... for everyone!
I find myself having to apologize again for such a delay in posting. However, we've had such an influx of news that it was hard to share pieces without sharing everything, but now is the time.
After the dreaded two-week wait was over (a few weeks ago) we anxiously made the trip to Tulsa for our first pregnancy test. We weren't necessarily going in blind, however, because we broke all the rules and did what the nurse told us not to and took a home pregnancy test...actually, we took 5. lol 3 of them came back positive and 2 negative, so we weren't exactly sure what to think. We got to the clinic at 8:30 am for a simple blood draw - them we hit the road and headed home. We were about 15 miles from our house when we got the call from Joni (our most favorite nurse at the Tulsa Fertility Clinic). Her news was cautiously optimistic...we were pregnant! But our HCG level (HCG = human chorionic gonadotropin = the hormone that a developing baby produces after it attaches to the wall of the uterus) was a bit lower than they would have liked to see (81). She didn't think there would be a problem, but told us to hang tight for the next test.
One week later, I headed to Tulsa with my friend Janelle for the 2nd blood test. We decided we needed to save Si's vacation time for other 'more involved' appointments since this was just another blood draw. Janelle was gracious enough to ride along with me. We arrived at 10:00 for the blood draw and then did a bit of shopping and lunch waiting for the phone to ring - right before our food arrived my phone rang - it was Joni again - and this time she was VERY excited. My HCG level had gone from 81 to 2081 in just one week! This growth in numbers was a very good sign - and, as Joni said, it means that it REALLY worked! We are REALLY pregnant! I'm sure everyone at The Cheesecake Factory wondered why I was squealing, crying and laughing at the same time, but I couldn't contain my excitement!
They scheduled our first ultrasound for 2 weeks after that. This appointment was a biggie, because it will tell us if one or two of the Seger embryos decided to stick around. Silas and I arrived at TFC around 8:30 the morning of our appointment and were super excited to see what was happening. During our ultrasound it didn't take Dr. Blackwell long to tell us that we have one healthy baby. We were able to clearly see the outline of the yolk sack and even the 'flutter' of the heartbeat! We left the office with mixed emotions; over-the-moon excited for our one healthy baby that is growing, but also a feeling of loss for our 2nd embryo. Neither of us realized just how much we had been counting on both 'taking' or how much we loved both of them already. It has been a roller coaster of emotions since that appointment but overwhelmingly we feel blessed and very excited for the little life that is growing right now! We are working our way through our emotions and have decided that our blessings continue in that we have an angel baby watching over both us and our new baby. Not everyone has that...
We had another ultrasound this past Friday and baby Seger is growing well and had a nice, strong heartbeat (153 bpm). Hearing our baby's heartbeat for the first time was absolutely the most amazing and precious sound in the world! I wish we could have recorded it so we could play it back over and over...
Dr. Blackwell said she would like to see us just one more time (in two weeks) and then she will release us to a local OB/GYN here in NW Arkansas. We were happy to find out that she has a relationship with a doctor here at my clinic and she recommended him! It should be a seamless transition and much easier when we don't have to travel 2 hours one-way for each appointment.
We are excited to continue this journey - one that now includes Baby Seger! We already feel like a family of 3 as we wait for Baby's arrival early this fall! Now that the news is out I will be better at updating our blog with appointment updates, baby development and all sorts of excitement!!
Thank you, again, for your prayers and friendship! We are blessed in so many ways and can't wait to continue to share our journey as we take Baby Steps...
Love,
Si & Stac
