A special post: What successful pregnancy finally looks like.

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Guys (and probably more gals), I am so ridiculously, over-the-top, unbelievably happy to be able to FINALLY share with you our sweet baby girl Evelyn Rose! She is literally the center of my universe and my heart could not be more full.

Like any new parent, there are days that are difficult and frustrating and all of those things that parents warn you about before you have children. Finally sharing all of those old, heart wrenching, secretly written, blog posts about the journey that finally led us to this beautiful baby really helps keep everything in perspective. It has really allowed me to fully appreciate, and want to cry tears of joy, at just how far we've come. I hope for any of you who may also be similarly suffering, whether it's openly or in silence, that our story of struggle has given you a shred of hope. Just because you feel despair today certainly does not mean that you will tomorrow.

Okay, so the details... since I stopped blogging and ended the story short. And ps. I really did stop blogging. There were no blog posts written, even in secret, from that point forward, which was sooo difficult at times. Especially once I got pregnant. I wanted to write all about it, to document every moment of every day, but for fear of jinxing myself, withheld. So anyway, here goes...

First of all, let me state right upfront for those of you who don't believe in psychics, guess which month I found out I was expecting? That's right...April! We had gone ahead with the 2 planned rounds of IUI and unfortunately still found my womb empty. I'm not sure what hubs and I would have done after the 2nd unsuccessful attempt if my family hadn't literally come in and saved the day. On an ordinary day like all others, in the mail, I received a touching poem about family from my own mom, dad and sisters, along with a check written from each of them, for a sum total which allowed us to move forward with a third IUI attempt. It was such an amazing and thoughtful contribution, made so much more beautiful by the fact that it was this third attempt which brought us Evelyn Rose. My heart swells just thinking about it. If that isn't God's love at work, I don't know what is.

On a lighter note, my sister likes to now joke that she owns 1/4 of my daughter. (insert laughter)

On a weirder note, in April, an omen from God showed up at our front door in the form of Parent's magazine. Don't believe me? I thought it such a good luck charm at the time, that I actually photographed it, seen here for your viewing pleasure!

There were some noticeable differences with our third attempt, perhaps worth mentioning to those also trying IUI. First and foremost, since this was, to the best of our knowledge, our last go at IUI, I decided to go all in. I called off "sick" from work that morning so that after the office visit I could go home and do nothing but lie on the couch all day, which is exactly what I did. Was it this that made the difference? I don't know but it's the only time I tried this tactic. Speaking of the office visit, it just felt right. If the first IUI attempt was nerve-wracking, the second disheartening (the office was jam packed and the lady next to me was older and on her last IUI attempt), than the third time was perfect. I had the first appointment at the office. I was the first patient in the door. The morning felt serene and calm and everything you want when you're trying to make a baby. Ok.. and this is where it gets a little bizarre.

At the time, perusing online forums to read about other people's IUI experiences wasn't entirely foreign to me. On one, a girl had mentioned that her doctor had difficulty inserting the catheter (sorry, TMI?) and that ended up being her successful month. So, back to me.. guess what happened that third try? Yep, me and my "curvy cervix" as my doctor liked to joke, gave him lots of issues that morning and resulted in him having to try to get it right multiple times. But hey, it worked! You know me and my signs... :)

Lastly, hubs and I abstained from, uh-hem...the deed, after the IUI. Previous months we'd made sure to supplement with our own natural methods but I decided to switch things up as much as possible for our last attempt.

Perhaps it was just the odds of happening or all of the above.. the overwhelming feeling of support from my family, the serene morning, my extra curvy cervix (right timing?), lying vertical for an entire day, or the absence of certain extra-curricular activities... but either way, God blessed us with Miss Evelyn Rose that month and I will be forever grateful.

And so.. here begins my blog transformation from trying-to-conceive to what-is (oh, and with it a whole bunch more photos!).

As a side note: Please bare with me for a little here if my posts are a bit more sporadic. We currently have our belongings in three separate areas (or 4) if you count two storage units, short term housing and our new apartment. Unfortunately sorting out life may be a bit more demanding than updating blog posts, especially since we only have internet currently at one location. I will do my best to get on a more regular schedule once things have settled down a bit! Thanks in advance for your patience!