Wonders of Pregnancy...

As indicated in my last post, I was having some major stress issues in my life with our little guy. And today things have finally come to an understanding. Yes our baby has only a 2 vessel cord and this only happens in about 1% or pregnancies. However, the ultrasound that the doctor performed indicated that growth and development are right on track. It also indicated that my baby boy is a very active, wiggly, stubborn little munchkin who, like his older siblings, doesn't seem to like to listen to doctors! He would constantly kick and wiggle away from the ultrasound, making it humorous and aggravating for the doctors. They even commented on how active this little guy is. But if you've met my other two darling children, you'll notice the pattern and it's not surprising.

So what does this mean for us?

With a two vessel cord, they've ruled out that the baby will have any neurological or heart conditions, which is a huge relief! The doctor quite bluntly stated that everything looks normal and healthy and he's not concerned at all with how the baby is developing. However, there is still the possibility with the baby struggling to grow properly towards the end of the pregnancy, resulting in a lower than average birthweight. All of this because of the two vessel cord. This may also increase the risk of still birth.

So what's the plan?

The plan that the doctor prescribed would be to do ultrasounds every 4 weeks from now until I deliver. And then he also suggested that once I hit 32 weeks that I go in for non-stress tests every week until I have this little guy. He feels confident that the precautions will help us to monitor any dangers in the baby's growth should they arise, though he only predicts a happy healthy pregnancy and a normal and happy delivery for us.

And so that's where we stand right now. The only change to my pregnancy will be to have more monitoring and keeping better tabs on our little guy. But, I can't complain. My baby is healthy and happy and very very active...and that's all that truly matters in the end.

The Goings On of the Spooner Family...

Alright, I'm updating! Yay me right? Haha...anyway I digress and ramble far too often, so here is a coherent update of sorts. Life has been pretty quiet for the most part. My brother Dan just graduated from bootcamp this past weekend! I'm so happy for him and his determination to stick out the tough parts of the Army. He's pretty awesome in my book and I really admire him for his dedication to become someone better each and every day! He's amazing and I love him so much! Here are a couple of pictures of his graduation and the aftermath of being in Oklahoma for the whole summer! He's really slimmed down and become toned! Sheesh! I just feel like I'm getting fat!

I pretty much miss this kid!

Dan is the one in the glasses. I'm so proud of him!

Also, I've been really trying to be more and more patient with my children. There are many days when I walk into their bedroom and things are scattered all over the floor and Liam is missing his diaper and covered in unpleasant things, but I'm learning that anger and frustration will get me no where but laughter will lighten the situation a whole lot! So that's what I try to do: just laugh and the situation clean the mess up and give my kiddos hugs and kisses. I've really come to appreciate the gift that my children are to me. They really represent the Lord's trust in me and often that brings me to tears when I'm feeling down about myself. I don't consider myself to be the most amazing mother or anything extraordinary, but I do feel a sense of joy in the knowledge that the Lord trusts me enough and loves me enough to bless me with 2 beautiful spirits who are so full of life and joy and laughter. They really do brighten my days.

Such a happy little munchkin!

My precious little princess

And on Monday this past week we had our ultrasound and found out some interesting things. For one things we will be blessed to welcome an amazing little BOY to our lives. So I have two little handsome guys to chase around! I'm rather excited and we have a name that we both really like thanks to my fabulous mother's ideas: Hudson James...how does that sound? I rather like it and I'm excited about things.


There is however a slight issue going on right now in this pregnancy. I'm not trying to worry about things, but it is still a bit nerve wracking for me. Apparently, during the ultrasound, Dr. Anderson noticed that the umbilical cord only had two vessels instead of the normal three. He wasn't 100% sure on whether or not the cord was only a two vessel cord, but he seemed fairly certain. And as he was talking to us, he stated that a lot of times this sort of thing could mean that there are problems with the baby's heart and development. So of course that freaked me out, but he kindly explained that his findings really didn't show that there was anything wrong with the heart and that I shouldn't worry. However, he did ask a perinatal specialist to do an ultrasound of the baby's heart and major organs and the umbilical cord this coming Tuesday.


So of course as soon as I got home I started to research this two vessel cord issue. And while Doctor Anderson was kind enough to explain the issues that may arise with our baby, he was also correct in telling me not to worry so much. A lot of what I've noticed and read states that this Single Umbilical Artery, as it is called, happens in 1% of women and most of the time there is no medical issue to worry about and that you will deliver a healthy baby. There are however many issues that could arise such as early delivery, miscarriage, growth retardation during pregnancy and so on.


There are many things that could possibly go wrong with this pregnancy. And it's really weird for me to comprehend everything especially when my other two pregnancies were so normal. But, like they say, no two pregnancies are alike and I have this feeling that everything will work out the way it is supposed to. And I'm trying to remain happy and upbeat about life. Though, I do admit, I will feel much better after Tuesday's appointment. Whatever the outcome, however, it is in the Lord's Hands.

20 Weeks Pregnant as of 8/19/10

I am grateful for the Gospel and the love that I feel right now from the Lord. I know that he has blessed my family immensely and I feel so humbled and loved by him. I don't know why he blesses us so greatly but I cherish everything he has bestowed upon us. And come what may, I will learn and love it. I will move forward in his kingdom and hopefully meet him face to face once more. I am so thankful for the friends and family that I have to support and sustain me when I have meltdowns and bad days or whenever I just need someone to talk to. I feel so honored to be in the presence of so many great people and I often feel inadequate compared to their goodness. I love all of you my dear friends and family. You mean the absolute world to me. And Heaven will not be Heaven if you are not there.

The Hand of God

Isn't this an amazing picture? It's called the Hand of God (for obvious reasons) and it has brought a whole new level of thoughts to me lately. Today didn't start off on a good note for us around the Spooner household. My children have been kind of ill with colds or a touch of the flu or something and today they decided they wanted to be up at 6:30, much to my dismay. So I've been up for hours and hours and I will admit that I was rather cranky about the fact that I haven't been sleeping well. The last few weeks have resulted in a severe lack of sleep. Not because of any outside force, but because of nightmares and insomnia because of my overactive imagination. Now these nightmares weren't anything rational, but they did cause me to stir into wakefulness several times at night, resulting in a restless sleep. But today I was so hoping to get a bit more rest and obviously that didn't pan out. But as I've gone throughout this day I've tried to remember how much I am thankful for and for the blessings that have been soon readily poured out upon my family. And I've found that as I focus more on that, my mood is significantly improved...even after Liam took his diaper off and smeared unpleasant things over his bed.

And as I was on a friend's blog, a watched a youtube video about our lives and how we can be better. One thought that struck me was when it was stated that the Lord knows that we aren't perfect. My heart lurched at that and I felt so loved! And so humbled and blessed at the same time. The hand of God has been so vividly shown in my life that I would be foolish not to acknowledge it.

Slacker Blog Fail....

I can see that I haven't posted on here for a long time...and it's not that things haven't been exciting or entertaining or anything like that. It's simply because I've been so busy doing all sorts of different things and chasing after children that I've sort of neglected this blog. But, I make the promise that I will try to update more often and hopefully with pictures. I still haven't really figured out my whole camera connecting to my new computer thing yet, but I hope to. Then you can see all the pictures I've taken over the last few months! That'd be good right?


I'm going to keep this post rather short because I still need to finish cleaning the living room and then making sure my son hasn't disposed of his diaper in his bed and is standing there naked...yes he actually does that...but I will leave you with some thoughts that I've had over the last few days.


Thought 1: The Lord is a good guy; Yes I realize that many of you may think the way I say this is humorous, but it's the truth none the less. He's an amazing guy and a great and wonderful example for us to follow. And I feel so many blessings that he has showered upon my family recently and I am so humbled and feel so inadequate to receive such gifts from him.


Thought 2: Children were born to make messes. This I've learned from experience. My children have this drive within them to make a mess out of whatever clean room I've spent time working on. I've gotten the living room cleaned three times in one day only to turn around for one minute and have my living room looking like it did before I even bothered trying to clean it in the first place. However, it is amusing to watch my children play with all the toys I just put away and it makes my heart melt to see them so happy...so I suppose the mess it worth it? I like to think so most days.


Thought 3: Family is Forever! Yes another cliche' saying for you but it's so true and I'm grateful for that understanding. I'm glad that I have the knowledge that my family can be with me together forever. It makes me want to be a better person so that I have that right bestowed upon me. I want to be there forever for my children and my mother and father and siblings and aunts and uncles and husband...and well everyone that I've never met in my family! Even my in-laws and all their family. To have that ability is a great joy and comfort to me and I feel so honored and blessed to have it in my life.


Finally, I'll leave you with the suggestion to read the words to Hymn 6 "Redeemer of Israel" specifically verse 5. It really struck me yesterday and I thought I'd share it with you. I hope that you feel the same inspiration that I do from it.


Love Ya Tons faithful friends and readers!