Beginning!

Here we go (again)!  Planning to Blog it up for Baby #2, and I am so excited to share all the GOODNESS happening.  Here are some facts about this pregnancy since we are already in the middle of week 15.

• I am currently 15 Weeks and 3 Days
• My due date is March 14, 2012
• CVS testing was completed and their were NO traces of chromosome disorders!
• IT'S A GIRL!
• I am feeling GREAT.

Just a couple facts to get some of my friends and family caught up.  I have been on a roller coaster ride the last few weeks since finding out I was pregnant again. I have to say we had kind of forgot about trying to have another baby or should I say it wasn't our daily focus we couldn't possibly forget about wanting another child.  We were having such a great time with friends and family and enjoying each others company. I guess that's the recipe to getting pregnant, hehe!  Without getting to in depth, I realized that just maybe I could be pregnant and to be very honest I WAS SCARED!  Last June I had a miscarriage and I was afraid that it could happen again. I went ahead and made a Doctor's appointment and it was confirmed I was expecting.  I prayed and left my pregnancy in God's hands I asked to him to be with me no matter what the outcome of this pregnancy would be. I had soo much hope and I felt at peace knowing that what God had created was already placed in my belly.  I was mostly along for the ride at this point. Time for the Doctor's visit at 9 weeks to see some sort of development happening and of course and most importantly to hear a heartbeat.  I was praying and trusting that this miracle was growing and had a strong heartbeat.  That is exactly what we seen, a growing little bean and a very strong heartbeat.  I was so relieved to get through the first obstacle but I knew that this was just the beginning of the ride, with my hands up I convinced myself that I was ready for it!  Next obstacle was getting to week 12 which is another small milestone. Chances of miscarrying after week 12 (some say 13) is much less common but obviously can still happen.  I was hoping for week 12 and 13 to come and go still carrying this miracle so I can see the Doctor again and get some relief.  At week 13 I had another OB appointment and once again GOOD news, the baby was growing and beginning to look like less a bean and had a baby form. The heartbeat was still strong and beating in the higher range.  My mom has a theory that was passed down to her from who knows who that the higher the heartbeat the more likely it is to be a girl.  My mom was right when she predicted Jolie was a girl, so of course when I told her the baby's heartbeat was 153 bpm she insisted this baby was a girl.  This pregnancy up to this point had been very different than my first.  I was so sick and nausea's all day, I could barely eat anything for the first few weeks.  It was definitely rough and no fun.  I had not experienced this with my first pregnancy at all.  So naturally we thought we could possibly be having  a boy since things were so different, but hey what do we know, right?!?
Back to the Doctor's visit, the Doctor was pleased with the baby's heartbeat and said the baby's growth was right on target.  I felt like jumping for joy but on the other hand I had another feeling like maybe it was too soon to do that.  I was happy and relieved again to say the least.  I was up against another up hill climb on this roller coaster, and I was absolutely terrified and the only thing that was at all comforting was praying, hoping, believing, and trusting in our maker.  I had no way around it I felt out of control and I knew whatever was going to happen next was going to be life changing and I was trying to hold on patiently all while trying to be calm and stress free.  Next obstacle was my appointment the next day at the Perinatal center.  I knew there was a heartbeat and the baby was measuring great so I went in feeling confident but I was going to the Perinatal center to talk about invasive testing to find out what this baby's make up was. I was nervous! I went in and automatically talked to a genetic counselor who was very informative, kind, and warm hearted.  She explained what my chances were of having a healthy baby in scientific terms.  She made sure that I understood what happened in my first pregnancy and what may or may not happen with this pregnancy.  She also informed me of the options I had in testing for abnormalities.  Of course, they all sounded scary and all of them had some sort of miscarriage risk.  I had made it to week 13 and I felt like this situation was already in God's hand and in the end he had a master plan for my life as well as this baby's life. I decided to do the earliest testing which was called Chorionic Villus Sampling or CVS, this test is identical to obtaining the results of an amniocentesis.  The procedure called for taking a small piece of my placenta which ultimately carries all of the babies DNA. These results would be 99% accurate to the baby's DNA. I trusted that no matter what the result were, I was going to be OK.  I had to believe it for it to work.  I felt peaceful that I no longer had to try and be in control of something I couldn't control. On September 15th I luckily had to call the Doctors office to get my thyroid blood test results and asked if the  CVS results had come in and the Doctor said "YES" they had come in late the night before. I waited for her to look over the results and she  said "Well Vanessa it looks like everything is normal, do you want to know what your having?" I couldn't believe what I heard, I asked her to repeat what she had said and of course she did,  it took the Doctor repeating the information three times for me to totally understand what she was saying.  She seemed more anxious in getting my answer about the sex of the baby. I said "Yes i want to know what I'm having", she said "Vanessa it's a girl" I wanted to fall out of my chair.  I was speechless, I had every emotion run through me in 30 seconds. I was every feeling and i didn't know how to react to the news or what to say!  I finally came to and said "are you sure Doctor...Thank you, thank you, I am soo unbelievably happy!!!" I hung up the phone and soaked it in!  I began thanking God for giving me the desires of my heart and entrusting me with one of his angels.  I was beyond over the moon!!!  I called my mom right away and then told my boss.  Everyone was crying and overjoyed and relieved at the news. At this point I felt like calling the Doctor back to make sure I heard correctly but I didn't I enjoyed the feeling of joy to the ultimate degree.  I felt unbelievably blessed almost like I didn't deserve it but I wanted this baby and felt like I was ready to be an amazing mother. So that is the story in a nut shell or maybe a really big nut shell. I realize how blessed I am soo thankful for this opportunity some women only dream about.  I feel like a lucky woman being able to conceive and carry a healthy baby girl.  I have such a heart for women who are unable to conceive and those families who loose children at any age. I know I went through what I did for a very important reason and I know I am in this position for a very important reason also.  I have faith that God will protect us and see us through this journey of pregnancy and fetal development.  Keep us in your prayers, God is a God of miracles and you will see one of his miracle sometime in March.  Thanks to all my AMAZING friends and family who supported our family through every trial and celebration.  I could never possibly repay your kindness and support.  I thank you and love every one of you, HUGS and KISSES!