Christmas Cheer!

25 Weeks!

After a white-knuckle driving experience to GR in a hefty blizzard, we rolled into our appointment about 20 minutes late, but they were gracious enough to let us work our way into the schedule again. Everything is looking great with baby! She is right on target for growth and things seem to be going in the right direction! Here are some pics of her 25 week check up!

21 Week Pics and News!

We had a wonderful appointment today! Got more pics of our little girl and got some more questions answered and more reassurance about the path we're on. We have loved the doctors and people we've worked with so far and are at ease about what the future holds. =)
Of course, I'm sharing today's pics!

Her Feet!

Prayers for Faith

Today was a rough reminder for me. As we approach 20 weeks of pregnancy tomorrow, I can't even express how blessed and grateful I am to have come this far. God certainly has exceeded my prayers in this, and I have faith that He will carry us till the end.
Our check up today was good. Baby continues to grow normally and her heartbeat is great. Emotionally, I was shaken though, as I received a reminder of how hard this will be as the risks continue to be laid out for me to ponder and decide on. Hearing the numbers and statistics of the already small population of people with my condition, and the even smaller number of them who got pregnant is a bit scary. So today kind of stunk in that aspect, and needless to say I was an emotional wreck most of the day.
But as I sit here tonight and ponder the things that have been brought up today, and then ponder the things that have gotten me this far (faith and a ridiculous amount of prayer), I realize nothing has changed but the numbers being set before me. The statistics were always there, whether I fully knew them or not, but I'm still doing great. And though I'm emotionally shaken, I need to keep the faith.
I need to remember that there is a reason God put us down this path. He has blessed us fully with this opportunity. Why should I doubt because the numbers are suddenly presented? I have always known my risks, and those risks haven't changed. My health is the same. Our little girl is doing wonderfully and I still have the support system I've had all along. God is good, and He intends good from this no matter the outcome for me.
I continue to covet your prayers and ask that you help Mark and I to remember God's goodness and will throughout this journey. God is bigger than numbers and health concerns. He will bless and be blessed through this. Thank you for your prayers for our family. We can't owe you enough for them.

It's a Girl!

Had our appointment (a couple of weeks ago now), and got to see some incredible development in our little one! They have all their fingers and toes. Everything seems to be good! We also got the early signs that our little one is a girl!

Here are some 17-week pics:

This is the only shot like this she'll ever have!

Cool 3D shot of her!

A Frank Rant on Faith

If it's one thing I've learned about most in this pregnancy journey it is about faith. Every twist and turn of this path has been just putting the foot out there and letting God put it where it needs to go. The best part of it all is that He's done all the work for me; I'm simply a follower.
It is most frustrating to be questioned for this decision. I feel for everyone out there with a disability, no matter how severe or visible it is, because in some way and at probably many points in life, you've been questioned. You've been told what you can and can not do. Maybe you've been even given a "time-limit". If it's one thing that has become evident to me through all of this, it is no one has that right. 
I can't tell you how many times I've been denied an experience, or been called a liability in a round about way because of my heart condition. Pregnancy was definitely one of those red flags that's been waving since I knew what a menstrual cycle was. (Sorry to be so blunt, but this is called a "frank" rant.) I'll never forget sitting in the cardiologist office being lectured about how finding a man would be a struggle for me because I had to be up front with him about my womanly duties, if you will. "It's a man's dream to have his own kids too, and you need to make sure you tell him your limitations before you decide to marry him." Yep, that's pretty much exact wording. Way to make a girl feel valuable in this world at the age of 18. Sure, he deserves to know me, but let's let him decide whether or not I'm marriage material, and luckily if he thinks I'm not, I don't think he is either. (But that's another rant for another time.)
So what got me here? Fourteen weeks pregnant and feeling incredibly confident considering the circumstances? Well, I'll spare you all the details, but pretty much doctors that didn't make it sound impossible and the biggest being faith. I've had friends who've had the hardest time conceiving and others who have lost babies. I can't tell you how crushing that is to hear, and how incredibly hard to understand those circumstances are. But the fact we got pregnant in less than 2 months of barely trying, and getting through a miscarriage scare tells me that this is definitely God's will for me. He closed the wombs of women in the Bible for less reasons that my situation. He has shown me that my life is more than a limitation and it is in His hands.
We prayed about this decision last spring, pretty much telling God that we were giving it to Him. And boy, did He answer quick. Then He reassured us after all the struggles we endured 6-7 weeks in.
So I guess the point of this little rant on faith is the following:
Please stop questioning our decision to take this route. Yes, I know my risks. Yes, I've heard it my whole life. And yes, we're fine with how it's turning out.
It's not like we're going back, and frankly it's a little late to be voicing all your concerns. So please, just celebrate what God has done in our lives with us. You live once (in this world anyway), and having my own child, as well as adopting, as always been something I've wanted to do. God has put this blessing in our lives. So let's view this little one primarily as a blessing and not a risk.Try faith instead of worry. Something I'm still learning to do everyday.

11 Weeks!

We've officially made it to the 11 week mark. The nausea is finally getting better day by day and things are looking good for our little one! We had our appointments in Grand Rapids today at Maternal Fetal Medicine and at my Cardiologist. Both went very well and I was impressed. Our next appointment in GR is Oct. 22, and we get to hopefully find out if we're having a boy or girl then too! We even got a disc of pictures from our ultrasound! Check 'em out!

 Here you can see that our little guy or girl already has Mark's nose...

Signs of the heartbeat. =)

And they have frog legs too. 

So exciting! Definitely going in the baby book! This baby appreciates your prayers! We appreciate them too! Thanks for all of them!

Baby Pictures!

Our first ones! About 8 weeks!

I know this little bean looks like a blob, but they're OUR little blob!

Let me clarify and say that when I say "they're", I'm using a non-gender specific word to describe our ONE baby. There is only ONE!

The Blessing of Sickness

Today has been a struggle in the "morning" sickness area. All day has been a sudden urge to run to the bathroom. Though those feelings are very uncomfortable and just are inconvenient at best, they are a wonderful reminder of the growing baby I carry. Even though the feelings are tough to cope with at times, I feel blessed to have the reminder and know this is part of the process.
However, I must say that I don't understand where the term "morning" sickness came from. This is really an anytime, anywhere sickness. All I have to do is think about something unappealing and suddenly I debate running to the nearest bathroom. I smell someone's perfume, think about meat, or just sip water and I could just lose it right there. This whole week I've lived on crackers and easy mac just because those are the things that don't trigger it, although the easy mac is beginning to get gagging affects.
Thanks for your continued prayers! This week is certainly better than last week, sickness and all. God is truly working a miracle. =)

Prayerful Heartbeats

I can't even begin to express how overjoyed and blessed I am feeling today! After a week of uneasiness, unsureness, worry, and of being a depressed, nervous wreck, today, God blessed me with the ultimate gift, and just what I needed today. A heartbeat.
Just a couple of little heartbeats on the ultrasound at an appointment I wasn't sure how it would turn out changed my entire week. Wow! God is certainly good, and that alone is an understatement to capacity.
My doctor was fairly certain we wouldn't hear one today, so I figured I would just to see that our baby is just looking good, but no, our baby is also sounding good! I can't even tell you how much God has met my needs this week. Just WOW! My doctor was impressed indeed, and I knew deep down that it was a HUGE answer to the many prayers for Baby Ruhlig.
Looks like we're about 5 and a half weeks today too, which makes complete sense, as I thought we were almost 7, but it could help explain why baby looked so small on Monday at the ER.
I just can't thank you enough for your prayers, and please, keep them coming! Know that they are certainly being answered to the fullest, and I'm just in awe of God's amazing provision and power through this.
How He loves us!

The Power of Prayer

After a week of being a nervous wreck, I got the call from my doctor this morning that the numbers are going up, which is a great sign that miscarriage isn't happening! I can't even tell you how relieved I was, and I had tears of joy!
I have really learned a lot about the power of prayer just this week alone, and I am convinced that God has huge plans for us whether it all goes our way or not. I have never felt such an outpouring of love and support both from people I am near and dear to, and those I haven't spoken to in years! Just incredible.
I do still have the spotting going on, but tomorrow my doctor is doing an ultra sound to reassure me and hopefully get to the bottom of things. I do know that tonight I can actually sleep though, and hopefully push the thought of miscarriage out of my mind.
I just thank you, thank you, thank you, for the prayers and words! I can't tell you how encouraged I am by them and just how much I have already seen God move through this entire experience. This is only the beginning, and I know it will be quite a ride, as this week alone has me convinced of that.
Again, I couldn't have done this without your prayers and most importantly, without God walking beside me this whole time.

Prayers for Peace

Well, it certainly has been a long and nerve-racking week for us.
Over the weekend I had some light spotting, which is not always a huge concern, but is always a good idea to get checked out. Since it wasn't severe, we waited to call the doctor on Monday, in hopes they would get us right in and get things figured out, but since there was no openings, they told us to go straight to the emergency room.
Long story short, after 6 hours of poking and prodding, we did get to see our little "bean" in there, and things looked good, but the spotting was still persisting. Maybe not as much as the weekend, but it was still there after all was said and done. The baby looks smaller than expected, but that could be because we are actually further behind than we thought (4 weeks instead of 6).
I had a follow up with our actual doctor on Tuesday, whom I haven't even met yet, and he did warn us that this could be the beginnings of a miscarriage. Not that it for sure would be, but that it could be. Words I didn't really want to hear, but are reality.
The rest of this week will consist of blood work to make sure my hormone levels are still climbing to ensure that this is not a miscarriage. I have blood taken today, and we hope to know more by Friday.
Waiting is tough, and not knowing what is going on is even tougher. I just ask for some hefty prayers for us and the baby this week. Nothing is certain, but God is, and that's all we need.
Pray for peace of mind, for good outcomes, and for the baby's health. Thank you all so much!

Fears and Worries

Like every first time, or even second time mom, I've struggled with some fears today. I've struggled with the fear of opinions and of what to expect when all these changes take place. And since doctors won't even make an appointment with you until you're eight weeks, I fear of doing something wrong, or not knowing what is "normal" when it comes to pregnancy and taking care of myself and my little one. I have fears almost every time I go to the bathroom, scared I'll find something that I don't want to find. (Sorry if this is too brutally honest, but it's my reality right now.)
I worry about where the heck we'll live, since currently a one-bedroom, overpriced apartment is hardly holding us now. And obviously, I worry about finances along with that.

Just pray that I can stop worrying about it all and that I can have the confidence to know that God's got this.

Thank You!

 We are so blessed to have the overwhelming response of our pregnancy announcement! I won't lie that I feared the doubters and the people who think we're wrong in doing what we're doing, but the support from our family and friends is just so encouraging to me. I'm not going to lie that this is a scary experience as well as an exciting one, but the words and support from you all have been what I've needed to feel reassured of God's will.
I felt like sharing our news so early with you all was going to be hard and scary, but now that I see I have the support and prayers from you, it has all been worth it. Please stay updated at this blog and see how God can work. No matter what, He will work.
Thank you again for your prayers and encouragement as we walk down this path.

Excitement is Blossoming!

When I found out I was pregnant, I felt so blessed and so excited! I never thought I'd see the day, as all my life I've been told "no" and "better not" and "shouldn't", but nothing can outweigh God's will and I strongly feel He wants me here.

Let me reassure you that we did not make this decision in recklessness...

After I got married to my wonderful husband, Mark, we talked about adoption and kids, and he knew full well my situation of being high-risk and at that point we thought it wouldn't happen. He was scared, I was scared, but still hopeful. I can't wait to adopt either, but there is just something about having your own that really drove me. Maybe it's selfish or whatever, but I really wanted this. I wanted to see my husbands eyes, my nose, grandma's mouth, all the pieces of two families come together into one, tiny package.
So we talked to my cardiologist and sought out our options. We found that she has been through pregnancy with other patients with my condition and even worse, and though she isn't technically allowed to give a "go ahead", she told us it is feasible. So we prayed.
I've read the Bible plenty of times to know that if God wants something to happen, you better darn well believe He'll make it happen. He closed wombs of women in the Bible for various reasons, and I knew that if He didn't want me to risk pregnancy, He would find a way to tell me in a tangible way. He knows my desires and He has stopped me from plenty of lesser things before. But if He allowed me to get pregnant, it was meant to be, whether it came to completion or not.

So the day it happened, I can't even tell you the blessing that I felt bursting through me. I crept out to the living room, hiding the positive test behind my back and smirked. My husband knew something was up right away, and I couldn't help but share my news, even though I had planned to make a bigger deal and surprise out of it, I just couldn't wait. 
Needless to say, he was just as, if not more elated.

So why this blog? Why share this news with the world in such a way?
Well, who wouldn't? This is one of the most exciting things to happen to me, and I want to do all things to express that!

But more importantly, and the primary reason for sharing with you all is that we covet your prayers. As new parents, we covet your prayers.
As a high-risk woman, who has beaten the odds before, I covet your prayers.
As worried family, we covet your prayers.
As a little one growing under God's hand, they covet your prayers.

Pray for health, wisdom, safety of our little one, knowledge, good doctors, that we can be Godly parents who raise a child to pass on the legacy, just pray!

We want to share updates here, and we hope you can see some answers to prayer here, and that God can use us as a witness of His work.

We thank you!