you can complete six rounds), I was put on birth control to help the cysts dissolve. We felt like we were taking a step back.

Ok, so I better give you a little background here. It has been over two years since we started this journey. We have prayed non-stop, and have had multiple people praying as well. We have waited patiently every month to see that plus sign on the pregnancy test, on to feel frustrated when it didn't show up. We have cried out to God with broken hearts and yelled at Him in anger, constantly questioning why we are having to deal with this. But somehow throughout this process, we have remembered the hope that we have in Him, and the fact that He works all things for the good of those who love Him. Chris was much better at remembering these things. He was my rock every step of the way. Even when he didn't understand how I felt, he knew the promises that we could cling to, promises that would never fail.

So after all that, you can only imagine how we felt when we left the doctor's office. But we took it in stride, and I began taking the birth control pills. During this time, we decided to take some time off from the whole "baby thing". We needed a break. After a month of taking the pills, I returned to the doctor and the cysts had almost completely dissolved. It was some much needed good news. We spent the next month enjoying our time together at the beach. Chris was in physical therapy twice a day, but we still had some time in the afternoon and evenings. We explored the city of Pensacola and found some really great restaurants. We celebrated my 30th birthday on Christmas, not knowing that an even greater celebration was coming!

On Christmas morning, we woke up to warm weather in Pensacola. I was more than a week late, so I figured that it was time to take a pregnancy test. Usually I take the test the day before I'm about to start because I am so anxious, but this time was different. I didn't think that I could be pregnant because I had just finished taking birth control pills. So when we saw that plus sign start to show up on the test we were ecstatic!! God, in His perfect timing, had bless us with a baby!! What a miracle!! We wanted to tell all of our friends and family right away, but decided to wait until after our first doctor's appointment which wasn't until January 2nd. After our appointment, we were able to see the baby (or the little blob that they said was our baby), but they couldn't find a heartbeat. It was to early to hear it, so we had to wait another week. The next week, we saw the baby again and heard the heartbeat.

6 week ultrasound
It was amazing to see the baby starting to develop so early!!
We finally started to feel like we were having a baby!!

Over the next few weeks, I was hit with exhaustion. Even if I slept 10 hours at night, I was so tired during the day. Most of my days were spent on the couch. It was hard for me to find the energy to do anything. Fortunately I didn't have any morning sickness...I definitely know how lucky I am! There were definitely times when my stomach felt unsettled, but some ginger ale and crackers usually did the trick. I could eat pretty normal, but I didn't really want any coffee, and for a few weeks peanut butter didn't sound very appealing. I did (and still do) eat a lot of red meat and fruit. For some reason, they just taste really good!

By week 10, I started feeling much better! I had more energy, and my stomach and eating were back to normal (except coffee, I still haven't really wanted to drink any). We went back to the doctor at 10 weeks and heard the baby's heartbeat with a doppler. It sounded like horses racing. Since we were moving back to GA at 13 weeks, we went back for one last appointment with our NOLA doctor. We were able to have another ultrasound. It was so amazing to see the baby starting to look like, well...a baby!

13 week ultrasound, baby is 3.0 ounces
Baby is waving in excitement!

Currently I am 15 weeks. We are back in GA, and we are going to meet with our new doctor this Friday. It is so good to be home. It'll still be a few more weeks until we find out the baby's sex, so until then we are window shopping for all the things we are going to buy and getting the house ready to start the nursery.

We are so excited about our little miracle due September 7th!!


 

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