We Graduated!

We had our nine week ultrasound on Monday and everything looked great. The baby measured perfectly and had a strong heartbeat, so the specialist has released me to begin care with my regular OB. We graduated from the fertility center! My first appointment is next Tuesday and I'm hoping we'll continue on to have a healthy new baby at the end of March.

I'm finally starting to feel a little excitement (instead of just fear) for this pregnancy. It feels so great to know there's a healthy baby in there, and while I'm not quite ready to start decorating the nursery, I'm starting to believe we just might get that baby we've been waiting for.

We decided to wait until the end of the first trimester to tell Claire about it, but I'm really looking forward to that conversation. She loves babies and she's started asking a lot of questions about families lately. She often asks Josh and me questions like "Who is your mommy?", "Who is your daddy?", "Who is your brother/sister?".

A few weeks ago, we were having one of those conversations at dinner and she suddenly dropped her fork on her plate, looked around with concern, and asked, "Where is my brother and sister?". We explained that she didn't have any brothers or sisters and she immediately insisted, "But I need a brother and sister!" (Glad I'm not feeling any pregnancy pressures from my kid!) It took awhile to convince her that not everyone has brothers and sisters and it's okay if you don't, but I really want the chance to change that for her. I know she would love to be a big sister and I really hope this baby is the little brother or sister she's going to grow up with. All I can do is pray, pray, pray!

The Ultrasound

We had the ultrasound this morning and it went very well! The baby measured exactly 7 weeks, with a strong heart rate (122 bpm). The doctor said that was perfect, but given my history, she wants us to come back in two weeks for a follow-up ultrasound. If everything looks good then, we'll be released to a regular OB!

While I was so happy things went well today, I have to admit that I don't feel as much relief as I thought I would. After everything that has happened, it's hard to believe we might finally get the healthy baby we've been waiting for. I really look forward to getting excited about this baby, but I'm still a little cautious for now.

I'm only 7 weeks along, but I'm hoping if we can make it to 12 weeks, I'll start breathing a little easier. For now, I'm trying to enjoy the fact that this is the furthest we've made it in a pregnancy since Claire. We're definitely on the right track.

Thanks for all the prayers and support!

Last Blood Test

I had my last blood test (at least for awhile) on Wednesday. I have to admit that I chickened out when the nurse called with the results. I get really obsessed with the numbers game and last week's numbers were so good that I just wanted to remember those. The doctor will tell me anything over a 67% rise per 48 hours is good (they like to be extra positive so they don't freak out the pregnant ladies), but I know it's much more reassuring if the numbers double every 48 hours. I didn't want to spend my weekend doing the math over and over again in my head, so I asked the nurse to just tell me if they were happy with the numbers, rather than giving me the actual numbers. She said the numbers were good and the doctor said I didn't need to take any more blood tests for hormone levels now. It's on to the ultrasound! We scheduled the ultrasound for Monday at 9:45.

This is the part of my pregnancies when time really slows down - the last few days waiting for that ultrasound to tell us if this is "the one" or another heartbreak. My goal is to stay as busy as possible and hope the time flies by.

Thanks for the continued prayers, thoughts, and support! I'll update again after the ultrasound.