Introducing Baby Hembree

(Baby's head is at top of the picture and you can also see some sort of appendage... an arm, I think!)

Yesterday, we had our first baby appointment with my doctor. She said all looks good and the baby is 9 weeks old, due July 25th! We were able to see the heart beating...which was pretty amazing. We will get to hear the heartbeat in another 2 weeks, on January 4th. I can't wait! It all seems a little more real now that we actually have seen a picture of the baby! Ryan got to finally meet Dr. Speight and he now knows why I absolutely LOVE her. He really liked her. I feel so blessed that the Lord provided me with such an amazing doctor. She has been through a lot with me and I am so glad that she now gets to be a part of this new, happy transition in our lives as well! We were happy to hear that she should be able to deliver our baby, since she will be in town the whole month of July. Apparently, she said she has a large number of patients who are all due to deliver in July! I appreciate that she only schedules her vacation time when she doesn't have any anticipated deliveries. I admire her dedication to her patients :-)  We appreciate your continued prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby!

What? We're having a baby?!?

Yes, it's true! We found out the Monday before Thanksgiving that I am pregnant! Ryan was actually the one who suspected I was pregnant before I did. During our 1 1/2 year wait to get pregnant, God has allowed me to find complete peace and trust in Him. I never had anxiousness or stress. I felt confident that God had a plan and it would all happen in the right time. Ryan told me after we confirmed the pregnancy with a second test the next day (on his birthday!!)....that when we were in the cathedral in Milan, he prayed that I would get pregnant in 2 months. Low and behold, two months later...it happened! "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." James 5:16b

God is so faithful.We are very happy that the Lord chose to bless us at this time with a baby. However, even if we would have had to wait longer...He would still remain faithful. His plan is always better than mine. I feel so lucky to have a savior who knows me better than I know myself. There is freedom in knowing He is in complete control. This new chapter of our lives will be full of happiness, uncertainty, surprises....while God uses this baby to draw us closer to Him and continues to shape us into the people He intends for us to be. I am very aware of how wonderful and hard the process of parenting will be. What a blessing! We would love your continued prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby. :-)

Okay, on to the details. Luckily, I have only felt slightly queasy and bloated...which comes and goes. Some days are worse...but I am just glad I haven't had to spend any time with my head in the toilet. Yuck. I have been feeling most of the other pregnancy symptoms...except haven't felt as tired as I thought I would. Maybe that is still to come...we will see. It looks like I will be due sometime in mid-July.  I have my first doctor's appointment on December 20th...so we will know more details then. My doctor was super booked over the holidays...so I am having my first appointment a little later than normal. I absolutely love my doctor...so we know we are in good hands with her. I will continue to periodically put updates on here throughout the pregnancy. Next post will be after we see my doctor in a couple weeks!

I posted some pictures below from when we told our families the news. So fun! (I tried to upload videos of us telling the news....but it wasn't working...maybe another time.)