Our Greatest Adventure Yet

 We’ve been a little quiet and haven’t been so adventurous lately and I figured I should finally update as to why! At the end of September, I had been super nauseous, so on October 1st I had Dave run to the store to get me a pregnancy test, and some ginger ale and Altoids (those things save my life!). The next morning I took the test, thinking it would certainly be negative, but it turned positive instantly! I was so shocked! It was so hard waiting for Dave to come home from work to tell him the exciting news! I put the test in a cake pan with tin foil over it, and when he got home from work I told him I had made him a surprise. He said he definitely wasn’t expecting it and was really surprised!

Since I wasn’t quite sure how far along I was since my cycles are a bit irregular, and since I have had a few miscarriages in the past, I made an appointment with my OB right away and was able to go in on the 8th. They were thinking that I may be around 6 or 7 weeks based on my cycle, but they could only see the gestational sac and the yolk sac, but no baby yet. It was really hard to not know for sure if it was going to be a viable pregnancy or not and just having to wait for the next appointment.

We had our next appointment on October 21st. It was so nerve-wracking to wait, and just praying we were able to see anything good in the ultrasound, and thankfully it was as perfect as I could have hoped! We were able to see the heartbeat right away! It was really so special so see the strong little heartbeat so clearly. They gave us the estimated due date of June 7th, being 7 weeks and one day a long. The nausea was intense and consistent but I felt well otherwise, thankfully!

Our next appointment was November 11th. I had so much anxiety leading up to the appointment. Just praying and praying and praying that we would see continued growth and that there would still be a heartbeat. And our prayers were answered! Another incredible ultrasound! I wish they would have let me film it but this little bear was wiggling and waving for us! I was so surprised to see so much movement! It was truly so incredible! I felt so grateful and so hopeful that we really are finally going to get to be parents and have a little adventure buddy! It was such a wonderful day and I am so grateful Dave had the day for Veterans Day off for us to enjoy time with one another. 

At my next appointment, we just did a small sonogram, the machine seemed really old and we could hardly make out what we were seeing compared to the last ultrasound that had been so clear! But we at least got to see the heartbeat and did bloodwork for genetic testing. I really just was so eager to find out the gender early! The week after Thanksgiving we got the results back and all of the testing came back normal! They then called my dear friend Monica to share the gender! That Saturday, December 7th  she was kind enough to host a gender reveal party at her house for us. I bought some smoke wands and was pretty nervous they would malfunction in some way, I’m always worrying about the worst case scenario! But thankfully it all went perfectly! And huge thank you to our friend Eric for these photos! I am so grateful to have this special moment captured! We have always felt our first would be a boy and it was so fun to see that for all these years we’ve been right! We have a name picked out that we are pretty sure we will go with, but I’m not going to officially say his name publicly quite yet as I want to see his face first and make sure it fits him!

At my last appointment I got to see him again and the nurse said “Oh yeah, he’s definitely a boy!” Lol she took all his measurements, his head, his body, his legs. Everything was measuring a week ahead other than his legs! Lol! But it looks like they may just bump up my due date, which would put him being due on my birthday! That would honestly be the best gift I could ask for! But whenever he comes, I just can’t wait to meet him and snuggle him forever! 

I am considered “high risk” as I was born with my heart on the “wrong side”. Thankfully I have never had issues and have felt so good, especially now that I am out of the 1st trimester! But just since it’s such a rare condition I have an ultrasound every four weeks to make sure he is okay. But I’m definitely not complaining! I am always glad to get to see him!

These past few months have been equally scary and exciting! I have never begged the Lord for something like I have begged for our little bears health. I have had a lot of anxiety, and it’s hard to keep the anxiety from completely overwhelming me. But I am just grateful to have made it to this point. And I think I’ve started to feel him moving around! I am so grateful to be experiencing this miracle! I really hope things continue to go smoothly and next summer we will have a new little adventure buddy to share in our adventures! Thank you to all those who have showered us with love and support! I have truly felt so lifted by all the prayers that have been given on our behalf! Thank you, thank you!