SOCIAL MEDIA

Saturday, February 28, 2015

DECISIONS AND GOD {02.28.2015}

Majority of the time, I am happy. Occasionally, it hits me. I'm sure this is how most women who have struggled for years feel. The fact that we have now had to suffer through two miscarriages, only 16 months apart, still irks me. There are days I just want to sit and question everything that God does. Then there are the other days where all I want to do is follow the path He has given me. I know God wants us to have children, it's obvious from the fact that He has gotten us pregnant twice! But maybe, we are just rushing things. Maybe He knows that in our hearts, there are other things that intrigue us.

For example, before this cycle, I told E that if we did not get pregnant, I wanted to go back to school and I wanted us to travel more. The thought of going back to school weighed heavily on my heart as it is something that I have been very seriously thinking about. I knew that if I wanted to give my child the things he or she needs, I would need to start making choices now! Start planning now and get my degree.

E mentioned before the miscarriage this time, that he believed God created miscarriage to provide insight and opportunities. Does that mean we wanted a miscarriage to happen? NO! Does that mean we planned on having two miscarriages? NO! But what E meant is that every time we had a miscarriage (door closing), something better that we had been dreaming of happened (door opened).

Back in 2013, when we suffered our first miscarriage, we were devastated, just as any couple would be. We wanted that baby so badly but we had always talked about traveling, since we can't even being to tell you how many countless amounts of people told us "no, wait to have children, go see the world. go do things as husband and wife first." I will be the first to admit that E and I had no desire to listen to anything they said. But as 2014 rolled in and doors started opening, we were so fascinated that we decided to step into those doors and make way for God to run our lives. To our surprise, that trust led us to Cozumel and Progresso Mexico on a 5 day cruise (travel), a 5 day trip to Las Vegas, Nevada (doing things as husband and wife like gambling), and we even set out on a trip to visit my family in Florida for Thanksgiving. So needless to say, things in 2014 were good but don't think that having children didn't weigh on our minds then. The difference was that we were enjoying ourselves and we believed wholeheartedly that God knew we needed this time together.

This year, God is providing us again with the opportunity to follow our hearts and do things we know to be best before we have children.

With that being said, I have decided to go back to school. To pursue my education and earn my degree in Teaching. I have always wanted to be a teacher and now I can follow my heart. I start classes May of 2015 and I am eagerly looking forward to transferring to the University I was supposed to attend in 2010 (more on that later). We also already plans in motion to travel again this year. Right now we are looking at New York City, Universal Orlando/Disney World, and even another cruise. For now, I am patiently waiting for classes to being and feel very enthusiastic about earning my degree. Even more exciting is the fact that my brand new laptop for school is only days away from arriving!

This post is to inspire those who are struggling with infertility. It may be so easy to give up on God and loose faith in Him while you are struggling but look deeper. He more than likely already has greater plans for you. He knows what is best in your life and will give you just what you need when you need it. It may be hard to stomach the idea of "moving on" from your TTC journey (trust me it was hard for us to imagine after 3 years just stopping and pursuing other things in life) but maybe, just maybe if you let go and let God, you will find more doors have opened and the doors will lead you to the things you deeply desire. Although, I will continue to pray for each of my TTC sisters, I pray that you find happiness in everyday things, that God blesses you with an angel of your own, and that you let Him in and let Him unfold the life-map He had planned before you were born.

God Bless and Well Wishes

Thursday, February 19, 2015

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE {02.19.2015}

We've received so much love and support these last few hours and it's a reminder to us how thankful we are for friends and family. It's also a reminder that, although some may disagree, announcing our pregnancy early was the right thing to do. Of course, with any pregnancy you risk miscarriage. Especially if you're irregular or have fertility problems. I knew with this baby I wanted to celebrate every second I had with him or her. It wasn't long but for 1 week I enjoyed it. I rubbed my belly and thanked God for just the privilege of being pregnant. 

One question on our minds is "where do we go from here?" We flip-flopped back and forth between continuing our journey or giving up. We agree that 3 years is a long time to struggle and after 2 miscarriages, the toll weighs heavily on you. 

However, we want a family so incredibly badly that the idea of no children is more devastating than the journey it's self. 

We compromised, E wanted to stop and I wanted to continue, and decided that we would give it two more tries. Luckily, although I would've loved to have kept this baby, now with 2 miscarriages in my past, I will be considered extremely high risk and will require extensive care and research. This is what I wanted originally. I wanted to do ultrasounds and bloodwork weekly. I wanted the doctor to monitor my cycles closely.

Another good thing is now he will finally put me on Progestrone. The plan right now is to rest, relax and get through this miscarriage. After this is over, I will return to the doctor to speak with him about what we face for the next cycle. I want to make sure that we are getting the best care and that this does not happen again! 

I have faith and I believe that we are supposed to have children. God would not put these babies in me if He didn't want us to be parents. I feel that with a little assistance from the doctors, our babies will be able to grow healthfully to full-term. 

So, that's what we've got for now. I'm going to take it easy for now and will return very soon.

God Bless, Baby Dust, and Thank you so  very much for your support!

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

KEEPING THE FAITH IN THE DARKEST OF TIMES {02.18.2015}

Yesterday, I mentioned that I was having some slight spotting. Well, this morning, the slight spotting turned into full on red period-like blood. We rushed to my doctors appointment, waited for about an hour, and finally the doctor called us back. He requested a urine sample but ended up not using it after all. I laid down on the table and was ready to figure out the fate that lie ahead of us. 

For a moment, I felt hopeful but the more he searched the less hopeful I became. My doctor finished the ultrasound and we  discussed possibilities. I then left and headed for the blooddraw area. I got bloodwork done and then E and I decided that it was time to go home.

We hung out for a few hours and finally after getting tired of waiting, I called for my results. Well, it's definitely not good. The doctor said that my HCG level measured at 2! I didn't know that was possible. So they confirmed it. I miscarried. This one was so early, so fast.

My doctor assured me that if we wanted to continue trying, that I would be considered extremely high risk, which means I would be doing constant ultrasounds and bloodwork, and he would put me on progesterone as well.

E is at the point where he is done. I am torn as to what to do. I guess we will give it one more chance and see what happens.

Thank you to everyone for your love and support as always!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

5 WEEKS BUMPDATE {02.17.2015}

Before starting the "bumpdate" I did want to mention that we had a bit of a "scare" today. During work today, I whiped after using the bathroom and saw some brown blood. I immediately panicked and called my OBs office. Turns out it's nothing to be concerned with since I'm not cramping and it's not red or in large amounts. With that being said please send us a prayer or two that our sweet angel will continue to grow. 

Now for the "bumpdate"...

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•How far along? 
5 weeks
•Weight gain?
Not yet, actually lost a few but that's because I've been eating healthier after eating fast food for a few days
•Maternity clothes?
Not yet, but I also wear scrubs daily so it's going to be hard to know when it's time to switch
•Sleep
I'm actually doing pretty good sleeping a night, but oh my goodness come 1-2pm I am utterly exhausted
•Best Moment of the Week
Reaching 5 weeks and feeling all that pregnancy has to offer, which so far has been sore breasts, frequent urination, and slight backache
•Worst Moment this Week
The scare today; I literally was terrified! Mostly because we've already had a miscarriage but I'm keeping my faith and trust in God and I know wholeheartedly that this is our healthy rainbow baby!
•Upcoming Appointment
Doctors appt is scheduled for Thursday, February 19th at 1pm
•Cravings
Everything!!! One minute I want pizza then I want fast food like McDonalds, then I want salad
•Symptoms
Breast soreness, frequent urination, backache slightly, bloating, exhaustion around 1-2pm
•Looking Forward To...
My doctors appointment to check on baby and see how he or she is growing in my belly


Saturday, February 14, 2015

4 WEEKS & 4 DAYS {02.14.2015}

I know I'm a little late posting about the pregnancy, but there's good reason! I actually found out I was pregnant on Tuesday, February 10. To be honest, I did not believe it. The line was so faint but considering I was only 4 weeks, it made sense it was that faint

Then on Wednesday, February 11, I took another test. I was 4 weeks and 1 day and after taking a First Response HPT, I decided to just take a ClearBlue Digital. The whole time I was preparing for a BFN, but next thing I knew, it said "Pregnant." 
I was so surprised, I have heard that digitals are not as sensitive and take a few weeks before showing up. What I love about digitals and also what I dislike, is they are so absolute! I remembered all the times it said "Not Pregnant" and how horrible I felt after. This was different, for obvious reasons. But it truly was amazing! To see that one word...you'd never believe that that one word would completely turn your word around. 

Later that evening, I decided to surprise Erik. We headed out to Texas Roadhouse and I told Erik I got him a little something. I gave him a bag and inside it held onesies. He pulled it out and his reaction, PRICELESS! He was so excited and shocked! He then decided that he wanted to rush to his parents house and tell them. We re-wrapped the gift and gave it to E's parents and they were thrilled! 

Later that evening, we decided that we wanted to celebrate every moment of this pregnancy and decided to announce it on Facebook. Here's how we announced it...
Our first appointment is scheduled for Thursday, February 19 and we are eagerly looking forward to finding out if it's one or two babies. There's always a chance it's two or more with fertility medications. 

Erik even agreed to travel to Babies R Us today so we can start looking at pricing for the nursery. Speaking of nursery, we have cleared out the room, just waiting for our sweet, miracle, rainbow baby! I cannot forget to mention that E said that after our first appointment, we can move forward with buying the crib. Our plan right now is to buy all the big stuff first and then all the little things later, that way we won't have to stress about the big stuff later.

Tomorrow's blog will be for all my fellow TTC Sisters. I wanted to share what we did differently this cycle that actually worked! 

Looking forward to Tuesday, February 17, I will be 5 weeks and I will be posting my pregnancy bumpdate and pregnancy details.

God Bless

Thursday, February 12, 2015

PRAISE GOD {02.11.2015}

So I guess it's time to announce it...
That's right! Erik and I are proud to announce we are pregnant with our Rainbow baby!

Here's my progression of HPTs.

Tuesday, 2/10 at 9dpo
Wednesday, 2/11 at 10dpo

And the BIG KAHUNA this morning...

I will do a pregnancy bumpdate weekly and will update on symptoms tomorrow.

Baby Dust and God Bless