Our Journey to Parenthood

So much has happened since my last blog post! For one, we are adding a new little lady to our family this summer and we could not be more excited! Our journey to being parents has been long and difficult, but now feeling our sweet daughter growing inside of me, I know that all the trials will soon be worth it!

In 2014, we decided that we were ready to start trying to have a baby. For me, I thought this would be an easy process and wasn't prepared for the difficulty we would face in getting pregnant. For a year, I would get my hopes up thinking we were pregnant, and with every test that read "not pregnant" I would feel defeated and discouraged. I kept thinking that maybe I wouldn't be a mom. Maybe, it wasn't in my cards.

Our doctor decided to start testing us to see if we could get pregnant in June of 2015. Slowly, we began to feel more and more discouraged. We prayed desperately for a baby. In July, the doctor called and mentioned a test she wanted me to take when I returned from my AP training. Before we could take the test, she asked me to take a pregnancy test just to be sure. I wasn't prepared for what the test said...pregnant. I was going to be a mom!

That night, I came back to Waco and Ty and I celebrated the miracle of our baby. On Sunday, though, I knew something was wrong. We were getting ready to leave for youth camp, and I began bleeding. I called the doctor on call, and she requested that I come in on Monday for an ultrasound. We called my parents and decided Ty would go with the youth to camp and my mom would take me to the doctor.

Monday, the doctor said what no one ever wants to hear "I cannot confirm the pregnancy". We did a blood test, but she said not to get my hopes up. She began to explain how you can get a false positive on tests. I cried the rest of the day. It was so sudden that the joy of having a baby was taken from us. That night, our doctor called and said that I was in fact pregnant, but that the numbers weren't where they should be. She scheduled me to come back on Wednesday to have more blood work done, and we would go from there.

On Tuesday, I knew that we were losing the baby. Pain flowed through my body and I couldn't stop crying. My mom called Ty and he decided to leave camp to come home. Honestly, I don't remember much of that week. I remember being angry, hurt, feeling betrayed...and numb. For the next 6 weeks, we watched the numbers drop lower and lower, and the child we had prayed so desperately for was gone August 23, 2015.

Painting we made with Cradled to remember our sweet baby in Heaven.

We knew we still wanted to be parents and wanted to have a baby, but what we weren't prepared for was how quickly after the miscarriage we would get pregnant. We found out on October 26, 2015 that again, we were pregnant! Although there was so much joy, pain and fear flooded into both of us. We had originally thought that we wouldn't say anything to anyone, but after praying about it, decided that we wanted our family praying for us as soon as we could tell them. My mom and dad came into town that night for dinner, and we told them by having a gift for them from their newest grandchild:

Note and blanket for Honey and Preacher!

On Saturday of that week (October 31), we had dinner with Wade and Renee as they were traveling back through Waco from Boerne and told them the exciting news!

Blanket, card and Coffee Mug for these new "Baylor Grandparents"

We waited a few weeks to tell any other family members because we really wanted to tell our siblings in person. Ty was going to see Leah in Oregon for Thanksgiving and so we planned to let him tell her then and I would tell Rebekah. However, Ty surprised me with a birthday party and Leah and Rebekah were both here, so we told them that Sunday at lunch (November 22):

"Best Cousin Ever" Shirts bought for Rebekah and Ryne's kiddos

Coffee Mug and letter for Tia Leah!

For Seth and Victoria, we knew we weren't going to be able to see them for awhile, so we decided to mail them a puzzle to do with the baby!

Sharing with our family was so much fun! We then included pictures with our Christmas cards for extended family and those who we are close to!

Finally, on New Year's Eve, we announced to the rest of our world (i.e. social media)

We are so excited to be parents! Our journey has been long and painful, but we are so thankful for our sweet little "Rainbow Baby" and the joy she already brings us! We know that storms come in life and even though I will never understand why we lost our first little baby, I am so thankful to God for his provision for our family! Here are a few more pictures from the last few months related to the pregnancy:

Our Little Bear! Only 9 weeks here!

12 weeks!

The CD with our baby's gender on it!

Half way!

It's a Girl! Sweet Ellesyn Ann Gist 

23 weeks at the Colosseum in Rome!

Easter as a family of 3!

26 weeks after our Midway Teacher Appreciation Baseball game.

We are only 6 weeks away from meeting our little love. Hopefully in the next few weeks, I will blog about her name, nursery, and our maternity pictures. 

Until Next Time,