Finally Pregnant!

I’m 41 years old, living with endometriosis, and... I'm pregnant! It happened.

I got the call from our fertility doctor that our latest round of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) worked. I heard the words that I had been longing to hear, “You’re pregnant.”

I am so excited to be pregnant

I immediately started jumping up and down with all the emotions flooding through – joy, excitement, relief, overwhelm... I felt it all. There was a small part of me that wanted to temper my excitement “just in case,” but I intentionally chose to embrace the moment.

Yes, I was barely a month pregnant. Yes, there were still a lot of milestones to hit. But what I knew in that moment was that my body successfully conceived a baby. I had new life in me. And that deserved all the happy tears, smiles, and cheers.

I was always filled with doubt and fear

I didn’t realize just how much emotion I built up and held in over the years wondering if I’d ever get to experience this moment. I was told at a very young age that I would likely struggle to get pregnant. Then years later, I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I remember laying in the recovery room when my GYN said, “If you want to have children, I suggest you have them soon.” That was 10 years ago.

Each year that followed, I watched my biological clock march on before I met my husband and got married. There was a lot of doubt and fear that kept stacking up. But I always knew that I would be a mother.

I was completely open to whatever path that looked like for my husband and me. Yet, to be standing in the very moment where I was getting to see it unfold in real life felt surreal. I chose to toss my “cautious” emotions to the side and allowed myself to fully feel the joy and release the emotions that unknowingly stored up over the years. What did I do next?

Celebrating our news

I wanted to tell the world, of course, but my husband and I decided that we would wait three months before telling our family and friends. So, we hopped in the car and went out to lunch to celebrate, just the two of us.

On the car ride there, I did something that brought me even more joy – I rolled down the window as we were driving on the highway and yelled out “I’m pregnant!!!” Not a soul could hear it, but I got to say the words out loud, “I’m pregnant.” I could say it a thousand times and it would never get old.

The next couple days and weeks, I moved around with a little extra care but keeping my faith strong that my body can do this. I’m grateful to say that I’m now 17 weeks pregnant and all continues to be going well.

Feeling optimistic about our family's future

I’ve been feeling well, and each ultrasound shows our baby GIRL (!) growing strong and healthy too. We, of course, still have a long way to go, but I continue to embrace the joy of each moment because this feels like it’s been a lifetime in the making and it already feels like it’s going by so fast.

My due date is actually Thanksgiving Day, so it only seems appropriate to be grateful for this blessing every step of the way.