Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Our Pregnancy Story...

I can't even begin to thank you for all the sweet sweet comments and prayers from our last post. I started this blog in 2008 as a way to record our journey to parenthood. I had absolutely NO idea that it would take us six years to actually reach this point..it truly is all about the journey. I also had NO idea how many wonderful friends, prayer warriors, and encouragers I would meet because of this little ole blog. And I am thankful for each and everyone of you.


Before I share about how we got to this point, I want to share some fears I experienced with sharing our pregnancy...Announcing our pregnancy was a HUGE step for me. I literally prayed and prayed and prayed about how I would do it, when I would do it, and what I would say/write.

I had fear of posting too soon...which I realized was a sign of my lack of faith. Then I realized that I this pregnancy is not in my control...it's all in His hands. So all I could do was sit back, trust in His timing, and trust in His gift.

I also had fear of hurting those of you still waiting on your miracle. Far too mamy times I have been the woman reading posts or announcements from new mommies-to-be and SOBBING. Although I was so thrilled for these women to finally receive their blessing, it pained me to know that I was still in the waiting stage for our blessing. The thought of me putting someone else in that same situation REALLY upset me. But in the end, I prayed that our story, our pregancy, our baby would give hope to all of you women still waiting. My biggest advice...keep praying, keep trusting, and NEVER GIVE UP on what is in your heart.

Now, how did we get here?!?! Here is a shortened version of our pregnancy story. I need to pause for a minute and soak up those three words...OUR PREGNANCY STORY. I still can't believe that this dream is finally becoming a reality.

We did another round of IVF in May. This time though we supplemented our treatment with shots of Heparin. If you missed my post about my diagnosis from our hematologist, you can visit THIS POST to get caught up. So a week before our transfer, I started taking two Heparin shots a day. I took the rest of the medications and went in for our retrieval and was pleased with the number of quality eggs they were able to get. The eggs were fertilized and AGAIN we were over the moon with the number of embryos that we had. We were hoping for a day 5 transfer...since the last two times we received a positive pregnancy test, they were results from a 5 day transfer. Unfortunately, we received a call on day 3 that only three of our embryos had survivied and our doctor recommended that we implant THAT day. We were beyond nervous...not to mention that we had planned a Memorial Day party that SAME day...as we were expecting to have our transfer two days later (and since no one that was attending our party knew we were in the middle of a cycle, we had the party anyway). I went in early that morning for the transfer, came home and rested for a few hours, then hosted our party. I did let David do ALL the work and prayed all day that at least one of our embryos would stick. Like always, the two week wait was agonizing...but we had been through this drill four times before, so we knew to keep ourselves busy and the two week wait would fly by. I had read that the first day that the HCG hormone would enter your body would be on the eighth day after the transfer. So secretly I took a pregnancy test on the eighth day...and I saw a faint pink line that morning. I kept this to myself for the majority of the day. My parents were in town that week and David and my dad were out golfing. So I kept the BEST secret of my life to myself and waited until that evening to share with David. From that day on, we took a test every morning (to be honest, I took TWENTY-ONE tests total...one every morning for TWENTY-ONE days) and every single morning, the faint pink line became darker and darker and DARKER.

I know this post is already VERY long...so I will leave you here and continue our pregnancy story in the next post. Believe me, it was not an easy journey...but nothing worth waiting for ever really is. So stay tuned for the next chapter in our journey, you won't want to miss it.

16 comments:

Cherry said...

What a wonderful way to start, in sharing your pregnancy story...trusting in God's timing, trusting in His gift, and stepping out in faith by telling! Being honest and sharing your heart and feelings about being on the other side of the news is such encouragement to those still waiting! Praising God for the personal sharing of your journey ~ and waiting to hear more!

Life Happens said...

I remember how hard it was to hear pregnancy announcements, but when it's someone who has struggled SO long, my heart is filled with pure happiness for them! I can't stop smiling for you guys.

Congrats! I still can't believe you went ahead with the memorial day party, but I'm glad David was there to do everything for the party. :)

Carrie said...

Happy, happy tears are streaming down my face! I can just feel your excitement when you realized the lines were getting darker!!!!

Britney said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bird said...

Congratulations!! I have been hoping and waiting for you to recieve this blessing since the first day i found your blog!! God Bless!!

Sara said...

Lianna-I just am so thrilled for you! I've been reading your blogs and praying for you and it's just awesome to see how God has worked! I know I shared my excitement with you on twitter (sara822), but I just had to leave a comment here as well. I'm so, so happy for you. I'm praising God with you that He is able to do immeasurably more!

Christa said...

Ahhhh!! I want to hear the rest!! Write the next post!! Don't leave us hanging!! Haha. I am sooooooooo happy for you guys, I just keep smiling whenever I think about it!! :-D

meg said...

SO amazing! I just knew one day I would get to read this type of post from you and I'm beyond excited for you!!!! I don't even know how I came across your blog ... maybe a link from Kelly's Korner a long time ago? Anyway I've been checking back since and praying and I'm just so thrilled for you!!!!!!! Can't wait to hear more! :)

Meredith said...

Oh Congratulations! What an amazing story! God is Good!!! I can't wait to read about the next chapter!!!

belle said...

waiting breathlessly to celebrate with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i've been praying so much for you without even knowing why! SO glad that the Lord is blessing you RIGHT NOW! :)

Becky said...

I knew you were going through IVF and waited and speculated and prayed. I am so happy for you. Seven years ago this month I went with my daughter and her husband to their transfer - on my birthday! I was the designated progesterone shot giver and I was petrified that if she did not get pregnant, that it would be my fault. The day she called to say it was successful was very emotional. The day she called to say there were three was even more emotional. I am thrilled for you.

Mrs. Pierce said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!! i am so happy that your story is here to tell and that as someone who has struggled with infertility you will appreciate every little step of the pregnancy! i pray that you have an easy 9 months and no speed bumps along the way! you deserve it.

Kendra said...

PRAISE!!!! Oh Liana! I am so thrilled for you and David!!! I have been out of the blogging loop for a few days and missed your post! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

I am so beyond thrilled and just giving God HUGE thanks for this miracle!!

I say boy =)

I can't wait to hear more!!!

CONGRATULATIONS MOMMA!!!

Shannon said...

Lianna, You don't know me but I've been folowing your blog for about 4 years now. I'm beyond happy for you and David, this made me cry tonight!! I myself have been in your shoes and was blessed with beautiful boy/girl twins in January 2012 after 5 rounds of IVF!! I wish you all the best with your pregnancy and I'm looking forward to following your journey via your blogs!

Unknown said...

I am so happy for you, your husband and family. My husband and I are the parents of 2 adopted children, one daughter and one son. We, too, tried for 8 years before conceiving twins. My babies died in my 5th month of pregnancy, I can emphathize with the heartache and the triuph. God will always open a door when she shuts one and if we are patient and trusting, we will come out on the other side winners because we allowed Him to be our Coach. MOTHERHOOD - what a divine way for Christ to honor your faithfulness. In His Love, Kathy

Bringing In Bedtime said...

This is an incredible story! :)