Expecting

Dave and I are so excited to finally share that we are expecting a baby in February! If we're friends, family, or connected on facebook this doesn't come as a surprise to you but we figured it was time to make the announcement official on the blog as well. I know I've shared openly the struggles we had earlier in the year with our first pregnancy and miscarriage so to say that we are thrilled at how this pregnancy is progressing is an understatement.

Let's rewind a few weeks. We found out were were expecting in mid-June. I had a feeling I was pregnant but the first few tests were negative. Turns out my body just needed some extra time for the levels to become elevated. Once I had that positive test in hand, I was a complete mess. I was so happy I cried. I was so nervous something would go wrong that I cried some more. I called Dave at work and cried even more, called my mom at work and cried to her some more, too. Everyone who had experienced a miscarriage told me that the second time I found out that I was pregnant would be like this - a little bit of joy and a little bit of terror. Clearly we were excited but for me, the fear that this pregnancy would end without a baby was an all-too-real worry for me. So off to the doctor we went for a little reassurance.

After a miscarriage, even just one, the doctor labels your pregnancy "high risk" and you follow a more intense schedule of appointments for the first trimester. For the typical pregnancy, you wait until your 8 week mark to see a doctor. I was in my doctor's office the day after that positive test, at just 4 weeks. We started our first round of blood work. I went every two days for blood work that first week and a half to check my levels - all looked fabulous! I had my first ultrasound at six weeks where the fetal pole was developing nicely. Then again at eight weeks we went for more blood work and another ultrasound. This was the most nerve-wrecking appointment because last time, this is when we found out the baby wasn't developing. Thankfully, this time the baby looked like a perfectly formed little baby (picture a gummy bear people) with a strong-beating heart. Praise God! Yesterday we had our 12 week appointment where another ultrasound showed the baby had nearly tripled in size and the heartbeat was still strong. Baby was moving around too much to hear the heartbeat... looks like we've got an active one in there! My doctor officially removed the "high-risk" label, told me to stop worrying (does she really think I'm capable of not worrying??), and to start telling the world because we really are going to have a baby! So here we are, telling the world. And let me tell you, it's a complete relief to let the cat out of the bag - I never have been good at keeping my own secrets.

I promise this blog won't become all about the pregnancy but I certainly do plan to share about the pregnancy, preparing for baby, and eventually, about our life as a family of three. I plan to do a weekly pregnancy post and share our preparations for baby including nursery progress. I'll also be looking to all my already-parents friends and family for advice on baby gear and hot topics. But you'll certainly still hear about the other aspects of our life (that is if pregnancy doesn't completely consume us for the next six months).

So here begins the journey to parenthood and the Irish family of three! We hope you'll join us as we celebrate this exciting news :)