This post originally appeared on Annery at Home in October 2011.
I've been pretty open about our struggles to conceive and the heart-wrenching loss of an ectopic pregnancy last year. We have been open and waiting for children since L was about a year old. She turned 6 this past July. Doctors couldn't really find any problems that should prevent babies, but it was still five years and no babies.
About three months after I lost the ectopic pregnancy, my husband and I signed up to become foster parents. I strongly felt like a baby of our own wasn't part of God's plan for us at that time. We remained open, but it was a hard thing. The licensing for foster parenting took about 9 months. About halfway through, I started taking Clomid in hopes of having a baby. I wanted to feel like I'd given everything I could to trying so that I would have no regrets.
I took Clomid for 9 months before discontinuing. Sweet Baby was brought home from the hospital as our foster daughter shortly after I completed my ninth round of hormones. It did feel like a little bit of God's sense of humor that I went through nine hormonal months and then brought a baby home from the hospital.
Sweet Baby will be 3 months old this weekend. She's been a delight in our home. Her goal is reunification, but we'll enjoy her every day we have her.
A couple weeks back, I had suspicions I was expecting. Once a test confirmed those suspicions, the real battery of tests began. Because of my history with the ectopic, my first step was blood testing.
A series of blood tests revealed that my hcg doubled as it should, but my progesterone levels were on the low side for supporting the baby's development. I went in the next week to the doctor's office to get an injection of progesterone and for the nurse to show my husband how to give the injections (if you ever want a trust building exercise - this will truly test your limits!). I'm on injections 3 times a week until week 10, when hopefully, the placenta will take over and I'll be in the clear.
Due to the low progesterone and medical history, I went in for an ultrasound to confirm that the baby was growing in the right place. It was nerve-wracking waiting for the ultrasound. When the ultrasound confirmed that the baby was growing in the right location, it was the first moment I let myself hope that this pregnancy will be successful and I'll be holding a baby next summer.
That hope continues to grow; every day that goes by is one more closer to a healthy new baby.
This pregnancy is totally different than L. I was so oblivious to everything that could go wrong; now I find myself being much more careful and not taking this baby as a given.
This pregnancy is a miracle and I'm so looking forward to growing Hope.