Preggie Buddies!

On New Year's Day, I started noticing some pregnancy symptoms. On January 7th, I took the home test, and it was positive! I happened to talk to the friend above on the phone that day. I didn't tell her I was pregnant. I hadn't even told my husband or anybody yet! But it was during that call that she shared with me that she and her husband had been trying to conceive for a long time, and how hard of a struggle that was for her. So I quietly determined to pray for her to be able to have children every time I thought of and prayed for my own growing baby. I didn't remember to pray for her every day, but when I did pray, it was fervent and sincere.

I kept the pregnancy a secret from everyone but my husband and a few close people until the end of the first trimester. I was very afraid of having a miscarriage and having to cover my tracks, finding everyone I might have told that I was no longer expecting. Thanks be to God, the child is still growing healthily and will most likely have a normal birth! But at that time I was very fearful.

Little did I know, one week after I had conceived, so did my friend! She, too, kept it a secret until the end of the first trimester. Around that time, she accidentally sent me an email which she had sent to several of her close friends and family announcing that she was expecting twins. I was so incredibly happy for her, I called her as soon as I read it. It was then that she told me she had wanted to wait on telling friends from church--myself included--until that coming Sunday, when she and her husband would announce it together. Lo and behold, that is the same day my husband and I had planned on announcing our own little one's presence to the church!

It's amazing how God worked it all out. Had I not gotten that email from her, and had we not talked about it beforehand, it could have been very awkward for one of us to make our announcement and then follow with the other one saying practically the same thing! But instead it was very joyful and well-planned. And, thanks to our dear older friend who spoke up, we were able to make our announcements even though the pastor had planned to skip the testimony time that day for the sake of time constraints.

Sadly, she had to go back to the States to give birth, but I'm looking forward to seeing her and her little girls when they come back this November!

Around the time of the big announcement, I called a good friend and told her that I was expecting. Lo and behold, she, too was expecting! Her due date is about a month and a half after mine. She hadn't told any of her friends yet, but since I had shared my news with her, she shared hers with me. I kept it in confidence until she was ready to share. She lives relatively close by, and it's so much fun getting to talk about our kids being the same age and having baby play dates in the future. It's fun having preggie buddies!

One of my most special preggie buddies was my sister-in-law. She gave birth in May. I had the pleasure of seeing her in person in April during my visit to Texas. It's so neat that the first cousins/grandkids in our family are going to be the same age, only separated by a few months!

Besides the precious ladies above, I also have several friends from high school, college, and other places that are on Facebook who are expecting or have recently given birth. It's been great to see their updates and hear their stories. I really feel like I'm walking this journey with many dear friends. God has really blessed me and helped me to know that I am not alone on this journey. And with the encouragement of veteran moms and new moms and expecting moms alike, I feel really encouraged.