For those who didn't see on facebook, we are expecting Baby #3! As of right now my EDD is
12-13-14 and I'm about 8.5 weeks along.
Because we've been so public and open with our ttc journey, we've gotten quite a variety of responses; the most common reaction being laughter :) I thought it might be beneficial to make a post of FAQs about this pregnancy since we are getting a lot of questions and know people are curious.
FAQs
Q: Are you serious?
A: Yes, absolutely.
Q: How? Did you do IVF? Or was this by accident?
A: When a man and a woman love each other.... jk. We did NOT do an IVF. We were told we wouldn't be able to conceive on our own and were actually planning for our first FET (frozen embryo transfer) in September/October. This was a complete shock. While I don't particularly like referring to it as an "accident," I know what you mean and don't know what else to call it, but it was not planned nor was it using any type of fertility treatment.
Q: Are you happy about it?
A: Yes! Of course we're happy! We're extremely shocked and still feeling very overwhelmed by it all, but we are very happy.
Q: Well, I know someone that went through IVF and then got pregnant on their own.... didn't you know that could happen?
A: I understand this question, but it's one of those questions I wish people wouldn't ask... it makes me feel like you think I'm stupid... but like I said I understand why people are curious.
Yes, I've met several people like that too. However, when you're told you can't get pregnant on your own and you go through fertility treatments, part of the process is grieving the idea of having a child on your own... at least it was for us. In order to move forward with the IVF, Bob and I talked extensively about what that meant for us. We didn't want to do it because we were desperate... we didn't want to do it if we believed we could get pregnant on our own but just weren't willing to wait.
We mourned the idea of conceiving without help. We accepted our reality that we would need medical intervention to conceive, which isn't wrong, but we gave up on the idea of ever having an "accidental" or "natural" pregnancy (for lack of better terms).
We also talked about future children. Did we want to ttc on our own before moving forward with more invasive methods? We decided while I was still pregnant with Abby and Josie that we would not ttc on our own once we were ready to try for more. We felt like God had already entrusted us with 8 more babies that are currently frozen in time and that we have both the privilege and responsibility to care for those children
We all know people who've gone through IVF and then get pregnant on their own. But as one of those people, I can tell you, we never dared to hope that we'd be that lucky couple.
Q: What about the other "ones?" Does this mean you're done?
A: By other "ones" I'm assuming you mean the remaining embryos. This doesn't change anything for us except the timing. We still believe God has entrusted those 8 babies into our care and it's up to Him how many, or how few, of them we'll hold in our hands and how many we'll only get to hold in our hearts. Bob and I have always said, we'll graciously take as many or as few children as God sees fit. While it was never our intention to have 11 children (2 born, 1 pregnant, and 8 frozen) if that's what He has planned for us, that's how many we'll have and His grace is sufficient.
However, there is still no guarantee that any of the other frozen embies will be take home babies. There's no guarantees period. God is still ultimately in control of it, and while there's times I wish He'd take my opinion into account, I know that His will and plans are far better than mine.
So, to sum up my answer. We're only done having kids if He says we're done. But we are not done ttc. As of right now, we will eventually try for all our remaining embryos. We have not decided about potential contraception after this baby is born... but we have a while before we need to worry about that.
Q: Is it just one this time?
A: We're assuming so :) I haven't had my first OB apt yet and I'll probably have an ultrasound when I do to confirm that its only one, but we have no reason to think its more than one.
I think that covers the most commonly asked questions we've gotten so far :) We know people are curious, and we are more than willing to answer other questions.
We'd appreciate your prayers as we embark on this next step in parenthood!
B&B
