Introducing our Lil' Button

Written June 17, 2013.

Our little Button, with a tiny flickering heartbeat!

Before walking into the offices this morning, Jeff and I held hands in the car and prayed. We asked for peace and comfort with whatever God's will might be, but we also boldly prayed for a joyful outcome, for a pregnancy that was on track. (We knew what that meant: at 5 weeks, 4 days, we hoped to see a gestational sac and maybe a yolk sac.) And so we went in.

On the elevator ride up to the office suite, I asked Jeff how he felt. His first reply wasn't surprising, given the coffee mug he was gripping in his hand: "Tired." Then he elaborated, explaining how he truly believed nothing was wrong and all would be on track, but, after a pause, he looked a little deflated. With a sigh, he admitted his fear: he'd thought nothing was wrong the last two times, but that sadly wasn't the case.

Our wonderful doctor saw us immediately, and he was full of joyful enthusiasm. In spite of his apparent confidence, I refused to watch the ultrasound monitor, instead alternating between his face and Jeff's. First came the relief when he announced the presence of a gestational sac measuring just the right size in my uterus. Next came the sweet surprise of a yolk sac, also measuring exactly on track. But then came the complete shock.

After asking me to press down on my belly a bit to get a better view, our doctor began to measure our tiny little Button (who we didn't even expect to see!) and then he asked us to lean in a bit closer so we, too, could see the most wonderful sight: a little flickering heartbeat.

Yes, we've been here before, and it's hard not to ask the "what ifs" that our next ultrasound may bring. But today we have a tiny baby growing in my belly--quite the over-achiever, as you usually don't see a heartbeat until the sixth week!--and that's enough. Enough, in fact, for us to even finally give it a name.

So, meet our Button, because not only do we pray it will stick to me like a button, but we also know that it's going to be cute as a button come February 13, 2014!