Big Brothers!

Well, after being asked by several people at church yesterday and at a shower for a co-worker that afternoon, I guess I can't keep our big news to myself any longer. I am pregnant! We are very excited to welcome another baby into our family sometime in October! I had a quick appointment in early March just to see the baby and that precious little heart beating. Thankfully, baby was alive and well and measured right on track at nearly 7 weeks. I had my second appointment on this past Thursday and praise the Lord, everything was looking perfect, baby measured just right, and my lab work was all normal. I was so nervous before the appointment, it was a relief to see a flickering heart beat and moving tiny arms and legs on that sonogram screen. We are feeling very grateful to be blessed with another baby, and thank God for the opportunity to carry this child and give it life. I am also so very blessed to have a midwife who I can call my friend who has gone above and beyond to care for me, pray for me, and love me. God has always put such wonderful people in my path, and for that I am so thankful!

beautiful little one, 10 weeks 4 days

We found out we were expecting mid February, and I have been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster ever since. Mostly, I feel confident that everything is going to be ok and we will have a healthy baby this fall. However, doubt creeps in often and I am fearful of loosing another baby. Philip and I decided to wait to tell the boys about their sibling until after this second appointment. We wanted to try and protect Levi from the pain he experienced when we lost Sam. He was so upset for a couple of weeks after we told him Sam had died.

We chose to go ahead and tell Levi and Joel the evening after the appointment, and they are both very excited about the baby! Each of them thinks it is going to be a baby sister. Levi cracked us up when he explained, "We already have 3 boys in our family and only 1 girl, so I think we need another girl so Momma won't be alone." I think that would be great! :) To celebrate we went to dinner at Fuzzy Tacos and then picked up Sonic treats afterwards. While I was eating Levi got us laughing again by asking if, "the baby was getting my food all over it in my stomach?" He has been very interested in understanding the process as much as he can and thanks to having a nurse mom he now knows all about the uterus, placenta and umbilical cord. Ha! I am 11 weeks today, and Levi, Joel and I listened to baby's heart beat this morning with the doppler I bought online a couple weeks ago. It is so reassuring to hear that sweet sound.

Excited brothers!

A very dear friend of mine who has unfortunately suffered the loss of multiple babies has been such a blessing to me ever since I told her my news at about 6 weeks along. Two things she has encouraged me with are the following statements; "Enjoy and celebrate each day you get to have with your baby, regardless of how long you have them" and "Pray for God to be with you and help you through the process and experience no matter what the result." Those words have gone through my head many times and have really given me strength and comfort. I have told her how I believe God is using her to bless me and how thankful I am for her support, and I hope she knows how grateful I am for her friendship and love.

Please keep me and our baby in your prayers. It is so nice to know that I have so many prayerful people in my life and  that many will be lifting up me and the baby to God in prayer. I can't wait for the moment when I start being able to feel this little one move, and to get past that age where we lost our beloved Sam; 12 weeks and 4 days. Lord willing, there will be many more pregnancy posts to come :)