The story

I want to share a little of the 'back story' of our first 12 weeks. We didn't tell many people, and the people we did tell we asked to not share the news with others. We've experienced 3 miscarriages and I always fear it will happen again.

We were really surprised when we found out we were pregnant! I mean, not shocked (because we stopped using protection, so there is always a chance something could happen...) but surprised for sure! We got pregnant the first month not using protection (sorry if this is TMI for any male readers), which was also a huge surprise for us because for a little over two years we didn't use protection and had a really hard time getting (and staying) pregnant.

I found out I was pregnant on June 19th. I took a picture of the pregnancy test, and sent it to John with the caption, 'guess what...!!' Neither of us could believe it happened that quickly! We decided in the spring that we would stop using protection in the summer and start trying with hopes that by the fall or winter we'd get pregnant. I filled a prescription for Progesterone (a hormone your body makes, which is necessary for the pregnancy to continue; but my body does not make) and started it immediately. I called my doctor's office and they had me come in to test my Progesterone levels a few days after using it. The levels looked good, and so they changed my yearly GYN appointment that was scheduled the following week to an OB appointment. John and I went in, and the doctor had  hard time finding anything on the screen. She saw the yok sac, but couldn't identify clearly a fetus or a heartbeat. She confirmed the date of my last period and said that very likely what could have happened was that I ovulated later in my cycle, so although the calendar is saying I'm 6 wks, i am likely only 5 wks, which is why they're having difficulty seeing something on the screen. She scheduled us to come back in one week. I was pretty nervous that week, and didn't want to talk about it with John at all. I prepared myself for the worst, while praying God would allow us to see a heartbeat at our next appointment. We went in a week later, on 7/6/12 and saw a flutter :)

After that, things were smooth sailing! I allowed myself to get *more* excited about the pregnancy and around 8/9 wks I started to tell friends. When we were up in NY visiting, we had Avery wear a shirt that shared the news of her being a big sister! It was fun to see everyone's reaction after reading her shirt, pausing, and then realizing what it meant!

We shared the news yesterday after we heard and saw the heartbeat at our 12 wk appointment. In many ways, I'm really nervous about adding another baby to the mix. Life is comfortable right now, and totally manageable for John and I. Sure things get hairy here and there when Avery decides to play with her poop, or have a tantrum for no reason, but for the most part totally manageable! I'm intentionally deciding to soak up quiet moments in the house, or take a short nap while Avery is napping, because I know when #2 comes, those moments won't be as frequent.

Thanks for all the well wishes and excitement sent our way! It always makes things sweeter when you can share exciting news :)