The Scoop

So, yes, the rumors are true.  The leftover baby belly from D will take at least a few more months before I can work on getting rid of it.  Since I'll be adding to it in the meantime.

We are happily expecting Baby #4 in April.  More than happily.  Maybe ecstatically.  Or sensationally.  Something.  Happily doesn't begin to describe it.

This has been a more difficult pregnancy so far.  In May, I had a lot of problems with anemia-type symptoms that I couldn't seem to shake.  After dealing with pretty severe anemia while pregnant with D, I wasn't excited about dealing with it again.  I took 3x the recommended dose for iron to try to bring the levels up (the cure for my last bout) and still couldn't shake it after a couple of weeks so I had my blood work done to check for other problems.  Blood levels were still slightly low, but within normal range, so my anemia symptoms were still unexplained.  And the extra iron was making me extra cranky.

So after some research, a Divine intervention, and self-diagnosis, I put myself on some other supplements and they have helped tremendously.  But with hormone shifts and such in pregnancy, it's hard to stay leveled out.

Add that to the almost-all-day sickness and the overwhelming exhaustion from being pregnant and Mama's pretty miserable.

I have also been on modified bed rest for a Subchorionic Hematoma.  Although not prescribed by my doctor, there is some medical evidence that modified bed rest can prevent rupture, and rupture of a SCH of any size can be a bad thing - not always, but it can be.  Most resolve themselves by 20 weeks, so that's what we're praying for.  **Update - Had a mini in-office ultrasound today, and the SCH has not grown and may be completely gone - Praise the Lord!**

But, we're trucking along and excited to meet the next member of the family.

Some inevitable questions:

Don't you know what causes that?
A:  Why yes.  Would you like me to fill you in on the amazing blessings that marital privileges offer?

Don't you already have your hands full?
A:  Yup.  But my husband's hands aren't full yet.  We're trying to fill that empty spot.  And of course there's always room for some baby carriers if our hands are full.  And our hearts always have room for another blessing!

Are you SuperMom or something?
A:  Hahahahaha!  Haha!  Ahh, you're serious.  If only you could see my dirty counters and the size of the pile of laundry waiting to be folded that rivals the state of Rhode Island, you would not ask that question.  I did manage to get some of my garden preserved, but I was woefully short of what I wanted to do this year.  Exhaustion, bed rest, nausea and fresh produce do not mix well.  My goal right now is to just do one thing everyday.  If I can do one cleaning chore a day, the house won't get so bad so fast.  Plus, my husband and kids have been awesome to do a really good clean-up at least once a week for me.

This is pretty soon after D.  Was this an "Oops" baby?
A:  I will forgive the underlying insult to my precious unborn child in this instance.  But no.  After 5 previous pregnancies, we were fully aware of what might happen if certain events took place.

Are you one of those "quiverfull" people?
A:  I understand the reference, but I'm not sure what you mean.  If by "quiverfull", you mean we are letting God determine the size of our family, then yes.  If you mean a child-collector, then no.  Lots of prayer led us to decide that we are foolish to try to "control" any aspect of our life, including the size of our family.  But we are not collecting children for the sake of a number.  We are not trying to beat anyone and we certainly don't want a TV show.  Unless it's on Publishers Clearing House.  Then by all means, please show up at my door.  Didn't you hear?  I'll have 4 kids!

Are you done?
A:  Done what?  Done having kids?  I don't know.  That is up to my doctor, and through her, God.  I hope we can have more.  I really like these little munchkins.  But if we are (done), I'm content knowing that I was blessed with these precious children and I'll never regret a single one.  Why?  Don't you like your children?

Can you really afford all those kids?
A: Kids are really only as expensive as you let them be.  Since we cloth diaper most of the time (I spend about $10 a month on diapers for our various outings), breastfeed and liberally use hand-me-downs, babies in my house don't cost much.  Plus we grow a lot of our own food.  Add that to awesome maternity coverage in our health insurance and babies don't cost much at all :)  We do not take any government assistance, other than tax breaks available to any family that runs multiple small businesses.
And with that I'll get on my little soap-box for a moment.  The Bible says that "Children are a blessing from the Lord."  We see them as such and willingly take on any that he sees fit to bless us with.  Don't you think that he'd make sure we were able to care for them if we were faithful to him?  Our kids do not have the latest toys, new clothes, they aren't in lots of activities.  We have each other, we home educate, and we have what we need.  We are beyond blessed and I couldn't imagine turning down any of these blessings that God is offering me in the name of "control."  God's plan is so much bigger and better than my own.  And I'm still in awe of how he's changed my heart since R was born and how undeserving I am of these children.  I won't argue with him though :)

[Fill in the normal baby birth questions here]
A:  Scheduled C-section, mid-April, I'm not sure if we're finding out or not, baby will sleep in our room until s/he is old enough to share a room, a few ideas on names so far- none we are sharing, breastfeeding, cloth diapering at home, disposables in public, the kids that understand are beyond excited.  Anything else?



**The word "control" sprinkled throughout this post is in reference to birth control.  The irony of the name is really what led me to decide the birth control wasn't for me.  As a foolish sinner, why should I be in control of anything?  If you want more information regarding what the Bible has to say about birth control, I recommend Generation Cedar.  She is an excellent writing and really puts my thoughts much more clearly than I ever could.