Here comes Baby Cummings

We are excited to announce that I am pregnant again!  I am 12 weeks along and my due date is October 9th.  We have already had 4 ultrasounds and  the baby has measured perfectly and had a strong heartbeat every time.  It has been a hard 1st trimester, but Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, we have made it to 12 weeks!!  I feel like I have been pregnant FOR.EV.ER!   It has been the longest 3 months of my life and I thought I would never reach this point.  I definitely have a LONG ways to go, but 12 weeks is a big milestone for me.   At my ultrasound last week, I saw the baby so clearly and he/she was moving around and it was very surreal.  I started to cry and the nurse was so sweet to me as she knew I had 2 previous miscarriages.  I felt that she took her time and allowed me to take in the moment of seeing the baby that far along.  I had gone to a specialist which was a wonderful experience for me and was released from the specialist at 10 weeks and now I am going to my regular doctor.  My specialist put me on extra folic acid, progesterone, and a blood thinner just as a precaution if I had a blood clotting issue.  Justin had to give me a shot every night and it was miserable!  I am usually not afraid of needles and don't get anxious at all about shots as they have never bothered me.  But this one was rough.  Some nights it would barely hurt at all, and some nights it would hurt so badly I wanted to scream out in pain (okay, some nights I actually did do just that)!  I think the anticipation was the worst not knowing if this was going to be a bad one or a not so bad one.  But Praise the Lord, I am now officially off all the medicine except the folic acid. 

We told some family and friends right away as we really needed the support and prayer.  We are so blown away by how many people were praying for us.  We received e-mails, texts and phone calls asking how we were doing and telling us that we were being prayed for everyday.  My parents Sunday School class even had a prayer time for us as well.  We were so thankful for the encouragement and support we received. Justin received a few texts last week stating that they were praying for us and Justin turned to me and said "do you know how many people are praying for us right now?"  It was amazing to see the body of Christ and those who don't even know us that well praying for us fervently.  We were beyond blessed.  We didn't make a point to bombard people with too many concerns or requests, and it was amazing to see how much we were prayed for without even asking.  And though I was definitely filled with lots of tears, fears and anxiety, the Lord has given me such peace in the midst of those difficult moments and I know it was part of people praying for me.  Thank you to all who walked through this first 3 months with us and battled in prayer with us!

Though I am technically out of the riskiest months, I know I still have a long ways to go and still really appreciate your prayers.  Here are a few requests that I wanted to share if you feel led to pray:

• Please pray that we would trust the Lord and give all fear and anxiety to Him. 
• Pray that the Lord would be glorified through this pregnancy and we would draw nearer to Him through this time. 
•  Please pray that the baby will continue to grow and be healthy. 
• Pray that we would allow ourselves to be excited and enjoy this special time. It has been hard to get too excited as we were trying to guard our hearts but I feel it is important for us to be as excited as if this was our 1st pregnancy
• Pray that the Lord would give us wisdom throughout the pregnancy

Anytime I would express a concern or fear to Justin, He was gently respond with "remember, we believe in a sovereign God who loves us".  It was just what I needed to hear.  He can't promise me that our baby will be okay, but He can promise me that God is good, He loves us, and He is sovereign and no matter what happens, that will never change.  It definitely helps to be reminded of that in the midst of my hardest moments and I'm sure will be reminded again during hard moments in the future.

Here is a picture of our baby at 9 weeks, I'm already so in love!

Thank you all for your prayers for us and for joining us on this journey!  I hope to post more about my 1st trimester soon so stay tuned....