- erynnmangum@gmail.com

A gift

YES, friends! We are so excited, overwhelmed, overjoyed and overcome to announce that we are expecting a little one in March! God is SO SO good to us! I’m a little over thirteen weeks.

We were SO surprised to find out! I had just written this post about our struggle with infertility and if you’ve been following this blog for any period of time, you know a little of our story. I’ve heard from so many of you who have shared our struggles in this waiting process – whether for a baby, a husband, a job, a college decision – whatever it is. And I know that God will use your wait just as He used mine. I never would have ever thought it would take us over two years to get to this point but Jesus is good. He has changed me, broken me, healed me and comforted me. As hard as these years were, I wouldn’t change them for the world. And whatever happens with this baby – I know now that His plan is for my good and ultimately for His glory.

As to how we found out… 😉 The entire month of June, Nathan kept insisting that Jesus was giving him a baby “Brother Sister” for his birthday and then the first half of July, he would randomly pat my stomach and say, “There’s a baby in there”. We were still on our summer fertility treatment break, so I didn’t think too much of it. We were planning on starting a new fertility drug in August and then potentially doing a couple more IUIs in the fall.

Nathan kept mentioning the Brother Sister for his birthday, so sort of on a whim, I tossed a cheap pregnancy test in the cart while we were out one afternoon right before his birthday. I hadn’t had a test in the house in months because honestly, if there’s a test, I will pee on it, so it’s just better for our finances to keep them out of the house. 😉 I tested that afternoon and saw a very, very faint line and just thought, “well, this is a cheap test, it has to be a false positive.” So, I took the other one in the box and got the same faint line. Then I dragged Nathan back out to get a First Response, came back home and the line was immediate.

I started bawling. Nathan had no idea what to do with me. And then Jon got home and all I could say was, “Guess what?!” and then we both started crying. I called our fertility doctor and they sent me right away to get bloodwork. And then we went to my parents’ house for dinner. My grandmother was in town and amazingly, my family was all going to be at dinner. Right before dinner, Jon asked to pray and prayed for our new little one, everyone started screaming and I again started crying.

I had a couple more blood tests over the next couple of weeks and then at six weeks and a couple of days, we got to see this little sweet pea:

Oh how I cried!! God is so good, friends! So very, very good. The heartbeat was 128 and everything looked fantastic. My in-laws came the next day and this is how we greeted them at the airport:

So much fun! They were so shocked! 😉 Two weeks later, we got to see our little baby again:

Look at our baby!! The heartbeat this time was 188 and we even got to see the little head moving. SO amazing. Such a miracle!!

And finally, this morning we saw our sweet little one once more…

Precious little baby! He/she was kicking and rolling around in there. Such a blessing! I’m overwhelmed. My heart is overflowing.

I have been so so sick this time around, which is a big reason why I’ve been skimping on this blog. I’ve been throwing up 3-4 times a day, usually just in the morning, but sometimes at night as well. God has been good – I was so content before we got pregnant and it’s been a constant struggle since then to remain content and not be fearful of the what-ifs. I’m so thankful for the prayer support from family and close friends and I would very much ask for prayers from you! We are so in love with this little peanut already, or as Nathan has continued to call it, his Brother Sister. 😉

Someone is VERY stoked to be a Big Brother!! He’s gone back and forth on whether or not he thinks it’s a girl or a boy. For a while, he told me it was a boy and he wanted to name him “Buzz Wightyear”. 😉

And, just to start things off, here is my 13-week picture. Baby is the size of a peach!

I can’t believe how quickly I started showing this time around!! I’ve had a little bump since about nine weeks and I haven’t been able to button my jeans since about 10.5 weeks. So much sooner than with Nathan!

Thank you so much for your prayers, for your sweet notes and precious emails over the last couple of years as we’ve been trying to get pregnant. I treasure each and every one of them. And please know that I am praying, PRAYING for those of you still waiting – God has worked miracles in my life and I know He will do the same for you! What a powerful God we serve!!

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38 thoughts on “A gift”

  1. Congratulations!! I am so happy for you all, I've been following your blog and praying for you for a few years now, and am so happy for you and your family! My prayers for you, your family and your sweet new baby 🙂

  2. Erynn, I am so very excited for you and my heart is beating with joy to see this message! God knew just when He wanted to bless you and He did it in a time when it could only be Him doing so!

    Tell Nathan I said "Congratulations, Big Brother!"

    Love you!

    –Linda

  4. CONGRATULATIONS! I have been following your blog for a few years now, and I'm so happy to read this awesome news for y'all! Praying for a safe and healthy pregnancy for mumma and baby 🙂 God Bless!

  5. YAY! It's so funny how I've never met you but I'm so thrilled with this news….made my day!

    I will keep praying for you…for peace for you and Jon and for the health of the little one.
    I'm guessing girl!

  6. Total side note…..are you going to have the second book in the Paige series for us to buy from you to get it autographed?
    I went to pre-order it on Amazon and then realized all my other books by you are autographed…..like to keep it the same. 🙂

  7. Congratulations!! This piece of a song came to me as I was writing:

    "What joy, what joy/for those whose hope is in the name of the Lord."

    "What Joy (Psalm 146)" by Sarah Emerson.

    Stacy

  8. Oh, congratulations, Erynn! I'm so happy for you and your family. May God continue to bless you all, and may He continue to protect your newest little one as you grow together. Can't wait to read more about this journey toward becoming a larger family! 🙂 Many blessings to you all.

  10. This just made my DAY! Actually more like my week!!!!!! I am soo happy for you! I was actually praying for you just the other day!

    Its funny because I knew! One of your posts in the past few weeks I saw a picture of your face and smile and I just thought to myself, she is pregnant. I just know she is!!

  14. Congratulations. So happy for you and your family. Prayers to you.

    I know we don't "know" each other but I've read your blog since I started reading your books three years ago. As someone who has also struggled with infertility, this post makes my heart happy. And since it is my birthday, I have to say this is one of the best gifts I received all day!

  15. Congratulations Erynn!!!! I was overjoyed to read this post and am so super duper excited for you and your family! I will be praying for you guys. I love to see how the Lord works in peoples lives and how faithful he always is. How wonderful that you are at a point that you can look back at that really rough two years and see how much you have grown and some of the purposes that the Lord had in all of it.

  16. God is so good! Congratulations, Erynn! It's funny, because even though (like Jenn said), I don't "know" you, I am so overjoyed for you just as if you were part of my family! (Although, I guess we are sisters in Christ, right?) I am so excited to see where God takes you in this new chapter, and will continue to keep you and your family in my prayers!:)

  17. So excited for your little sweetie! I hope you feel much better very soon. Nathan and my daughter are the exact same age (7/12/10)–she's our second and last, so I don't think I'll join you for this pregnancy! 😉 Blessings and love to your sweet family!

  18. Oh Erynn, I'm so so happy for you!!! What a beautiful answer to prayer. <3 🙂

    Blessings to you and your family!! Will be praying for you, your family, and your sweet little one on the way!

    -Madison 🙂

  19. I am so thrilled for you Erynn! I've been waiting for this post from you! 🙂 Huge congratulations! So so excited for your growing family.

  20. I've been waiting for this day for the past 13 weeks!!!!!!!! Well, ok, the past 2 years. 😉 Anyways, I am beyond excited and love all FOUR of you so so so much!!!! Can't wait to share more of this journey together. 😉

    xoxoxoxoxoxo!!!!!
    ~ Jen

  21. I literally busted out crying about halfway through this blog post. Just tonight, I was having a conversation about the thing I am waiting for and how incredibly hard it is. This blog post was so timely. God really is good…

    Congrats to you, Jon & Nathan!

    Ashlin

  23. Erynn! What a beautiful gift God has given you. I am so excited for you, Jon, and Nathan, and I will continue to keep the three of you in my prayers.

  24. Erynn,
    I am so happy for you!! I love how God told Nathan that you were pregnant before He told anyone else! We all need the faith of a child!

    What a precious blessing! You and Jon are amazing parents and your new little one is so blessed already to be your child! I couldn't be happier! You will be in our prayers so often. We will meet your new little one in May at the wedding. Love you, sweet friend!

    Karla

  25. Yaaaayyyyy!!!! What an amazing blessing and testament to the faithfulness of God 🙂 What joyful news. Thank you, Erynn, for your honesty through this whole journey. You did not have to share with us, but you did, and because of your transparency so many people have another example of the love and faithfulness of Jesus. So wonderful!! We will be praying for you, little O'Brien and your two boys through this pregnancy. Blessings to you all!

  28. That is SO exciting! I am so happy for you and your family!! Praying for you and a healthy little "brother sister" 🙂

    Love the announcement picture too!! So cute!

  30. Congratulations, Erynn!!! God is so good and I'm so happy for you and your family!! All of the pictures are so sweet! Praying for you and your family! = )

  33. CONGRATULATIONS!!!! How exciting for you! And although I can so, so empathize with your throwing up multiple times a day (I had horrible sickness with both pregnancies), rejoice that it probably means the hormones are raging and strong!

    So thrilled for you!

  35. Erynn, this news made me so, so happy!!! (Except for the constant throwing up part!) I love how Nathan just knew that he was getting a "brother sister" before you did. God is amazing! Rejoicing with you!

  36. I don't personally know you, but I feel as if I do through your books & blog. I am so very truly excited for you and your family!!! (I may have told my whole family :P) What a precious blessing! Our prayers will continue on your behalf. A huge CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
    Your sister in Christ-
    Tara

  37. Congratulations to all of you! I have been praying for you periodically and am so excited to see how God has answered. May the Lord bless you and the little one and keep you both safe through this exciting time. You'll both be in my prayers.

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