Though It Tarries

So, one (dare I say) "advantage" to infertility is that you get to have some prenatal appointments earlier than the typical 8-week time frame.  We were super excited to get to see our little grey smudge via ultrasound as early as 6 weeks, and again at 7!  Thankfully, there's only one nugget in there and our nurse told us everything looks really good.  So without further ado... The smudge at 6 weeks... Can you believe it has a visible heart beat at this stage?  It was so clear on the ultrasound... hard to believe anyone could terminate such undeniable human life at this point and beyond. And, a larger smudge at 7 weeks, with a heartbeat still going strong.  The baby doubles in size from week 6 to 7, and the brain is growing in complexity. So, we've made it to the 8-week mark today, and I am filled with joy and anticipation.  And a lot of bloating and water weight... but I'm definitely not complaining!

One thing that God has shown us throughout this whole process is how incredibly blessed we are to have some amazing friends and family.  It is not uncommon to hear (within the infertility community) that many infertile couples suffer feelings of loneliness in their journey.  While I can't say we are entirely immune to those feelings, they've never been able to really take over because our hearts have been filled with the love of some magnificent people. I have friends who have been praying for us for almost two years, after my tearful admission in their living room one night.  I have one friend in particular who rises in the wee hours of the morning to pray for all kinds of people, and I have been on her list every day for over a year.  I have a friend who has been walking this tumultuous path alongside me, and we share each other's frustration, pain, and hope.  I even have some friends who had been postponing their own family plans until we completed our trea...

Last week, I went in for three blood pregnancy tests, where they measure the amount of HCG (the pregnancy hormone) to make sure things are progressing as they should.  Although every test made me nervous, I am happy to say that I passed with flying colors and all is well!  We are scheduled for our first ultrasound (6 weeks) next week on Tuesday. This is still a little surreal, but it's starting to sink in.  I can't wait to see our little speck on the ultrasound!

A glorious positive!  PRAISE THE LORD! To say that I was surprised is an understatement.  I was shocked , and am still slightly in disbelief.  Here's the story: Doctors instruct you to wait a full 14 days after an IUI to take a home pregnancy test, due to the fact that one of the medications for IUI is the actual pregnancy hormone that the test detects.  Waiting the full amount of time is supposed to ensure that the "artificial" hormone is out of your system so you don't end up with a false positive. So... as I neared the end of my eternal 2-week wait, I became convinced that I was not pregnant.  All hints of early pregnancy symptoms were absent (and still are), and I started feeling "that way" late Wednesday night.  Mike and I even had a talk on Thursday about what our plan was going to be moving forward. Friday morning (test day) rolled around, and all I could think about while pushing myself out of bed was how I just needed to get the test ov...