March meant that we finished some activities. The Lambs had been getting ready for piano contest and that was the middle of March. I let them have the next week off of piano lessons after that. Our family had been attending a Bible study at church together on the Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis, the Small Catechism, and the book of Mark. That also finished in March so we were done with the weekly homework to prepare for class. The Lambs sang in Sunday School choir on Palm Sunday so we are done practicing that hymn at home. They will sing one more hymn this school year.
Lamb 1 picked his freshman classes for next year. Going to high school is getting more real for all of us now. I am very excited about his opportunities in high school.
I attended a seminar on infertility by a local pro-life doctor that was really good. It didn't really apply to me, but I am glad there are resources for women that need it. I especially appreciated the encouragement for couples to try some basic lab tests; take medicine if required; have surgery if necessary; and if still not pregnant consider adopting.
Ram's parents visited for Ram's spring break and I tried to do spring cleaning and decluttering before they arrived. I didn't get done everything I wanted to get done before they came, but every little bit helps. I especially enjoy getting everything to give away delivered to the proper place and finally getting it out of my house.
We did some car maintenance-oil changes for both cars; had the brakes on one car looked at and found out they were fine; and car washes for both cars after winter. Wouldn't you know that as soon as we had the car washes it snowed the next day and we followed a salt truck?
We put an offer on a house that we really liked but was priced above what it was worth and above our budget. They countered with still too expensive so we are taking a break from house buying right now. If nothing else comes up for sale that we are interested in and this is still on the market in a month, then we may try again. Our realtor thought our offer was completely reasonable and their list price was ridiculous. Since we are renting and not in a hurry, the whole deal became humorous. I think the seller was a fool to not take our offer. I also think God has an even better house planned for us since so far this deal has not worked out.
Vision therapy homework for Lamb 2 has taken some planning and thinking in how we can do it in our rental house. Their computer software didn't play nice with Macs so Ram had to figure out how to get it to run in our all Apple household. Lamb 2 is doing great on his therapy so I will be interested in what the Dr. says at his 8 week checkup. We are also going to have Lamb 3 evaluated and we may have two Lambs doing vision therapy.
My parents have taken turns being sick this winter so we haven't seen them real often. We will all be glad for summer and hopefully all be more healthy.
The Lambs keep practicing piano, memorizing the catechism with the goal of May confirmation for Lamb 2 and 3, and plugging away at homeschool subjects. Ram keeps writing papers for me to proofread, studying for his classes, and setting up interviews in the community for his papers. He is getting excited about starting internships this summer. I attempt to be chef, maid, delegator, chauffeur, teacher, and generally just to keep everyone happy and hopefully they gain some knowledge each day too.
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Thursday, March 2, 2017
So sad behind the scenes
Recently this story about Iceland has been circulating. I have talked about my pregnancy with Lamb 2 on my blog before, but it is worth repeating again since this story is out.
When I was pregnant with Lamb 2 I went to a new midwife because my midwife for Lamb 1 thought 1 1/2 hours was too far away for another birth since Lamb 1 was born less than an hour after I arrived at the hospital. The midwife for Lamb 2 ordered what I considered regular blood tests as I was a new patient for her. These blood tests came back positive for birth defects such as Down Syndrome. We lived in rural MN so the midwife ordered a level 2 ultrasound in the Twin Cities to see if we could tell anything else.
While we waited for the ultrasound, Lamb 1 fractured his leg, but we didn't know it was fractured until about a month after he fractured it, the x-rays didn't show that it was broken until it was healing. So we traveled to the Twin Cities with a toddler with a broken leg that we didn't know was broken and due to an early morning appointment stayed in a hotel the night before. Ram drove and helped take care of Lamb 1 in the office during my appointment.
The oddest part for me was the first thing they did at this level 2 ultrasound was had us meet with a genetic counselor. She took down our whole history. She was kind of disgusted that I only have one sibling that was not married at the time (so no children) and Ram had no living siblings (and they never had children). She admitted without knowing about our nieces and nephews she didn't have much information to go on. I didn't understand that, because what if we had several siblings but we were the first ones to start our family? And neither Ram or I can help that we come from small families! Both Ram and I repeatedly asked why we couldn't have the ultrasound before speaking to the genetic counselor. That made it clear to me that they wanted us to decide on abortion with their "facts" of our genetics, before we even saw the baby on the screen. Because she had so little information about our family she recommended an amniocentesis. Because of our miscarriage between Lamb 1 and Lamb 2, I immediately declined an amniocentesis due to the risk of miscarriage after amniocentesis.
It was finally time for the level 2 ultrasound. I was really looking forward to seeing our baby in more detail than a normal ultrasound. I have had a lot of ultrasounds with all of my pregnancies and miscarriages and this level 2 ultrasound was the most silent ultrasound tech I have ever had for any of my ultrasounds. He only talked when necessary. Then another tech (doctor?) came in and was supposed to explain the results to us. But again, he said very little, we found out that Lamb 2 was a boy (the only pregnancy that we had a gender reveal-due to all this testing I wanted to know the sex to pray for him or her) and very little more. Again he recommended an amniocentesis. His reason-Lamb 2 was too active to really get good measurements. Both Ram and I left that ultrasound with the feeling that they did not suspect Down Syndrome, but they couldn't say that to us because they were afraid we would sue them if he was born with Down Syndrome. But they would not tell us one way or another, even what they suspected, just recommended an amniocentesis.
At the time we had good health insurance so our out of pocket cost was parking for the appointment; the hotel one night; gas to go 4 hours; and the time and mental stress of the appointment. Ram and I were quite disgusted that we received so little information for all that.
The rest of the story is that I didn't have any more ultrasounds during Lamb 2's pregnancy and we made clear that we were keeping the baby no matter what. But I would have really liked to have more information to be more mentally prepared and educate myself some more if he was born with Down Syndrome. He was born without Down Syndrome.
I left that appointment and started doing my research. At the time, (11 years ago) the best estimate that I could find then was that 75-90% of Americans with a positive blood test for Down Syndrome abort their babies. (The statistic in the story referenced above is higher, but I am not sure if that is a statistic for a positive blood test, ultrasound, or amniocentesis). It made me so sad. The way they do these appointments for level 2 ultrasounds is encouraging abortions.
1. We had to meet with the genetic counselor before they even looked at the baby on the level 2 ultrasound.
2. They wouldn't give us very much information no matter how many questions we asked.
3. They worked very hard to get me in for my level 2 ultrasound before it would be too late to have an abortion.
4. They encouraged amniocentesis, which causes miscarriages in some cases. (Even a small percentage of miscarriages due to amniocentesis is too much in my mind.)
Due to so many abortions after a positive blood test for Down Syndrome, there is no good estimate of how many of these were false positives like Lamb 2. So we have no idea how many of these babies were just fine like Lamb 2 but were aborted. I'm not even sure if they have any way to report that Lamb 2 was a false positive. It doesn't really matter if they have Down Syndrome or not, none of these children should be killed.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.
When I was pregnant with Lamb 3 I refused any blood tests like this one that I had a false positive on when I was pregnant with Lamb 2. I refused to go through all that again when I knew we would keep the baby. For Lamb 3 I had a normal ultrasound at 20 weeks. Then as I got closer to delivery day I had several ultrasounds due to the fact that I only gained 10 lbs in that whole pregnancy. They never found anything abnormal in any of those ultrasounds, but due to the little weight gain they induced me a week early. Their ultrasound estimate was he was 4 1/2 lbs on induction day. But he was born healthy and 6 lbs 10 oz. I am thankful that he was born healthy and I don't regret the induction because the midwife was going on what information she had been given. I know that sometimes ultrasounds give life saving information. But I can see from Lamb 3's pregnancy, that even ultrasounds don't always give correct information.
Looking back, I am glad we had these experiences with Lamb 2 and Lamb 3 because it really opened my eyes to what the medical profession does during pregnancy. Please pray for pregnant women and their spouses to be able to navigate the information given to them during pregnancy and make wise decisions. Until Lamb 2's pregnancy, I had no idea the amount of decisions that need to be made during pregnancy. I already knew there were a lot of decisions to be made during birth. Continue praying for families blessed with a child with Down Syndrome. Continue praying for unborn babies.
When I was pregnant with Lamb 2 I went to a new midwife because my midwife for Lamb 1 thought 1 1/2 hours was too far away for another birth since Lamb 1 was born less than an hour after I arrived at the hospital. The midwife for Lamb 2 ordered what I considered regular blood tests as I was a new patient for her. These blood tests came back positive for birth defects such as Down Syndrome. We lived in rural MN so the midwife ordered a level 2 ultrasound in the Twin Cities to see if we could tell anything else.
While we waited for the ultrasound, Lamb 1 fractured his leg, but we didn't know it was fractured until about a month after he fractured it, the x-rays didn't show that it was broken until it was healing. So we traveled to the Twin Cities with a toddler with a broken leg that we didn't know was broken and due to an early morning appointment stayed in a hotel the night before. Ram drove and helped take care of Lamb 1 in the office during my appointment.
The oddest part for me was the first thing they did at this level 2 ultrasound was had us meet with a genetic counselor. She took down our whole history. She was kind of disgusted that I only have one sibling that was not married at the time (so no children) and Ram had no living siblings (and they never had children). She admitted without knowing about our nieces and nephews she didn't have much information to go on. I didn't understand that, because what if we had several siblings but we were the first ones to start our family? And neither Ram or I can help that we come from small families! Both Ram and I repeatedly asked why we couldn't have the ultrasound before speaking to the genetic counselor. That made it clear to me that they wanted us to decide on abortion with their "facts" of our genetics, before we even saw the baby on the screen. Because she had so little information about our family she recommended an amniocentesis. Because of our miscarriage between Lamb 1 and Lamb 2, I immediately declined an amniocentesis due to the risk of miscarriage after amniocentesis.
It was finally time for the level 2 ultrasound. I was really looking forward to seeing our baby in more detail than a normal ultrasound. I have had a lot of ultrasounds with all of my pregnancies and miscarriages and this level 2 ultrasound was the most silent ultrasound tech I have ever had for any of my ultrasounds. He only talked when necessary. Then another tech (doctor?) came in and was supposed to explain the results to us. But again, he said very little, we found out that Lamb 2 was a boy (the only pregnancy that we had a gender reveal-due to all this testing I wanted to know the sex to pray for him or her) and very little more. Again he recommended an amniocentesis. His reason-Lamb 2 was too active to really get good measurements. Both Ram and I left that ultrasound with the feeling that they did not suspect Down Syndrome, but they couldn't say that to us because they were afraid we would sue them if he was born with Down Syndrome. But they would not tell us one way or another, even what they suspected, just recommended an amniocentesis.
At the time we had good health insurance so our out of pocket cost was parking for the appointment; the hotel one night; gas to go 4 hours; and the time and mental stress of the appointment. Ram and I were quite disgusted that we received so little information for all that.
The rest of the story is that I didn't have any more ultrasounds during Lamb 2's pregnancy and we made clear that we were keeping the baby no matter what. But I would have really liked to have more information to be more mentally prepared and educate myself some more if he was born with Down Syndrome. He was born without Down Syndrome.
I left that appointment and started doing my research. At the time, (11 years ago) the best estimate that I could find then was that 75-90% of Americans with a positive blood test for Down Syndrome abort their babies. (The statistic in the story referenced above is higher, but I am not sure if that is a statistic for a positive blood test, ultrasound, or amniocentesis). It made me so sad. The way they do these appointments for level 2 ultrasounds is encouraging abortions.
1. We had to meet with the genetic counselor before they even looked at the baby on the level 2 ultrasound.
2. They wouldn't give us very much information no matter how many questions we asked.
3. They worked very hard to get me in for my level 2 ultrasound before it would be too late to have an abortion.
4. They encouraged amniocentesis, which causes miscarriages in some cases. (Even a small percentage of miscarriages due to amniocentesis is too much in my mind.)
Due to so many abortions after a positive blood test for Down Syndrome, there is no good estimate of how many of these were false positives like Lamb 2. So we have no idea how many of these babies were just fine like Lamb 2 but were aborted. I'm not even sure if they have any way to report that Lamb 2 was a false positive. It doesn't really matter if they have Down Syndrome or not, none of these children should be killed.
Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy.
When I was pregnant with Lamb 3 I refused any blood tests like this one that I had a false positive on when I was pregnant with Lamb 2. I refused to go through all that again when I knew we would keep the baby. For Lamb 3 I had a normal ultrasound at 20 weeks. Then as I got closer to delivery day I had several ultrasounds due to the fact that I only gained 10 lbs in that whole pregnancy. They never found anything abnormal in any of those ultrasounds, but due to the little weight gain they induced me a week early. Their ultrasound estimate was he was 4 1/2 lbs on induction day. But he was born healthy and 6 lbs 10 oz. I am thankful that he was born healthy and I don't regret the induction because the midwife was going on what information she had been given. I know that sometimes ultrasounds give life saving information. But I can see from Lamb 3's pregnancy, that even ultrasounds don't always give correct information.
Looking back, I am glad we had these experiences with Lamb 2 and Lamb 3 because it really opened my eyes to what the medical profession does during pregnancy. Please pray for pregnant women and their spouses to be able to navigate the information given to them during pregnancy and make wise decisions. Until Lamb 2's pregnancy, I had no idea the amount of decisions that need to be made during pregnancy. I already knew there were a lot of decisions to be made during birth. Continue praying for families blessed with a child with Down Syndrome. Continue praying for unborn babies.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Trusting God
Now that I'm pregnant and also trying to drink lots of water, I go to the bathroom A LOT. I saw the ultrasound of one of our babies that was just fine one week and the following week we lost that baby. I've had 3 miscarriages. Due to the nightmares of those and some other issues in previous pregnancies, I get nervous EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I go to the bathroom when I am pregnant. Before we lost our third baby, I always thought that seeing the ultrasound would be enough to calm me down that everything was well with baby. I have not had an ultrasound with this pregnancy. Seeing an ultrasound is not enough to calm me down any more. I believe I will calm down more after the baby in my womb has outlived all 3 of our babies in heaven, but it will be in the back of my mind until I am holding Lamb 4 in my arms.
I have done a little research about my blood clotting disorder called Factor II. After my little research it is amazing to me that it was so easy for me to get pregnant 7 times and even more amazing that we have 3 healthy boys. It is amazing that during each of the pregnancies/births/postpartums of all 3 boys I had very few problems. Sometimes I wonder "What if I would have known I had Factor II before any of my pregnancies?" Maybe it is better that I was naive about the whole situation and when I wasn't sick with morning sickness I enjoyed my first pregnancy without the facts about Factor II in the back of my mind. I would have totally freaked out when I had spotting with Lamb 2 if I would have known about Factor II then. But perhaps Lamb 3 would have gained more weight if I would have known about Factor II then. It doesn't really matter because the fact is that we have 3 healthy boys and now I have the knowledge that I have this for this pregnancy and any future pregnancies.
The Lambs really want another sibling, preferably a sister. They completely trust that in November they will have a sibling. They are completely naive that we could lose the baby before then. I know that if we would lose the baby, they would completely trust that it is in heaven and not grieve it too much-other than the fact that they lost the hope of getting a dollhouse and girl toys in our house in November. I can not be completely naive about the situation like they are, but I can trust in God.
Starting the next time I go to the bathroom, I am going to recite Bible verses and pray about this situation. Think of how many times I will recite Bible verses and all the prayers I will say over the next 240 days! That sounds like a much better way to spend all those trips to the bathroom instead of worrying.
I have done a little research about my blood clotting disorder called Factor II. After my little research it is amazing to me that it was so easy for me to get pregnant 7 times and even more amazing that we have 3 healthy boys. It is amazing that during each of the pregnancies/births/postpartums of all 3 boys I had very few problems. Sometimes I wonder "What if I would have known I had Factor II before any of my pregnancies?" Maybe it is better that I was naive about the whole situation and when I wasn't sick with morning sickness I enjoyed my first pregnancy without the facts about Factor II in the back of my mind. I would have totally freaked out when I had spotting with Lamb 2 if I would have known about Factor II then. But perhaps Lamb 3 would have gained more weight if I would have known about Factor II then. It doesn't really matter because the fact is that we have 3 healthy boys and now I have the knowledge that I have this for this pregnancy and any future pregnancies.
The Lambs really want another sibling, preferably a sister. They completely trust that in November they will have a sibling. They are completely naive that we could lose the baby before then. I know that if we would lose the baby, they would completely trust that it is in heaven and not grieve it too much-other than the fact that they lost the hope of getting a dollhouse and girl toys in our house in November. I can not be completely naive about the situation like they are, but I can trust in God.
Starting the next time I go to the bathroom, I am going to recite Bible verses and pray about this situation. Think of how many times I will recite Bible verses and all the prayers I will say over the next 240 days! That sounds like a much better way to spend all those trips to the bathroom instead of worrying.
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1
Friday, March 25, 2011
Answering a few questions
3 injections down; 483 to go
Due date is November 22.
Injections do not hurt, really they don't! The pharmacy didn't have the correct syringes so I ended up with insulin type syringes. They have a shorter needle than it was planned for me to get. But even the longer needle that I received in the doctor's office did not hurt. It does bruise so the bruises will hurt after I get several.
I have a supply of Preggie Drops for myself-just waiting for the day that I need them. In previous pregnancies I have had morning sickness when other women are usually about done with morning sickness. We'll see if the pattern repeats if I'm on heparin.
I talked to our local pharmacist (7 miles away) and they will be able to get heparin for me. There was only one pharmacy in the bigger town that I went to the doctor yesterday that carried heparin to fill the prescription immediately. It was good news that after this first month supply I will be able to get it locally.
Some of my friends have asked why I was advised to do heparin. After my last miscarriage I was tested for basically every disorder they can do a blood test for that could cause miscarriages. The disorder I have is called Factor II. If you do an internet search Factor V will probably come up with lots of info, but Factor II will only show up a little. Factor V is a rare blood disorder, but Factor II is even more rare. Basically there is a 30% chance that my blood will clot and either cause miscarriage or I would have the potential for a blood clot in my leg or even some place more serious. Baby aspirin should thin my blood to cut down on the chance of blood clot. Heparin injections thin the blood to cut down the chance of blood clot even more. Baby aspirin would do a lot for the blood clot situation, heparin injections are doing everything possible with medical knowledge today. I have always had this disorder so it is a miracle that we had 3 Lambs born without major pregnancy or delivery or post delivery problems. My doctor sees mostly high risk pregnancies or trouble conceiving pregnancies. He said nearly every woman that sees him at least takes baby aspirin and many take heparin. Heparin has been given for years and is relatively safe and especially safe for pregnancy.
Some one said to me today, "Wouldn't it be nice if you could have just a regular pregnancy, without being hospitalized with morning sickness, with gaining a normal amount of weight during pregnancy (not just 10 lbs), not doing heparin injections, etc.?" I responded that that is the idea behind heparin injections-the plan is that by doing heparin injections I will gain a normal amount of weight during pregnancy (maybe I'll even take the tags off and wear some of my maternity clothes!) and carry this baby for the entire pregnancy without having a preemie. May the Lord help that to happen. Thank you for all your prayers.
Due date is November 22.
Injections do not hurt, really they don't! The pharmacy didn't have the correct syringes so I ended up with insulin type syringes. They have a shorter needle than it was planned for me to get. But even the longer needle that I received in the doctor's office did not hurt. It does bruise so the bruises will hurt after I get several.
I have a supply of Preggie Drops for myself-just waiting for the day that I need them. In previous pregnancies I have had morning sickness when other women are usually about done with morning sickness. We'll see if the pattern repeats if I'm on heparin.
I talked to our local pharmacist (7 miles away) and they will be able to get heparin for me. There was only one pharmacy in the bigger town that I went to the doctor yesterday that carried heparin to fill the prescription immediately. It was good news that after this first month supply I will be able to get it locally.
Some of my friends have asked why I was advised to do heparin. After my last miscarriage I was tested for basically every disorder they can do a blood test for that could cause miscarriages. The disorder I have is called Factor II. If you do an internet search Factor V will probably come up with lots of info, but Factor II will only show up a little. Factor V is a rare blood disorder, but Factor II is even more rare. Basically there is a 30% chance that my blood will clot and either cause miscarriage or I would have the potential for a blood clot in my leg or even some place more serious. Baby aspirin should thin my blood to cut down on the chance of blood clot. Heparin injections thin the blood to cut down the chance of blood clot even more. Baby aspirin would do a lot for the blood clot situation, heparin injections are doing everything possible with medical knowledge today. I have always had this disorder so it is a miracle that we had 3 Lambs born without major pregnancy or delivery or post delivery problems. My doctor sees mostly high risk pregnancies or trouble conceiving pregnancies. He said nearly every woman that sees him at least takes baby aspirin and many take heparin. Heparin has been given for years and is relatively safe and especially safe for pregnancy.
Some one said to me today, "Wouldn't it be nice if you could have just a regular pregnancy, without being hospitalized with morning sickness, with gaining a normal amount of weight during pregnancy (not just 10 lbs), not doing heparin injections, etc.?" I responded that that is the idea behind heparin injections-the plan is that by doing heparin injections I will gain a normal amount of weight during pregnancy (maybe I'll even take the tags off and wear some of my maternity clothes!) and carry this baby for the entire pregnancy without having a preemie. May the Lord help that to happen. Thank you for all your prayers.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
My new daily routine
Although I have a slightly different blood clotting disorder than this video, watching this helped me make my final decision. I had thought about heparin or not for over a year, but it wasn't until I was really pregnant that I had to make the final decision. My doctor gave me the choice of just baby aspirin or also heparin injections. I will give myself injections of heparin twice a day for the entire pregnancy. By doing heparin, I know that I have done everything possible for Lamb 4.
1 injection down, 485 more to go. (Maybe slightly less if Lamb 4 decides to come early.) Praise God for heparin only being $10 per month copay vs. Lovenox being $800 per month (I don't know what that copay would be.) The difference is Lovenox is once per day injections vs. heparin twice per day injections.
If you see me in real life this summer know that I am not abused, it is just the bruising from the injections! My other goal with using heparin is I hope to gain more than 10 lbs this pregnancy (Lamb 3's pregnancy). I do plan to save my needles for a photo, but I'm not making a video. :)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Here we go again...
The last week has been very busy. Thursday I saw the OB/GYN 2 hours away. At that appointment I agreed to just do baby aspirin. I talked to a lot of family, friends, and my doctors and decided to do heparin injections too. I spent most of Monday waiting for the nurses to call back with info from my doctors. I was finally set to make the 2 hour trip to begin heparin on Tuesday. When the nurse called for my appointment time, she reminded me travel was not advised. What? It was raining. Sure enough, it was close enough to freezing rain and several inches of snow were predicted. I asked for an appointment on Wednesday and she said it was supposed to be even worse then. She finally scheduled me for Thursday, but told me that was tentative as the weather might not allow that either. Another storm is predicted for Friday, so if I don't make it on Thursday, it won't be until the next week. I will do twice a day heparin injections at home for the entire pregnancy. My doctor 2 hours away will get me set up and after I begin I should be able to see the local doctor for the rest of my pregnancy.
The weather is crazy here. All schools in the area are closed. We received at least a foot of snow last night and it is currently snowing and expect a few more inches today. The main highway around here is down to one lane and drifted closed in some places. The local doctor's office and the local cafe are closed. We had such nice weather the last few weeks that most snow had melted from the trees and sidewalks. There were just patches of snow left in the yard and where the snow had been piled from shoveling. Everyone is so ready for spring!
The weather is crazy here. All schools in the area are closed. We received at least a foot of snow last night and it is currently snowing and expect a few more inches today. The main highway around here is down to one lane and drifted closed in some places. The local doctor's office and the local cafe are closed. We had such nice weather the last few weeks that most snow had melted from the trees and sidewalks. There were just patches of snow left in the yard and where the snow had been piled from shoveling. Everyone is so ready for spring!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Baby Gear
*No, I'm NOT pregnant with a title like that for this post.
Earlier this summer I cleaned out and decided to sell/give away some baby items. I advertised them on the radio and we had a garage sale.
Stroller-we used this stroller a lot for Lamb 1, but with each baby we used it less and less. We actually had 3 strollers. We still use the umbrella stroller some times for Lamb 3. We decided to sell this one and keep the other two. We gave it to someone that needed it and they may eventually pay us, but if they don't that's ok because they needed it.
Double stroller-we bought this used for $10 when I was pregnant with Lamb 2. I was told it would be a necessity when I had a toddler and a newborn. We never used it-not even once. Lamb 1 wanted to walk when we went places and if he got tired then we put Lamb 1 in the stroller and carried Lamb 2 in the sling. Same thing happened when we had 3 Lambs. I was glad I only paid $10. It was just too bulky to take with us on trips. After we tried to sell it at the garage sale, I told a lady that works with Birthright that I had it available. We were happy to give it to someone that needed it.*
Outside swing-we didn't really have any good trees to mount this in so when Lamb 1 was little we put it on the clothesline post . With each baby I was less likely to put it there as I was afraid an older Lamb would break it. We actually sold this one item at our garage sale.
Baby swing-I was told that a baby swing was a necessity for a fussy baby. None of our Lambs liked it. They just wanted to be held or hang out in the bouncy chair or lay on a blanket on the floor. They didn't like to swing. I would like to sell ours to make space in our basement again. It is too big to transport very far to give away/sell at a consignment shop. I'm not sure what we are going to do with it. I told the Birthright lady that we also had that available and she hasn't found anyone that needs it yet.
Mobile-When Lamb 1 was hospitalized with MSPI, he was the right age that he loved the hospital mobile. I put it on my wish list when I was pregnant with Lamb 2. The one we got went on the crib and our babies hardly ever slept in the crib at the right age for the mobile. I was too sleep deprived to try to figure out another way to mount the mobile. No one wanted the mobile so we'll donate it some place soon.
High chair-I didn't have time to clean this yet, but I plan to donate it to one of our churches. When there are dinners at church, they could always use another high chair. I hated our high chair because it was so difficult to clean and so bulky. If we have another child then I will buy a high chair that is more like a booster seat-that attaches to a regular chair. I never fed my Lambs solids early enough to use the feature where you lean them back in the high chair. I wish I would have asked friends for advice before I bought this high chair. I had no idea before I fed Lamb 1 in it that a high chair could be so complicated.
It makes me upset that money was spent on all these items that I was told were necessities and we really didn't need any of them. Now I'm spending time dealing with getting rid of them. Thankfully someone told me not to buy a special diaper pail so I didn't waste my money on that. A regular trash can is fine. Thankfully I didn't waste my money on a changing table. We usually changed them on a towel on the floor.
I'm sure people saw our garage sale and thought we are done having children. If they could only see how much I kept-cradle, crib, co-sleeper, pack-n-play, 2 strollers, 2 slings, car seat cover, infant car seat, bouncy seat (a necessity to me), baby bathtub, many (but not all) baby clothes and baby toys, etc. We really don't know what God has planned for our family. I don't want to regret giving away some things. Yes, I know the wive's tale that if you give away baby clothes then you get pregnant. Yes, I know that every one else is trying to get rid of their baby gear too so it wouldn't be too hard to replace some items. But we'll hang on to some things for a little while until we see what God's plans are. In the mean time we're enjoying a little more space by getting rid of these items that we didn't need. I still have a lot in the Lambs room and in the basement to go through, but this was a good start.
*Note that Birthright can not give away baby furniture for legal reasons, only donated baby clothes. But the lady from Birthright helped me connect with someone that could use our double stroller. I donated the double stroller to this person, not to Birthright.
Earlier this summer I cleaned out and decided to sell/give away some baby items. I advertised them on the radio and we had a garage sale.
Stroller-we used this stroller a lot for Lamb 1, but with each baby we used it less and less. We actually had 3 strollers. We still use the umbrella stroller some times for Lamb 3. We decided to sell this one and keep the other two. We gave it to someone that needed it and they may eventually pay us, but if they don't that's ok because they needed it.
Double stroller-we bought this used for $10 when I was pregnant with Lamb 2. I was told it would be a necessity when I had a toddler and a newborn. We never used it-not even once. Lamb 1 wanted to walk when we went places and if he got tired then we put Lamb 1 in the stroller and carried Lamb 2 in the sling. Same thing happened when we had 3 Lambs. I was glad I only paid $10. It was just too bulky to take with us on trips. After we tried to sell it at the garage sale, I told a lady that works with Birthright that I had it available. We were happy to give it to someone that needed it.*
Outside swing-we didn't really have any good trees to mount this in so when Lamb 1 was little we put it on the clothesline post . With each baby I was less likely to put it there as I was afraid an older Lamb would break it. We actually sold this one item at our garage sale.
Baby swing-I was told that a baby swing was a necessity for a fussy baby. None of our Lambs liked it. They just wanted to be held or hang out in the bouncy chair or lay on a blanket on the floor. They didn't like to swing. I would like to sell ours to make space in our basement again. It is too big to transport very far to give away/sell at a consignment shop. I'm not sure what we are going to do with it. I told the Birthright lady that we also had that available and she hasn't found anyone that needs it yet.
Mobile-When Lamb 1 was hospitalized with MSPI, he was the right age that he loved the hospital mobile. I put it on my wish list when I was pregnant with Lamb 2. The one we got went on the crib and our babies hardly ever slept in the crib at the right age for the mobile. I was too sleep deprived to try to figure out another way to mount the mobile. No one wanted the mobile so we'll donate it some place soon.
High chair-I didn't have time to clean this yet, but I plan to donate it to one of our churches. When there are dinners at church, they could always use another high chair. I hated our high chair because it was so difficult to clean and so bulky. If we have another child then I will buy a high chair that is more like a booster seat-that attaches to a regular chair. I never fed my Lambs solids early enough to use the feature where you lean them back in the high chair. I wish I would have asked friends for advice before I bought this high chair. I had no idea before I fed Lamb 1 in it that a high chair could be so complicated.
It makes me upset that money was spent on all these items that I was told were necessities and we really didn't need any of them. Now I'm spending time dealing with getting rid of them. Thankfully someone told me not to buy a special diaper pail so I didn't waste my money on that. A regular trash can is fine. Thankfully I didn't waste my money on a changing table. We usually changed them on a towel on the floor.
I'm sure people saw our garage sale and thought we are done having children. If they could only see how much I kept-cradle, crib, co-sleeper, pack-n-play, 2 strollers, 2 slings, car seat cover, infant car seat, bouncy seat (a necessity to me), baby bathtub, many (but not all) baby clothes and baby toys, etc. We really don't know what God has planned for our family. I don't want to regret giving away some things. Yes, I know the wive's tale that if you give away baby clothes then you get pregnant. Yes, I know that every one else is trying to get rid of their baby gear too so it wouldn't be too hard to replace some items. But we'll hang on to some things for a little while until we see what God's plans are. In the mean time we're enjoying a little more space by getting rid of these items that we didn't need. I still have a lot in the Lambs room and in the basement to go through, but this was a good start.
*Note that Birthright can not give away baby furniture for legal reasons, only donated baby clothes. But the lady from Birthright helped me connect with someone that could use our double stroller. I donated the double stroller to this person, not to Birthright.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Results are in...
I received a letter from the doctor yesterday. My lab tests are back and everything was normal except my Factor II analysis had two separate mutations. This puts me at a higher risk of miscarriages. The doctor recommends either Heparin or Lovenox injections (blood thinner)during future pregnancies. I am currently against this both because I don't want to take injections and the logistics of living 2-3 hours away from any specialist doctors. Do any of you have any advice on this? Please leave a comment if you can. I will need to ask my doctor more questions before we make a decision.
My TSH thyroid level was low and close to what my levels were when I've had it drawn recently for my thyroid doctor. So I continue to wait a few months to see if my levels recover after the miscarriage. I have an appointment to see the thyroid doctor the beginning of June.
Interesting, the same day that I received this letter about my lab results, Pastor Harrison posted this on his blog. I remember when Pastor Harrison and his wife Kathy had a miscarriage while he was my pastor. It really was one of those times that I didn't know what to say. The words he posted from Luther are such a comfort. I pray that his post is helpful for many people.
My TSH thyroid level was low and close to what my levels were when I've had it drawn recently for my thyroid doctor. So I continue to wait a few months to see if my levels recover after the miscarriage. I have an appointment to see the thyroid doctor the beginning of June.
Interesting, the same day that I received this letter about my lab results, Pastor Harrison posted this on his blog. I remember when Pastor Harrison and his wife Kathy had a miscarriage while he was my pastor. It really was one of those times that I didn't know what to say. The words he posted from Luther are such a comfort. I pray that his post is helpful for many people.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Birthdays and Clothes
Ram, his dad, and all 3 Lambs have spring birthdays. Ewe, Ewe's mom, Ram's mom, and Lamb 4 all have fall birthdays. It would be nice if Lamb 4 was a girl to keep our pattern of boys=spring birthdays and girls=fall birthdays.
I think I'm going to have to buy some maternity clothes. I don't get very big when I'm pregnant (well, at least not for the first 3 Lambs!), but big enough that my clothes don't fit. I made do with just a few pairs of pants and a few dresses for when I go out of the house and wore pajamas around the house. Ram's mom got me a few really nice maternity dresses when I was pregnant with Lamb 1. They are all long sleeved and/or winter colors. This time when I'm big enough to need maternity clothes it is going to be late spring/summer. My current maternity clothes won't do.
I know many of you will not understand this, but I have some maternity clothes that still have the tags on them because I never got big enough to wear them. Pam said I was the skinniest pregnant woman she ever met. But it truly was a problem in my previous pregnancies that my regular clothes didn't fit but some maternity clothes were too big.
I'm being careful what I wish for because I don't want to go to the other extreme and be so big that most maternity clothes don't fit, but it would be really nice to have a "normal" pregnancy and not have to continually go to ultrasounds the whole pregnancy because I'm not getting big enough even though the baby is just fine.
I've also been thinking that if this is a boy we'll probably have to get new clothes for him because all the newborn clothes are spring/summer type and that pattern continues for the first year of baby clothes. I really hope this is a girl so if we have to buy new clothes we at least get to buy some girl clothes!
I think I'm going to have to buy some maternity clothes. I don't get very big when I'm pregnant (well, at least not for the first 3 Lambs!), but big enough that my clothes don't fit. I made do with just a few pairs of pants and a few dresses for when I go out of the house and wore pajamas around the house. Ram's mom got me a few really nice maternity dresses when I was pregnant with Lamb 1. They are all long sleeved and/or winter colors. This time when I'm big enough to need maternity clothes it is going to be late spring/summer. My current maternity clothes won't do.
I know many of you will not understand this, but I have some maternity clothes that still have the tags on them because I never got big enough to wear them. Pam said I was the skinniest pregnant woman she ever met. But it truly was a problem in my previous pregnancies that my regular clothes didn't fit but some maternity clothes were too big.
I'm being careful what I wish for because I don't want to go to the other extreme and be so big that most maternity clothes don't fit, but it would be really nice to have a "normal" pregnancy and not have to continually go to ultrasounds the whole pregnancy because I'm not getting big enough even though the baby is just fine.
I've also been thinking that if this is a boy we'll probably have to get new clothes for him because all the newborn clothes are spring/summer type and that pattern continues for the first year of baby clothes. I really hope this is a girl so if we have to buy new clothes we at least get to buy some girl clothes!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Tests during pregnancy
A few days ago I received an e-mail from a friend that is pregnant and when she got her blood tests back it showed her baby could have Down's Syndrome. She is waiting until she goes for further tests/ultrasound to know more. She e-mailed wondering if any one she was e-mailing had any experience with this. I immediately called her after I received the e-mail so I could tell her our experience with Lamb 2.
When I was pregnant with Lamb 2, the blood test came back showing a possibility of Down's Syndrome. The next step was to drive 4 hours to have a level 2 ultrasound. When I called to make the appointment I had to wait several weeks to get in. That was frustrating to wait and not know anything during those few weeks. It was really bad timing for this level 2 ultrasound because Lamb 1 had broken his leg but we didn't know that it was broken at the time. So we headed for the Twin Cities and spent the night in a hotel rather than get up in the middle of the night to make it for our appointment.
The FIRST step at our appointment was to meet with a genetic counselor. There is so much wrong with this system that you meet with a genetic counselor BEFORE the ultrasound. The genetic counselor was very concerned because Ram has a first cousin with Down's Syndrome. Also Ram's brothers are both dead and my sister is not married so she had nothing to go on for our nieces and nephews. She really encouraged us to have an amniocentesis. We declined that. We listened to the whole ridiculous talk and then we finally had the level 2 ultrasound. I was expecting to be able to see much better, but the level 2 ultrasound seemed just like a regular ultrasound for my untrained eyes. The ultrasound tech did his job and didn't talk to us very much. Lamb 2 was so active that he couldn't get very good photos of some important parts to see if there was a likelihood of Down's. (Ram's dad heard that and said there was no way our baby had Down's if it was so active that the ultrasound tech couldn't even get good photos!) For example he was punching so he couldn't get photos of his hands. Then another man came in and told us what the ultrasound showed. He was very careful with his words, but without being this blunt, he said there was not very much likelihood of Lamb 2 having Down's Syndrome. He also encouraged us to have an amniocentesis, but he also said there wasn't much chance of having Down's Syndrome so he didn't encourage the amniocentesis as much as the genetic counselor had. Both this man and the genetic counselor talked there is 1 in ____ chance of this, 1 in _____ chance of this, etc. That meant nothing to me. Although they gave plenty of chance for questions, we knew so little about this that we didn't even have questions to ask.
We left the appointment not knowing a whole lot more than when we went. We knew from the beginning that we would keep the baby so it seemed like a waste of time to drive to the Twin Cities and back for the level 2 ultrasound. We decided then that if we had any more children we were not going to have unrequired blood work done during pregnancy. We declined it for Lamb 3 and we will also decline it for any future Lambs. We do chose to have regular ultrasounds during pregnancy because sometimes they show something that can be corrected during pregnancy or we would know we need to deliver at a bigger hospital in order to have the baby at a NICU.
Although it was a waste of time, I was glad that we went through this whole experience because it was such an eye opener to me. It is so so sad the way the system works that so many are aborting their babies when they hear this news and there is no way to know if the news is a false positive.
This is from the March of Dimes website. "Out of every 100 women who take a screening test, about 5 (5 percent) have an abnormal result. However, only about 4 to 5 percent of women whose test results show an increased risk for Down syndrome actually have a baby with Down syndrome." Why in the world do they even administer a test that is incorrect more than it is correct?
I chose to share this on my blog even though it happened 4 years ago because I was comforted to hear from friends that also received false positives. My friend's unborn baby is in my prayers. I know that even if does have Down Syndrome she will keep it. In fact she will participate in the March for Life in D.C. in a few weeks. May the Lord bless and keep all unborn babies whose mothers receive a positive on their bloodwork during pregnancy. May the Lord bless and keep all the mothers who worry about a positive on their bloodwork during pregnancy too.
When I was pregnant with Lamb 2, the blood test came back showing a possibility of Down's Syndrome. The next step was to drive 4 hours to have a level 2 ultrasound. When I called to make the appointment I had to wait several weeks to get in. That was frustrating to wait and not know anything during those few weeks. It was really bad timing for this level 2 ultrasound because Lamb 1 had broken his leg but we didn't know that it was broken at the time. So we headed for the Twin Cities and spent the night in a hotel rather than get up in the middle of the night to make it for our appointment.
The FIRST step at our appointment was to meet with a genetic counselor. There is so much wrong with this system that you meet with a genetic counselor BEFORE the ultrasound. The genetic counselor was very concerned because Ram has a first cousin with Down's Syndrome. Also Ram's brothers are both dead and my sister is not married so she had nothing to go on for our nieces and nephews. She really encouraged us to have an amniocentesis. We declined that. We listened to the whole ridiculous talk and then we finally had the level 2 ultrasound. I was expecting to be able to see much better, but the level 2 ultrasound seemed just like a regular ultrasound for my untrained eyes. The ultrasound tech did his job and didn't talk to us very much. Lamb 2 was so active that he couldn't get very good photos of some important parts to see if there was a likelihood of Down's. (Ram's dad heard that and said there was no way our baby had Down's if it was so active that the ultrasound tech couldn't even get good photos!) For example he was punching so he couldn't get photos of his hands. Then another man came in and told us what the ultrasound showed. He was very careful with his words, but without being this blunt, he said there was not very much likelihood of Lamb 2 having Down's Syndrome. He also encouraged us to have an amniocentesis, but he also said there wasn't much chance of having Down's Syndrome so he didn't encourage the amniocentesis as much as the genetic counselor had. Both this man and the genetic counselor talked there is 1 in ____ chance of this, 1 in _____ chance of this, etc. That meant nothing to me. Although they gave plenty of chance for questions, we knew so little about this that we didn't even have questions to ask.
We left the appointment not knowing a whole lot more than when we went. We knew from the beginning that we would keep the baby so it seemed like a waste of time to drive to the Twin Cities and back for the level 2 ultrasound. We decided then that if we had any more children we were not going to have unrequired blood work done during pregnancy. We declined it for Lamb 3 and we will also decline it for any future Lambs. We do chose to have regular ultrasounds during pregnancy because sometimes they show something that can be corrected during pregnancy or we would know we need to deliver at a bigger hospital in order to have the baby at a NICU.
Although it was a waste of time, I was glad that we went through this whole experience because it was such an eye opener to me. It is so so sad the way the system works that so many are aborting their babies when they hear this news and there is no way to know if the news is a false positive.
This is from the March of Dimes website. "Out of every 100 women who take a screening test, about 5 (5 percent) have an abnormal result. However, only about 4 to 5 percent of women whose test results show an increased risk for Down syndrome actually have a baby with Down syndrome." Why in the world do they even administer a test that is incorrect more than it is correct?
I chose to share this on my blog even though it happened 4 years ago because I was comforted to hear from friends that also received false positives. My friend's unborn baby is in my prayers. I know that even if does have Down Syndrome she will keep it. In fact she will participate in the March for Life in D.C. in a few weeks. May the Lord bless and keep all unborn babies whose mothers receive a positive on their bloodwork during pregnancy. May the Lord bless and keep all the mothers who worry about a positive on their bloodwork during pregnancy too.
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