If you have followed my blog, you may remember that Emersyn was a complete surprise to us, so we figured having baby number two would happen quickly as well. After many disappointing negative pregnancy tests throughout the entire spring and summer of 2016, I became pretty discouraged and emotional. Doubt crept in, and I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to have another child. I shared our struggle with a few of my closest friends and family simply to ask for prayers on our behalf. I also clung to Mark 11:24 which says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." This got me through all the negative tests each month, and even if we never received another biological baby, I knew God would make a way for our sweet Emersyn to have a brother or sister somehow.
Last August, I took yet another pregnancy test. It was negative again! I continued on with my day and came back to the bathroom to see that there was a second blue line. I was in shock and thrilled!! Emersyn and I ran to Target to buy her a "Promoted to Big Sister" t-shirt I had spotted there a few months before. I put her down for a nap wearing the shirt so when Daniel got home that afternoon we could surprise him. I still had doubt because of so many negative tests, so I decided to take another pregnancy test while she was napping. It was negative. So I took another... It was negative. Trying to conceive is nothing short of a roller coaster ride I am convinced. I decided to call the nurse of my OB doctor and ask her opinion. She said that typically a positive test is a positive and to give it a few more days and test again. SO, I woke Emersyn quickly from her nap to change her shirt since I wasn't sure if the positive test was correct. I threw the shirt in the back of her closet, got her back to sleep, and of course had a little cry.
Five days later my cycle arrived to confirm once again, we were not pregnant. I continued to have hope and remain positive (except for those few days once a month when I realized we had to wait another month.) Our neighborhood Bible Study was going through the book Fervent which is based on prayer. I had been keeping a prayer journal throughout the study, and writing my prayers for our second child really helped me in the waiting and reminded me that God had a perfect plan.
September passed, negative. October passed, negative. Holidays began to arrive and I was busy with Emersyn's 2nd birthday on October 28th, then our Halloween party on October 31st. After that I had my mom's side of the family over for Thanksgiving on November 19th. Life was moving fast, and I had little time to even think about a baby.
I was late once again for my November cycle, but did not get my hopes up at all. I had been much later before and was not pregnant. At 3 days late, I decided to take a test... negative. At 5 days late, I decided to take a test... negative. At 7 days late, on November 23rd, the day before Thanksgiving, I decided to take a test... POSITIVE. I was in disbelief and took two more tests that day, all positive. I rummaged to the back of Emersyn's closet for that "Promoted to Big Sister" shirt and changed her into it before nap time once again to surprise Daniel FOR REAL!!
Daniel totally did not even notice the shirt, so I had to tell him to look at it. (Men and their attention to detail haha). But he was thrilled when he finally noticed. We debated about telling our families on Thanksgiving Day, but I chickened out because I still had this small amount of doubt in the back of my head since it took 7 months for us to get to this point. So it was our little secret.
Thanksgiving Day was extra special to us, knowing our prayers had been heard and answered in His perfect timing. We had so much to be thankful for as we started to think about becoming a family of four. Since that time, I have seen several reasons why God had us wait on this 2nd baby. First and foremost, it built our trust and faith in Him as well as our prayer lives. Financially, we discovered in December that Daniel's company was switching health insurance. Previously Emersyn and I were on a separate independent plan because Daniel's was too expensive. Beginning in January 2017, Daniel's company was able to carry Emersyn and me for $400 less a month than their previous insurance company could. This was a huge blessing that we could now all be on the same health insurance plan because let's face it, having a baby isn't cheap. And this last one may sound silly, but baby number 2 is due July 27th. After thinking ahead, I am very thankful that I will be able to enjoy a good portion of the summer before having a newborn and being cooped inside. I LOVE summer and having an April or May baby would have kept me indoors much of the summer. I'm also looking forward to having a beach trip with Emersyn and getting in quality time with her before the new baby comes. As always, God knows best... looking back it's always crystal clear. It's in the waiting that we sometimes see things a little foggy.
A Few Family Selfies from the Day We Found Out About Baby #2
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