We Have a Heartbeat!

I am not sure there is anyone who reads this blog who does not already know this, but just in case... we are pregnant!!! Yes, God willing, some time on or around September 24th of this year, I will give birth to our second child and Meg will face the fact that she is a big sister. (My Gran predicts that Meg's reaction to this realization will be less than joyful.)

So this is just a brief post to report that I had my second appointment at the Maternity Center this morning. I am now 12 weeks along, nearing the end of my first trimester, and our baby decided to let us hear his/her heartbeat today! It was pumping along at about 160 beats per minute, clear and strong. I wish I could have listened to that sound for much longer than the midwife gave me. The memory already seems kind of surreal. But I am just so thrilled--and somewhat relieved--that there was a heartbeat to listen to at all, even if it was brief! When we couldn't hear it at my first appointment, I was a little tempted to be anxious. ("Am I really pregnant? Yes, I've been nauseous, fatigued, not sleeping well at night, gaining weight... and, oh yeah, there was that positive pregnancy test... but what if it was all some kind of mistake? Wouldn't it be awful to have to go back and tell everyone, 'Actually, we're not pregnant. We only thought we were.'") Well, praise the Lord--today's events greatly reduced that temptation!

We are praying for another safe and healthy pregnancy and another beautiful, precious baby. We would be so grateful if you would join us in asking God for these blessings! And, as you can imagine, we'll be providing much more information on Baby #2 in the coming months!