11 Week Ultrasound

11 weeks

Yesterday was an emotional day for me thinking about my ultrasound with the last baby in April. It was a 9 week one but baby was measuring too small and was dying. So yesterday at my 10 week checkup and having my scheduled ultrasound, I cried. I really didn't want to go in and I cried missing Genesis.  I cried all the way to the OB's office, just worried of bad news. I smiled right away when I saw this on the screen because I knew everything was okay. They actually changed my due date so I'm 11 weeks. Baby is growing, healthy, has very strong heartbeat. Now it's tears of joy. My new due date is April 27.  I can't believe I'm having a baby in a different month.  Wow, so different.  My older six kids have birthdays all two weeks apart and then Juliet made her own month.  Now this one is due two weeks before her.  :)

I told the doctor how nauseous I was and she prescribed me some medication.  Also, because of my age I have to take calcium vitamins and a baby aspirin along with my prenatals.  Well, I took the antinausea medicine last night.  I woke up for the first time without throwing up.  I went an entire day without heaving at every smell.  The only problem is I kept falling asleep everywhere.  Oh my gosh!  I couldn't even hardly wake up in the morning and when I finally made my way to the couch I slept more. I got up to make lunch and that wore me out so I put Juliet down for a nap and then put myself down as well. I slept and slept.  When Charles got home he said I looked like a drunk.  I finally went and took a look at that medicine to see if it had something to do with it.  It says right on the box that it causes drowsiness and don't use it if you need to be attentive.  Um yeah, I'm a mom.  I need to be very attentive.  There is no way I'm taking these pills again.  Since I took two last night, I'm took only one tonight to see if it makes a difference at least.  Ohhhh, my house is a mess now that I've been down and out all day.  Please, lets not have tomorrow be a repeat.  Eek! 

30 Week 3D Ultrasound

Yesterday I to the doctors for a 30 week ultrasound for baby Juliet.  This time Charles got to come with me and since we had someone watching the kids we got to go alone. How different and fun!

I told the doctor that baby Juliet is so mellow I was hoping it's just because she's such a mellow baby and not because there was any distress.  They measured her and at 30 weeks she is breech and her legs folded up towards her face.  That's why in the picture you see her foot right in her face.  :D  By 36 weeks if she doesn't turn they are going to have me go to the hospital to try and turn her. (See video at bottom of post on how they turn a breech baby).

Juliet is 3 1/2 lbs already and we saw her smacking her lips and making sucking motions with her mouth.  Was soooo cute!  

They think either she is mellow because:

a) I'm just lucky, 

b) she's breech and how she is laying 

c) I'm such a busy mamma that doesn't sit down much and so the rocking motion puts her to sleep.  Yeah, you don't do a lot of sitting down with 6 kids.  

I told her that I have a lot of acid problems and it keeps me up at night.  Sometimes it makes me wake up to throwing up and choking several times a night.  It's not fun trying to cough up acid out of your lungs the next day.  She recommended Prilosec instead of Tums and said its way more effective.  Also, that'll help with the nausea.  

My dad holding me

We had such a fun time and afterwards Charles I ate at Red Lobster for a date.  It was fun but we were actually happy to sit there quietly and eat rather than chat away.  The waiter probably thought we were mad at each other but we were happy to just share bits and pieces here and there.  It's really nice getting away every now and then but we always miss the kids when we are gone.

Appreciating the Craziness of Children

Anyway, I'm hoping Juliet turns on her own before 36 weeks but in case she doesn't I will have to go to the hospital and have her turned.  I found a neat video that shows how they do it. It doesn't work all the time because the doctors tried it on me with my 3rd child and it didn't work.  However, at the LAST minute before I was to have a c-section, Kyle turned and BOY did I feel it.  He was my biggest kid.

Finding Out the Sex of Our 7th Baby...

Today we took all my little family with us to my 20 week ultrasound.  Actually, I was planning on going but my husband was sad when he came home from work and said he really wanted to go with me.  So, I had 30 minutes notice to get me and our 6 kids ready as fast as possible.  They boys looked great and the girls too with their bows.  :D

I can't believe I could pull it off to get everyone out the door and looking decent.  Its a really far drive but we got there just in time.  There are never one to keep anyone waiting so we went straight back to the comfortable ultrasound room.  All the kids fit on the couch and Charles stood. They were super quiet and only talked in whispers.  I was really proud of all of them sitting still and being quiet so the technician could do her job.

As soon as she put the "Magical Wand" on my belly she knew it was a girl!  Yay!  All the kids loudly whispered "YESSS!" Charles was so happy too.  Baby is totally healthy and we are even more excited that we can get things ready for her.  The Dr said her legs are measuring long.  I was surprised when it was all done that they gave me a DVD of the ultrasound. I could go home and watch it again!  When I went home I cried as I watched it again.  They are such miracles.  

The doctor again talked to me about birth control and what we are planning.  I told her I HATE the thought of doing anything permanent and asked if any new things have come out that won't abort any babies.  She said no and knew exactly what I was talking about.  She tried to talk to me about The Ring but I asked the question "I know it stops ovulation some of the time, but does it just abort the baby if ovulation occurs and I get pregnant?"  Yes.  So now she can see my dilemma.  I don't want to get pregnant right away but I hate permanency.  She told that in the ultrasound room she could see that my husband and I DO NOT look ready to make anything permanent.  She said only do that if you are 100% sure because there is no going back.  So, of course I go back and forth about what to do.

I really don't feel that God forces children on anyone. Yes, they are a blessing.  However, nowhere that I can see in the bible does God say you must allow them to come as they may.  I'm sure in the olden days they had their methods.  Then I hear some people quote the scripture about God killing the man that did not impregnate the woman. However, I believe he was killed because he directly disobeyed God and what He commanded.  I love having children because I truly enjoy them, not because I fear God and what He might do if I track my ovulation.  Just my personal thoughts on the matter.  :) Would love to hear your view.  

By the way, guess who has some really adorable Christian cards that gave me a chuckle?  Seeds of Faith has some really great ones if you'd like to check them out.  25% of the profits from their cards go to helping people, domestically and internationally, through various ministries.  How cool is that?

12 Week Ultrasound

I was super nervous about seeing my OB because she was worried about my kidneys if I got pregnant again.  However, she said that if any trouble even begins to try and start up she will put me on a low dose antibiotic.  Since I have not had any infections for 2 years since our pastor prayed for me (which is a total miracle), she is not going to do it just yet.

hand towels instead of paper towels?  Awesome!

This is a special OB office as it is only for high risk pregnancies. I wasn't sure if they would accept me again but they did right away since I was with them in my last pregnancy.  It's like walking into a spa.  You don't even know there is an OB office inside of it.  As soon as I walked out of the restroom they took me into their high tech ultrasound 2D/3D room to get some pictures.  I was surprised and so happy to see my baby!

Another thing I love here is that they make you feel comfortable by giving you a really soft robe and blanket rather than those stiff hospital looking ones and with a paper for your lap.  It makes me feel more like a person rather than just another patient that walked in.  They never ever rush me in my appointment and stay to talk as long as I need.


At the beginning of my last pregnancy they gave me a $50 gift certificate for the spa and when Caleb was born they gave me a $100 certificate for any procedure I would like done.  Whether it's laser treatment, massage, pedicure.  Whatever I wanted. So this time they just gave me a gift certificate for a facial.  Man, one of these days I just need to cash it all in and have a girls day there.  :D 

Back to the ultrasound.  I laid back in a really comfortable table with a large screen in front of me to see the baby.  I was so surprised to see how developed the baby was at 12 weeks.  He/she was jumping around and moving it's beautiful hands.  She didn't rush through the ultrasound and we just talked about the baby and all kinds of other stuff.  It's just such a relaxed atmosphere.

I know I'm super early, yet I did find out Caleb's gender at only 13 weeks along.  She said she didn't want to tell me in case I would be upset if she were wrong.  I mean, I am only 12 weeks. I told her it's not a problem because I have both boys and girls. I'm just happy for a healthy baby.  She said at this early of the stage the best way to look is from the side. If it's a boy, you can see something going straight up.  If it's a girl, you can see something sticking straight out (see picture).  She asked me what I thought and I replied instantly, "A girl?"  She said she thinks so too but only gives it a 70% chance.  So we'll see in the next ultrasound in two months.  Next time it'll be a 2D and 3D ultrasound so I'll have some really neat pictures.  Whether the Lord blessed us with a boy or a girl, we are very happy.  

I Can't Believe I Have Daughters!

Who could of thought I could ever be so lucky to have 3 boys and then 2 girls. It's just so perfect. I didn't have boy, girl, boy, girl. Just my boys together and my girls together. How awesome. I'm so excited that all my daughters fancy gowns get to be worn again. All her little shoes. The outfit Jodee bought Ivy before she moved to South Africa can be worn by the next "princess". The boys are real excited about their baby sister and they are telling everyone. They think there is not enough girls in the house. (We'll see about that when the girls are teenagers). Ha!