I do have a very good excuse for not regularly updating around here.  One word.  Illness.  It seems we are trying to go through all viruses before Malachi comes.  While I think that is super great, going through them all in one week…not so much fun.  Some of us have had nasty colds, one had a fever for 48 hours, and then there’s the stomach bug and we all know what that consists of.  I could go on and on about our immune systems but why I’m writing now is about the main man who will be the main event in a few weeks (give or take a few…and probably take.  We all know my babies like their cozy nests and have to be forced out).

What I failed to mention in our 20 week blog post about Malachi coming was that the placenta was low lying.  What that means is that it wasn’t even 1 centimeter away from the cervix.  That’s really close, and if it stayed in that position would have meant a c-section because there would really be no way to deliver a baby  without the placenta coming out first which can and almost certainly results in the death of both baby and mother.  Another reason why I’m so grateful for ultrasounds.

So, with a possibility of a c-section looming over us, we’ve trudged on through the pregnancy.  And really, there was nothing we could do.  There are no exercises, no special medicines or herbs to take to help make the placenta move…it’s just a God thing.  We looked up statistics and we were more reassured knowing that the numbers were on our side.  I believe it was like a 99% that a low lying placenta would “move” as the uterus grew.  I also knew that God knew what was best for both me and the baby.  I just prayed He would definitely give us a little heads up so that we can be prepared.  Trying to arrange care for children while mom can’t pick them up is a must in this here household.

So, as the date got closer, today marked the day I would have an ultrasound to see how big Malachi was and to see if the placenta moved.  We’ve been praying here almost every night and I’ve had several close friends praying.  And praise God…it has moved!  The sonographer couldn’t see all of the placenta because Mr. M is already head down but from the position of it and the position of my cervix, she felt most positive calling it clear and ready for delivery!  I’m still singing praises to God for this.  And guess what else…

This kid’s got some hair on him!  Look over on the right side…that little white spot towards the top of the solid black area…that’s his hair!  The sonographer and I just laughed.  She said it looked like a mohawk and I’ve already got one friend getting the hair gel and leather jacket ready for him!  At first, I didn’t buy that it was actually hair until she looked at some other things and came back and there was still a big ol’ splotch there.  So, either 2D technology has gotten that good or this kid is going to have a do to be dealt with!  It’ll be fun to see.  He also had his hand up by his face rubbing his eyes and just relaxing. 

It was adorable to watch and even though she woke him up from a very good nap (I know this because he spent the next 45 minutes kicking, stretching, poking and prodding), I loved every minute. 

We are all getting super excited about meeting this little guy!  Now just pray that an induction will not be needed!

Tracy Carr (aka Aunt Tracy) met up with us in between our stops across the Southeast and did pictures for us for Christmas cards.  She also got some maternity pics and a few great candid shots.  I was so excited about these pictures!  She gets more and more better with each time.  We giver her lots of practice too!

Check it out…Ceili Rain and Bryant know where their bellies are!  Except Ceili Rain thinks there is a baby in hers.

 She’s growing up too fast!

Probably one of my most favorite pictures of Ace.  He’s getting to be a young man.  Sniff, sniff.

Spanish moss and a toddler…what could be better.

These are my most favorite maternity pics.

And this is us making fun of all those “professional” maternity pictures where the mom to be looks like she hates the idea of a baby much less being a mom…seriously…it’s pretty awesome..smile moms!

Dramatic, no?

I won’t beat around the bush so here it is!

In March, we will meet our newest little 

Malachi Ian to be exact.  Yep, we finally worked Ian into a name!  Malachi has been one of Mark’s favorite names for awhile now.  We had started out with another name but when I mentioned Malachi Ian, Mark was all for it.

Malachi means “messenger of God” and Ian means “God is gracious.”  We truly feel blessed to have little Malachi growing strong and healthy.  God has graciously blessed us with this little one (and all of our little ones) and we are reminded of that more each day.

The five oldest went with us to the ultrasound and they were all excited!  Ceili Rain wasn’t sure what to think and now she wants to see the baby all the time.  She is still insisting that he is a princess but she’s slowly realizing that we are talking about something totally different and is working around to calling him Malachi.

*And big thanks to Tracy for taking this quick shot with my rinky dink camera (and not her way super cool slr) so I could put it up on the blog tonight!  We’ll do it right when family pictures roll around!

We had a second doctor’s appointment today.  And since this is the chronicles of our life, I’ll put what all is going on (and mainly to help me remember in years down the road).  My first appointment was at 6 weeks.  And this is what the baby looked like:

That arrow was pointing the baby.  Now look to the left of the baby.  See that dark squash looking thing?  It actually went up and over the baby.  Pretty much surrounding the sac.  That’s called “fluid.”  It’s called fluid because, well, we’re not sure what kind of fluid it is.  The main thought is that it’s a clot like last time.  So, with that and a progesterone level, we were sent home for three weeks of “restricted activity.”  This time I was a bit more prepared.  Especially when I saw her doing the ultrasound and the big blob beside the baby.  I knew it shouldn’t be there.  Dr. J. even showed me how it went all the way around the sac.

My progesterone levels were taken that day too.  And they came back at 6.8.  That’s low folks.  That’s really low.  So, on progesterone supplements I go.  We’ve been this route before.

Fast forward to yesterday, and my now nine week appointment.  We praise God for seeing this:

Although it looks like a kidney bean with skinny legs, it’s a baby.  We also saw the baby kick his/her legs and when she went to him, and then back to him, he was in a different position so he/she is floating around nicely in there.

The fluid/clot…well, it’s still there too.  But a ton smaller.  Even the tech commented on how small it was.  I think she was a bit overjoyed to see that I was not having any problems either.  And I haven’t had a single problem…unless you count extreme hunger, extreme nasuea, and extreme exhaustion.

So, we were ready for questions for Dr. J when we sat down with him.  Why is this happening again?  Why the low progesterone?  Is there anything we can do about it?  What’s causing it?  Etc.   He was very good and patient answering the questions.  Here’s the answers:

Turns out it’s kind of just hit and miss about this happening.  It’s not because I’ve had a bunch of babies in a short amount of time or because I’m not eating right or any of that.  Mainly it boils down to two things…the blood vessels in that area are pretty  sensitive and if there was a bit of trauma to the area (a strain or something) then they could burst and cause a clot.  Also, it could be a clotting disorder…nothing serious…just something that could cause these hematomas.  Now, we could go through testing and pay a bunch of money to see if it’s the clotting disorder, but it still wouldn’t change the outcome.  It’d still be there and we’d still have to watch for a clot and if it was there then we’d still have to treat it the way we were, etc.  Mark and I agreed that testing just wasn’t really necessary.

The progesterone, turns out, can be low for two reasons.  The obvious one:  the baby is not healthy and will die in utero causing a miscarriage.  The placenta doesn’t kick in etc  In that instance, you could pump as much progesterone as you would like into someone and they would still not have a “successful” pregnancy.  We were in that boat with our second pregnancy and understand that plain as day.  Or two:  the clot can interfere with the levels causing the placenta and such to not be able to put out the progesterone needed for my body.  In which case, if you give progesterone supplements, it helps stabilize the pregnancy and keeps the clot from messing with the baby!

The second one, of course, makes the most sense since we’ve seen a healthy, right-on-schedule baby, and there was a big clot in the first ultrasound and a smaller one in the second and I’ve had zero problems.

It was nice to have those questions answered and to understand that there is nothing I could have or can really do to change what we have to do for this first trimester.

Dr. J is fully confident (and given my history, we are too) that after the first trimester, everything will stabilize and I’m back on track for a fun, healthy pregnancy…because having a baby in the spring is awesome!  Feeling good through holidays and not being hot and big!  I love it!

So, two more weeks of progesterone.  Three more weeks of “restricted activity” and we’re set!  I pray!

We’ve been blessed by people in our church and dear friends who have been providing meals, child watching services, and compaionship during these weeks.  It has been really nice to have some loads taken off of us.