In the Midst

I do not want to say that we are in the midst of a trial. Rather we are going through some growth as a family, both physically and metaphorically.  In less than two months we have been through quite a bit.  It was not traumatic or awful stuff but when it continually stacks up on you, it can begin to feel overwhelming.  We found out right after the New Year that we were expecting another baby.  We had about a week for that truth to settle in before I developed a subchorionic hemorrhage and was diagnosed with a threatened miscarriage.  My OB told me we had a 50/50 chance of holding onto the pregnancy.  I was put on strict bed and had to take progesterone to support the pregnancy.  Bed rest with two 22-month old boys is really hard to do. I had to completely rely on my husband, family members and friends to do the simplest tasks.  The boys did not understand why mama was not playing with them and taking care of them.  I really did not have too much hope of maintaining the pregnancy because I was told my cervix was partially dilated and the pain was immense.  We got through it one day at a time until finally it was  time to do an ultrasound.  We got to see our precious baby's heart beat at 8.5 weeks.  God is good.

The morning sickness with this pregnancy has been more intense than with the boys.  Besides the nausea, I have had stronger food aversions, dizziness and have felt so lethargic.  I do not want to be melodramatic but I have seen the outer limits of "I just want to die" morning sickness.  The boys were sick on Eric's birthday and they were diagnosed with ear infections.  Thankfully I felt pretty good on my birthday a couple weeks later which was a blessing because Eric had to be out of town.  The boys stayed healthy for a little while after the antibiotics and then came down with croup.  They were on the mend when Eric came down with a horrible stomach virus and became violently ill.  We assumed it was a food borne illness isolated to him because we were all fine and he had no respiratory symptoms like the flu.  We are pretty sure now it was norovirus because Winston came down with it three days later and then I came down with it two days after that.  Thankfully our Abraham was spared from the actual vomiting.  Winston was left so weak and dehydrated that he has been totally miserable with continuing fevers from the original virus from which he developed croup. Now the boys are just coughing and it seems that the fevers are completely gone.  We were at our pediatrician's three times in the course of a month.  Since there were no indicators of secondary infection we just had to let it runs its course.  There was not a lot of sleep for anybody at the time.  Sigh.

But this is not about complaining.  It is about surviving and even thriving as a family when things were difficult.  Some of the things I have been thankful for in the midst of all these situations:

1. The gospel-it put everything into perspective.  The things that felt like a big deal were viewed through the lens of eternity.  When we were weary we knew that the Lord was going to continue giving us strength.
2. My husband-for serving me selflessly and doing his very best to be a full time parent and a full time employee.  Rather than put a strain on our marriage we have been growing closer together.  That is all God's grace.  And God continues to bless Eric with growth in his job and we do not take that for granted.
3. Excellent medical care- from our time in the ER, to visiting with our OB and spending way too much time with our pediatrician, I have been thankful for caring practitioners, good insurance and God's provision to pay our portion of the bills.
4. People that care- for those that vacuumed my house, washed my dishes, did my laundry and took care of my boys.  People praying for us and with us.  We have been ministered to in a very specific way and I am grateful. 
5. Morning sickness is not forever-when it was at its worst I was convinced it would never end but I am days away from my second trimester and it has improved so much.  It feels good to be a little more human again.

There are so many things I am probably not remembering at the moment in terms of thankfulness but I know without a doubt that the Lord has been sustaining us the last couple of months.  We are grateful for our baby and our two boys and grateful that the Lord is watching over our health.  We are praying that March and the continuing months can be a little more relaxed and not quite so stressful.  No matter what the situation though we are blessed.

Our Littlest Valentine

 

This is why I have been so silent on the blog lately.  Surprise!  Trust me, I know we were ;-)  This baby has made me really sick so most everything has been put on the back burner.  I look forward to sharing lots more about this pregnancy and our joy in expecting another child.  Yep, you read that right.  We are just having one this time around.  We are blessed and looking forward to meeting our littlest valentine in September, Lord willing.