Friday, September 26, 2008

bring on the 3rd trimester!


Today is the last day of trimester 2, and all three of us are glad! Lily's been active as can be this week, kicking so hard that you can see my stomach move. Bundy, our cat, loves sleeping between my belly and a pillow, and she was kicking him so much a few days ago that he glared at me (as if this is my fault) and got off the bed to sleep on the floor. Matt's gotten to feel her lots, too! The reality of her coming is definitely settling in!

Meanwhile, Lily got an awesome gift on Thursday from Heather! I am SO excited now about getting her room painted so we can mount the "L" above where her crib will be! Heather, thank you SO much! We love it!!!

She also got some new baby clothes from her grandmom, (our favorite is the white one piece with the ruffles on the butt!) even including a rock n' roll onesie from Pop Pop!

Lily is already quite blessed with lots of love, and so are we!

Friday, September 19, 2008

26 weeks!


Grandma and Grandpa...thank you for the new maternity shirts! So cute, and they fit perfectly, and give me room to grow! Your box and Patty's just came yesterday...thank you so much!

We are 26 weeks today, and are beginning our LAST week of our 2nd trimester! CRAZY! I bought tickets this past week to head back to the States November 17th for our last five weeks of pregnancy. Matt will follow three weeks later, as soon as school has ended.

New paint came from Florida for Lily's room, which is still not looking anything like a baby's room whatsoever. But, it is happy and peaceful in our minds, and will all come in place in good time. If only we could just run to Walmart!

We're just praising the Lord for each day He's giving us and for this continuing miracle in our lives!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

25 weeks!

We are one week away from our third trimester, Lily is nearing 2 pounds, and we just can't believe how the weeks are flying!

We have to share a huge answer to prayer with you each. I didn't feel Lily move at all on Monday, which by Monday night was a bit concerning. Matt was sure I was worrying too much, and I kept trying to give it to the Lord. However, whenever I didn't feel her at all on Tuesday, or again on Wednesday, we were both getting really concerned. Thursday morning we tried to get her to move in every way we could, but felt nothing.

We were devastated, fighting back worry and unsure of what to do. We had been praying fervently for a miracle, but... I have no doctor to call, no women's clinic to go to, no "back up" plan for what to do whenever you are worried, no car to jump into and no hospital to head to. In tears we called our neighbor-friend over, Amy, who is a nurse. She asked us a few questions and promised to talk to our missionary doctor, Gavin. We headed to class as I battled tears through teaching. After class we headed back to the house, where Dr. Gavin and Amy were waiting, having dropped everything at our clinic (which does no prenatal or maternity or women's care). Gavin was obviously concerned as well, and put us all in his car (despite the fuel shortage) and drove us to a building Matt and I had never seen before 5 miles down the road.

We went inside, but quickly realized there was no electricity. Gavin spoke to the people inside, who also quickly informed him there was no doctor. They did, however, have an ultrasound machine. We continued to pray urgently for some way to KNOW that Lily was ok. Gavin spoke to them again, and somehow, the Lord talked them into turning on a generator somewhere. He spoke to them again through Gavin, and somehow convinced them to let HIM run the ultrasound machine. Within minutes, we were led to a VERY sketchy back room with a VERY unreliable looking ultrasound machine and left alone with this expensive piece of equipment.

The second Gavin put the dirty wand to my stomach, one thing was vibrantly clear...Lily's heart was just pounding away, beating strong and steady. It wasn't the best picture, but for several minutes we just watched her...watched her heart, saw how much she has grown, saw her little head and ribs and legs and even saw her move several times, though I couldn't feel it.

A few moments later we were back in the car with no bill and not a dry eye in the car. Whoever says that God doesn't do miracles anymore 1) hasn't seen the miracle I'm carrying right now, and 2) doesn't realize that getting a free ultrasound 5 miles from my house 1 hour after calling our neighbor IN HAITI when there was no doctor and no fuel and no electricity, IS a miracle.

All this to say that Lily is doing just fine, has been kicking up a storm since then, and I'm holding onto the miracles He continues to do in our lives, pondering all these things in my increasingly motherly heart.

The many of you who have promised lots of prayers are obviously praying...thank you so very much!

Monday, September 8, 2008

month 6!

Friday we hit the 24 week mark! One of my students is 26 weeks pregnant, and looks about 3 months more pregnant than I do, but I'm still feeling quite large. Thankfully, I'm also feeling better than I have in, well, months...finally not feeling sick anymore and aside from being a little tired and more clumsy, I feel good!

We began working on Lily's room this past weekend, getting rid of one of the guest beds that was there, giving away the termite infested closet doors, and trying to decide what furniture we could get here and which we need to register for. We are going to try to have a changing table/dresser built, but went on ahead and registered for a crib and car seat...I'm really not sure what a Haitian built car seat would look like :) Dad is coming in a few weeks, and has promised to paint her room, and I finally ordered some paint from Florida, though with the storms it may be a while getting in. It is fun to at least be working on the room!

Supposedly Lily is about 1.5 pounds now, and I can definitely feel the difference. I feel her kicking all hours of the day and night now, and she seems to be kicking a lot more! Time is really starting to fly now, and it's unbelievable to think how life will be changing in just a few short months!