March 21, 2012 was a day full of emotions. Early in the morning, we got the news that my grandma Flora Garza de Saldivar had gone to be with the Lord after months of being in an out of the hospital. She was 86 years old and had lived a very full and blessed life. While we knew this was coming and that she is now enjoying her new home, it was still hard to realize that she was not going to be around anymore. I loved what my sister wrote on her blog:
Flora-Plus
Later that same day we had our first doctor’s appointment. We are six weeks pregnant and after our new doctor (previous doctor stopped seeing OB patients!) heard about our struggles he suggested an ultrasound to make sure everything is where it needs to be.
Sure enough, the ultrasound tech tells us “there is definitely a baby in there!” and we actually got to see a valve (the heart) moving! We can’t hear it yet, but we can definitely see movement! David and I are in awe at God’s creation! How is it possible that at only six weeks there is already the beginning of a little heart moving! Wow! This was a life-changing experience! Here is the very first picture of Baby Ech!
I had a business trip to Chicago a week after finding out that we were pregnant. So, I decided to wait to see my brother and sister in person to share with them the good news! It was so hard to keep the news to ourselves but it was well worth it!
Check out this video to see Flora and Chris’ reaction to the news!
In case you couldn’t tell the gift box had two baby jean jackets and a note that read: One for baby girl Anderson and one for her cousin… arriving November 2012!
My brother was out of town so we had to share the news via text message. Sign reads uncle Eliud x 2!
In February of 2012, after almost two years of trying to conceive, having visited 4 different doctors in two different countries, taken multiple rounds of strong medication and undergoing artificial insemination, I was at my lowest point of discouragement and starting to doubt whether we will have a child of our own.
To make matters worse, right before I started taking another round of strong drugs, David found out that he was supposed to go to Mexico with the CEO of our company on " the dates" of the month when we are supposed to do our “homework.” After much debate, we realized that he was not going to be able to get out of this trip. So, I called to doctor and asked if I should take the drugs anyway. He said that this drug is very strong and sometimes even prescribed to cancer patients; so, if I was not going to have a good chance this month he recommended that I skip the medication and instead detox.
Towards the end of the 3-day trip to Mexico, the CEO encouraged David to take an early flight, note that she does not know what is going on. David gets home earlier than expected and we decide to “ do our homework” even though I'm not taking the drugs and the right dates have passed.
After the dreaded two-week wait and still no period, I had some minor spotting; and I was very sad once again. But, the weekend went by and still not period.Finally, David persuades me to do a test on Monday night (March 5th) after we come home from work. On our way home, we are both excited and anxious about doing the test. We got home around 8 PM and I did the test right away. I chose to do a “line test” vs. words test because seeing the words "Not Pregnant" made me feel very sad.
I had done this type of line test in the past and I knew that you are supposed to wait 3 whole minutes for the result to appear. But, this time was different, as soon as I peed on the stick the two lines lighted up! WE ARE PREGNANT!!! I come out of the bathroom crying to share the news with David who is patiently waiting outside. We hugged and I kept crying and crying! We sat down and prayed and thank God for allowing this miracle to happen! I couldn’t believe that there was a baby growing inside me!!
For the rest of the evening, I drank a lot of water and went through several boxes of tests! I even did the "words" test and confirm the results. The next morning, I woke up and did two more tests and just wanted to be sure that I was not dreaming!
During the two-week wait I prayed constantly that God would allow us to be pregnant. I specifically asked Him that He allow for this to be our testimony: that we would get pregnant on the month when we did not do “our homework” on the “right dates”, I was not taking drugs and did not undergo any procedures. He made it happen! He did not want to share His glory with any doctor, medication or treatment.
This is His child and He alone created it!
Line Test and Word Test
Positive!
I have been very open about our struggle to become pregnant and while I realize there are people that have struggled for much longer and/or have more difficult situations; I like to share my story because of the impact that it had on my spiritual life.
After long months of struggle and discouragement, God showed me through his word and many people around me that He wanted me to surrender my “perceived control” with true sincerity.
He opened my eyes and showed me that all my attempts to "plan a pregnancy" and “get pregnant” were really my efforts to fight back God's will, instead of letting him work in my life. He alone is the giver of life and we humans cannot change that.
After this realization, I had a peace that I had not experienced in many months. I rested in the fact that God the creator of the universe was taking care of "my case" personally, I knew He loved me and trusted him on this matter for the first time. I huge weight was lifted off my shoulder and things started looking up!
Here are two verses that encouraged me during this time:
Psalm 77:13-14
Your ways, O God, are holy; What God is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles. You display your power among the peoples […] my times are in your hands.
Psalm 121:1 - 2
I lift up my eyes to the hills where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
