I have been meaning to write this blog post for a while now. The main reason being so that I don't forget the story of how God brought our precious baby girl into the world. I will never forget the incredible excitement and anticipation my husband and I felt the moment we saw that second pink line pop up on that pregnancy test. But alas, I am getting ahead of myself here.....
Justin and I had some goals we hoped to meet before we started our little family. The first goal was for him to finish college and pass his boards so that he could begin his career as a nurse. The second was for me to have gone a full year having been able to manage and function well for a full year with bipolar disorder. As of September 2011, both of those goals had been met. We decided to go ahead and have me go off of my Bipolar medication in June. We wanted me to have been off of it for a full three months before we started "trying" to get pregnant. We knew that there were no guarantees that God would grant us our desire to become parents, and we tried not to assume anything. You can imagine our great joy when we discovered that I was pregnant on January 21st, 2012. I remember that we had gone out to dinner at Red Lobster thanks to our friends, Shawn and Renelle giving us a gift card for Christmas that we had been saving. On the way home I asked Justin to stop at the Dollar Tree so that I could grab a pregnancy test or three. (FYI: The $1 tests are just as accurate as the $15 dollar ones. ;0) I honestly really didn't think I was pregnant. I was only 2 days late, and just figured I'd take a test just in case. I had myself convinced that I was not pregnant as I was trying not to get my hopes up. Even though we had tried really hard not to assume anything I found myself feeling keen disappointment every time a pregnancy test came up negative. We got home, and I went in and took the test. A second line appeared on the test almost immediately and it was bright, bold pink. There was no question that it was positive. I immediately clapped both hands over my mouth in disbelief and excitement. For once in my life, I was truly speechless. I walked out of our bathroom into our living room and still had my hands over my mouth. Justin looked at me, grinned, and said "It was positive wasn't it." I just nodded, frozen in place with eyes as big as saucers. Justin chuckled and said "Well come give me a hug." We hugged and laughed together and our excitement grew. God had answered our prayers for a baby, and we were overjoyed. I had known since I was a little girl that I very much wanted to be a wife and a Mama when I got older and God was granting me the desire of my heart. I felt very humbled and blessed by this incredible gift. I of course wanted to call our families and tell them immediately. Justin wisely advised that we wait a few weeks. I was about 5 weeks along when we found out I was pregnant. Within the next 4 weeks, we had shared our news with both of our families and when I was 11 weeks, we made the "official Facebook announcement." I remember typing the simple status that said: "....and then there were three." :0)
I am thankful to say that I was blessed with a very healthy and uneventful pregnancy. I had nausea, minor vomiting and exhaustion during my first trimester as many women do, but other than that, I felt great. I got uncomfortable at the end as most women do and impatient for our girl to arrive, but really did feel great.
We found out in April that we were having a baby girl. I was initially terrified to have a girl, but was fine either way. I absolutely LOVE having a baby girl now and wouldn't trade her for a million boys. Little girls are a LOT of fun, and as my Mom encouraged me....they'll only become high maintenance, entitled drama queens if you raise them that way. ;0)
On October 3rd, I began having minor contractions. I was 11 days past my "due date" at this point and was very ready to have this baby. However, I did not want to get my hopes up prematurely.....
Justin and I had some goals we hoped to meet before we started our little family. The first goal was for him to finish college and pass his boards so that he could begin his career as a nurse. The second was for me to have gone a full year having been able to manage and function well for a full year with bipolar disorder. As of September 2011, both of those goals had been met. We decided to go ahead and have me go off of my Bipolar medication in June. We wanted me to have been off of it for a full three months before we started "trying" to get pregnant. We knew that there were no guarantees that God would grant us our desire to become parents, and we tried not to assume anything. You can imagine our great joy when we discovered that I was pregnant on January 21st, 2012. I remember that we had gone out to dinner at Red Lobster thanks to our friends, Shawn and Renelle giving us a gift card for Christmas that we had been saving. On the way home I asked Justin to stop at the Dollar Tree so that I could grab a pregnancy test or three. (FYI: The $1 tests are just as accurate as the $15 dollar ones. ;0) I honestly really didn't think I was pregnant. I was only 2 days late, and just figured I'd take a test just in case. I had myself convinced that I was not pregnant as I was trying not to get my hopes up. Even though we had tried really hard not to assume anything I found myself feeling keen disappointment every time a pregnancy test came up negative. We got home, and I went in and took the test. A second line appeared on the test almost immediately and it was bright, bold pink. There was no question that it was positive. I immediately clapped both hands over my mouth in disbelief and excitement. For once in my life, I was truly speechless. I walked out of our bathroom into our living room and still had my hands over my mouth. Justin looked at me, grinned, and said "It was positive wasn't it." I just nodded, frozen in place with eyes as big as saucers. Justin chuckled and said "Well come give me a hug." We hugged and laughed together and our excitement grew. God had answered our prayers for a baby, and we were overjoyed. I had known since I was a little girl that I very much wanted to be a wife and a Mama when I got older and God was granting me the desire of my heart. I felt very humbled and blessed by this incredible gift. I of course wanted to call our families and tell them immediately. Justin wisely advised that we wait a few weeks. I was about 5 weeks along when we found out I was pregnant. Within the next 4 weeks, we had shared our news with both of our families and when I was 11 weeks, we made the "official Facebook announcement." I remember typing the simple status that said: "....and then there were three." :0)
I am thankful to say that I was blessed with a very healthy and uneventful pregnancy. I had nausea, minor vomiting and exhaustion during my first trimester as many women do, but other than that, I felt great. I got uncomfortable at the end as most women do and impatient for our girl to arrive, but really did feel great.
We found out in April that we were having a baby girl. I was initially terrified to have a girl, but was fine either way. I absolutely LOVE having a baby girl now and wouldn't trade her for a million boys. Little girls are a LOT of fun, and as my Mom encouraged me....they'll only become high maintenance, entitled drama queens if you raise them that way. ;0)
On October 3rd, I began having minor contractions. I was 11 days past my "due date" at this point and was very ready to have this baby. However, I did not want to get my hopes up prematurely.....
1 comments:
Looking forward to Part 2. Thanks for sharing. :) I love reading tangible stories of God's blessings and grace!
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