Waiting On Baby!

Well, five days from today is the due date. May 7th, to be exact. Today we wait. We don't know when, but we are getting excited! We attended our childbirth class today and toured the hospital. We were afraid we might not make it to the class before starting labor. Our original date was set for a month ago, but had to be postponed until this weekend.

I'm not sure everyone is aware of the miracle that has happened. I choose the word miracle because from my vantage point, no other word does it justice. My wife and I have been married for 14 years this coming May 13th. Fourteen years is a long time to be married and to not have children naturally - assuming you a couple wants children. Rachel and I began questioning the possibility of infertility about 8 years ago. Our status was simple math. No birth control and no children for 8 years meant we should talk to a doctor. Our diagnosis was never definite or even very bleak. It was always, "regulate this, start that, lower this and then things will change." Eight years grew to twelve and still nothing. Until we met a new doctor.

Rachel and I moved to Maryland in 2005 and wanted to really focus on starting a family and decided to find some real answers. Even if they were not what we wanted, we still wanted the truth. Through a series of events, including a trip out of the country, we heard of a doctor at Johns Hopkins that might could help us. From the first time we met her, we knew she was who we needed to figure out what, if anything, could be done. Rachel had been reading up on her symptoms and attempting a self-diagnosis and figured on Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) being the culprit. Within days, our doctor confirmed this was indeed an issue.

This was quite a relief. It was the first time in 12 years we had heard that there was an issue and that it was treatable! We were excited. The baby we had been waiting on was actually a possibility now. We used this time to decide what our future would look like, even if we were not able to have children naturally. God seemed to bring us to the point where we made the decision to adopt, no matter the outcome of naturally conceiving. Rachel and I were on vacation back home in Texas when we found out that for the very first time, after 13 years, we were pregnant. We were so excited! We couldn't believe it! We honestly were thinking that time was running out and now we had made it!

Unfortunately, our excitement was short lived. Within a few weeks, we learned that the pregnancy was not viable. Honestly, it was a huge let down, and Rachel and I spent some time really questioning God's intention or even trying to figure out why He allowed such an event to occur. Ironically, the miscarriage did produce hope. I knew that even though we didn't have a viable pregnancy, that a viable pregnancy was really possible!

One year to the day that Rachel miscarried, we found out that Rachel was pregnant again. Rachel was so excited, I was tentative. I had already been down this road once and didn't want to get too excited too quickly. We had been waiting on this day for so long - and now we had another opportunity.

It's hard to believe, that after 14 years of not knowing, wondering and waiting, the time is finally getting very close. Here we are only a week out. It could be any day now. These days do seem surreal. It's hard to take all the emotion in. We have had so much love and support from so many people, its been overwhelming. We feel like we are in a stadium with so many people cheering us on. We can't thank our family and friends enough. We are so excited! We don't know if its a boy or girl yet, ahhhh the anticipation. We are so glad that so many of our friends and family are journeying through this with us. It makes it all the more special.

God, I am so grateful to you for each of the people you have brought to Rachel and I to encourage us and support us along this 14 year journey of faith. We are so grateful to you for your faithfulness to us. You have certainly heard our prayers. May we work hard to accomplish your desires for our family over the coming years.

Thank you for all those that are with us in this as we continue, waiting on baby!

In Him,

Jason