Life is funny, isn’t it? My last post was a bittersweet sendoff to our sweet pup, who we recently said goodbye to. And here, hot on its heels, is an announcement of the impending arrival of a new family member! Yup, as you can tell from this photo, Ivan and I are expecting a baby! He or she is scheduled to make a debut in early 2020, and we’re pretty darn excited.
As you may recall, we lost a pregnancy in November of last year, so our excitement this time around has definitely been tempered by a hearty dose of anxiety. Carrying a new baby after a miscarriage is fraught with emotion, as I’m sure you can imagine (or perhaps have experienced yourself). So we’ve been taking it a day a time, and have been relying on our excellent care team to coach us through. I’m so grateful for all the support and encouragement we’ve received from friends, family, and strangers alike!
We’ve so far had three ultrasounds, all of them promising. Baby has a fast, strong heartbeat. She has arms and legs that wave—we like to imagine she’s waving “hello”, of course! Plus I’m finally shaking off the first trimester nausea and fatigue that has kept me largely housebound all summer. Things are progressing nicely and for that, we are vastly grateful.
I sometimes still think of the child who we never got to meet. The feelings of sadness and grief that arise with those thoughts will always be present, I think. I’m feeling ready to do more writing on the experience of our miscarriage—and of course I’ll be sharing highs and lows of this pregnancy here too. It’s definitely the biggest roller coaster I’ve ever been on in my life, and the ride is just getting started!