Beyond thankful for a healthy baby thus far

I am part of the May 2011 baby club on this website called Babycenter.com. Sometimes the threads that the expectant mothers post are quite amusing, sometimes they are annoying, sometimes they are odd, and honestly, some of the women on there are ignorant and stupid. (Yes, I'm harsh, but it's true.)

The women in my particular birth club (and there are over 6,000) are all due sometime in May. So, we very from being about 19 weeks to 24 weeks, give or take. Most of the women have found out the gender of their little one, some are having twins, some are as big as whales! Some are not even showing yet. (WHAT? Ya, crazy, I know) Some of them are married, some are single, some are in the military, some are in abusive relationships. Some are 16, some are 38.

That saddest thing is that some of them have discovered birth defects in their growing baby, suffered miscarriages recently or are going into preterm labor. Many of the women who have been told their baby has a birth defect (such as trisomy 18) are going to have to go into an induced labor and deliver their baby, only to have them not survive - in essence, their doctor is telling them they must have an abortion because their baby won't survive anyhow. On these types of threads I just keep my opinions to my self and my mouth shut. I've already had one of my responses deleted by a site manager because I said abortion is like murder. I certainly have some VERY strong opinions on abortion and some other issues. I'm quite conservative...

I'm not in their situation so I don't know what they are going through. I know what I would need to do in their circumstances, however. I would still keep the baby as long as I possibly could, until the Lord took him/her away from me - not a doctor. When a baby is diagnosed with Trisomy 18, he or she only has a 50% chance of not being still born. He or she can still go on to live a few months, even years. I couldn't bear to abort my child knowing that he/she has a 50% chance of being in this world with me for even a few days. Is that selfish of me? No, I don't think so. I'm bound by God's law not to take an innocent life. I can tell you this, I NEVER want to experience a still born birth. I know women who have and my heart goes out to them. God could make me one of those women at some point in my life and I'm not gonna lie, if it happens, it would likely be one of the most difficult things I would ever go through.

All that being said. I'm insanely, incredibly, over-joyously grateful that thus far, our baby boy is healthy. He's growing at a perfectly normal rate. His organs are all working properly and he is moving around in my womb just as he is supposed to. I opted out of doing any of those tests to see if he has defects. I don't want to know, I don't need to know. I don't need that sort of worry and heartache in my life right now. Right now, all I need to know is that he's healthy - and he is. If it turns out he has a defect or Downs Syndrome, then I wouldn't want to know that until much later on in my pregnancy or after I give birth. I know that God will sustain me if He gives me a child who is not going to survive past birth or live a long life.

Soooo, I pray for my baby daily and thank God daily for him! I'm 99.9% confident that he is going to be born healthy, to term and perfect. Call me optimistic, but really, I have no reason not to be at this moment. 

5th OB appointment

22 weeks 5 days pregnant today. Had my 5th OB appointment - baby is healthy, I'm measuring perfectly, blood pressure is good, gained 19 lbs thus far (wow!) Doing my glucose test in 3 weeks...icky! She said I will probably have to go on a higher dosage of iron because my hemoglobin levels are still low. I already take an iron supplement, but I guess it's not enough! She said to make sure I am getting enough red meat (which I probably eat about once a month....) and I'm taking my prenatals. I'm actually taking a children's multi-vitamin and a natural iron supplement because the prenatals make me sick. I did research and found out exactly how much of each vitamin/mineral/etc I need as a pregnant gal and with the two vitamins combined, I should be getting just the right amount. Now I'm a little worried though? But, baby looks healthy...hmmm. 

Anyhow, so tired today! I don't sleep well anymore, not like I have since I've become pregnant in the first place. The problem is with our bed. It's too small! We sleep on a full, which was fine pre-preggers, but now that I like to sprawl out and sleep with lots of pillows, I just don't sleep. Oh well, such is life, right? Now I need to get ready to head to the social services office and get them to start up my food stamps again - they canceled them because I never turned in my quarterly report for December. WELL...it was their fault! I called them the week that I was supposed to turn it in to let them know that I never received the reporting form. I left a message and they never called me back. I finally got a hold of them yesterday and they said I need to come in and fill it out now. I think I may take a nap before I tackle the S.S. Office. 

 Oh, and did I mention yet that this baby boy is super duper active and strong? I'm sure I have a zillion times - but it never ceases to amaze me! It seriously feels like he is performing some crazy karate moves in there. Other times I swear he's doing somersaults. Sometimes it's waaaay down low...and other times it's right above my belly button. Oh, and of course from far left to far right. He's active alright! It doesn't quite hurt, but it definitely feels weird, in a cool and awesome sort of way. And also, my belly looks really funny from the outside when he's moving around in there.

Home Again, Home Again, Dweedle Lee Dee!

After a two week "vacation" at the coast visiting family and friends, we are finally HOME! It feels so good to be back in our cozy apartment with our kitties. :) The house was freezing when we got here, but thankfully, our little 925sq ft apartment heats up quickly with just a flip of a heater switch! The kitties were quite happy to have us back and I'm happy to say, did not forget who we were! Whew! Hehe. The fridge and pantry were bare...to be expected when one leaves home for 2 weeks. Soooo we promptly went to the grocery store today and spent $22 on $150 worth of food. (Praise the LORD for food stamps and WIC because we wouldn't be surviving without them!)

It's been a fun and faith producing experience living on this tiny income we have since I quit my job in September. (So worth it, btw!) Most people probably think we are crazy. In all honesty, most people wouldn't be able to live on the amount of money we make and have in our bank account. Thanks to God for miraculously providing for us financially. With Jordan's tutoring income, and our uncanny ability to keep to a tiny, no-frills budget, we are able to do it! Every month we're like, can we pay rent next month? I dunno...let me go over our budget and bank account again...yup, someone there's enough money in there! Seriously, THANK YOU GOD.

Anyhow, running out of time, so I will post more later. Here is my latest belly bump! 22 weeks and 2 days today. :) Gained about 15 lbs thus far - whoo hoo! Grow, baby, grow!