Posted in Children

Right now, I am counting off the days until the end of the week. That's when I'll be 12 weeks along into this 5th pregnancy of mine. (This will be our fourth child born as we lost our first baby to a 14 week miscarriage).

Somehow after so many pregnancies you get familiar with the medical lingo. Like UTI's and BM's, and the colour of your urine if you're on the brink of dehydration, and knowing what's a good bloodpressure rate and a good iron level is, and where your good veins are for drawing blood, and the comfort (for me) that I will not ever faint during a blood test (even though I've had nothing to eat or drink all day), and even though they seem to be drawing multiple tubes of blood - just don't look at it! I know not to wear long sleeve tops when I go for my checkup so the midwife can strap her blood pressure belt around my arm easily, and to wear a skirt so I don't have to hike up my dress to my waist to check the baby's heartbeat. All these funny little things that are almost instinctive after several pregnancies - and yet I cannot remember if I'm allowed to take Panadol for a headache in the first trimester. Why can't I remember that?

Last week I was hopeful that my morning sickness woes were getting better. I haven't thrown up in over a week - that's got to be a good sign, right? Then this weekend, just when I wanted to be feeling great, because we had old friends visit - I was terrible. I actually think the last few days have been my worst. I haven't been able to get out of bed much at all, and my back is aching. At first I thought it was because the acid building up in my stomach was making it hurt, but now I think it is because I am just not using the muscles there at all, and they are losing condition. I have mentioned it to my obstetrician and she told me to try Gaviscon, but I'm one of those that is paranoid about taking anything during the first trimester.

We had one of our favourite people come and stay with us during the weekend.  A single guy who is just one of the loveliest Christian young men around. I tell you he will be a catch for some girl. We hardly ever see him, as he lives in another part of the country, and I only got to see him on Saturday afternoon. I was so bad the rest of the weekend that I couldn't even get out of bed to say goodbye when he left yesterday.

And then yesterday another lovely young man who we've known since he was little, and he played his violin at our wedding reception nearly 11 years ago, and who we haven't seen for years, called up and wanted to come and visit for the afternoon. We were so excited to see him. He's at Med School now (having been homeschooled all his life), and we wanted to see him again and catch up with him, and hear all his family news, and I had to cancel that as well, as I was too sick. I tell you I'm getting fed up with the morning sickness. I'm over it already!

We did have one answer to prayer last week however. I was due for my first visit with the obstetrician and I was only 10 and a half weeks along. I knew it was unlikely that she would be able to pick up the baby's heartbeat at that early, but I did pray that God would allow her to. We lost our first baby to miscarriage, and the first sign of that was at 11 weeks when the midwife couldn't get the heartbeat, so for me that is always the first hurdle to get over in my pregnancy.

Well, God answered my prayer and did even better than I expected. My obstetrician had a little mini scanner (no bigger than the size of a book) which I held while she put the doppler thingy on my abdomen, and up pops a picture of our precious baby - no bigger than about 2 inches with all its little feet, legs, arms and hands, and the heart beating away strongly. I know the danger period is still not over, but for me that is the first good sign that all is well. Thank the Lord for giving me that last week.