We had just had such a wonderful Christmas, and then Cameron got hit with a stomach bug that seemed to be going around everywhere. We survived and made the trip home from Abilene, but for quite a while afterward I was feeling a little off. So I finally made an appointment to see a general family doctor close to my office. I was very concerned that I might have a lingering virus or stomach ulcer or something that was brought on by stress. The doctor told me he needed to run a whole bunch of tests to rule out things, so I left all the samples and headed home. Then as I was getting on the highway, my doctor called me and asked if I could turn around and come back. He said he meant to talk with me before I had left. I was a little alarmed but I headed right back there. He immediately told me that one of my test results was already in and he didn't want to give me the news over the phone while I was driving.
I had a positive pregnancy test.
And I immediately said, "That's not possible, my husband had a vasectomy in March!"
He assured me that it was possible, but that he would do another blood test and give me the results the following Monday. Well, thanks for the setting me up for a horribly worrisome weekend Doc! Because not only did I have to freak out about the possibility but I had to go home and tell my husband…
And you can imagine why that conversation was not possibly going to go well. Let's just say that Bo went back to his doctor five days later to have a test run that confirmed that his vasectomy GREW BACK TOGETHER. He had a test 6 weeks after the initial procedure that confirmed it had worked, and just 6 months later, it had miraculously reversed itself. The doctor told Bo that he was the 4th patient that this had happened to in the last 26 years. So as much as we were not thrilled that Bo has such miraculous super genes, at least I could say that there was no doubt that this was a miracle that God had to ordain for our family.
But here is the problem. After Rhys was born with so many problems, our doctor made a strong recommendation that we not have any more children. So we took that as a clear sign that our family was finished with babies and we were perfectly happy to cherish our two. We had a garage sale last October and cleared out all the baby toys and little tiny clothes, and I happily gave away or sold every scrap of maternity clothing that I owned. We mentally closed that chapter of our lives and were making lots of plans for 2014.
Cameron would start Kindergarten and our daycare bill would be gloriously cut in half. We were going to take a fabulous summer trip for our 10 year anniversary. Rhys would hopefully be out of diapers by the end of this year and we would be rid of them forever! And now we are starting all over…
Selfishly, Bo and I both thought of all the reasons why we didn't want God to change all our plans. This is going to change a lot of things financially and logistically for us. (I can't drive my Toyota Camry with three car seats in the back!) And I will admit that I didn't know if I could handle the emotional roller coaster of another baby born with a myriad of health issues caused by my own blood. For an explanation of why my antibodies are a problem for this baby, this is a really good site that explains the condition. But God is softening our hearts and showing us that trusting his plan for our family can't have self-imposed limits. We cannot be afraid to open our hearts and love a baby that may be sick for the first few months of its life, or may be at risk to not even survive past delivery.
I have already been seeing my regular OB that delivered both Rhys and Cameron, as well as a maternal fetal medicine specialist who are regularly monitoring my blood levels (which are already increasing in levels related to those antibodies). For now we are praying for as uneventful of a pregnancy as possible, and my doctors say the magic number is try and make it to 35 weeks so we can do a C-section. We are sharing the news so that we can ask for your prayers for our family and this sweet little miracle.
Here he or she was the day before Valentine's Day…
We are now fourteen weeks along and are slowly getting over the shock. We are so touched by the joy and support that our family and friends have shown us. We are very blessed to have a network of love and prayers working on our behalf already to petition the Lord for this baby.
This is the scripture that is written on our bathroom mirror as a reminder to be thankful in all circumstances for this blessing:
Psalm 127: 3-5 "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warriors hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!"
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