Thankfulness

This pregnancy had been a bit more complicated than the last 2 were. If not for the fact that Zofran kept me from puking up anything and everything I ate or drank from weeks 6-18, I could have lost a lot of weight, like I did with Sienna. Thank goodness for that medicine!

Starting at 17 weeks I have had bouts of sometimes very regular contractions, which if you know pregnancy, they say more than 4 Braxton Hicks in an hour is a reason to go to the hospital in case of pre-term labor and we were well above 5 an hour. I knew the drill, since I was also on bedrest when I was pregnant with Sienna. Lay down, drink tons of fluids, empty your bladder. I was very worried, and counting down until Baby was viable, then until Baby was 28 weeks, which is where I was when I had pre-term labor with Sienna. But the contractions kept coming, and getting stronger. They have gotten to the point where my uterus is so irritable that if I stand for about 5 minutes or longer at a time, I will get them every 2-4 minutes for a few hours.

The Dr's are not okay with this. While I am not dilating yet, things are changing and we don't want a bout of contractions to send me into true labor. Especially since I am only now at 33 weeks and they don't deliver babies in the hospital on Kauai until 35 weeks, which means I would have to be flown by Spencer's company to Oahu. If the baby did come early, it would be in the NICU there. So I have been on modified bedrest since last Wednesday. I swear each day gets a little harder for me. I am not one to sit still, to lay down, to feel like I cannot even clean up after my children. But it's just a few weeks until I can and is such a small thing to keep this baby baking a little longer. While the timing here ended up crazy, with Spencer working 15 days in a row (all 24 hours), I am super thankful for friends and neighbors that have chipped in and tried to make things easier, to take my kids for a little while, to pick up paper plates at Costco so I don't go insane with unwashed dishes collecting all over my home.

 I am extremely grateful that I am not working. It has been such a gift to be home with the kids, and they have expressed so many times how happy they are that I am here. While I have occasionally done a few haircuts or colors, I wasn't taxing my body the way I did in Utah and I can't imagine how much earlier this could have started if I had been working like that. I just feel so blessed, which might seem crazy, but I can see the Lord's hand in my life, inspiring me to wait until we were here to try for a baby, where my husband has been able to be home every other week, helping take on homemaking duties to take the load off of me throughout this entire pregnancy.

I love Christmas-time. I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, and I am immensely grateful for His many sacrifices for me. I am thankful for my knowledge and testimony of His life and love for me and how that knowledge has gotten me through my darkest of days. I am so grateful to be able to celebrate His life at this beautiful time of year, with my beautiful 3 children and new little one to come, with a husband better than I could have wished for. I didn't post for Thanksgiving, but my heart is overflowing right now and I just had to share at this, the most wonderful time of the year. Merry Christmas! We wish you all the same joy and happiness!

Baby Kicks

I'm not one that enjoys pregnancy. It makes me super guilty to say that, because I truly know what a blessing it is to be able carry a baby in my body. Despite not enjoying how I feel during the 9 month gestation period , I know it is such a miracle.
I have been sick this week and the baby, normally very, very, active, hadn't been moving as often, or as strongly. We decided to try playing some music and see what Baby did. We played some of our very favorite classical songs and Baby went crazy! I loved it. It was so amazing to see the movements of this tiny little person inside me responding to some of the most beautiful music in the world.
I am so thankful for this opportunity to have this new little family member growing healthy and strong inside my body. It is such a witness of the true miracle of life and I cannot say how grateful I am to be able to experience it one last time.

Ultrasound pictures

We had our level 2 ultrasound on the new baby. I was a little nervous because the medicine I stopped taking at 6 weeks had the possibility of causing an cleft lip/palate, but Baby checked out perfectly. Aidan had the option of going to a friend's house or coming to the see baby and he did exactly what I thought he would. He came with us! Sienna just wanted to hang out with her friends.

That little boy is so in love with this baby. He asked to come to the birth, he asks what developments the baby has made in the last week, how big it is. He talks to it and kisses it. It is just so fun to see him and I think surprising in some ways, because I didn't expect it of my little man. He was happy the Dr. doing the ultrasound said the baby's heart looked really, really good. Ainy kept talking about that all night. I have to share some pictures. I am already so in love with this little person and I cannot wait to meet them!  And no, we don't know the sex. It will be a super fun surprise at the delivery!

Look at how perfectly you can see all the bones in the arm and that perfect little hand. I love it!

Baby feet!

Perfect profile. It's little face is so cute already!

It kind of looks like Skeletor, but still amazing to see.

4D-The Dr just switched the machine to this right at the end. I think it would look less weird if the baby was a little older and fatter. Still amazing though!

Baby #4...

is due February 10th!!! Since the last 2 came at 37 weeks we're thinking it might be the end of January, though. Everything is looking really well and the baby was moving so much even the Dr. commented on it. And no, I hadn't been binging on cookies or drinking caffeine. It's just a little jumping bean. We are all very excited and I will be very happy when my morning sickness passes, which seems to be getting worse the last several weeks. I am very grateful for it though, because I was never sick with the babies I miscarried. It has been reassuring in it's uncomfortableness.