Poptart: 1, 2, 3 Months

The first three months, documented. I wear loose summer dresses most days because I've been too lazy/tired/busy to get the box of maternity clothes down from the top of the closet. I am glad to be moving on to the second trimester and hope to leave the all-day sickness behind soon, too. I did a rough calculation and think I've spent about 70 months of my life in this constantly nauseous state. It's all worth it, though, I remember! Each pregnancy has been different. This time around I've started eating a poptart as soon as I wake up. I was just so tired of saltine crackers. At nine weeks along we were at the beach and the kids were eating poptarts (a vacation-only food in our house), and I thought to myself, "I think I could eat that!" So for the past month I've had one for breakfast almost every day. Around 9:30am I eat a Kind bar. Then I can usually eat lunch. Dinner is questionable. But it is starting to ease and I have hopes of the sickie feeling being gone in the next few weeks. Also, this baby's in-utero nickname is now Poptart. The kids find this incredibly amusing. They talk to and pat Poptart throughout the day. Baby Poptart, you keep growing strong and healthy and we look forward to meeting you the end of January! I promise your name won't really be Poptart!

Baby Update: 13 weeks

We met with the high-risk OB this morning and baby looks great. We will go back in three weeks and then will have weekly monitoring for at least a while. That's the short version. If you're interested in the details, read on.

I carry antibody-E in my blood, from a previous pregnancy (likely Nora's). If this baby has my blood type, the antibody will not cause any issues. If the baby has Daddy's blood type, there is a possibility it can cause problems later on. So there's a 50-50 chance that it will not cause any problems, but there is not a safe way to determine baby's blood type. 

If the baby has Daddy's blood type, there is a chance that my blood and the baby's blood could mix. There is a barrier between our blood, but it is thin and it could break at some point during the pregnancy. If this happens, my blood cells will attack baby's blood cells. This would lead to anemia in the baby, which can cause heart failure if left untreated. 

We will have weekly ultrasounds that monitor baby's blood flow with the high-risk OB beginning at 16 weeks and continuing for 4-6 weeks. If during that time baby does not show any signs of anemia, most likely the antibody-E will not cause any problems. We would continue to monitor but would space them out a bit more.

If the baby does show signs of anemia, treatment depends on how far along we are in the pregnancy. If it is too early to deliver, we would treat baby with intrauterine blood transfusions. If baby is far enough along, we would deliver early and give baby a blood transfusion then. 

After birth, we will monitor baby closely for jaundice. 

Whew, okay, that's what we learned today. So this can be serious but it isn't likely, and we need to keep a close eye on baby as the pregnancy progresses.

Thanks for continuing to pray with us--we'll keep you posted!

Prayers and Doctor Appointments

A quick baby update: everything is looking great with baby. We've had several ultrasounds and love seeing those sweet baby pictures! We will be seeing a specialist this Friday because of an antibody I carry in my blood. Not exactly sure what this means yet but we should get some answers this week. Appreciate your prayers over this sweet little life!

Announcing

The newest member of our family! Arrival expected the end of January.

Kids' Favorite Chapter Books

I've been doing lots of reading aloud this summer, too. Here are a few of our favorite recent chapter books:

The Book of Dragons, E. Nesbit. Short-stories from a fabulous British author. Nesbit uses language beautifully. My only complaint is that her stories are usually too long to be read in one sitting.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, Betty MacDonald. After the first book, I found these repetitive and silly. Probably why my children love them so much.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis. The Gent's favorites of the Narnia books. The kids love these--we are reading through them slowly because I don't want to run out too quickly!

The Ramona books, Beverly Cleary. We all love Ramona and the way her precious mind works. These are sweet family books that make us all laugh and cry.

My Summer Reading Favorites

Here are some of my favorite books from this summer. I've still got a big stack to go!

The Read-Aloud Family, Sara Mackenzie. Love books about books. And more book lists.

Under Our Skin, Benjamin Watson. Thoughtful look at race in America.

The Best Cook in the World, Rick Bragg. A tribute and collaboration with his Mama. And some really delicious recipes, along with a few I would never, ever eat.

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, Nabeel Qureshi. Nabeel's intellectual and spiritual journey from Islam to Christianity. A poignant account.

Destiny and Power, Jon Meacham. Biography of George Bush. I didn't know much about H.W. and I enjoyed learning more about him. While I don't agree with all his views, it was refreshing to read about an American statesman.

Bonhoeffer, Eric Metaxas. Metaxas's writings flow easily and he weaves a fascinating story. The last third of this book reads like a spy novel. What a fascinating life.

Prayer in Romans

"Always in my prayers, my heart's desire and prayer, be constant in prayer." This is the prayer theme of Romans. Prayer is the underpinning of Paul's work, this continuous communion with the Lord.

Romans 1:9-10
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

Romans 10:1
Brothers,[a] my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

Romans 12:12
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Beach Trip #2

Annie had the most photos this time. I used to try to make them all even . . . but now I just snap pictures of whoever is cooperative. This trip it was Annie. Can you figure out who everyone is? A little tricky with the hats and sunglasses! Thankful for another fun trip to the beach!

Annie's favorite: sandcastles
Jacob's favorites: snorkeling and the boogie board
Sophie's favorites: jumping in the waves and the boogie board
Nora's favorite: sand, sand, sand