Stress and Pregnancy Scare

Dan is out of town, first time in a few weeks, and the first since I've been pregnant. 

I am really not handling it well. It's hard to chase after 3 kids and rest. 

I kept Jensen and Kathryn home from school on Tuesday because both needed a visit to the doctor. Both had a chest cold and Kathryn has had a terrible cough. I had planned to rest on Tuesday and that did not happen. I was looking forward to Wednesday. Well, yesterday, I found larvae in the pantry...yes, you read that right. So instead of resting, I spent 5.5 hours cleaning out my pantry and finally found the culprit...a Sprouts bag of bulk pecans...not sure how long they'd been in there. It was a lot of work to go through and sort everything in the pantry. Then I had to clean off every larvae I saw from the walls and any packaging. Literally, from the time a sweet friend picked up the kids for school, till the time they got back, I was cleaning the pantry. 

Last night was very stressful as all three kids were not listening and I just felt defeated. I'm not physically or mentally feeling my best right now and I just overdid it. 

Before dinner last night I started spotting. My face immediately got hot and a rush of panic came over me. I immediately thought I had overdone it and that's why I was spotting. I ate a little bit of dinner and laid down. It took awhile for all the kids to finally get jimmies on, but instead of me going to work, we all including me and the kids were in bed at 7pm. I kept praying that I would be safe and that I could rest enough for the baby to be safe. I did not call my doctor because really, there is nothing they could do. 

Thankfully, this morning the spotting had gone away. I learned that I can't overdo it. 

I'm so thankful that my mother in-law, Toni came over and took the kids to school this morning and brought them home. That gave me some serious time to rest, which I absolutely needed.
I am prayerful that the baby is ok. I just have to trust that whatever happens, God is in control and has a plan. Maybe He was trying to get me to slow down and depend on him. I think I learned my lesson.

8 Weeks with Baby G #4

This week I've been very tired, but in addition, I've been more stressed.

I have had more bouts of hot flashes, my face gets really hot, red, and I have a headache.

Saturday night I felt so bad that I was literally on the couch the entire night. Eventually the warmth went away with the headache.

I've been getting up at night to eat a bowl of cereal or two and then go back to bed. If I don't eat something right before I go to bed, then I wake up hungry in the night. I also get up to go potty 1-2 times.

This week, we met with our new doctor, Dr. Perez. Dr. Galvan will be retiring from OB in April, so I went ahead and started fresh with a new doctor that would help me to term and delivery.

We had a very thorough ultrasound done and found out that I am measuring a few days behind my original date. So far, my due dates have move from September 4th to 7th and now to 10th. We're getting pretty close to my birthday of September 15th. We had a great Sonogram Technician, and she let us see some pretty neat images of baby at such a small stage. The video or the heartbeat was pretty neat to watch and it was super sweet to see the movement. To me, this made everything seem more real. I got a little nervous thinking about having kid # 4!! I know God's going to equip us, but sometimes the thought of 4 kids is daunting.

We talked with Dr. Perez about my history with vaginal and c-section delivery. From what I understand, as much as I'd like a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), I will most likely end up with a C-Section. Kathryn was a full pound bigger than Hannah. There are many factors that would indicate my having a larger baby. I am in my mid 30's now, third baby and if we have a boy,  all those factors could contribute to a bigger baby. With Hannah, her clavicle broke and we did not know until 2 weeks after. We don't know if her clavicle broke due to my pelvis being too small or because she was born so fast-- 3 pushes in 15 minutes and she was out! With Kathryn, her head would not fully engage and my body would not fully dilate, so I ended up in a c-section due to failure to progress. 

My doctor is concerned that knowing all those factors, it may put the baby and me in danger should we try to allow me to go into labor and try to delivery vaginally. She gave me some tips on how to help keep the baby's size lower. Limit sugar and refined grains. Good know. 

Whatever happens, as long as this baby is healthy, I will do whatever is necessary to protect him or her and myself. I trust my doctor to make good judgments and decisions regarding what is best for me and baby.

Here is some footage from our ultrasound. 

Babies heart rate was 171 BPM, which I thought was high, but normal. My girls were in the 150-160's at this point. I am measuring about 8 weeks 1 day.  

      This video below was very sweet to see. It shows the heartbeat of the baby and he or she even decided to move a little. See for yourself!

Little one, we can't wait to meet you!

Love, Mama

7 Week Pregnancy - Sibling Comparison

7 Weeks with Hannah

 7 weeks with Kathryn

 7 Weeks with Baby #4

7 Weeks with Baby G #4

This week was very difficult for me. My dad went into the hospital last Wednesday and I've been a wreck ever since. I have spent countless hours at the hospital, communicating with medical staff, and helping my mom in any way I could. I was so distraught that I called my doctor and he was able to squeeze me in today for an ultrasound. I like to call it "peace of mind". Thankfully, the baby was fine and I did not need to be concerned. 

Symptoms this week...

Very tired- need to sleep after dropping kids off at school and I'm on the couch most of the time. 

Hungry- I have to eat small meals and not forget to eat either. I started getting up in the middle of the night to eat a spoonful of peanut butter and then going back to bed. 

Potty- I am definitely going potty more often now, during the day and at night. 

Here we are at 7 weeks.

Little One, 

I am so thankful that you are growing well, despite what's going on in Mama's life. We are praying for your health and growth. Love you so much,

Mama

6 weeks with Baby #4

Today, Dan and I went together to see Dr. Galvan. I thought I was 7 weeks, but I was actually 

6 weeks 3 days, according to the ultrasound.

This was our first visit to the doctor and I was a bit nervous.

Since I had 3 previous miscarriages,  I was very cautious. 

Dr. Galvan got the ultrasound going and it took a little bit to find the baby. 

Sure enough, he found the baby and heartbeat. Dan immediately was excited, while I was still a bit hesitant because it was REALLY hard to see the heartbeat. 

Here is 6 weeks 3 days via ultrasound

5 Weeks with Baby G #4

Today marks 5 weeks 3 days with Baby G #4. 

(According to ultrasound from 01/15)

There is no concealing here.

4 Weeks with Baby G #4

Today marks 5 weeks 1 (4weeks 5 days according to later ultrasound) Day pregnant with this sweet little one. It's hard to believe that we will have 4 children. I'm excited and a little overwhelmed, even though we planned for #4. Parenting is not for the weak and weary, that's for sure. It takes being intentional, giving lots of Grace and depending on God, to get through each and every day. 

I have my first appointment scheduled for January 15th at 10:30am. I'll be one day shy of 7 weeks at that point.

Right now, I am experiencing tiredness, I sleep during the night, wake up and just want to lay on the couch with a blanket and my eyes closed. I've been tiring quickly, if I am helping the kids get ready to go somewhere or even getting ready for bed, I am physically weak and worn out by the time we are done. My arms feel like Jello. Even sitting here typing, my hands and arms are getting tired. 

I feel a fullness in my lower belly and of course I am showing already, because well, this is my 6th pregnancy and I don't have much space to hide! A few times throughout the day, I feel stretching uterine pains and it's a great reminder that I am with child. This may happen when I am walking around, getting up from a sitting position, or laying down. I have not had any cravings yet, but have had occasional mild nausea or oversensitivity to smells. Just today, I started having some mild very low back discomfort. 

Mostly, I am just very tired and become weak quickly. 

Here I am at 5 weeks 1 Day, with Baby G #4