Baby #2!!

This pregnancy has been much more eventful than my pregnancy with Emilia. It started out much the same - with a positive pregnancy test...but this time, I didn't take the test at home in my bathroom...I took it at work after running to the store over lunch to buy a single test. We had a work event that afternoon - tailgating before a baseball game - so I needed to know if I could have a beer (or two...) or not. The faint positive test told me, "No." I stared at the test and kept blinking, wondering if my eyes were playing tricks on me. My hands were shaking. I looked at myself in the mirror to see if I looked any different. I had a secret and it was GOOD one!

Afternoon Test - 8/20/09

I got back to my desk and thought about emailing Jeff the picture or calling or emailing him with the news... But I decided, this time around, I want to share the news a little more creatively. So, I got home that night and laid in bed with my mind saying over and over - "I'm pregnant. I'm PREGNANT!" but I somehow kept my mouth from saying it and went to sleep. The next morning, I took another test just to be sure the results from the day before were accurate. I waited until Jeff was out of the bathroom, took the test, put it in the cabinet and hopped in the shower while waiting for the results. I got out of the shower, opened the cabinet and taaa daaa - 2 lines!

Morning Test - 8/21/09

So, off to work I went with my very special secret! I was out at 2pm that afternoon, so I planned to pick up Emilia from daycare and find a Big Sister shirt for her to be wearing when Jeff got home from work. I found the perfect shirt, dressed her in it and got the video camera ready to capture us revealing the secret to Daddy :)

We decided to not hold back and shared the news with my parents that weekend. They were, of course, thrilled! More to love!

I went along feeling good, much like with Emilia. No major pregnancy symptoms - just two positive pregnancy tests as proof that I was pregnant. The next week went by...I registered Baby #2 and the due date on babycenter.com so I could start getting updates on baby's development and what fruit or vegetable represented the size that week. Poppy seed, sesame seed, lentil bean, blueberry, kidney bean, grape, kumquat...

Well, around 5 weeks (sesame seed), I woke up in the morning, went to the bathroom and realized I was spotting. I was terrified. I had not experienced this with Emilia and despite everyone telling me this is very common and each pregnancy is different, I was really scared. I tried to take it easy that weekend with the advice from the OB Nurse Line. But every trip to the bathroom all weekend was like dooms day. I was preparing myself for the worst.

Once Monday arrived, I decided to call the doctor to see if I could be seen. The stress was getting to be too much to handle and I felt I just needed some kind of explanation as to why I was experiencing this and what I should expect, if anything. The doctor was able to get me in that afternoon. She examined me and confirmed that my uterus was slightly enlarged, my cervix was closed and also that I had a small cervical polyp which may be cause of the spotting I had been experiencing. She sent me down to the blood lab for them to check my HcG levels and asked that I come back on Wednesday for another blood draw. A doubling of these numbers over a 48 hour period is a good indicator of a viable pregnancy. So, after my blood was drawn on Monday, I asked the lab what time they were open in the morning and planned my return visit on Wednesday as SOON as they were open.

I kept my phone in my pocket all day on Wednesday, waiting for the call from my nurse practitioner with the results that I prayed would put me at ease. When my phone rang, my heart started beating double time and my hands shook. She told me that she had the numbers and they were very reassuring - they went from 10,800 to 19,400. She said given how reassuring the numbers are that an ultrasound wasn't necessary. We were thrilled and felt extreme relief. We were ready to get off this roller coaster of emotions and just be happy!

That weekend, we were heading to Jeff's parents for a relaxing Labor Day on the lake. We planned to share the news with them, again, with Emilia wearing her Big Sister shirt. We arrived on Friday night but decided to wait until Jill got there the next day before revealing the news. That night, I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and saw what I feared...more blood. It was more than before...more than I would classify as spotting... I quietly called for Jeff to come into the bathroom...he was scared too. I got back in bed and said a prayer. I prayed for God to take care of this baby. I pleaded that I would rather have bloody noses than to have to see blood on my future trips to the bathroom. We shared the news with Jeff's parents the next afternoon, but also said that were cautiously optimistic. We could use all the prayer we could get!

We got home Monday afternoon, unpacked and prepared for the week ahead. I woke up before my alarm on Tuesday morning and wiped what I thought was a runny nose... I opened up my cellphone for some light and to my surprise, I had a bloody nose!!! I got in the shower and realized, this was God's way of telling me, "I'm here. I hear you. I'm listening." I felt extreme peace after that morning and am happy to report that there has been no more spotting since then. I went to the doctor that week as they instructed me to call if I did experience more spotting. I went in at 6 weeks pregnant and got an ultrasound. We were able to see our little blueberry complete with a beautiful beating heart!

2 weeks later was my first official prenatal appointment and everything looks great. Below are the ultrasound pictures were got to take home :) The baby was the size of a grape at this point and already had little arm and leg buds and was moving all over. We are so, so blessed to be experiencing this miracle again in our lives and reminded daily that life truly is in God's loving hands.