Placenta what???

I think it's important to document some news we received about 12 weeks ago during our 20 week ultrasound. We know the Lord is in complete control, sovereign over every detail in our lives and we're looking expectantly to see what He will do.

To start off, our baby is doing wonderfully! He/she is growing, developing, changing just as baby should and as all parents know, this bit of news is such a relief. We are blessed to be anticipating a new life in our home!

However, we also learned that the placenta {the life sustaining organism the Lord creates for every baby to take oxygen and food from it's mother} isn't in a good spot. In fact, a really serious health risk spot if things don't change. I was told I have partial placenta previa which means that the placenta is partially covering the cervix area making it impossible for baby to come first once labor begins. Many of you know my love for babies, the natural course of the birth process and the amazingly gifted and talented women {midwives!!!} who support moms through it. This is how I desire my babies to enter the world. In a quiet, intimate birth center atmosphere with just Matt, my mom and the 2 midwives. You can read all about Allie's birth HERE and HERE if you'd like. 

Well...if this placenta previa doesn't move up the uterus wall as pregnancy progresses, then things will look dramatically different this go-round. As in a c-section. Many people wouldn't bat an eye to news like this:

*I get to meet my baby sooner? 

*I don't have to go through the pain and agony of labor? 

*I don't have to be pregnant as long? 

*Where do you sign me up? 

But I see it so differently. Not in a prideful way but more soberingly...

*My baby doesn't get to stay in the womb as long as he/she needs to? 

*I have to have a 4 day hospital stay? 

*I won't be able to deliver with midwives again (many midwives, especially my own, don't see clients for Vaginal Birth After Cesarean)? 

*I'll have to have major abdominal surgery that will not heal the same way before being cut? 

The list is long and it makes my heart hurt. But let me also say...if this is the path the Lord would choose to take us and it really would be life-threatening to the baby and myself because the placenta hasn't moved, Praise the LORD for modern technology that allows these life-saving surgeries! The alternative isn't an option. This is when c-sections are a blessing and to be embraced. I'm just praying that if we come to that point, that my heart will be in the right place.

We had another ultrasound at 30 weeks to learn that not much has changed. The placenta is still there and still partially covering. *My Heart Sank* How could this be? I was told and my researched showed that 98% of women with this condition don't stay that way. Their placentas move. And the 2% are those where the placenta has actually embedded into the cervix area or the majority of the placenta is completely covering the cervix. These women would also experience lots of bleeding, cramping and spotting. All things to which I am not.

So...you can see...we are in a place of great expectation, and dependency and walking down a road that is greatly increasing our faith and trust. What a perfect place to be! We are asking the Lord to completely move the placenta by my next ultrasound (sometime in mid-May) in order to go to Alaska to birth with our midwife again. If the Lord says no to this, we are praying that He would move it in time to have a vaginal birth here in California at our local hospital. Finally, if He chooses for me to have a cesarean, we're praying for peace as we trust Him in that decision. 

If our family comes to mind, we'd love you to join in praying for these things too! I'll keep the blog updated as we know more.

How do I do this again!?!

It's been far too long...5 months too long! Boo! I've missed so much documenting of our little family's lives. And I'm determined to pick this back up and do my best to keep going. Not so much to try and catch up but to go from here. 

This sweet baby who moves, kicks and lately makes my tummy roll, has been so so different from his or her sisters. The nausea and prego-sickness didn't abate until weeks 22 or so. Even then, it still comes in waves here or there. Also a super chill baby in the womb. There's enough activity there to let me know baby is ok and thriving, but really it's minimal. This could be a very good thing. A relaxed, easy-going child #3. That would be splendid with so much else happening around here.

And wow...the hormones! I've heard of lots of gals who have cried over commercials, things they've read or even just for no reason. I've joined their club this time around. I can't believe how easily the tears have come and stayed and held on. I sometimes don't even recognize myself. Matt has been the kindest, most patient husband. Letting me cry even amidst not understanding why.

We've also reached 32 weeks! That's craziness! Somehow, though, I'm still managing to feel as big as a barn (...just the way my mama used to say it when she was pregnant with #5, 6 and 7) and like I could deliver tomorrow. Ha! Eesh...8 weeks to feel this way. Praying it keeps going quick. :)

So what things have filled our days lately?!?

A good number of things:

- March birthdays for Daddy and Reese

-A Berry Sweet 3rd Birthday party that you can read all about HERE

- Exciting news for our church family!!! ~ Placerita Baptist (as of last Sunday) officially has a new Senior Pastor! We are praising God for leading our church through some challenging 17 months to the place of welcoming Adam and Lisa Tyson as our new pastor and family! We can't wait for them to arrive sometime in June.

-A quick little Spring Break trip get-a-way as a family this past week. Matt just happened to be telling a friend and co-worker about his spring break plans and this friend offered for us to use his parent's beach house for a night! What a blessing it was for the 4 of us to not have a to pay (yay!) but to still feel like we had a mini vacation. But...if you have kids, know of friends who have kids or can just imagine...there's always a little extra challenge to any trip. Specifically Allie catching a full-blown cold during the night of our stay (really?!? Where in the world did that come from on a Tues/Wed), taking 1 1/2 hours to find our dinner spot because MapQuest is lame-o (thereby said children not having dinner till after 7...not to mention a crazy hungry mama bear), then choosing a restaurant the next day for lunch that we LOVE as adults but isn't so kid-friendly (to the point of Allie breaking a dish...at least it was just 1). We learned our lesson(s).

-And a few more events here and there that I'll leave for another blog post. Thanks for still reading...even in my very long absence! It feels good to be back. :)

~Ashley