Life with the Liczbinski's

It's time for me to get back to one of my true passions (besides my family) and that's writing. I am going to share everything on this blog from recipes, crafts, family photos, fitness tips, & I'm going to be documenting my pregnancy from beginning to end... but first I'm going to tell you a little bit about myself and my family.

My name is Jenna Liczbinski and I'm 28 years old living in Pennsylvania with my husband Ray and our 3 year old son Caleb. I moved to PA from New Jersey around 5-6 years ago - maybe even more - but either way moving here was the best decision I have ever made because it brought me to my husband. I am a college student attending Bellevue University (online) as a psychology major which definitely proves to be difficult with a toddler running around. My husband Ray is a police officer and a damn good one. It's rather nerve-wracking for me as a wife to have to watch my husband go out the door every day for work afraid he might not come home... but it's something that he loves and is passionate about and I respect everything he does.

Last September 2013 I suffered a miscarriage that almost cost me my life, after a botched D&C procedure where placental tissue was left behind. 13 days later I woke up hemorrhaging and passing blood clots the size of softballs (TMI - oh well). My husband found me slumped over in the shower and immediately rushed me to the emergency room where they determined by emergency surgery that placenta was life inside of me causing a toxic infection. Had it not been for my husband I probably wouldn't be here today writing this blog. The trauma my body sustained from 2 surgeries 2 weeks apart was rather devastating. It completely messed up my menstrual cycle and I was in constant pain... it was really a low point for me. Then I got results back following my follow up appointment that my pap smear was severely abnormal & I would need a colposcopy done immediately. I'll spare you the details of that but my body was suffering from being consistently poked and prodded. The results of that confirmed more fear -- cancerous cells had been found on my cervix and I needed a LEEP procedure done to have them removed. The LEEP procedure is something that I can only pray that I never have to experience again. LEEP stands for Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure and it's just as awful as it sounds...done in a doctors office I was completely awake for this and only numbed. My husband wasn't even allowed back in the room with me which made it even more traumatizing for me. It sends electric currents to the area and removes them. The machine just looks scary. & thankfully they got everything out. But again now my body had to heal again from this procedure.

 Going back for my follow-up carried more bad news... "We aren't sure you're going to be able to get pregnant again," were my then doctors words to be. Short and to the point. "Your body has gone through quite a bit of trauma and we removed a lot of your cervix." I was devastated. My husband and I wanted to expand our family but now it seemed next to impossible. But doctors aren't always right and miracles do happen every day. So when I saw those 2 pink lines pop up on a pregnancy test when I was only 2 days late I had a rush of a lot of different emotions. While we were undoubtedly happy, I was definitely fearful that this would end the same way as before -- I'm only human. It would be crazy for me not to be afraid at least a little bit... especially after all I had gone through.

We announced that we were pregnant on Christmas with a simple announcement, "Merry Christmas from our growing family to yours!' <3 I had gotten my 2nd ultrasound on 12/23 and I was 9 weeks and 3 days and the little baby bean had a strong heartbeat of 176 BPM. =) Our prayers were answered. We were successfully pregnant & our little baby was healthy!!

Merry Christmas from our growing family to yours! <3 

Proud big brother Caleb hopes for a sister! :) 

All because 2 people fell in love. <3 

I would be lying if I said we weren't still nervous for what's to come... but I am overjoyed to the say the least. I put my faith in God and I know that He's got this. And will provide. And for that I am truly grateful. I'm thankful for the support system that I have standing behind me and would be lost without them. Some people still pass judgment on me because of past mistakes that I had made and for the person that I was before, but all I can say to them is I'm happy and my family is happy and that's all that matters <3 I am not the person I once was years ago and if people can't let that go then that is on them. But we won't stand for any negativity or harsh words from people. Those who support us are there and we are thankful for them. 

I am hoping to be able to consistently work out during my pregnancy & document a fit and healthy lifestyle with whoever chooses to read my blog. I will share workouts, healthy recipes and a bunch of other things :) 

this is LIFE WITH THE LICZBINSKI'S! 

XOXO - Jenna <3