We couldn't be more thrilled!!!!!!
After losing our tiny Therese Hope at only 4 weeks along, we became pregnant the very next cycle. I can't help but think she's already met this little one and I bet she's now interceding for her sibling regularly. It melts my heart.
One of our first family photos with the new baby in tow . . .
And we didn't even know it yet!
We traveled back to Memphis for two back-to-back wedding weekends and stayed with several friends while we were there. The trip landed smack dab on top of the tail-end of a symptom-filled two-week wait. I soooo wanted to test early, but I didn't have an opportunity while staying with friends. It felt so awkward to do it that way. So we waited until the night we got home, exactly peak + 14. It drove me nuts not to test early, but thankfully I was distracted by reunions with good friends, outings to our favorite Memphis restaurants, and this gorgeous photo shoot we had done for our 1-year-old John Paul, which produced the family-of-four photo you see above. (Five if you count our little Therese, who's always with us in spirit. <3)
Our normally 8-hour trip home turned into a ridiculously long 12+ hour trip home due to several traffic jams. Woof. So by the time we arrived home, I raced the the bathroom to peel open an Amazon-special HCG pregnancy test. This was the first time EVER I was going to take a test that I thought had a very good chance of being positive with John by my side. And it was wonderful to have him there. Within a minute, the test was positive and we hugged and hugged and squealed in excitement and probably even jumped up and down a few times. Pregnant twice within two cycles?! Can this be real life?
As our little Therese has taught us, there is hope!!!
Our excitement was dashed very quickly when, the very next day, I started spotting, just as I had with Therese's pregnancy. I was devastated and so worried, but I clung to the prayer, "Jesus, I trust in You!" to get me through.
The day after that we were shaken even more to learn that at peak + 7, my progesterone was 9 and my estradiol was low too. Thank God I was taking prometrium throughout my two-week wait, because I'm not sure this little one would have made it if not for the supplementation.
Praise God, the pregnancy tests kept getting darker with each day, and the spotting quickly stopped and became a distant memory. I haven't spotted since.
Several weeks and blood draws later, my progesterone and estradiol are looking GREAT! The estradiol self-corrected and I've been getting butt-shots of progesterone every other night to keep my progesterone levels good and healthy. My last progesterone draw around 10 weeks was 40, so I have a feeling my doc is going to take me off the shots soon. I'm pretty ok with that. ;)
As for Baby Schweitz, he or she is looking OH SO ADORABLE!
Can you see baby's profile? That little button nose? And those tiny feet on the right? *Swoon*
At our 6-week ultrasound, in addition to healthy Baby Schweitz, our doctor saw a second sac on the screen. The second one was empty, leading him to think it was either a disappearing twin or a blood-filled sac. He said if it was the latter, it was probably the cause of the spotting I had at 4 weeks. But I can't help but think, what if it was the former? What if Baby Schweitz had a twin? I did have one HCG draw early on that tripled from the previous one 48 hours earlier. From what I've read, that can definitely happen with twins. It's weird not knowing whether or not we lost another baby, but I have faith that one day we will know, in Heaven. And what a reunion that may possibly be. <3
The above ultrasound is actually from our 11-week appointment. I wasn't supposed to get an ultrasound at that appointment, but our doctor couldn't find the heartbeat via doppler, so he did an ultrasound to check in. Of course I was a nervous wreck the entire time he searched my belly for a heartbeat. He said he only finds the heartbeat about 50% of the time when baby is still that little, but I was still scared as stink. EVEN THOUGH this little bug is giving me nutso all-day nausea and constipation and heartburn and I'm sleepy as all get out. So I was pretty sure baby was very healthy and just hiding on us. But still. No sign of a heartbeat for approximately 20 minutes while we waited for the ultrasound machine was just plain nerve wracking. Good thing you're cute, little one! Baby looked perfect once he or she was on the big screen.
Speaking of he or she, we're gonna go the surprise route again. We're not finding out gender. Can you handle it??
We told our parents and siblings about Baby Schweitz very early, just to get prayers on board, and now we're just starting to consider sharing the news in bigger circles. You're one of the first big circles to know. :)
When we told John's parents, who live in town with us, we had John Paulie walk into the room with a copy of our 6-week ultrasound and hand it to them. For physicians, they were actually pretty confused for a few minutes. Ha! But when they realized it was a current ultrasound with my name on it, it started to make more sense. And they were so thrilled for us.
My parents learned via FaceTime and they were also so thrilled. My dad even asked if he could share our good news with his mother who was a little upset with him over something silly, to get back in her good graces. :P I said go right ahead. Use this baby to spread some joy.
I still worry nearly every day that Baby Schweitz isn't going to make it, or that Baby Schweitz's heart has stopped beating. But in those moments, I just cling to the prayer, "Jesus, I trust in You!"
We will continue to have hope that we'll be snuggling and loving on another baby come January. God, you've got this!
Grow, baby, grow!
