His Plans

I have waited for so long it seems to type out this post. The words have been forming in my head for four weeks, and for four weeks my fingers have itched to make the announcement to my friends. Most of you, if not all of you, know by now that Andy and I are expecting our first child November 22, 2009! This is the most wonderful, thrilling, surprising, and scary thing I have ever been through, but I am trying to take one day at a time and be thankful for each stomach cramp, wave of nausea, and each time I go back for seconds at dinner. At four weeks, I was feeling pretty good. Five weeks I started to feel extremely fatigued and crampy, and six weeks bought on the nausea. However, eight weeks has been great so far!

Today we went to the doctor and were so happy to hear a great report from Dr. Garner. The baby is measuring exactly 8 weeks 1 day, which is exactly how far along I am, and the heart rate was 174 beats per minute. Dr. Garner was happy to see everything was going smoothly, especially after my two scary surgeries I had in the past year. He did say that we would have to do an extra pap smear since Dr. Bandy (the Oncology Specialist) recommended every 6 month screens. Andy and I were so excited to see the baby on the ultrasound and so excited to be able to finally tell the world of our news.

For those of you who haven't seen them: here is one of our pictures:

It is a little blurry, but Baby Arnold is in there, only a little less than an inch long!

So, in just four weeks I have learned a great deal about pregnancy. Below is a list of things that are hard to do during pregnancy.

Sleep. Yes. I am so tired, and I sleep during the day because I'm exhausted, but then I lay in bed waiting to fall asleep, or I wake up randomly in the middle of the night in a sweat due to nightmares. I have had all sorts of nightmares; I read that this is somewhat normal during pregnancy, but it sure does leave for a restless night.

Drive. No, let me rephrase this. Driving is almost impossible. Is this due to pregnancy hormones, or is every driver completely incompetent?

Go to Wal-Mart. Okay, this is hard anyway. But it is extremely hard when you are starving all of the time, the place is crowded, people are rude, smells make you sick, and people are outside blowing cigarrette smoke in your face. A friend at work told me a hilarious story about her being pregnant and passing by a lady in Wal-Mart and the lady smelled so bad that my friend had to leave the store. No one else could smell her, but because of my friend's heightened sense of smell, it was bad. Well, I had that same experience two weeks ago. I passed by a woman that was so overpowering that I couldn't take it. I was able to make it past her and to another area, but it was tough.

Work. This is mostly because I am so tired, so hungry, and so moody. I am usually okay until about noon, when I start getting extremely tired. People tend to get on my nerves more than normal, so that has been tough dealing with. There is one person that particularly drives me insane that will remain nameless. I try to laugh it off instead of blow my top!

Eat. Why is this hard? I am so hungry all the time, but I also am kind of sick at the thought of some foods. Sometimes something looks so delicious until I try to eat it, and then I am totally turned off by it. Or, I will be just fine and all of the sudden it hits me! I have to EAT! If I wait too long, I eat way too much and then it makes me ill all over again.

These are just a few of my pregnancy woes so far, but every bit is a joyride. I am so thankful for what God has blessed us with.

I also don't want to make this blog completely about me. I want to say a big thanks to a friend of mine that I care about deeply. I have worked with J for awhile, but we never really talked much until she sent me the link to her blog one fateful day. Her blog posts brought happiness, sadness, tears, and thought as I read through her battle with infertility and the joyful news that after a long battle, her and her husband were finally expecting TWINS!

Last week, J and her husband found out that they are having two beautiful twin BOYS! They also were given the news that one baby has special needs, most likely in the form of Spina Bifida, as he has a lemon shaped head, fluid on his brain, and a crooked spine. After reading the news, I spent the better part of the night crying and praying for J and her husband. What surprising news to be given - but notice, I didn't say bad news.

J is such an inspiration to me. She is so faithful and knows that this is God's will and that she was chosen to have this baby. After reading her recent updates and seeing her beautiful spirit, I admire her and her husband even more. They are so sure that although this was never their plan, it is God's, and we can never argue with something so perfect. They will be wonderful parents and their two boys will be the most loved and protected children. I ask that you please pray for J and her family as they get closer to her due date as it is imperative that she makes it to 36 weeks for the survival of the special needs twin. She will be going on bed rest soon and the doctors will be doing a variety of tests and research to determine exactly where they will be at delivery. Again, I ask that you add her and her husband to your prayer chain or prayer list. Remember : nothing is promised. God gives and He takes away, but it is never without meaning and a lesson learned, and it is never without reason.

I am going to end this blog with a verse on J's blog that she quoted before her beautiful and moving post about her boys.

Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart.