The Journey Begins

On May 7, 2009, my husband, Matt, and I learned that we were pregnant for the seventh time. Much to our surprise. It was definitely a pleasant surprise, but a surprise, nonetheless.
You see, for only the second time in our married life, we were actually trying to prevent a pregnancy. Not that we didn't want another baby, but we were planning a family vacation to Walt Disney World, for two weeks in May.
Back in July of 2000, we went to the World and I was six weeks pregnant. Upon returning home, I miscarried. It was devastating to lose one of our precious babies. I did not want to go back, pregnant. I didn't want to worry the whole time, and I certainly didn't want a repeat of the last time.
But, there's always a but, one night, we threw caution to the wind. And as they say, it only takes one time.
We were leaving on our trip May 9, and my period was due to start on the 10Th. I didn't expect to be pregnant, but thought I would test..just in case. Lo and behold, two gorgeous pink lines. Six really, because I had done what any good woman does, and bought a three pack of tests. I'm not one to let a test go to waste, so I used all of them. And they all told me the same, wonderful news.
The next morning, I woke up to use the restroom and was greeted by brown spotting. I was so scared we would lose the baby, but had no other choice than to just go about getting ready for our trip. Thankfully, I knew that brown meant old blood and I just might be OK.
We left on our trip, excited but scared.
On the way over (we drove) there were all kinds of pro life signs talking about when a baby's heart beats. Matt and I had fun counting how many days pregnant I was, and determined our baby's heart was indeed, already beating.
Although we were nervous about telling the kids, we knew we had to tell the eldest two, at least. We normally wait for awhile, just in case we lose another baby, but with me not being able to ride the rides, we knew they'd wonder what was up. We ended up telling all four of the boys in the pool once we got to our condo. They were all so thrilled.
We spent two weeks at Disney World. The first was excruciatingly hot, the second, it poured. Not only did it pour, but morning sickness hit with a vengeance that second week. I felt pretty miserable, but took it as a great sign that this baby was going to stick around. There had also not been anymore spotting since the first incident.
We came home and got back to life. Which for me, meant setting up appointments with my OB and the Perinatalogist.
I am considered high risk because my fourth son, Zachary, was born with a complex heart condition. It is called TAPVR, and it happens when the pulmonary veins do not connect to the heart correctly. He had open heart surgery at less than 72 hours to correct it. I also have a minor blood clotting issue, and I take baby aspirin throughout my pregnancy.
I see the peri for monthly ultra sounds to check the blood flow to be sure there are no clots. Also, to check the heart.
I was in the peri's office by seven weeks. That was when we first met baby Tarzan. We called her that because Zachary always asked if we could call our next baby, Tarzan.
It wasn't long though, until we discovered that Tarzan, was a girl. Our second daughter. How God had richly blessed us!
Around 28 weeks, I had my fetal echo cardiogram. The doctor looked long and hard, and said she saw at least two pulmonary veins, and they appeared to be draining into the left atrium, like they were supposed to. What a relief.
When I was pregnant with my number five, Emily, I was very stressed out. I was so afraid she would also have TAPVR. But she didn't, her heart is perfect.
This time around, I prayed endlessly for strength. Not once did I pray for our baby's health. I just prayed for strength to get us through whatever may come. I felt, somehow, that something was wrong. At a brunch I attended with my women's ministries group, I confided in my pastor's wife that I knew something was wrong with my baby. I told her whatever it was, it would be OK, because I knew we could get through it, but I just had a feeling something was wrong.
Appointment after appointment, the peri declared our baby healthy. And we were at such peace.
In fact, this pregnancy was a piece of cake. I felt great, until the very end, and even Matt commented on how great I seemed to be feeling. Most of the time, it felt totally surreal that I was even pregnant.
That all changed right around 36 weeks. Suddenly, I just became really uncomfortable, and ready to meet our baby. We couldn't wait.
Oh how I had wanted a Christmas baby. It wasn't meant to be, however, and my doctor scheduled me to be induced on January 5. I was due January 14, but because of the blood clotting issue, the doctor likes to induce me early. And, as bad as it sounds, I'm totally OK with that.
My mom and step dad came down at Christmas time to be here when our newest baby was born. Little did we know, just how fortunate we were that they were here.