Roller coaster

It's fair to say that this entire year has been a roller coaster. There have been some extreme highs, followed by some devastating lows. However, by the grace of God, we're on a high right now, and desperately praying to stay that way for a while.

I am 8 weeks pregnant. Today.

I have had 3 ultrasounds so far, with a fourth scheduled in 2 weeks. Let me start at the beginning...

Four weeks ago tomorrow, I took a pregnancy test. It was positive. At the request of my husband, I took another one (one that wasn't from the dollar store...apparently those "don't count"). It was also positive. We immediately called family to let them know, so they could start praying. I called the doctor to schedule an appointment because they wanted to see me at 6 weeks, rather than the normal 8 weeks, because of my previous ectopic pregnancy. I went in at 6 weeks, 2 days for an ultrasound and appointment with my doctor.

The ultrasound tech couldn't find a baby that day (Sept. 23). There was a sac, but she could not find a baby in it. My doctor prepared us for the worst. It could be a blighted ovum. This means that the egg was fertilized, but just never developed into a baby. If this were the case, my body would naturally miscarry at some point in the near future. She sent us off for labwork to test my hormone levels, and told me that if they looked good, we'd repeat on Monday, and if they were increasing the way they should, we'd have another ultrasound that week.

My numbers from the first bloodwork looked great. They were actually on the high side. We prayed. And prayed. And prayed. I have never in my life prayed so earnestly and continuously for something. We repeated bloodwork on Monday. My numbers doubled, making them super-high. So we prayed some more. My doctor, who was on vacation, called to check on my numbers and to order another ultrasound for me the next day.

The next day, they found a baby! The heartrate wasn't as high as I expected, and they couldn't get good measurements, but by golly, there was a baby! The doctor I saw that day wanted me to repeat in a week, so they could verify the due date. So yesterday we went back again. That sweet little (heart-attack-inducing :) baby is still there, and had doubled in size. We got good measurements, and everything looks right on schedule.

When we saw my doctor after the ultrasound, she was amazed. She hadn't heard anything about last week's ultrasound, and was kind of sad to see my chart come up, because she assumed it was not going to be good. She told us several times that there was no medical explanation for how there wasn't a baby, and now there is. She finally said that there really are miracles in this world, and this baby is definitely one. Based on my numbers, there is no reason for there to have not been a baby, and medically, they could have deemed it a "no pregnancy" and advised me to have a D&C.

But I believe in a God who answers prayers and does miracles on a daily basis. I firmly believe that there wasn't a baby, but because of our faith and prayers, God put one in there. Because He can do that. We just have to ask.

Please join us in praying for our little miracle. Thank you!

(Other details, if you're interested: My due date is May 17. I will have a scheduled c-section because of my c-section with Cade, and it will be 6-8 days before my actual due date.)