On Thursday, August 25th, we received a phone call in the evening confirming that all of our adoption paperwork had been finalized and our phase 1 payment had been submitted and received on our behalf. We were given the green light to go full-steam ahead at that point. The media team would be contacting us within days and the race towards our baby had officially begun.
However, as is only fitting for the Lord's ironic and unpredictable timing, we were informed on Friday morning that we would be having a baby of our very own. That's right, we are pregnant! There are not enough words to express the sheer confusion and shock we felt in that moment. Could this be real? Was I reading that test correctly? As I stood there, leaning over my bathroom sink, test in hand . . . I started shaking uncontrollably and at once I could not breathe. I called Chris right away (at 7:30am on a Friday morning). He was at Bible Study but he chose to answer his phone anyways b/c he knew it must be important if I was calling him in the middle of that. I don't remember ever even saying hello, I just cried out the phrase "we're pregnant" and began sobbing like a baby! As I sat there on the edge of my bed, shaking like crazy, my husband on the other end of the phone just started laughing! WHAT?! I did not find this to be one of those "humorous" moments. Chris just found it fitting that God would choose to bless us once again at the exact same time we were approved for our adoption. He said that we are now one of "those" couples who fall into that cliche. I scheduled an appointment with the doctor that morning and the blood test came back postive!
Yesterday we experienced our first ultrasound with this pregnancy. I had been feeling a lot of symptoms for weeks now, but I was still uncertain about what this ultrasound would reveal to us. But the Lord was good and we were able to see our baby perfectly nestled away exactly how/where it was supposed to be. And by sheer surprise, we heard the heartbeat as well! It measured at 119 bpm which is a very strong and healthy rate. That moment just overtook us completely and we sat in that room with tears in our eyes embracing our child for the very first time.
As we prepared to leave the doctor's office, my sweet doctor, whom I have been seeing for 4 years now, informed us that I would be transitioning out of her care (as my specialist) and into the care of my OB/GYN. This news may have made me cry even more than hearing the heartbeat of my child - lol! I didn't realize it would be so soon and I wasn't prepared for that yet. So it's bittersweet for sure, but it's also a relief to know that she is confident enough in the viability of this pregnancy to turn me over to another team of doctors. But I will forever be grateful for all she has been to us over the last 4 years.
And now, for the LONG awaited baby's "first" picture . . .
we'd like to introduce you to our baby!
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| Baby Harrell, 6 wks 6 days |
