Journey to Josie

Growing up I always thought if you wanted a baby, you'd have sex, and BOOM you'd be pregnant. It happened that way for my mom and dad- heck they took a chance twice and ended up with THREE kids. (Is that TMI? Nahhhh) So- much to my surprise- getting pregnant wasn't as easy as I expected.

When Josh and I got married, we really wanted to have "us" time- we had goals and dreams that we wanted to accomplish just the two of us. We did just that for about 3 years and then- we looked at each other and said, "there's more to life than it just being about us."

After a few months or so of talking about having a baby, we decided we would. In my mind it wasn't that we would "try", it was that we would get pregnant. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that we'd be successful. Then- first month went by, 2nd month went by, 3rd month went by, and they just kept coming... disappointment, fear, and anxiety started to creep in. I wanted a baby so badly- and felt like my body was a failure.

I had an appointment to see Dr. King and he was pretty sure I had endometriosis based on symptoms I talked about and my family history. But he wanted to make sure Josh was all good :) Test came back, Josh calls me full of joy that he's got potent swimmers. As relieved as I was that he was all good, the despair and guilt set in with me. It was ME, something was wrong with ME that was keeping us from a baby.

Thankfully Dr. King was proactive and said he wanted to do surgery and see if I did indeed have endometriosis. He did this about 6 months sooner than most docs would have. He went in, cleared out all the endo he could and told Josh and I to get busy after I was healed up.

Sure enough- 2 months after surgery and I woke up just feeling 'off'. Josh had gone to work already to check on the roofers that were re roofing our building at the time. So I thought- I'll just take a test- but in my head I just knew it was going to be negative. I will NEVER forget picking up that test and seeing a POSITIVE sign. I almost had a panic attack. I thought about how I wasn't ready, I panicked, and then-- JOY overtook me. I couldn't get to work fast enough to tell Josh. I legitimately didn't even blow dry my hair. I walked out the door and took off.

I walk in the front door ready to BUST with the news I have. I find Josh UP on a 12 foot ladder trying to cut a hole in our roof for a vent. He was frustrated and talking about how it wasn't going to work (let's be honest- any project causes frustration). He came down the ladder and was trying to figure out a solution. I finally just looked at him and said, "Hey, you want some good news?" (I say this often) "Sure Chelsea, let's hear your good news out look on this" (with a laugh) "Josh, I'm pregnant"

I wish you guys could have seen the look on his face. The shock, the disbelief, and then.... the JOY and EXCITEMENT. It finally happened. And looking back, our brief struggle with infertility is nothing compared to what other couples struggle with. If this is you, my heart aches for you and I grieve with you and pray for your journey! It's not your fault, don't let the enemy put those lies in your mind.

My pregnancy was fairly uneventful. I was determined to not be a complainer (although I complained). When I was still in my first trimester, Dr. King passed away unexpectedly. I was heartbroken- our little baby growing in our belly was made possible because he was proactive with surgery. I'm so thankful for Dr. King and his staff. He is missed so much.







I probably only threw up 2-3 times throughout my entire pregnancy, I was very tired in the first trimester and had pretty bad back pain towards the end, but kept on trekking with life. When I was about 6 months pregnant- Josh had his first surgery. Then unexpectedly had to have a 2nd surgery. Then about 6 weeks later- was in the hospital again for an abscess (that's a whole separate blog post). I spent 21 nights on the couch of his hospital rooms in a period of 2 months- while being VERY pregnant. I fell sometime in between there and had a scare, but little baby was all good. We didn't find out if Josie was a girl or boy- which drove everyone else more crazy than it did us.








Then at 39 weeks, after my doctor told me she expected me to carry at least 41 weeks- I felt "weird" on a Friday night. I probably peed 5,000 times, and then labor started. Off to the hospital we went and 16 hours later- our sweet baby GIRL was born.

Josie Marie was born on April 29th, 2017 at 3 something (I think, honestly- I can't remember... I just know I was in labor FOREVER) (I'll write more about my labor later.

 And that my friends, is how Josie Marie came to be. Although looking back, in reality we didn't REALLY struggle with infertility.... but a whole new part of my heart was opened up and flooded with compassion for those that do.

I am forever grateful for my Josie girl. I'm forever grateful for Joshes constant encouragement during each negative pregnancy test, during each stage of pregnancy, and all throughout this new journey of being a parent.

But most importantly, I'm forever grateful to my God for how he paved the way to Josie. For the way I had to learn to just TRUST Him throughout that time-- and well, let's be honest- parenthood is all about just TRUSTING that HE will make a way.