Curly Q’s Special Day

She is finally four! She has been counting down and the day has arrived at last!  We celebrated with friends and siblings at Chucky Cheese.  She was thrilled with her gifts!  She especially likes her big doll.  Happy birthday to our sweet, spunky, curly headed little BIG girl!  We love you!!

Kick Me, Kick Me Not

Image by Robert R Gigliotti, HQPrints.net via Flickr

When expecting a new child those little and sometimes not so little kicks are not only exciting but an encouragement that everything is okay.  It is something that I always look forward to.  It is something that doctors even use toward the end of pregnancy to judge the status of a child.

I usually feel those little kicks early on in my pregnancies but this time it was very late (for me).  I figured it was just because I was overweight.  The doctors didn’t seem to think so and just kept saying it was just early and not to worry.  I kept saying but it is late for me.  Just because something is the typical norm does not mean that it is the norm for that particular individual.  That is one thing that frustrates me so much about the medical profession.  People are indeed individuals and not all text book patients.  But that is another rant for another day.

A few weeks ago I did begin feeling little flutters and was excited and relieved.  I was noticing however, that I didn’t feel very many nor were they consistent at all.  I could go days without feeling a thing.  This concerned me.

I went in for my ultrasound and felt a few little kicks.  I noticed though that the baby was definitely moving!  That made me feel so much better.  I did notice that the ultrasound tech was not very friendly.  There was no doctor present.  I assumed that everything was ok since the tech didn’t go looking for a doctor but he also refused to really answer any questions that I had.  He simply said that he wasn’t a radiologist.  It has been my experience that when the tech is overly quiet something is up!  So I did leave a little concerned.

When I went in for my ob appointment three whole weeks later I found that everything was indeed fine!  Note to all ultrasound techs out there, “Be friendly!  Talk!  There is no need to worry a momma!”

I also found out that the location of the placenta is right in front!  That explained the whole “not feeling the baby move” thing!  The doctor told me that I might not feel much and if I did it would only be in a few places.  This was reassuring but also a little sad.  It is hard to go throughout the day with out the reassurance of those little baby kicks!  When I do feel them I try really hard not to even move just so I can enjoy them!  I will still go a day or two without feeling a thing.  That is a very strange reality for me.

When you get close to the end of the pregnancy, how do they gauge the baby’s well being where they would usually do a non-stress test?  I cannot see that being an effect test with this situation.

Has anyone else dealt with this?  Was it stressful for you?  Do you feel like you missed out on one of the best parts of being pregnant?  Just curious.  I am still not sure how I feel about it.

Please leave me a comment with your thoughts!

Beautiful Baby….what???

Back and forth, back and forth.  If you have been following along you will know that I have been trying to guess the sex of this little bundle that I am carrying.  My gut instinct has been that we were having a boy.  I have guessed all but one child correctly.  Testing the heart rate has always worked for me.  Even the one I guessed wrong had been confirmed via ultrasound.  Only when I was told the heart rate later did I tell the doc that it could not be what I had been told.  The heart rate actually did win over the original ultrasound.  So I am convinced that for me heart rates can tell you the sex of the baby.

This baby has had me a bit confused.  The heart rate was high, then borderline, then high again.  All over the board.  My gut was saying it was a boy but I just couldn’t believe that it would be so.  After all, we have so many girls and my boys are now 19 and 14.  The odds are against us and the heart rate was not something that had been very consistent.

I went in for my ultrasound last week.  The heart rate was at 138.  I began to get a little excited thinking that just maybe my gut feeling was right after all.  The tech asked if I wanted to know the sex it was all I could do to keep from saying, “Heck yah, why do you think I’m here!?”  But instead, I very politely said, “Yes, I would love to know.”

He scanned over my belly and before he even said a word, I KNEW!  I responded before he could even tell me himself what we were having!  If you know much about pregnancy ultrasounds you will understand this….

There were no three little lines!  There was a turtle  instead!  Yes, indeed, my gut was correct!  We are having a little boy!!!!! Oh boy, A BOY!!  And isn’t he the cutest little guy ever?

The Last Acceptable Prejudice

A friend shared this article and I thought it was definitely worth the read.  It is written by a Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.  Here are a few excepts.

A funny thing happened to me the other day when my wife and I had, thank God, another baby (a boy). Many of my friends didn’t seem all that happy for me. Sure, they went through the motions of smiles and congratulations. But it was evident that many thought me insane. Why would a young man and his wife ruin their lives with eight children?
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Indeed, the contempt shown to parents of many children is the last acceptable prejudice in our society.
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How strange to live in a world where loving children casts one in infamy. Having a family with many children implies a backwardness and primitivism that is deemed unbecoming in the developed countries of the West. Large families, it is thought, exist only among religious weirdoes or the teeming hovels of the Third World.

Rich countries, by contrast, prefer to increase their standard of living rather than the number of the living.
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I am often asked by women dating men how to tell whether they are marriage material. I tell them, “See if he enjoys children.” A man who loves children is playful. He will spend his life joking with his wife because he loves to see her laugh, and will flirt with her because he loves to see her smile.

Take a moment to go and read the entire article then pop back over here and let me know your thoughts. Those with large families, have you felt this prejudice? Those without larger families, have you ever found yourself displaying this type of prejudice? Please, just share with me.

I forgot to put the link!  I guess that would be helpful!  So, here it is…

The Contempt Shown to Parents of Large Families.

Boy or Girl??

Many think it is just an old wives tale but I am convinced.  The speed of a baby’s heartbeat can tell you the sex of your baby.  It has worked for me every single time.  In fact, one time we were told by our doctor that we were having a boy via ultrasound.  In my 8th month he told me the heart rate and I said, “I can’t be having a boy!”  We discussed this and I swore to him it was not a boy and I would bet money on it.  He even took me into the ultrasound room to prove me wrong.  Then to his surprise said, “Yep, that is definitely a girl!”

The heart rate has never been wrong for us.  The faster the rate a girl, the slower, a boy.  Now of course you have to check each month and find the most consistent rate.  The heart rate also tends to slow down a bit the further along you are.

I am not completely sure as of yet but I thought I would put the info out there and get your thoughts on it.   I have a suspicion though. I just am not convinced enough to say it out loud.  I have an ultrasound scheduled in four weeks.  We shall see if my suspicion is confirmed or not.

Ok, on to the stats…..

My girls have always been 145-160.   My boys 120-130.  Last month I was at about 150-155 (do not remember exactly).

I am at 16 1/2 weeks currently.  Heart rate today was 140.

So, here are my questions to you…

1. Do YOU trust the whole heart rate thing or still think it is just an old wives tale?

2. Do you think it is too early to make an assumption based on heart rate?

3. Boy or girl?  What do you think?

Words from an 18 Month Old

I love hearing little ones as they begin to talk.  Sometimes it is cute as can be, sometimes the words are very clear and other sometimes it has you scratching your head wondering what in the world they just said, and sometimes it even breaks your heart.

Hear are a few things my sweet pea has said in the last couple of days.

Buh lomp a bleen

This could fall into the cute as can be category and the WHAT?? category.  But I speak baby-ese and I knew exactly what she was saying.  Do you have a good guess?

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Well, if you guessed trampoline, you were correct!  Cute as can be, huh?

Here is another cute one….

We went to the zoo not long ago and she was able to pet the goats.  Her word for goat came out one of two ways: Gloat or Goak.  Later that evening she asked for some milk or Muck.  So the older children asked her if she wanted goat milk.  Now we have all the children laughing at her as she asks for Gloat Muck.

Now this falls into the break your heart category.

We were at worship service this past Lord’s Day and little Bella was sitting on my lap.  She pointed at every man that walked through the door.  (We were sitting by the door.)  After worship had started, she looked up at me, pointed at the door, and in a questioning tone said, “Daddy??”

I said, “I’m sorry honey, but daddy isn’t here. Do you miss him?”

She nodded her head yes and replied, “Daddy, bye-bye,” and proceeded to lay her head on my chest, arms wrapped around me.

Heartbreak.