A Trip Down Memory Lane

I was looking through my older posts and came across this post where I announced my 5th pregnancy. I can't believe it has been over a year since I announced I was pregnant with baby number five. I asked for prayers for the health of our baby and for the strength to be a mother of five children. I thank all of you who prayed and I thank God because those prayers were answered. Benjamin is a healthy baby boy and I am a cool, calm, and collected mom. Ok I may be exaggerating the last part.

It does seem with every child we are blessed with the easier it is. The baby is always more relaxed and calm, it may be because mom and dad are more relaxed and calm.

Benjamin has brought so much joy to our family in the four short months he has been with us. My five year old is constantly telling us how glad she is that we had another baby, even if he is a boy. She says she would like us to have another baby only if it's a girl. I tell her she will have to settle for our dog and bird who are both girls for right now.

As I looked back on the posts before my pregnancy announcement I came across a poem I posted. I am not sure if I knew I was pregnant when I posted it, but I know I didn't know Little Ben was going to be a boy.

This poem will forever be Ben's Christmas poem, to him from me.

The Mothers Song
Eskimo poem translated by Peter Freuchen

It is so still in the house
There is a calm in the house,
The snowstorm wails out there,
And the dogs are rolled up with snouts under tails.
My little boy is sleeping on the ledge,
On his back he lies, breathing through his open mouth.
His little stomach bulging round-
Is it strange if I start to cry with joy?

One Month

I have one month to go before I see my beautiful son. I have been doing some complaining these last couple of months, the swelling, weight gain, not being able to lay down when I want to. Having to go to the Doctors twice a week for non-stress tests is not fun, especially when I have to take the kids with me.

Now that the end is near I found myself thinking, what was I complaining about? This pregnancy wasn't so bad. It actually went by fast and was uneventful.

I don't know how things will go, if this will be the last time I am ever pregnant again. I really do not like being pregnant, but the thought of NEVER being pregnant again makes me feel a little sad.

Pregnancy and giving birth is a miraculous thing. There are sacrifices, pain, and worry, but then to think about the life that is created wipes everything bad away. God is so good and generous with His gifts. Even the ones that are wrapped in swollen ankles and stretch marks.

Pregnancy Workout

During all of my pregnancies I tend to gain a lot of weight, fifty to sixty pounds to be exact. By the time I am in the end of the third trimester I am pretty much miserable.

This time I have decided to try to change that and exercise during this pregnancy. I made myself do my workout today and I am happy that I did.

I am not trying to lose weight or even maintain my weight, what I am hoping for is a normal amount of pregnancy weight gain. I am also hoping that working out will ease tension and keep my body loose. I just have to stick with it.

The pregnancy workout that I use is called The Perfect Pregnancy Workout. The instructor is Karyne Steben who is a world-class acrobat formerly with Cirque du Soleil.

She is in her third trimester in the video and looks awesome!

What I like about this video is you can do beginner exercises or the advanced. There is no cheesy remarks or music, the person who narrates talks in a calm and quiet voice. The exercises will get your heart pumping and you can feel the burn in your muscles.

I also like that the instructor is in such great shape, it makes me think twice about having three peanut putter and jelly sandwiches before bedtime.

If you are looking for a good workout to do through your pregnancy (with your doctors ok of course) I recommend The Perfect Pregnancy workout.

Now lets see if I can keep this up.

Skipping Prenatal Testing

I had my first Doctors appointment yesterday. The baby should be here August 17th.

When I was pregnant with Oney the test for Down syndrome and Spina bifida came back positive, I was a wreck. I had an amino done and after the two weeks of waiting we found out he did not have any genetic problems.

I talked to some people who said the test for Down syndrome was unnecessary, that false positives were very likely to happen and all that would cause me was undo stress.

I spoke to my doctor about this and told him I would like to pass on this particular test because no matter what the outcome I would not terminate the pregnancy.

My doctor told me that skipping this test was not an option in his practice. He told me I must take the test and he would recommend further testing should the result be positive again.

He reassured me that there would be no talk about termination that the reason for the testing would be so he would know how to treat me and how the baby should be treated medically once born.

That made sense so I agreed to the testing.

I feel I won’t be as much of a basket case as I was the last time the test came back positive. Talking to the genetics counselor helped a lot. Being able to have the resources early on was another reason my doctor gave me for this testing.

I am asking for your prayers for the heath of this baby and for me to have the courage to accept Gods will for this baby whatever that may be.

Zzzzzzzzz

I am one tired Mama.

Oney likes to wake up before the crack of dawn. After we finish school and eat lunch I can barely keep my eyes open.

I explained to my kids that when a baby is first growing it makes mom very tired and I need to rest.

For the past two days my wonderful children have let me do just that. I put Oney down for his nap after lunch and then I get in my bed for a little rest. My bedroom is in the basement. One side is our room the other is the kid’s playroom. Miss, Lil D and Bug all come down stairs and actually stay quiet and play nice while I nap!

There has been no fighting, no disturbances at all during this peaceful time. God is good, and so are my kids!

Yesterday Miss fixed all the covers and pillows on my bed so I would be more comfortable. She is so excited about this new baby and has poured her affection onto me.

It has only been two days of this much-needed napping bliss, I don’t know how long it will last but I had to write about how sweet my children are to me. God bless them.

Lucky Number Seven

Our family has received an early Christmas present. We have just found out that we will be having a baby!

I am very early in my pregnancy, and I am feeling pretty good so far.

The baby should be here some time in August I will have more details once I go for my doctor appointment.

I have so many feelings about this pregnancy, fist being joy and thankfulness.

When I first found out I was pregnant I looked around my three-bedroom house and thought where in the world am I going to put a baby? How am I going to deal with five children, can I do this?

As soon as these thoughts came to my head they were swept away with thoughts and feelings of instant love for this little one, love for my husband, and love for my growing family.

Every baby brings lessons. This baby is already preparing me to put my trust in God, take one day at a time, and to be aware of every blessing that comes our way.

No wonder a child is one of God’s greatest gifts, look at how much insight and love God sends with a new baby.

I would like to ask for your prayers that this little one remains healthy and that any anxiety that may creep in be lifted from our family.

Peace and God Bless

Visions of Babies Dance in my Head

I don’t know what it is about being around babies that makes me long to have another one. It may just be the normal time for me to want another child. I usually get these feelings when our youngest is close to turning two.

It does not help that five or so women I know have a new baby or are expecting one. My kids must know the drill that goes on in this house, they see that Oney is almost two and now Miss and Lil D keep talking about their new brother or sister we are going to have. They seem to know that this is the time when Mom and Dad usually announce that a new little one will be coming soon.

I cannot stop thinking about babies! I asked Big D if we were going to absolutely be done having kids. I was maybe hoping he would give me an absolute answer to put my thoughts to rest. Big D told me that we would make a final decision the day after Oney’s 2nd birthday. I have no idea why he said the day after, I just agreed.

So now I have a few months to be consumed with baby thoughts. In our family we stay open to new life. Still there are things we must consider to make a responsible decision on whether we should bring another baby into our family. The usual reasons money, time, and health.

I have some personal drawbacks that keep coming up. How will a new baby effect home schooling, What about our plans on getting these kids semi raised so Big D and I can fully enjoy each other? What about college? This last reason seems small but I can’t help cringe at the idea of all the doctor visits I will have to go to with four children at home and having to figure out what to do with them.

Then there are the pros. Being able to bring a new life into our family with God and the man I am absolutely head over heels for. The absolute love you have for a child and how each new baby magnifies that love. Brothers and sisters is one of the greatest gifts Big D and I can give to our children.

What am I to do?

I have a brand new niece. She is about 5 weeks old and in a couple of weeks I am going to take her home for the weekend. I know this is not the same as having my own baby 24 hours a day, but I am hoping this will help in our decision. Can we cope with a fifth child?
I have forgotten the details of having a newborn; I only remember the good things. God is good that way.

We will just have to wait and see what the future holds for our family. Meanwhile I am sure I will have baby on the brain and heart until a decision is made.