The Merriest Christmas

The news is out!  For Christmas Eve the tradition is to open one gift that evening.  In preparation, I had mailed a card with the u/s pics to Moo.  She was able to open them in front of the Mangino family, and I think there were even a few tears shed!  I would give anything to have seen her face.  She was very excited and called me right away.  I was so glad to have finally told her!
On Christmas, I called Grandma Sayles to share the news.  I told them that I missed them this year, but next year all three of us would be around.  Everyone was very excited!

Later that evening we hosted the Hoke family Christmas.  We announced it to his family by giving his father a Merry Christmas bib and his mother a framed picture of one of the u/s!  Her face was too funny!
 
We are glad the secret is out to the family. . .and everyone our mothers keep telling ;)!




My father called later that evening, so we shared our great news with him.  I told him that my Christmas present to him was that he was officially going to be a grandfather now.  He was very excited and said that I had made it the best Christmas ever.

It was a wonderful Christmas, and next year hopefully it will be even better!

How lucky am I?

I have always felt incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful husband.  I don't think there are two human beings on this planet that are better suited for each other!  When I first knew I was in love with Steven was when he was playing with his nieces and nephews.  I knew at that moment that this was who I wanted to be the father of my children.  I knew he would be a great father, but I had no idea of how wonderful he would be before he got to meet his lil' one!  There is not a day that goes by that he doesn't tell me thank you, and just how amazing he thinks I am, my body is, and all of this is.  Him being so appreciative sure helps with the morning sickness!  Will he remember this though when it's time to change diapers?  ;)

Sweetest Sound

Today we had our 2nd u/s at 6wks 4d.  I was extremely nervous.  It started snowing in the morning, which only added to my anxiety.  Thank goodness nothing started to stick until later in the day.  I don't think I could wait any longer for this doctor appointment.  With the coming winter storm, Steven was able to leave school early and go with me to the doctors. 
The baby was doing just fine.  She found the baby and it's little heart beat right away.  Lil'one is measuring 6.5mm and the heart rate is 121 bpm.  Right on target!  I had to ask her if we could listen to it one more time before we had to go.  It was the sweetest sound I have ever heard!  More crying and walking on cloud nine.  We are so in love!

1st U/S!

So this morning Steven and I went for our 1st u/s.  This one was very early due to our history, but we were still very excited.  We were both very nervous, but trying to stay positive.  So we went in and at first, the tech wasn't saying anything.  Steven could see the monitor, but I couldn't.  I was getting very nervous.  I've been in that room enough to know that when the techs are quiet it's usually not good news.  But then finally, she turned the monitor around. . .and OMG. . .there was the gestational sac and yolk sac!  Steven and I just smiled at each other.  It's amazing how excited he is.  I am truly grateful for such a wonderful husband and soon-so be dad!  We both were on cloud nine.  He wanted to tell every stranger in the waiting room!  It's still so early, so of course we are being cautious.  We will have our next u/s in a week.  I will then be 6wk4d, so hopefully we will finally get our first peek at our lil' hokie pokie! 

Confirmed

On Monday, Nov. 30th I headed to the doctors office for blood work. Because of my historyof miscarriages, they had me come in. Otherwise it's a long wait for the first u/s. I had to wait until Tuesday morning, but Dr. Miller called me back with the results. My HCG was 339 and my progesterone was 28. Both were looking really good. Of course it is how the HCG is increasing that makes all the difference.
I had to be out of town for work, so I couldn't get back in for more blood work until Friday. I was thankful to be busy with work, and still somewhat asymptomatic, so I was able to put this out of my mind a little bit.
On Friday, I rushed home, got to the doctors office, and then had to play the waiting game for them to call me back. . .the longest three hours of my life. . .
1528!!! The most beautiful numbers ever! My HCG was more than doubling every 48 hours. After I got off the phone, I handed Steven an etch a sketch that said DAD. (Juno reference, one of my favorite movies). Steven and I cried and laughed and hugged. This might really be it. We may finally get a lil' one that sticks!

Happy Thanksgiving

So our big surprise came to us the day after Thanksgiving. We were on our annual Hokie-Katz camping trip in Alabama. I honestly wasn't expecting two lines that morning since I wasn't having any of the symptoms I had with my two previous pregnancies. For now we are hoping that is a good sign!
I tested about 6AM, and couldn't believe it! I had to wake Steven up to double check it, to make sure I wasn't seeing things! Afterwards, I couldn't go back to sleep (as you can imagine). So I stayed up playing cards. Well, once Anita finally woke up, I told her and she about yelled for not waking her up sooner! We were so glad to be with our best friends to share the news!