12 Weeks!!

We're 12 weeks today. And according to my doctor, we are now at a point where I have less than a 1% chance of miscarrying. Lots has happened this last week as well. I had my first prenatal appointment on the 21st. Matt was actually able to come after all. We got Kelsea to come and watch the boys. It's nice to have such a good little babysitter so close! :)

They did a head to toe physical and everything looked great, and then it came time to listen for a heartbeat. Now reminder: This pregnancy was unplanned. Not only that but my progesterone was at a 5 when it should be at least 15. (Usually from what I've read and my sister's experience, people miscarry at levels as low as 7 and 8.) For a little while I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. I have been taking progesterone supplements (Which I don't have to take anymore! YAAAY!) But I also found out I was pregnant later than I did with any of my 3 so I didn't catch it as soon as I did with Riley. I had a miscarriage probably due to low progesterone and Riley was a threatened miscarriage because of it. I had plenty of reason to worry. And some part of me didn't want to accept that there was another baby coming to our family just because it was a shock in the first place, and how easily we could have lost it. But I had to force myself a little to react just like I did with it's older brothers to be fair to this little one. Progesterone is the hormone that keeps you pregnant. It also helps your uterus build up a good lining for the egg to implant into and get nourishment from. So even though I wasn't cramping or bleeding, I was still scared that maybe the baby wasn't going to be able to thrive and would maybe die even though I hadn't actually lost it yet.
The doctor had the doppler, and of course I just know that there isn't going to be a heart beat. I was shaking. The doctor tried for what seems like an eternity, and then he found it. He looked so excited and he said "Do you hear that??" I told him "No." and then he repositioned it just a little so I was able to hear a fast little heart beat loud and clear. I was shocked! I said "REALLY?!?! NO WAY!!" and then immediately burst into tears. haha! Poor Doctor was probably like "Um.. ok?" It was a little over 160 BPM and the doctor said it sounded absolutely perfect! :D ... wow...

So even though I haven't had a period in 3 months and I can feel a mass growing in my abdomen, and I have violent morning sickness (The B6 isn't working quite as much anymore, but it's still better than it was), I never really fully accepted that I was going to have a 4th kid and a 6th member of our family. Now it's time to seriously think about a mini van. As for another place to live, I had a good long talk with Grandma Nilson, and we are staying right where we are. :-)

(Side story: I absolutely adore Grandma Nilson. She is down from Oregon this week and Matt and I went to see her. I can talk to that woman for hours. :) I love old ladies. LOL I was telling her that we were excited for the baby, but there was a lot to do! I told her that I love our ward, the kids have so many friends here now! I love our neighborhood, I love our backyard, but our house wasn't big enough for another baby. She smiled and said "Oh yes it is! You'll do fine!" apparently when she was a young mother with 4 children at the time, she lived in a tiny detached garage that they turned into a 2 bedroom house. She said that I would be surprised what we could pull off. She also said that little kids don't really care how big their bedrooms are. Eventually she went on to have 9 children with 4 children per room (different house)!! It made me realize how spoiled I am. :) This is why I love old people. They put everything into perspective. She went on to say that kids have too much nowadays. When her little great granddaughter goes over to her house, she is content for hours to play with just the couch cushions. Then I had to admit to her that I was the same way. I had way more than I need. I feel sorry for myself because I don't have a garbage disposal or a decent dishwasher with 5 soon to be 6 people in our family. She laughed and said she has never to this day owned a garbage disposal and with 9 kids, never owned a dishwasher either. Her kitchen was tiny, yet she managed to get by. She gave me canning tips, and recipe ideas. She told me that when she was a little girl, their house would get so hot during the summer that her mother would take a sheet upstairs and lay out fruits and beans and all sorts of things from their garden on it and would hang it so it was off the floor. And the very next morning, they would all be bone dry! Her mother would buy them all new pillowcases once a year and after they dried their fruits and vegetables, they would fill their old pillowcases with them and store them that way. They would have enough to last them the whole year! Talking to Grandma reminds me of a quite "Happiness doesn't come from having the most things, it comes from making the most of what you have." I think God sent Grandma to me to teach me a valuable lesson and I am extremely thankful for it! :) I don't have to work. And when the kids are all in school, I will still be a stay at home mom. I think the greatest gift you can give your kids as a mother is being there for them no matter when they may need you and making your family your career. When all my kids are in school I will use that time to clean the house and garden. I'm a little old fashioned that way. But when my kids need to stay home from school, they will have their own personal nurse. When they come home from school everyday they will have a mom there to listen to how their day was and sit at the table with them while they eat their after school snacks. That's the kind of mother I want to be. That is more important than a brand new home with nice decorations and furniture. No matter what you choose something has to be sacrificed. Things, or Family. I choose to sacrifice things, and I'm already more happy with that decision than having all the things in the world.)

Wednesday I had some cramping, but I didn't think anything of it. Then Wednesday night, I noticed some very light spotting. I will probably go into more detail on here than my family blog since you're all aware that this is a pregnancy blog and things might get a little... yeah. LOL It started with a small clot and after that it was pretty bright red. Of course I called my doctor and he said to just take it easy for the rest of the night and go in to get checked the next morning. I am so thankful I have my Mattie that could hold me all night and assure me that everything was going to be just fine. The next day, the phone wasn't working, so Matt went to work and set up my doctors appointment for me. :) Such a good husband!!!

I went in, they listened to the baby and everything sounded great, then they sent me to the hospital to get the rhogam shot since I'm Rh Negative and Matt is Rh Positive. I got there and they know me pretty well it seems like from the times I've been there and Riley with his RSV in Feb. doing the respiratory therapy and the doctor ordered blood work a little while ago for him. So that made everything go faster since they know nothing has changed with our information. LOL I got my blood drawn, because they require it when you get rhogam. Meanwhile, it was about 6:30. Heather the adorable nurse that always takes my blood for me told me that I needed to get the shot that night. The problem was, it was after hours for the IV Therapy, so they would have to call in the on call nurse. So she told me to go home for a few hours so they could finish running the test, then I was to go back and tell the registration girl to call the nurse to come give me my shot. LOL So I did. It was pretty nice. The nurse walked me back to a very dark, very empty, very quiet IV therapy department where I got my shot and we talked while I had to be "observed". I got a cool card to put in my wallet saying that if I'm in a bloody car accident or something and need a blood transfusion the rhogam shot can temporarily change your blood type, so they need to treat me as if I'm Rh Negative, which I am... Oh it's confusing. Anyways it was just cool, because I've never gotten one of those before. She probably was just bored because I was her one and only patient. haha! The spotting stopped that day, and I haven't had anything since. But to be careful my doctor put me on "Pelvic Rest" (Pretty much what it sounds like LOL) Matt's not too excited about that obviously, but I try to be nice and take care of him so I actually hate it way worse than he does. LOL!! I'm really glad that the only people who actually read this blog are people I wouldn't mind telling that to!

But I'm doing great, Baby is doing great, Matt is doing great, Kids are excited. Everything is... perfect actually! :)