Week 4, Day 3

For those who don't follow our infertility blog, we wanted to share the news with you that we are now pregnant!

After over a year of infertility, a number of diagnosis tests, and coming out with the diagnosis of "unexplained infertility", we got pregnant.

I just found out Saturday morning at about 6:30am. You can read about finding out and revealing the news to Jesse and my family on our other blog. The next day, after writing that, we told everyone at church. When I came in, my immediate family was the only ones who knew. My mom told me that she revealed the news to my aunt when my aunt picked her up for church. My mom brought her into the house and showed her the display I had set up. My aunt Ginger started jumping up and down and screaming, hugging my mom. From there, I revealed the news to the moms that I work in the nursery with. I sit weekly with the other moms, some of them pregnant, while watching the kids. And they all know a bit of what I have been going through in trying to conceive. I sat in there anticipating the best moment to share the news. They talked about the upcoming birth of one mom's child and potty-training and holidays. And then when there was a lull in the conversation, I admitted that I found out I was pregnant the day before. They were all so excited. They couldn't believe I had kept it quiet for so long. I told them I didn't want to just blurt it out. They said that it was the kind of thing I was SUPPOSED to just blurt out.

At the end of the service, Jesse came and got me to go up for prayer. When they asked what we needed prayer for, Jesse said, "Well, we would like prayer for the little baby that Mandy is now pregnant with." There were cheers and screams and applause all around the congregation. The elders were just glowing, one of them being Jesse's dad and the other two being men who love us dearly and have been praying for the best for us. They each lifted up our little baby for prayer, asking for safety and a healthy pregnancy and praising God for answering our prayer. It was overwhelming to me. I had felt so much fear about this pregnancy, worrying that I would lose it and be left devestated. We sang a song earlier in the service, though, that said, "Though we sow in tears, we'll reap in joy." I just began crying tears of thankfulness that God has taken our sorrow and turned it into joy. Each time that I fear miscarriage, I remember that I have to take it to God and entrust it in His hands.

After church, my family gathered together for a potluck. Not very many of them knew the news. So as each one came in the door, someone hinted about the display that was still up and everyone got surprised.

Truthfully, a bit part of my fear has been that I have witnessed so many other people face miscarriages, and then my temperature went down just a bit Sunday morning, enough to make me worry, and the first pregnancy test was so faint that I worried it may just go away. I just kept praying, though. So far, every night when Jesse and I go to bed, we lay our hands on my belly and lift up prayers of thanksgiving and petition for our baby. And, since then, I have experienced a lot of things that make me feel more secure in this pregnancy.

After Sunday, my temperatures went up again and today it was the highest it's ever been. Also, I've taken a pregnancy test everyday and they are still positive. Furthermore, when I woke up yesterday, I felt extremely nauseous. I still think it stems just from a headache that I'd had for a few hours, but it caused me to spend the first 6 hours of the morning throwing up. Jesse went to the store, in the snow and ice, to get me some tylenol and some crackers. He walked around smiling all day long. He said he was so happy, not that I was sick, but because of what my sickness meant. He's convinced it was full-out morning sickness. I suppose we'll just see how I continue to feel, but so far today I feel good.

Once I felt a bit better, Jesse and I made our way to the doctor's office. I had called earlier and they told me to come in at any point and get my blood drawn for my beta pregnancy test. This tests the amount of pregnancy hormone in my body and records how the baby is growing. So I went in and got stuck in the arm with a needle one more time. It hurt more than it previously had, but this time I knew that it was no longer for infertility testing but for the miracle of life we were experiencing! They said they would call with the results tomorrow and let me know when I need to come in and do it again. They will keep taking my blood levels until they reach 1000, at which they will order an ultrasound for me. I assume this will be in about 2 weeks since the nurse originally mentioned having me come in around 6 weeks pregnant and I know that the levels usually reach around 1000 at the same time. So, by January 1st, I should be able to see the first glimpse of our little baby growing. Six weeks, though, is quite a bit earlier than they normally do it. In fact, usually they do it around week 12 and you can hear the baby's heartbeat at that point. However, I believe the earlier ultrasound is to detect if we are pregnant with twins as I did take one round of fertility drugs resulting in this pregnancy. That's just my guess, though.

As far as the development goes, I found out that yesterday, according to the timeline, the baby's red blood cells should've been starting to develop. And today, it should be .02 inches long or 1.5-2.5 mm's. In other words, it should be around the size of a poppy seed. Our little Poppy Seed Peterson! The organs, eyes, arms, and legs should be just starting to form this week. The baby consists of 2 layers: the epiblast and the hypoblast, from which all of its organs and body parts will develop. Its cells are tunneling into the lining of my uterus, creating spaces for my blood to flow so that the developed placenta will be able to provide nutrients and oxygen to my growing baby when it starts to function at the end of this week. I also have the amniotic sac now, which will house my baby; the amniotic fluid, which will cushion it as it grows; and the yolk sac, which produces the baby's red blood cells and helps deliver nutrients to it until the placenta has developed and is ready to take over this duty. I think those kinds of things are neat to know as you witness how God is continuing to knit it together in my womb. It's awesome to know that even though my belly isn't growing yet and I don't have very many symptoms, that there is a miracle going on inside me.

I will share more each time something new develops. Only 249 days to go...!