Annoying Comments!

With this being my sixth baby I was sort of expecting some rude comments from people. It is funny how "large family" just depends on the group of people you are around. We are blessed to be in a wonderful, predominantly home schooling, family integrated church. At our church we are just an average family! However, in our little community that we live in, we are quite the oddity. We live in the country, but we do have neighbors up and down the road. I run everyday and we are outside all the time. Because I run I have met several of the neighbors down the road. The reactions to me telling them has been almost funny! One sweet neighbor was very excited and even commented that they would take this one! The others have not been quite as polite! :>) Here are some of the responses we have gotten. One lady, "Oh my God!" Yes, that was it. Another lady when I pulled my shirt tight to show her my growing belly said, "No you're NOT!" My oldest daughter babysits for two families down the street. They are both working mothers. She was babysitting for one of them the other day and she told the lady we were having another baby. (She thought number five was pretty odd!) The lady said, "Oh my gosh! I can't imagine. I would HAVE to be a stay at home mommy if I had that many!" I didn't know that was such a bad thing!

My husband has grown so weary of the smart comments from people that he has not even told people he works with. He hears the line "Haven't you figured out what causes that yet?"

It makes me sad that our society has gotten to the point that children are looked at as a burden instead of the blessing that the Bible tells us that they are. I love the quote by Doug Phillips of Vision Forum that says something like, "The Bible calls children a blessing and debt a curse, yet we prevent children and apply for debt." My sister made a comment that is so true. She said she has heard older couples say they wished they had had more children but she has yet to hear one say they wished they had had less. I am thankful for each one of my children and what they bring to the family (yes, even my wild two year old!:>)

Fourteen Weeks

By pregnancy 14 weeks your baby's body is growing quite rapidly. During pregnancy week 14 his length is catching up with his slightly larger head. The ears have started their move to the sides of the head, and the eyes continue to get closer and closer together.
During pregnancy week 14 your baby's neck will elongate, and the chin will start to rise up off the chest. Your baby's reflexes will also continue to develop this week. By pregnancy 14 weeks your baby should be receiving their nutrition directly from the placenta

Thirteen Weeks

Your Baby's Growth and Development Thirteen Weeks

By the end of pregnancy week 13 your baby looks like a tiny yet fully formed baby. While your baby's head is still quite large, his body is starting to catch up. Your baby's eyes are starting to move closer together by pregnancy 13 weeks. Up until this point in time they rested closely along the sides of the head. Your baby's intestines are also moving further into their body, and your baby's tiny pancreas starts producing insulin, which will be vital for regulating your baby's sugar levels later in life!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am beginning to wonder if I am ever going to feel good again! I normally start getting "sick" around week 8 or 9 and feel better by week 15. With this pregnancy I started getting sick at week 6 so I had hoped to be feeling better by now. I think I have felt worse the last week than I have the whole time! I am sick if I don't eat and sick if I do. I have even tried eating small, light meals all day. Nothing seems to help.

Yesterday I was able to have a sonogram at a local pregnancy center. I was used as a "model". I was amazed at the growth since the last time I saw it (I think at around nine weeks). He/she jumped around a little bit and then settled into a cradle like position and appeared to be sucking it's thumb. My husband and I are hoping that is a "sign" of a calm baby! We could use that after our last little guy! He is constant energy and motion. When he is missing there is a state of panic in the house. You never know what he might be getting into. This weekend when all the kids were in the bed my husband and I were buzzing around getting stuff done. He went into the playroom and found a HUGE butcher knife in the middle of Malachi's toys! Needless to say the knives are now out of the drawer and into a cabinet. Here are a few pictures of Malachi!

Twelve Weeks and A Bad Week!

Week 12
Baby: The fetus now measures about 2.5 inches from crown to rump and weighs between three-tenths of an ounce and half an ounce. It is fully formed, from tooth buds to toenails, and your baby's job now is to continue getting larger and stronger for the rest of your pregnancy. With the most critical development behind the fetus, the chance of miscarriage drops considerably after this week.



It is amazing that I am already twelve weeks pregnant. Time is flying already and I really don't want it to go by fast. Even though it was hot I have such good memories of being pregnant with my last one during the summer. When this one is born, my last will turn three. That is hard to believe. They grow up WAY too fast.



We have had a very eventful last couple of weeks! My husband had the flu for a week. He was barely over that when we were celebrating Madeline's tenth birthday. We took her out to eat and then to get her ears pierced. While at the mall my 13 year old boy had money in his pocket and very generously spent it on the kiddie rides for our two year old. The only problem was that I wasn't there to disinfect EVERY surface. (I was at Claire's getting the ear piercing done!) So, two days later Malachi woke up from his nap and vomited EVERYWHERE. Any mom knows that if you have to clean up vomit you can pretty much count on getting the "bug" too. Two days later the next child threw up in the middle of the night. Again, I had to clean up vomit off of my bedroom floor. Two days after that two more children vomited in the middle of the night. Our oldest made it to the bathroom (actually she tried to be really nice and throw up off the front porch) but the ten year old threw up ALL over her bed! The next day I went to the laundry mat and used those HUGE front loaders. (I would love to have a set of those!) That evening I went for a bike ride and could feel something "not quite right" with my stomach. Sure enough, that evening it hit me. I THOUGHT pregnancy nausea was gross. It paled in comparison! The next afternoon my husband came home from work and he and the last child started throwing up! After LOTS of laundry, Pine Sol and Clorox I finally feel like my house is clean again! In the midst of all of this our six year old was riding her bicycle in the yard. She had learned how to ride her bike, but not how to use the brakes. She rode her bike right into the back end of a horse and the horse kicked her in the head. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. To make a long story short she came away with just an abrasion on the side of her head, on her shoulder and thigh. God was VERY merciful and we are grateful!



Grateful for Mariah and Hoping for a better week!!!

11 weeks

Week 11
Baby: Your fetus, about the size of a large lime, measures about 1.75 to 2.4 inches from crown to rump and weighs about three-tenths of an ounce. About now the rapid "swooshing" noises of the heartbeat can be heard through a Doppler sound-wave stethoscope. Fingernails and external genitalia are showing distinguishing characteristics, and the baby is swallowing and kicking, although you still won't feel it.

Happy Birthday Madeline!

Madeline turned 10 on March 3rd! Happy Birthday Madeline!