Guess what???????

The last three months have been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster. Back at the end of July, Jason and I faced one of the hardest times in our marriage. And so the story begins with a quite elated ending.

We found out I was pregnant the day of my cousin’s wedding rehearsal (July 17th) and could barely stand to keep the smiles off our face. We had just started to try and were completely shocked to see how things came along so quickly. A week later I started spotting and after a trip to the emergency room and being told everything was fine, my world felt as though it was falling apart. So it seemed like. The outcome was a miscarriage and I we were completely heart-broken. To have a desire so strong and want something so bad, there are no words to describe the hurt and emptiness one feels. After I was cleared a week later, I felt a little more put together and started to realize that it was a common thing and I was not to blame. Even having that understanding, no one or nothing makes you feel any better. It seemed everywhere I looked, all my friends with blogs and my college friends on facebook were having babies or announcing their exciting news. We slowly told our families and once it was no longer our secret, I felt much more vulnerable.

Labor Day weekend, Jason’s parents came into town and we finally had the chance to tell them. Something happened that weekend and once again I fell apart. Jason looked at me the following Tuesday and said, “hey you have not had your …… and maybe you should take a test just to see; you have been awfully emotional here lately”. I said no immediately explaining to him that I was terrified to take another test and did not want to put myself through that disappointment; setting aside what we had just been through. Well, my darling husband, being so persistent, kept on me all night. Finally, once he had headed to the computer to do some work, I went into the bathroom and took one of the tests I had bought the first time without him knowing. In the meantime of me trying to prove him wrong, two little pink lines waved right back into my face, THREE TIMES. My first reaction was pure shock, and then I snapped out of it and went to get Jason. I calmly asked him to come to the bedroom and when he saw what was on the bathroom counter, he was grinning ear to ear. What did I do, lost it once again. My thoughts were, “Can this be possible? Is this real? It must be human error.” I then thought about the possibility of my HCG levels not dropping after the miscarriage and the test could be reading a false positive. I did not sleep at all that night; my mind ran wild and all I wanted to do was cry.

The next morning I ran to my friend’s room at work, she had twin girls in June and I am using her doctor. I told her the situation and she said I should call Dr. Laden right away, which is what I did. Later that day the nurse practitioner called and said to be in the office in twenty minutes. So I left work and went straight there to have my first blood work done. I was told to come back Friday, September 11 for one more test. When I left that day, they said they would call me the following Monday with the results. Great, a whole weekend to wait and wonder; just what I needed. That Friday was our first pep rally for football, which I run, so my mind went right back to work because we had about fifteen service men and women coming to be honored. September 11, 2009 was also my parent’s 27th Wedding Anniversary which makes the day unforgettable. Before coming back to the school for the football game, I had to go home and take care of our Maddie girl. When I got in my car to drive home, I checked my phone and I had one missed call. It was the doctor’s office and they had left a message. I was not expecting the call till Monday. Jason had already headed home because he had to be back earlier so I HAD to check the message alone. It said, “Ashley, your blood work looks wonderful! Your levels have doubled and we need you to call first thing Monday morning to schedule your first OB appointment”. I bet you cannot guess what I did after hearing that, that’s right; I cried all the way home. I could barely see out my window and I just wanted Jason. I was pregnant, AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

We had to wait a full week until our appointment. I kept thinking I cannot be more than three weeks along, surely. Well after all the questions and Jason’s favorite, the bag with all the free stuff, we finally got to see our little Baby G. You could already see the little black dot palpitating. You could not hear the heart beat, but God made sure we saw it. I was already six weeks along. That’s right; I got pregnant two and a half weeks after miscarrying. My doctor joked that she thought I was just in for a follow-up appointment but was elated to see us on happier terms. After leaving the appointment, I think I was either in pure denial or shock; maybe even both. It was not until my eight week appointment that the emotional surge hit. We heard the heartbeat and it was a strong 173 bpm and there were two visible arms and two distinctive legs.

We decided to tell our parents and Lindsey October 16 at a home football they were coming down to. The amazing thing is that they have not all been down at the same time since we moved to Magnolia in 2007. Once again God made it possible and got them all here safely for the most exciting news ever. Jason and I toyed with many ideas of how to tell them; put it in the Herald Democrat or order M&M’s with the news. We knew whatever we did, we wanted to make it special and exciting. So we combined our ideas into one and came up with our plan. I have 12 cheerleaders on my Varsity team and I had them in on the plan. I ordered 6 pink and 6 blue balloons and hide them in a room during the football game. We had two bags put together, each with pacifiers, monogrammed bibs that read “I Love Gigi” and “I Love Nana”, and a picture frame with the sonogram picture in it. I had text added to the bottom that read “COMING SOON!!!!!!!!!!!”. After the game, our parents came down onto the track where Jason and I were and the cheerleaders had the balloons and the bags ready. Once I cued them, they came running. Complete shock and rolling tears was all that happened. My mom was in total shock and it was not until she saw the picture that it clicked. Jason’s mom was just elated but at first thought the balloons were for my mom’s birthday which was four days away. We pulled off a pretty good surprise and it was so worth the wait. After the game we called all the family and spread the news. It was such a wonderful weekend with our families. Saturday night we went to Maggiano’s down by the Galleria and had dinner. I hated to see them all leave Sunday.

Today, October 29, we had our 12 week check-up and everything looked great. Little Baby G would not stay still. When the technician would try to take the measurements she needed for the tests we were doing, the little thing would literally hunker down and jump from the bottom of my uterus to the top. You could see the long legs and arms, compared to 8 weeks, and the heart rate was 160 bpm. It was like it was jumping on a trampoline. We were thrilled to see such a huge change from 8 weeks to 12 weeks. God is good and we thank everyone who is praying for us for a healthy little baby and pregnancy. What truly amazes me is how things happened so quickly again and it reassures Jason and I that this little gift was truly meant to happen and that God wanted us to have this baby. I thank Him every day. We are so excited for the journey that lies ahead.