So Far...

This is the first time I've officially written a post about being pregnant again (for real this time, no April Fools!), but I thought it was time to catch everyone up to speed on what's been going on. I'm 10 weeks today and I have been so much sicker with this pregnancy than with my previous 3. Some would claim that means I'm having a girl this time, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. Not that I wouldn't love to have a girl, but, you know, I'm 0 for 3 in that department, so another boy would be just fine at this point. :o) Anyway, last week I went for an ultrasound at this little medical clinic near my house. I can get ultrasounds here for less than $10, so I thought it was worth going to hear the heartbeat and making sure everything seemed normal. Originally, I wasn't even planning to see a doctor for any prenatal stuff because I'll be in the States by the time I'm 15 weeks along. I didn't see a doctor until at least 7 months along with the others, so why go now? ;o) Anyway, the ultrasounds have always been a good check-up for me, especially since they're so cheap. So, Daddy and I go, and the technician and nurse are talking to each other in the local language (which we don't speak very well at all), but basically not really telling us anything because they don't speak any English. This is a normal experience for us, so we didn't think anything of it. We were glad to only see one little baby in there, and to hear his/her heartbeat. Being the 4th baby, we kind of know how to look at ultrasounds. :o) After it's over they take us back downstairs to the front desk where they whisper something to the girl at the desk who speaks "some" English. She proceeds to tell us, "There is a problem. Your womb is too tight and you may lose the baby. You should see your doctor as soon as possible." That was all she could say, basically, so that's the information we left with. Oh my. Needless to say, we were a little disconcerted at this news. So we went home and Daddy started to translate the ultrasound report (using Google translator) to see exactly what the problem was. Local medical professionals here tend to overreact or exaggerate about things at times, so we weren't totally freaked out, but we did want to find out what was going on. Once we had the translation, we found out that I have a blood clot on my placenta, which does happen to some women. It often works itself out by the 20th week. However, it does mean that I have had some internal bleeding for some reason. We've contacted my midwife as well as an American doctor here and they both told me that the best thing I can do at this point is just rest and take it easy as much as possible. I've had to quit exercising and I can't lift anything heavy. This unfortunately means that I can't pick up Micah who is currently pushing 30 lbs at 17 months old. That has been difficult, to say the least, but we're doing our best with it. Getting him to climb up on stools to get into his bed is the hardest thing. And when I just need him to do something, I basically have to talk him into it because I can't just pick him and take him where I want him to go. Okay, maybe that's the hardest thing. I've tried to spend a lot of time just sitting near him on the floor so I can hold him and be close to him, so I don't think he feels stranded or anything like that. In fact, he'll walk up to me and pat the floor and say "down" so I'll come down to him now. Very cute. I have been trying to rest as much as I can in this household. :o) I'm usually able to take a little nap/rest in the mornings after Micah goes down for his nap while Joshua and Luke play together. They can "usually" last for about 30 minutes without needing direct supervision. I rest on the couch so I can hear them in the kitchen. Then in the afternoons I get 30 minutes to an hour long nap when Luke and Micah are both down for their rest times and Joshua is playing his computer learning games. Sometimes I have to lay down for another 10-15 minutes in the evenings just from being worn out by the day. But, all of that to say, I think I'm getting my rest in, so I feel good about that. Now if I could just stop feeling queasy, then this would all be so much easier to handle. I'm pretty much eating ALL day long, but I'm still almost constantly queasy. Most of the time I can keep going with my day, but it does cause me to have to lay down from time to time, which is frustrating when I need to be doing something else. However, I'm just thankful for this little one growing inside me right now. If I have to put up with queasiness and resting all day long, then he/she is worth it. I might forget that from time to time, but ultimately the Lord brings my perspective back to the right place eventually. Please keep praying that the baby and I will be healthy and that this blood clot will clear up quickly. I'm due for another ultrasound in 3 weeks to monitor it. As time gets closer to our departure (at the end of January), it will be harder and harder to rest as we're packing up our whole house. I'm going to do my best!