One Year Ago Today...

Elyana, as a little 7-cell, Grade B embryo, was transferred into my uterus. 3 days before that, Elyana was conceived. At the transfer, the doctor was running an hour behind, and I was suppose to have a full bladder for my scheduled time... So that was a very uncomfortable transfer! Our embryos looked a little better than last time. We put 2 7-cells in and still had some 6's, 5's and 4's growing (the time before we'd put in a 6 and 5 and had 5's and 4's growing). We had to fly back to Atlanta the next day, and I was so nervous about it all. I just wanted to be on bedrest for a day or two to give the embryos a good chance to implant, even though it's never been proven that this helps at all.

It seems like a lifetime ago I was at WH doing IVF for the second time. Seems like a lifetime ago I didn't know if I'd ever get to experience pregnancy and childbirth and looking at a baby that was Jonathan and my features mixed together. And here I am, with Elyana Ruth! "The Lord has answered" is what her names means - how I am reminded of that every day!

When she was just 3 days old, we were driving home from her first pediatrician visit. And I looked back at her in the carseat and began to talk to Jonathan. I told him how full my heart was right now. I began to tell him how I never knew if the pain of infertility would ever be gone. I had wondered if pregnancy would remove it, but even while pregnant I had pangs of it every now and then when I was reminded of how hard it was to get to that point, or something like that.... And then I told him, as I began crying (for joy), that now with Elyana here, having her had removed all the pain of the years of infertility. That was truly behind us, God had healed it all with our baby daughter. How amazing was that? I was so very happy, it was like being a different person. Except I wasn't, God had just freed me from a great, huge burden of the last 3 years. Jonathan felt the same way.

I never knew what was in store a year ago, as we headed out to the car that Saturday morning. I was excited and scared. And now I can look, and know God graciously answered the years of so many people's prayers. I am humbled, I am grateful, I am changed.

Thank you, Lord, for our little Elyana Ruth.