Almost Halfway There!

I can't believe we are almost at 20 weeks and halfway through this pregnancy! Wednesday will be officially 20 weeks and we are thankful for reaching another milestone with good doctor reports and a healthy baby! Until last week, there wasn't much going on except for my belly that has been growing and growing!! Here is a picture at 18 weeks with baby furniture that was delivered in the background! :-)

We had already painted our spare bedroom before I even found out that I was pregnant with my plans of making it into a "craft" room.  I am so glad that with God's perfect timing we are getting to change this room into a nursery instead.  So we are going with that same color (so I don't have to have CJ paint...again ;-)).  We did get Baby Lewis' furniture put together over the past week or two!! So exciting!!

 

Then last week we had our next doctors appointment, 19 weeks! And thankfully Baby Lewis cooperated and they were able to tell us that SHE was healthy and moving all over the place just like she should be! CJ and I were both in shock to find out that it was a girl because I think I had us both convinced that is was a boy for sure...we had even started discussing and trying to decide on a boy name! All of our friends have had boys over the past few years so I was just sure that we would follow in those footsteps.  But God has something else in store for us and I can't wait to see CJ with a baby girl, already knowing that she will have him wrapper around her tiny little finger.  So now we get to try and agree on a girl name, wish us luck! ;-) And this journey seems so much more real, as we can finally call the baby "she" and can start to picture what we think like will be like with a little girl around! God is really, really good!!

 

Here is one last picture at a little over 19 weeks... We are so blessed for a healthy baby girl and can't wait to hold her in our arms!!



 

We go back to the doctor to check on the little girl at the beginning of August so keep praying that she continues to grow and stay healthy!! See ya next time!



Sixteen Weeks and Growing!

Last week marked the 16th week of pregnancy and we are feeling so blessed to have made it to this point! In just a little over two weeks we will be able to find out the gender of this little one and can then hopefully soon put a name with this sweet little baby!  I had a doctors appointment at 15 weeks and everything continued to look great.  I didn't have an ultrasound, just checking the baby's heartbeat which continues to be around 152-154.  Here is an updated picture of this growing belly :-)  It's a little blurry because of my poor computer skills! ;-)

 

We have ordered baby furniture this week, our first big baby purchase!! Can't believe I was able to even wait this long to buy something for this sweet baby!  We also got the results back from the integrated screenings where they test for neural defects and everything came back normal.  God is realllly good!   That is such a blessing and we are thankful that this baby is healthy!  Hopefully the next few weeks will go by quickly so we can know whether to buy blue or pink! :-)

 

 

This is a side note but June is "Move Over Awareness Month" in Virginia where the state is stressing the importance of moving over for first responders.  Trooper families have been sending in pictures as a way to spread the word so here is our attempt. 



So thankful for all my husband does and how hard he works every day! Even more thankful for every day/night that he comes home to me!!

"For This Child We Have Prayed...."

After what seemed like forever and the loss of two babies, I cannot even accurately describe how I am feeling now that there is a healthy baby on the way to join our family.  We kept this secret (from most people) for 12 weeks which seemed to go by so slowly!! Now we can finally say we have reached the second trimester and there is some sense of relief about this pregnancy.  For the first trimester I had a difficult time getting excited about the idea of a baby because of our past experiences and I didn't want to get my hopes up....again.  But after lots of prayers and what seemed like forever, Baby Lewis will hopefully be making his of her appearance at the beginning of December. 

Thanks to my sweet friend Summer, we were able to take pictures and make this pregnancy "facebook official" last weekend.  She did an amazing job as usual! We were able to put to use the tiny little Sperry's that I quickly had purchased during my very first pregnancy and that had been collecting dust in my closet, just waiting to be able to use them finally.  Here are some of the pictures Summer took for us. 

 

 

We have had wonderful doctors and nurses working with us! Lots of bloodwork which is showing that everything is moving along just perfectly and so far we have had four ultrasounds.  Here are a few pictures of how this little munchkin has been growing over the past 12 weeks.

This is Baby Lewis at 8 weeks...Not much to see but seeing that little heart flutter was enough for me!  Baby's heart rate was 154.

 

9 Weeks.  Baby's heart rate is 174.

 

 

After a little scare, we got this sweet picture at 11 weeks. Everything was just fine!!

 

 

Baby Lewis at 12 weeks.  Moving around all over the place during this ultrasound! We had never gotten to this point with the other pregnancies and could hardly believe what we were seeing during the ultrasound! So thankful for this growing baby!!

 

 

13 Weeks.  I won't be able to hide this belly anymore! ;-)

 

Thank you to everyone that has prayed for us so far and please keep the prayers coming! We are so blessed that God has answered our prayers this far.  I know He has had this perfect plan in store for us all along!  Next doctors appointment is in two weeks!

 

"God's timing is always perfect, never early and never late.  It just takes a little patience and a lot of faith."



 

Life Throws You Curves....

I have been amazed over the past year all of the random dates I have remembered.  Today is one of those dates that brings back so many emotions.  This exact day one year ago I found out that I was pregnant with our first baby.  After 14 months of trying with no luck, I'm sure you can only imagine how excited we both were.  We weren't sure whether to tell people or keep it a secret "just in case".  We did end up telling some of our family and close friends the exciting news never dreaming that a year later we would still be waiting for a healthy miracle baby. 

I have also been amazed at how God has used this opportunity to make me stronger in so many ways that wouldn't have been possible without dealing with these trials.  I have met some of the most amazing people who share a similar story to mine and I have been able to provide some comfort (I hope) to others dealing with the same situation.  I feel like CJ and I have become closer as a couple and we truly cherish all the small things life has to offer.  I have learned (and still working on) patience, thankfulness, and feel like I have a better understanding of what it means to be humble. 

I have come to better understand that as a family we are right where God wants us to be at this point but I'm also trusting that He will bless us with little ones when the time is perfect.  Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us this past year.  It means more to us than you could ever know!

"The moment you are ready to quit is usually the moment right before a miracle happens. Don't give up."

Another Unexpected Adventure....

Here is a little update for those who have been keeping up with our story.  Today I got the results back from the "specialized" bloodwork I had done three weeks ago to determine the cause of the miscarriages.  I honestly felt like everything would come back completely normal, with the past two miscarriages just being a fluke.  But, the results actually came back with an abnormal blood clotting gene.  This gene is called Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (good luck pronouncing that my friends), otherwise known as MTHFR.  It sounds like there are treatments for this gene mutation which could include blood thinner injections, baby aspirin and/or increasing my folic acid levels.  I don't know much about the mutation other than I will be meeting with a genetic counselor to figure it all out.  This will also mean that once I do get pregnant again, it will be considered a high risk pregnancy.  I am thankful there are specialized doctors in this field.

I am not quite sure how I feel about actually have something abnormal show up in my bloodwork.  I knew it would be frustrating for them not to find anything wrong at all but probably in a way would have also been relieved that there was not an issue that needed to be addressed.  Now this brings a whole new level of stress, emotions and questions.  But for whatever God thinks I can handle it, so here we go.

Dealing with infertility and pregnancy loss is emotionally exhausting....and after two years, this girl is so very tired.

Thanks for reading and we would certainly appreciate any prayers as we begin this next adventure.

"God has perfect timing; never early and never late.  It takes a little patience and whole lot of faith." 

"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord.  "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

"Instead He gave us an angel..."

If I am going to be completely honest, I have literally dreaded this weekend for months, 7 months to be exact.  This weekend should have been the weekend we would be bringing home our first baby.  Our home should be filled with all kinds of baby furniture, toys, and tiny baby clothes, organized and put into the perfect spot. Obviously things didn't go quite as we had planned.  The third bedroom of our home still has boxes and things that need to be unpacked but I keep putting it off because I dread the idea that the room should already be a nursery. So this weekend of course I have noticed every pregnant women and every tiny baby, seems as though I could have spotted them from miles away.

The good thing about this weekend is that we had planned a getaway trip, very soon after the miscarriage.  We spent the weekend in a cozy cabin, also known as "Beary Comfy", with my parents and enjoyed having no schedule, sleeping as late as we wanted and just relaxing in front of a warm fireplace.  We are entirely too much and did a little too much shopping but I'm okay with that since tomorrow it's back to reality. 

I am now looking forward to the holiday season, staying busy and spending time with our family and friends, praying that next year God has something amazing in store for our little family.  Thanks to everyone who prays for us and for all the encouraging words.  I know our God is good and soon enough He will reveal His great plan to us.  Until then, I'm extra thankful to come home to an amazing husband and two cute pups that love me no matter what. 

 “How very quietly you tiptoed into our world, silently, only a moment you stayed. But what an imprint your footprints have left upon our hearts.’” -Unknown

“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” -E.M. Forester

One Week Later...

Here we are... One week after finding out that we would be sending another sweet baby to heaven way too early.  Over the past week I have had so many people share their own personal stories with me, about their troubles with having kids and many women dealing with the same type of losses.  It certainly happens way more than you would imagine but unfortunately it is very rarely talked about and often looked over.

I have had my moments of sadness of course but also keep reminding myself that CJ and I are so blessed.  And that in Gods time we will be able to experience a growing family.  This week I have indulged in sweet tea, ice cream, and anything chocolate I can get my hands on.  I've got one more pampering idea planned for this weekend (pedicure of course!) and then must get back on track.  Certainly not included in our Dave Ramsey budget but I will make up for it next month. ;-) Even thinking about joining the gym (CJ snickers at this idea) but I know it would be good for me. 

As far as doctors appointments go, I will be having blood work in 6 weeks to do further testing and determine if there is a treatable reason that the miscarriages are happening.  Please pray that they will find something we can easily fix.  Until then, I'm enjoying all the time I can with my handsome husband and so thankful for all of our amazing friends and family.  We can't thank you enough for all the prayers and happy thoughts that have been sent our way.

And just walked in the door to my husband cooking supper :-)

"I will praise you in the storm..."