And Baby Will Make 5!

I wrote this blog entry on September 22, the day before Ellie had her most recent stroke and because of her stroke and hospitalization, I never got the chance to publish it.  The story starts right before Ellie had her first stroke and initial diagnosis.  So now I’m going to put it out there and I’ve added an update at the end.

September 22, 2014:

We are happy to announce the expected arrival of our third baby who is due the first week of March 2015!   It was in mid-July that we found out we were expecting.  The news was fairly unexpected but welcome news none-the-less.  We knew this was God’s timing and plan for our family.

God’s timing and plan for our family soon because a little harder to accept when just days later Ellie had a stroke and was diagnosed with Moyamoya diease.  While Ellie was in the hospital, she wouldn’t let me leave her side.  If I had to leave her side, even just for a few minutes, she would start crying and sometimes get hysterical.  All I could think was, “This can’t be happening….. I need to be able to be here 100% for Ellie…. I don’t need another baby right now…..”  I’m still nervous about having a 3^rd baby but the good news is they take 9 months to arrive and Ellie is now doing so much better than she was during those days when I lay next to her 24/7 in the hospital.

The first several days that Ellie was in the hospital, I started experiencing pretty uncomfortable cramps due to the stress of the situation.  Prior to Ellie’s hospitalization, I had already scheduled my first OB appointment, which was scheduled for the Friday following her stroke.  I considered cancelling it because I didn’t want to leave Ellie.  But because of the cramps, I left Texas Children’s Hospital (with Ellie happily playing with her Lala and her daddy) and came back to Galveston for my appointment.  The first thing they did at my appointment was to take my blood pressure which registered pretty much off the charts.  The nurse said, “Is there a reason your blood pressure is so high?”  To which I replied, “Probably because this is the worst week of my life”.  From there I explained to her what was going on with Ellie.  She relayed the information to Dr Haver, who is my OB and was also my OB when I was pregnant with Ellie.  

Dr Haver wanted to hear all about Ellie and showed a great deal of concern for her and for me.  She then performed an ultrasound and everything looked good with the baby.  She recommended that I video the ultrasound so that I could show it to Charles when I returned to the hospital.  Then she gave me the best piece of advice she possibly could have given.  She told me, “This baby is doing great.  I don’t want you to worry even one second about it.  Nothing you are going through, no amount of stress that you are under, is going to be harmful to this baby.  This baby is on autopilot so just take care of your other baby right now because this one is doing great.”  And every appointment that I have had since then with Dr Haver she has told me the same words of reassurance which has given me so much peace of mind through all of this.  I take my prenatal vitamins, I make myself eat and drink even when I’m feeling sick, but beyond that I haven’t worried at all about the baby that I’m carrying.   Thankfully once Ellie became more stable and my stress wasn’t quite so great, my cramps went away and other than just typical pregnancy related nausea and back pains, this pregnancy has been going as smooth as possible.

The baby is due at the beginning of March and if I happen to make it to March 4^th  then that will be the date of my scheduled c-section.  However, Payton and Ellie both arrived a little early so I’m not actually expecting to make it to that date.  Just based on my previous experiences, I would anticipate going into labor in late February and then delivering via c-section.  But, as I already said, it’s God’s timing so we will just wait and see when this baby wants to arrive.  The baby is already measuring big, which has been typical of my babies and is likely why they show up a little early.  

Despite all of our doubts and fears, we are now feeling excited about the arrival of the baby who we feel will complete our family and we can’t wait to meet him or her.  Ellie doesn’t seem to really understand about the baby, but big sister Payton is beyond excited.  Payton has always loved babies and she can’t wait to have another sister or brother.    She is hoping for a brother but said she would be happy with a sister too.  When Ellie is asked “Brother or sister?” she replies with “Sister” probably because that word is familiar to her.  Payton wants to name the baby “Car” if it a boy and “Carly” if it’s a girl.  We are going to wait until birth to find out gender but either way our family will be very happy with the new addition.  Babies are a blessing and we are feeling very blessed.

Update as of October 26, 2014:

My pregnancy is still going well.  Since I wrote this post, Ellie suffered another major stroke and we have been living in Texas Children’s Hospital for over a month now.  For the most part, Ellie is currently like a 6 month old, both physically and mentally.  So the thought of having another baby to care for in addition to her is still pretty scary.  But at the same time, we hope and pray that Ellie is doing much better by the time this baby arrives and we do see her continuing to make improvements.  And we know God will take care of our family and he won’t give us more than we can handle.  We are also very lucky to have the support of our family and friends and we know there are numerous people we could turn to if we need help.

At almost 21 weeks, I am still not really feeling this baby move.  But at my anatomy ultrasound last week, the technician reported that my baby was very active and that I would likely start feeling him or her move soon.  Everything checked out perfect with this baby except the baby’s kidneys are both enlarged.  Ellie had an enlarged kidney while in utero too but by the time she was 2 months old it had resolved itself and was normal sized.  So even though it is likely something that will resolve itself, they like to keep an eye on it so I am scheduled for two more ultrasounds later in this pregnancy.

Overall I would say this has been a pretty easy pregnancy so far. I’m feeling pretty good during this second trimester.  I pray this pregnancy remains uneventful and that this baby is born very healthy!  

And now a tacky bathroom belly selfie, exclusively for my blog readers.  This is the baby in the belly at 21 weeks and is actually the first belly picture I have taken this pregnancy.....