After almost five years of marriage adventures, we are about to embark upon a new journey welcoming our first baby into the world. Andre and I are not usually public about milestone events in our lives and have been intermittent participants in social media; however, we are starting this blog to keep our incredible family and friends updated on this unexpected journey.
Eight months ago, Andre and I welcomed the exciting news that we were expecting a baby this year. We began to prepare for our baby by reading, researching, and attending classes. We picked out a name - Autumn (following Andre's tradition of naming girls with dad's first initial) We had felt at home at a peaceful birthing center in El Paso, and were anticipating a gentle birth with the wonderful midwives at the center. Unexpected news from a 7 month ultrasound would change our plans and send us on a different path.
At my last scheduled ultrasound, the doctors noticed an irregularity in Autumn's heart. An echocardiogram indicated that we were part of the 8 of 1,000 parents to give birth to a baby with congenital heart disease - in our case, she would need immediate intervention after birth and multiple surgeries in the first year. This also meant that I would need to temporarily relocate 13 hours across the gigantic state of Texas to deliver in Houston - at the number two pediatric cardiology center in the country.
As with everything we've experienced so far in our marriage, Andre and I leaned on each other and processed the news together. We were incredibly thankful for the kindness of the cardiologist who first explained her heart condition and sat with us to answer all of our questions and concerns. We also are were deeply touched by the amount of love, support , and prayers from family, friends, and colleagues as we shared the news. We are truly blessed to have so many loving people in our life. This blog is mainly for these people who have supported us and want to stay updated along our journey. We may not be able to contact every person individually, so this will serve as a medium to keep people informed through the coming months.
Why Autumn's Detour?
Detour can be defined as "a long or roundabout route taken to avoid something or to visit somewhere along the way."
Eight months ago, Andre and I began planning for the journey of becoming parents. Of the many pictures we had in our imaginations, this roundabout route was not what we were expecting. Where we first experienced the joy, anticipation, and nervousness of the beginnings of parenthood, we've now experienced fear, doubt, sadness, anxiety and sometimes even the beginnings of why me. In the midst of these emotions we are also learning to trust the goodness of God (the unknowable plans He may have for us) and the people in our lives that support and love us. This is a detour that we did not plan for, but we have faith that we will grow stronger and find our way through this together with the hopes that we will be able to support and love others the way we have been supported and loved.
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