salsa's 2nd birthday: at the farm!

we celebrated salsa's 2nd birthday at a local farm.  he loves all things animals so i knew this would be a hit.  2 year old birthdays can be a little challenging:  they need a little more activity than a 1 year old party but they are not quite old enough to play party games or participate in anything too structured. and i couldn't resist ordering this adorable shirt from etsy for him to wear on his big day!

let me just say a farm party is perfect for this age!  and you know what else i realized...a farm party is great when you have kids from a wide range of ages.  burrito was the oldest one there at age 11 and the youngest was just 6 months younger than salsa.  and let me let you in on another secret...i think the adults had a great time too! :)

the sign that greeted us as we arrived

we held the party on a saturday morning because august in texas is HOT.  it was for a couple of hours which was plenty of time to see the animals, play on the playground, eat cake and open presents.  i found this local farm online on accident and i am so glad i did.  it was one of the easiest, low maintenance parties we've done.  i just did simple decorations...cow print tablecloths on 4 picnic benches, little hay bales as centerpieces and a farm-themed cake from a local supermarket!  i bought cowboy hats for the kids to wear on the hayride and they were able to keep them as party favors.

cousins

we let the kids play on the playground and see the chickens until everyone arrived.  then we loaded up on a trailer led by a tractor for the hayride.  we went around the farm and saw pigs, goats, chickens, a horse and farm dogs.

checking out the chickens

all loaded up and ready to see the farm

we brought bite size apples and carrots to feed the pigs and goats.  we divided these up into baggies so that each child had their own food supply.

feeding the pigs

this was definitely a goat farm and they sell goat milk in their little farm store.  there was one boy goat and lots of girl goats.  and they were all excited to see us with our apples and carrots!

they even had two baby goats born the day before so all the kids were able to pet a brand new baby goat!

salsa with the baby goat

after the hayride and feeding all the farm animals, it was time to feed ourselves.  i ordered this cake from a local grocery store and was really happy with how cute it turned out!

singing "happy birthday"

pretending to blow out the candle that would not stay lit :)

then we let the kids play and roam the farm while salsa opened up his presents.  by the time he was finished though, he had several spectators.

happy birthday salsa!  it was so fun to share the farm experience with you and all your little friends!

salsa you are 2!

happy 2nd birthday my sweet salsa!

these past 2 years have been some of the sweetest years of my life.  you are such a gift to our family and i almost can't remember what life was like before you.

thinking back to your birth, it all makes sense knowing who you are now.  you arrived 11 days after your due date.  you were completely content being with your momma and that has not changed.  you love your people and are happiest when we are all together.  you love to give me kisses and hugs and you get so excited when daddy gets home.  you call him "dadden" and you say "ga gaaa" when he gets home because that is you taunting him to get in the floor and wrestle.  you love your big brothers and do whatever they are doing, which is a blessing and a curse, ha!  you call burrito and noodle by the same name "ah" which is what you have always called noodle and you still refuse to even attempt saying burrito's name.  you're a stubborn one!  you three share a bedroom now and this has revolutionized your sleeping!  you still get up too early in the mornings but i am thankful that you are not waking up multiple times at night.  you just didn't like being by yourself and i think it is so sweet that you are all together at night.  since your brothers are so much older than you, i had hoped that one day you would share a room before they thought that was not cool....i just didn't realize we would do that at 21 months!

you like to pretend to cook in your play kitchen.  you insist on me tying on 2 aprons every time you cook and you like to pretend to cook bread and cookies.  you wear your oven mitts when you carry your little cookie sheet around.

you have discovered play-doh and we like to make little meatballs and shapes in the different colors.  you refuse to try to eat anything new but play-doh, no problem!  let's eat that!

you still enjoy playing trains with all your thomas trains and tracks but you have also developed a love for anything with wheels.  we pulled out all of burrito's and noodle's hotwheels and roads and all 3 of you play together with cars.  i am so thankful that we saved all of our favorite toys because it is so fun bringing those out and watching you play with them too.

perhaps your favorite toys right now are these little plastic animals that we've collected over time.  we have a little giraffe family and other african animals and you like to line them up in our window sill.  you even saw a picture of a rhino in a magazine the other day and went and found the plastic rhino to show me!

you love to run and your brothers have shown you how to lean down to touch your fingers to the ground and say 1, 2, 3 go!  you will do this over and over again!

you still love books, water, vacuum cleaners and balloons!

some of our favorite words that you say right now:
momma
dadden
cookie
honey
beep beep
river
bye bye
snaaaa=snack
graff=giraffe
baby
mamuu=hummus
meatball
ow
teeth
gway, gway=blanket
doctor
kitty cat
buddy=puppy
bippo=hippo

your favorite foods are chicken nuggets, meatballs, hummus, muffins and bread of any kind, bowtie pasta, burgers, cheese panini, crackers, chips, and of course, cookies!

happy 2nd birthday salsa!  we love you so much!

2 months old!

so much changes in so little time!  my sweet baby silas you are 2 months old and getting so BIG!  you are getting more and more fun.  you are cooing and talking so much and it is so fun!  you give us big smiles and you kick your legs and wave your arms like a crazy man.

your favorite place is the diaper changing pad (of all places!).  you've outgrown many of your newborn onesies and footed jammies.  you can get your left fist into your mouth and noodle is so excited thinking you might be a leftie like him.  we will see.  you finally like your play gym and you will bat at the toys hanging from it.  you still don't like your carseat but now you only scream 50% of the time instead of 100%.  you like going for walks in the jogging stroller. you still get up once (mostly) in the night for a snack but i am hoping that soon we will both be sleeping through the night.

i love having another chance to snuggle with a baby. your long toes are my favorite.  you still enjoy baths and enjoy being bounced in our arms when you are upset.  you do not enjoy tummy time and usually vocalize your distaste for it pretty quickly.  your hair is growing but you are still my baldest baby.  you love watching your brothers and i think it is so sweet to see how much they love you.

time is going by way too quickly and yet i am eager to see what this next month of life with you holds. we love you so much baby boy!

1 month old!

silas today is your 1 month old birthday!  i can't believe a month has already passed.  you are chunking up now and looking so cute!  your brothers still seriously love you and can make me and you a little crazy with their overbearing love.  we are finally enjoying time with each other in the absence of doctor appointments.  you are communicating more and more with us.  your favorite place is the changing pad and you "talk" to us the most there.  you love to look at our faces and you always find the ceiling fan in each room we are in.  you are still breastfeeding like a champ and i am so happy that breastfeeding worked out with you (but man it is not for the faint of heart!).  your peeling skin is just about all gone and your hair is getting a little longer.  i am soaking up every detail of you because i know just how fleeting this time is!

another silas medical update

the last medical update on silas was about his appointment with the cardiologist and i think i mentioned there that we also had an appointment scheduled with a pediatric surgeon.  we were also referred there because of the risk of bowel malrotation that you so often see with situs inversus.

so we met with the surgeon last thursday.  john went with me and while we were waiting for the doctor to come in to the exam room, silas was getting hungry.  i breastfed him and because we are also supplementing with a little formula, john offered to feed silas a bottle.  well, while he was trying to burp him, silas had a HUGE blowout that went all over john's shorts.  and right then, the surgeon walked in!  john was amazing and had a great attitude about it and we were all laughing that silas definitely does not have a problem with making dirty diapers!

the surgeon was really sweet and thorough and went over all the different scenarios we might face with a child with situs inversus.  he first recommended that we have an upper GI test done to absolutely confirm what the abdominal ultrasound showed...that there truly is no malrotation.  the issue seemed to be that the small bowel was clearly on one side and the larger bowel on the other side.  if there was malrotation, he would need surgery.  the surgery would most likely be laprascopic and would involve a hospital stay for a day or two.  if there was no malrotation, he would err on the conservative side and not pursue surgery until a problem perhaps arose later in life.

so we scheduled the upper GI test for the following morning.  poor little guy had to drink a bottle of barium while they watched how it went through his bowels.  then they took three additional x-rays to make sure they had good pictures for the surgeon.  silas couldn't have anything to eat/drink for three hours prior to the test so that was a challenge to time his feeding in the night to make the last one as close to the three hour window as possible.  then he refused to drink the barium out of their bottle.  fortunately i had one of our bottles with us, so they transferred the barium to that and thankfully after some coaxing, he drank what was needed to get the x-rays.  it was tortuous for me to hear him scream as they held him down and still while doing the x-rays.

then the waiting game began.  i've always felt that silas was going to be okay, even though we needed to complete all these tests to make sure.  the cardiologist appointment was exactly what i expected and i just felt the same about this one too.

finally, on wednesday the surgeon called and gave me the news i was hoping to hear...he does NOT need surgery!  in fact, his bowels are in the position that the surgeon would put them in if he had needed surgery!  he went over again the importance of telling any medical professional that silas sees about his situs inversus because everything will be flipped.  this is particularly important before any test is performed of if he were to have appendicitis (since his appendix is on the left instead of the right).  he still runs a risk of a volvulus (a volvulus is a twisting of the intestine that can occur in childhood. it causes a blockage, and may cut off blood flow and damage part of the intestine).  the signs of this would be green vomit and/or a distended abdomen.  we know to take him immediately to the ER of the children's hospital if he has either of these symptoms.

the surgeon sounded confident that we are now educated enough to know if there is a real problem so he doesn't need to see us back until silas is a year old.  i think he just wants to follow up and check on things again when he is a little older.

we are so relieved and so thankful to have this part of the journey behind us.  i *think* from this point forward we will just have our regular baby checkup appointments, hooray!  he's been such a little trooper about it all but we are both ready to just hang out at home and rest and eat whenever we want and not worry about the timing of those things with appointments!

thanks for following his health issues and praying for us!  the Lord is good and we are thankful for His protection over silas' life!

3 weeks old and baptism

silas you are 3 weeks old now.  you are looking around more and more and you love staring up at the ceiling fan.  you are just starting to coo some which totally melts my heart!  you are awake more and more and just when we think we have you figured out, you throw us for a loop and we are scratching our heads about eating, sleeping and burping.  you've been a real trooper through all your doctors appointments and your mama is SO ready to have that behind us!

yesterday you became a covenant child of our church as the rest of the family took our membership vows.  you were baptized by pastor kyle and spoken to by elder phil.  we were wondering how you would do and you did great!  you were awake and looking around at all the lights.  pastor kyle walked you around the congregation (which we love!) so that everyone who were vowing to pray for you would see your cute little face.  you weren't a huge fan of the water when it came to the actual baptizing but you didn't complain too loudly.

phil having us take our membership and baptism vows

pastor kyle walking silas around the congregation

going to get baptized

we are so thankful for our new church and the love of our Heavenly Father!

2 weeks old

so how did we celebrate silas' 2 weeks old birthday you ask?  with another doctor appointment!  this was just to our sweet pediatrician and i was curious to see how much he weighed now.  7 pounds 5 ounces!  hooray!  we're finally getting this little guy to gain some weight!

we also celebrated by giving him a bath tonight.  look at his sweet little face!

this was a huge improvement over his first bath, which was this past saturday.  this is what he thought of that!

totally not a fan and he let us know by pooping all over the place at the very end.  so much for getting clean, ha!  we figure this will make for a great story when he is older. :)

silas at 2 weeks you are still stealing our hearts.  your skin is still peeling but getting better.  we've settled into a feeding groove which makes your mom so happy.  you are a laid back baby and i think we are more laid back parents this time around.  you are more aware of your surroundings and you are staying awake for longer periods of time.  i swear you can see the ceiling fan because you are mesmerized by it.  your older brothers are ready for you to be awake more and eat less so they can play with you more...it is super sweet to see the love they have for you.  in fact, when noodle realized he missed going to a birthday party this past weekend, burrito said to him, "would you rather go to a party or have a baby brother?"  they both clearly felt like a baby brother was way better! :)  you are not a fan of the carseat and neither am i because you look way to tiny to be strapped all in there.  you love to sleep in your swing but we are going to work on sleeping in other places this week too.

we love you silas!

cardiologist

so i thought i would write about our cardiologist appointment yesterday mainly because this helps me remember everything and also, there is so little on the web about situs inversus with levocardia (flipped organs except the heart is on the left) maybe some of this will help someone else.

so i've learned not to assume that medical people know what situs inversus means.  you would think if they are looking at the order from the pediatrician to perform an ekg and echocardiogram due to situs inversus and you didn't know what that term meant, you would look it up.  yea, don't assume that.  i've learned my lesson and will verbalize that from now on at every appointment.

so, first the nurse did an ekg on little man.  he did not like this part because she put a million little sticky things all over him and then had to rip them off when she was done.  she also took his blood pressure, temperature, weight and length.  because he was getting fussy and hungry, i fed him before they did the echocardiogram.  the tech doing this was clearly in the wrong profession or having a really bad day and i had to pray myself through her attitude towards my squirmy baby.  i mean, he is just 12 days old, what do you expect, for him to be perfectly still the entire time???  this took about 45 minutes then we were back in the patient room waiting for the cardiologist to take a look at those pictures.

i loved the cardiologist.  he was an older gentleman and very sweet and thorough.  he brought the above picture in to explain exactly what he saw on the echocardiogram.  i am a visual learner so this helped me SO much!

so the diagnosis was what i expected from the research i've been able to do online.  the main issue has to do with the inferior vena cava.  they call it an "interruption of the vena cava."  if you look at the bottom left of the picture, you can see where this vein enters the right atrium from the lower parts of the body.  this did not form in silas so instead that blood comes up through a vein that runs behind the liver (which is on his left because things are flipped) and behind the heart and enters the right atrium at the top instead of the bottom (azygous vein to the superior vena cava).  so the blood gets to where it is meant to go, just in a different way.

he also has a ventricular septal defect (VSD) that is about 2mm.  this is the circle noted in the middle of the picture.  lots of babies have this and because the heart still has a lot of growing to do, it usually closes on its own.  he could not hear it with his stethoscope and he said even if it doesn't close, which it may not, it is so small that it will not cause any problems.

he has a similar hole between the right and left atriums (patent foramen ovale) that will also likely close as his heart grows bigger.  again, this is something that should not cause any problems.

so we talked about the rarity of situs inversus and how he has only had one other patient similar to silas.  it is likely a genetic thing but there is still a lot they don't know about what causes it.  he said if we were to have more children our odds of seeing this again in another child are about 2% more than anyone else.  also, silas' kids may be more predisposed to having this as well but the odds for that are just about 5% more.  it is such a mystery to me how all of this happens and really makes me appreciate the extreme intricacies that the Lord has established in the human body.

so his long term heart prognosis is great.  the cardiologist recommended that we come back in 6 months for a follow up to check on the status of the defects and to see if they have closed.  we are SO thankful for a good heart report!

a silas medical update

sweet silas has had his fair share of doctor appointments in his first week of life and it seems there will be more in his future.

i am so thankful for our pediatrician and the care and concern he has shown for our little guy.  he's never had a patient with abdominal situs inversus and he's an older guy so he's probably seen a lot of things.  i love that he's shown an interest even before silas was born by researching and sending me info on his condition with a hand written note noting the questions we should ask at our prenatal ultrasound appointment.  i love that he has seen us twice and called me twice this week to check on him.  yes, that's right, the pediatrician himself has called me.

we've been monitoring his weight this week because he had dropped down 10 ounces from birth.  i think the doctor wanted to make sure that it was more of a "needs to eat more" issue than a "not absorbing his food" sort of issue and it was just that he needed a bit more to eat.  by wednesday he was back up to his birth weight plus a couple of ounces.  the pediatrician also was concerned about a mass he was feeling on the left side of silas' abdomen, and because things are not in their correct places, there was no way to know exactly what he was feeling without an ultrasound.

so silas had his first ultrasound yesterday morning.  we were glad to have one ordered because we knew all along that this would be standard procedure for him and for us, the sooner the better.  we were really praying before the appointment because silas could not have anything to eat for 3 hours prior.  that just seems so mean and sad for a newborn but we knew it was necessary.  we were expecting him to be upset and hungry throughout the procedure but he literally laid there asleep the entire time the tech moved the wand over his abdomen.  it was totally divine intervention!

he survived his first ultrasound!

look at that little hospital anklet

so the tech of course is not allowed to comment much on what he saw but he did confirm that silas does have a spleen!  that is something we had been praying about for months and we thank those who have been praying for that with us as well!  he explained that the doctor would contact us about the results but that he didn't see anything that would require us to stay there.

so a few hours later, our amazing pediatrician called me personally again!  he explained that the mass that he was feeling was the liver.  he also explained that silas does have the one spleen (he could have had one, none or several) which is a good thing because typically the one spleen suggests that there are fewer other issues.  everything in the abdomen is indeed flipped which was not a surprise.

now the concerns:

there were no noted malrotations of the bowels but after consulting with a pediatric surgeon, they are suggesting that silas have an upper gi test performed to see if a malrotation is likely to occur in the future.  from what i understand from reading about this online, when the bowels are flipped they are not "tacked down" like they would be in a normal orientation so a malrotation is likely to occur.  if this is the case, silas would need a surgery to correct this.  so we have an appointment on september 12 with the pediatric surgeon.

there is also an issue with his inferior vena cava.  this is the large vein that carries de-oxygenated blood from the lower half of the body into the right atrium of the heart.  it does not enter the heart in the correct place.  so we are being referred to a pediatric cardiologist for an echocardiogram to make sure that this is okay.  i read online that it can be explained like this:  in a normal body, it could be compared to 2+2=4 but with situs inversus it is like 1+3=4.  you get the same result, just in a different way.  we are waiting to hear when this appointment will be.

so from what i can tell, all of these referrals are more to confirm that things are working okay or to catch something before it becomes a problem.

i've tried to research all of this online but with situs inversus there are so many variations that it is virtually impossible to find another case exactly like his.  we are so thankful that he is doing well and thriving and acting like a normal newborn.  you just look at him and you would never know that things are so crazy on the inside.  i find myself asking God why He would make silas different in this way and i wonder if this is part of silas' testimony because God redeems everything for His glory.

we are loving his sweetness and enjoying his little personality.  he loves to suck on his hands and fingers when he figures out how to get them into his mouth.  he likes music and seems to calm down when we sing to him or play the music on my phone that we put together for his birth.  he loves it when you talk to him up close so that he can see your face.  he does not like diaper changes.  his skin is peeling everywhere, especially his hands and feet.  we can't decide if he looks more like burrito or noodle...i think he might be a perfect mix of both of them.  he had a little eye infection but that is almost completely gone.  his umbilical cord came off today, yay!  he had his first photo shoot with a dear friend today and i can't wait to see those pictures!  he's been to walmart and sprouts and tomorrow will be his first visit to church.

so that's the latest update on our guy.  we can't wait for everyone to meet him!

1 week old

i can't believe he is already 1 week old.  time is going by too fast.  except for the nights when he decides that sleep is overrated, ha!  i feel like we are settling into a bit of a routine which feels good.  we are all quite smitten with him.

we have been to the doctor every other day since his birth monitoring his weight and his special organs.  we went for a sonogram today and because i am so tired, i'll have to blog the details of it later but we have more doctor appointments in our future.

we are so thankful for all those who have been praying for months for this little guy.  would you keep praying for him?  he's doing great but we have to see a few more doctors to make sure there are no future problems.

isn't he a handsome little thing?  i keep reminding myself of this verse:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14

silas' birth story

i am so happy with the events of silas' birth.  back in week 20 of pregnancy when we found out silas had the flipped organs (technical term is situs inversus), i was convinced that my dream of having a water birth at a birthing center was over.  i, of course, was ready to accept whatever was necessary for his safe delivery, but i had dreamed for many years of having another baby and doing it this way, something totally different than my experiences with burrito and noodle.

once we received the news at his 32 week ultrasound that he was okay and cleared for a birth outside of the hospital, i was so happy and relieved.  but then, this sweet guy made us wait extra long for his birth so once again i was wondering if my hopes and plans would need to be rewritten again.  thankfully, he finally came 12 days after my due date and we didn't have to cross that bridge.

his birth story starts thursday night, august 22.  it was parent's night at the boys' school and honestly, i was hoping to attend that and not be in labor.  and i did and learned a lot about 4th and 2nd grade! :)  as i was recounting some of the things discussed at the meeting with john when i returned home, i started having mild contractions.  we were watching the local news, and i told him that he better get some substitute teacher plans together because i was thinking that this was the real thing.  i started timing the contractions at 10:38 pm on my phone and they came consistently every 5-7 minutes.  we continued noting them on my phone and around midnight i decided it would be wise to call my mom and let her know that we needed her to come and stay at the house with burrito and noodle.

my midwife advised me to get in a warm bath at home and see how things progress.  i did that until around 3 am and i felt like things were progressing enough that i wanted to head to the birth center in case things went really fast.  my past labors with the boys moved very quickly at the end, and the last thing i wanted was to deliver in the car on the way to the birth center!  my midwife told us she would head that way and give us a call when things were ready for us.

we arrived at the birth center at 4 am and she checked me and i was dilated to a 4.  she then showed john and me ways to labor more productively by walking around and sitting on a birthing ball.  we did this for a bit and then decided to try and rest some in the bed as labor progressed.  around 5:45 am i started having really intense contractions and lots of pressure.  i remembered this from my previous two labors and knew that i was getting close.  we were going to walk around some more but my contractions became super intense and we decided it was time to check me again.  i was at a 10!  there was some major scrambling that took place to get the tub ready and get me in it before silas decided to pop out.  in between contractions, i knew i wanted to text two really close friends to PRAY for me as i went through this last part of labor.  i texted them at 6:21 am and silas was born at 6:38 am august 23, just 17 minutes later!

i was able to get in the jetted tub and with two pushes, he was born!  it was such a euphoric experience to have him naturally with no pain medication in the water and to finally see him!  he seemed so tiny and was so perfect.  when you look at him, you would never know that his organs are flipped or that he is any different than any other baby.  his birth was so calm and peaceful.  the room was dark (that's why the pictures are dark and grainy) and quiet and he came out so content.  he hardly made a sound and was immediately looking around and wanting to eat.  we stayed in the water for awhile to allow the umbilical cord to finish pulsing and then for me to deliver the placenta.  then it was out of the tub and into the bed to let him nurse.

this is my favorite picture

he seemed so tiny to me

john cutting the umbilical cord

my sweet husband had made a music playlist on my cell phone a few months ago knowing that i would like to listen to music during labor.  we had a good time choosing songs that were our favorites and would be a good distraction for me.  it really was nice to listen to songs that inclined our hearts to worship the Lord as i labored and as we both prepared to meet our third son, a true miracle and gift from Jesus.  the song that played as i held silas for the first time was Jesus Cast a Look on Me.  These are the lyrics:

Jesus cast a look on me,
Give me sweet simplicity
Make me poor and keep me low,
Seeking only Thee to know

All that feeds my busy pride,
Cast it evermore aside
Bid my will to Thine submit,
Lay me humbly at Thy feet

Make me like a little child,
Of my strength and wisdom spoiled
Seeing only in Thy light,
Walking only in Thy might

Leaning on Thy loving breast,
Where a weary soul can rest
Feeling well the peace of God,
Flowing from His precious blood

In this posture let me live,
And hosannas daily give
In this temper let me die,
And hosannas ever cry!

we thought this song was so timely and perfect, especially the line leaning on Thy loving breast as he was nursing for the first time.  it was such a super sweet moment that it brought us both to near tears.

while we snuggled in bed, the ladies prepared the one treatment i had been looking forward to the most: the herbal bath!  a warm, herbal bath in a claw foot tub with twinkling tea lights and a brand new baby...what is better than that!  another super sweet memory that i will always remember spending with john and silas.

the herbal bath

he was so calm and happy

after that, i was helped to get dressed and breakfast was served to both john and me in bed.  my mom brought burrito and noodle up to meet their new brother (they were so pumped when mimi woke them up that morning to tell them that silas was here and they did not have to go to school!).  they watched as he was weighed and measured and checked over.  then instructions were given about how best to care for me and silas over the next couple of days and then we were headed home to rest in our own bed! 

he weighed 6lbs, 10 oz

love these baby feet

he measured 19.5 inches long

so that's the story of how we met silas jack.  we love him so much and are so grateful for all the excellent care we received during my pregnancy and delivery.

Silas Jack

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Silas Jack Rutherford, born August 23, 2013 at 6:38 am, weighing 6lbs, 10oz and measuring 19.5 inches long.

We are all totally in love with him and can't wait to share more about the newest addition to our family!

Thank you for praying for him and for us.  He is perfect and we are praising the Lord Jesus!

thank you Jesus

thank you Jesus for allowing me to parent and love and nurture another son

thank you Jesus for giving me a baby despite just having one ovary

thank you Jesus for the satisfaction and joy that comes from being a mother

thank you Jesus for knitting Silas perfectly in the womb and though he has some medical issues, he received the best medical prognosis possible

thank you Jesus for blessing me with 3 healthy pregnancies

thank you Jesus for giving burrito and noodle hearts that are excited to have a new baby brother

thank you Jesus for all the ways you've molded and shaped our family before Silas is even born

thank you Jesus for a wonderful, supportive husband who is eager to love and serve his pregnant wife

thank you Jesus for giving us a great experience with a midwife

thank you Jesus for a pediatrician that is sincerely interested in caring for Silas and monitoring his health needs

thank you Jesus for all the friends who have prayed for us and prayed for Silas throughout this pregnancy

thank you Jesus for giving me these extra days of being pregnant and feeling a baby kick and move inside of me

thank you Jesus for all of the baby gear that others have blessed us with that fill our house

thank you Jesus for answering my prayer to grow Silas big and strong before he is born

thank you Jesus for teaching us patience as we wait for Silas' arrival, knowing that You will bring him at the most perfect time

40 weeks!

i can't believe i just typed that!  i am officially past my due date!  it seems little silas jack is pretty happy just hibernating.  truth be told, i am just glad he did not come on the first day of school!

i had an appointment with my midwife today and we don't think anything will happen in the next week.  you never know though!  my poor family is tired of sitting on pins and needles wondering when he will make his grand entrance.  there are so few real surprises in life and we are all a little (or a lot!) "type a" so i think it's a good thing that God is trying to stretch us by teaching us patience and reminding us that we truly are not in control!

i love being pregnant but i am at that point where i am ready to have my normal body back.  i just can't move the same way being this big and sleeping is a joke!  and to be honest, the anticipation of this natural, unmedicated birth can be a little overwhelming at times.  i know i can do it, but i also know how hard it will be and i just want that behind me.  and i can't wait to see my silas jack!

39 weeks

wow.  this is the longest i have ever been pregnant.  i had burrito 16 days early and noodle 8 days early, and i was convinced that this guy would follow suit and be early too.  well, he only has 4 more days to make that happen and according to my midwife at this week's appointment, it probably isn't going to happen!

 

these are terrible phone pics thanks to the lighting but oh well...i wanted to make sure we got these just in case he decided to make his appearance sooner rather than later!

and i wanted to get some pics of the boys with my belly this week for posterity sake. :)

they both told my midwife that they are "done waiting" for silas to come, so i think we are all ready and anxious to meet him.  i did pray that silas would bake up nice and big way back when we first learned of his medical issues so i guess this is just the Lord answering that prayer! :)

my body is just not built to carry this much weight all on the front end so i am feeling more and more tired.  it has been 2000 degrees outside this week and dad, who is much more fun than mom, started back to in service at school this week.  so all that to say, we are just barely making it around here.

the first day of school is next tuesday, august 13, so i am just praying, praying, praying that that is NOT the day silas decides to make his grand appearance!