Thanking God for:
- Loving to give good gifts to His children
- LOTS of extra fluid which allowed our baby to flip after 40 weeks
- LOTS of extra fluid which kept a scrawny umbilical cord floating and safe
- An awesome physician who agreed to deliver our breech baby (!!!!)
- An awesome physician who agreed to attempt a version on a post-dates woman (!!!!)
- A God who can turn the hearts of Kings...and physicians
- A vertex presentation after a night of contractions
- A delivery that did not turn out to be a c-section
- The blessing of children
- Another GIRL (!!!!)
- Sweet Polly Jane, all 8 lbs and 11 ounces of her!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Where's My Baby?
Today I am 40 weeks and 2 days pregnant. I have an overabundance of amniotic fluid (as in, more than 33% extra). And, I have a breech baby - a complete breech. (That means my baby is sitting Indian-style in my belly instead of being head down.) For liability reasons, very few obstetricians will deliver a breech baby.
So...our options at this point:
1. The baby will spontaneously flip and we'll continue with our planned homebirth.
2. I'll locate an obstetrician who will agree to attempt a version on my overdue (but fluid-filled!) self.
3. If the version is successful, I'll jump right into an induction. No reason to risk the baby turning breech again.
4. The version will not be successful or I'll go into labor before one can be attempted and have a c-section.
This pregnancy has been full of surprising challenges from the very beginning. This latest turn of events seems to fit right into the mental chaos I have been battling the last nine months. I am ready to look back on 2010 and *see* all the things God has been working for my good. For now, I'll seek to see God's good hand in this moment.
We are so very thankful to have been able to carry this baby to full term, to have recognized the breech position prior to labor beginning, and to have a healthy (as far as we know) baby who still has enough room to swim! God has been gracious throughout the pregnancy - especially in this last month - to remind me of truth and to provide peace when I allow anxiety to consume me. So, right now I am feeling very thankful to still feel baby movements and to still be pregnant. We are praying for a healthy baby and, secondarily, a vaginal delivery. Hopefully I will have happy news to post in just a few short days. Today I will continue to rejoice at my large blessing, remind myself of truth (God is good; God is in control; Children are a blessing...), and hope my water doesn't break in public~:-) Because, if it does folks, you better hope you are sporting your galoshes!
So...our options at this point:
1. The baby will spontaneously flip and we'll continue with our planned homebirth.
2. I'll locate an obstetrician who will agree to attempt a version on my overdue (but fluid-filled!) self.
3. If the version is successful, I'll jump right into an induction. No reason to risk the baby turning breech again.
4. The version will not be successful or I'll go into labor before one can be attempted and have a c-section.
This pregnancy has been full of surprising challenges from the very beginning. This latest turn of events seems to fit right into the mental chaos I have been battling the last nine months. I am ready to look back on 2010 and *see* all the things God has been working for my good. For now, I'll seek to see God's good hand in this moment.
We are so very thankful to have been able to carry this baby to full term, to have recognized the breech position prior to labor beginning, and to have a healthy (as far as we know) baby who still has enough room to swim! God has been gracious throughout the pregnancy - especially in this last month - to remind me of truth and to provide peace when I allow anxiety to consume me. So, right now I am feeling very thankful to still feel baby movements and to still be pregnant. We are praying for a healthy baby and, secondarily, a vaginal delivery. Hopefully I will have happy news to post in just a few short days. Today I will continue to rejoice at my large blessing, remind myself of truth (God is good; God is in control; Children are a blessing...), and hope my water doesn't break in public~:-) Because, if it does folks, you better hope you are sporting your galoshes!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Visiting Daddy
*I'm not sure how there are NO PICTURES of this, but Eric and I went ziplining on Saturday, 4.17.2010. It was great and surprisingly scary! I was just happy my expanding belly fit nicely into the harness...without any noticing I was 17 weeks along! Just imagine lots of shrieking from me and lots of Superman-like movements from Eric.*
And then Monday came...
4.19.2010
And then Monday came...
4.19.2010
The Monkey's Treehouse
We spent the morning running errands with Flat Stanley. Look how big my little Haven is getting!
After naptime we headed to The Monkey's Treehouse in Bellevue to celebrate our friend Lily's third birthday. This place was so much fun! I was a little overwhelmed with trying to feed two kiddos myself and then keep track of them playing, but I really enjoyed watching them explore the huge playplace. Elijah - never very adventurous at first - didn't really appreciate the treehouse. He did, however, LOVE the digging area. This, of course, because he is a pro at using a wheelbarrow (Thanks, Mombo!)!
Haven - always adventurous - had a great time exploring the area for little ones. She did her fair share of playing in the big kid's area as well!
Happy Birthday Lily! Thanks for having us to your fun party!
4.16.2010
After naptime we headed to The Monkey's Treehouse in Bellevue to celebrate our friend Lily's third birthday. This place was so much fun! I was a little overwhelmed with trying to feed two kiddos myself and then keep track of them playing, but I really enjoyed watching them explore the huge playplace. Elijah - never very adventurous at first - didn't really appreciate the treehouse. He did, however, LOVE the digging area. This, of course, because he is a pro at using a wheelbarrow (Thanks, Mombo!)!
Haven - always adventurous - had a great time exploring the area for little ones. She did her fair share of playing in the big kid's area as well!
Happy Birthday Lily! Thanks for having us to your fun party!4.16.2010
Eat! Eat!
A few shots from a quick trip to the zoo with Grammie & Grampa.
4.14.2010
We have been blessed with good little eaters. Haven is even more passionate about eating than Elijah was at this age; this might seem unbelievable to those who know Elijah's proclivity for eating! Haven's first words in the morning (or upon waking anytime) are usually "Eat! Eat!!!!" She will never let you forget that mealtime has arrived. As soon as you put food on her tray, she is absolutely silent as she slowly gobbles up her food. It isn't so much that she even eats large quantities of food all the time, the amazing thing is her passion for the food. Although a bit trying at times (how would it be to have a child who would play through mealtimes?), I am so thankful for chubby children who willingly eat!
4.15.2010
4.14.2010We have been blessed with good little eaters. Haven is even more passionate about eating than Elijah was at this age; this might seem unbelievable to those who know Elijah's proclivity for eating! Haven's first words in the morning (or upon waking anytime) are usually "Eat! Eat!!!!" She will never let you forget that mealtime has arrived. As soon as you put food on her tray, she is absolutely silent as she slowly gobbles up her food. It isn't so much that she even eats large quantities of food all the time, the amazing thing is her passion for the food. Although a bit trying at times (how would it be to have a child who would play through mealtimes?), I am so thankful for chubby children who willingly eat!
4.15.2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
From Tadpoles to Frogs
We went on a field trip to Shelby Bottoms Nature Center to learn about frogs. Thanks to Mombo, Elijah even had a special t-shirt to wear which showed the life cycle of a frog. (It's cool to wear stuff like that, right? Because Elijah and I love to talk about that shirt.) We had the good company of our friends, the Sadlers & the Jacksons. The Sadler girls wore butterfly wings, because that is how cool their Mom is.
We walked to one of the ponds to look for tadpoles.
Elijah and Matney held hands~:-)
They RAN and Ran and ran!
We headed back to the Nature Center for a puppet show.
Haven was fascinated with the puppets.
Can you spot her? She slowly worked her way right up to the puppeteer, probably in hopes of grabbing the frog.
In an attempt to counteract the absence of God in the program, Elijah and I spent the morning talking about how God made frogs. It was stark and shocking to me how the Creator was never mentioned, particularly when the children were being shown a chart of all the various types of frogs. The Ranger was explaining all the different types of camouflage the frogs have. When the children asked, "Why are the frogs different?", she averted the question by saying "The frogs have to blend in with their surrounding." I took the opportunity to tell Elijah that God had made the frogs with their own special colors so that they could live in the place God put them. Our little trip made me realize how empty and short-sighted education is when you force God out of every conversation. It keeps you from answering the real "why" questions. 
This huge park is great. We often go there to walk some of the eight mile paved greenway along the Cumberland River. During these walks I have opportunity to remind myself what a blessing it is to be able to train up these children!
4.13.2010
We walked to one of the ponds to look for tadpoles.
Elijah and Matney held hands~:-)
They RAN and Ran and ran!
We headed back to the Nature Center for a puppet show.
Haven was fascinated with the puppets.
Can you spot her? She slowly worked her way right up to the puppeteer, probably in hopes of grabbing the frog.
In an attempt to counteract the absence of God in the program, Elijah and I spent the morning talking about how God made frogs. It was stark and shocking to me how the Creator was never mentioned, particularly when the children were being shown a chart of all the various types of frogs. The Ranger was explaining all the different types of camouflage the frogs have. When the children asked, "Why are the frogs different?", she averted the question by saying "The frogs have to blend in with their surrounding." I took the opportunity to tell Elijah that God had made the frogs with their own special colors so that they could live in the place God put them. Our little trip made me realize how empty and short-sighted education is when you force God out of every conversation. It keeps you from answering the real "why" questions. 
This huge park is great. We often go there to walk some of the eight mile paved greenway along the Cumberland River. During these walks I have opportunity to remind myself what a blessing it is to be able to train up these children!
4.13.2010
Time Constraints
Sometimes the bad guys just can't wait for your Momma to help you get dressed. It's times like these you skip the clothes, put your shoes on the wrong feet, and grab your sword. Someone has to protect the women!
4.11.2010
4.11.2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)