A Busy Four Days

Sometimes God uses things in our lives to remind us of how blessed we are.  This weekend was one of those reminder weekends.

It began on Saturday afternoon.  Addie and I had been lying on the sofa bed reading one of her library books.  She was sitting up and resting back on me, and I was lying on my side.  When we finished the book (Babar the Elephant), she decided to get up.  Unknowingly, she put her little elbow in the crease of my leg and pelvis and pushed off of me. That created a shooting pain in that area, and I reminded her that she couldn't press on Mommy's belly area.

A couple of hours later, I went into the bathroom and found that I was bleeding. It wasn't a consistent flow and it was not accompanied by any pain so I wasn't sure if I was miscarrying or not.  I have never experienced anything like that before, so naturally I became worried and so did Brian.  He went completely pale and had to go outside for some air for fear that he would become sick.  We both began praying.

Addie was sleeping by now which was a blessing.  I only had to think about one thing at this point and that was the baby.

Pretty soon 4:30 came.  Brian and my dad had plans to go to a hockey game with each other.  Brian wanted to call Dad to cancel, but I know how much Brian loves sports and I wasn't going to make him stay home if we were unsure of what was happening.  Reluctantly he went and texted me the entire night. 

When he left, I called a cousin who had experienced several miscarriages to see if she could help me make sense of what was happening  Then I called Titi Ruthie.  I should have called her first since her first plan of action was prayer.    She told me to lie down and try not to do anything.  I called my doctor's office hoping someone was there that could help me understand what was happening.  I spoke to the doctor who said it sounded like it might be a miscarriage but he couldn't be sure without an exam.  He also told me to stay off my feet and rest.  Addie was still napping so that wasn't a problem, but she was going to wake up soon and then what was I going to do?  She needed to be fed and bathed and played with. 

Then she woke up.

I decided that I had to call someone who could come to the house to just help me where Addie was concerned.  Who to call?  Mom-in-law!  I called the house and got no answer.  I called her cell phone and got no answer.  Addie now wanted to play with me, she was thirsty, and she had to go to the potty.  Maybe Mom was visiting her mom.  So I called Grandma and got no answer.  I called Mom's house again.  Still no answer. I called her cell phone again. Still no answer.  I decided to call Pop's cell phone.

He answered in his most hey-I'm-so-happy-to-hear-from-you voice!

"Hey there, you!  What going on?" he answered.

I don't know if it was because I finally got a hold of someone or because I was starting to get nervous, but I burst into tears as I said, "I think I'm miscarrying the baby!"

"We'll be right there." Click.

I laid there on the sofa bed crying.  Addie came over to me, rubbed my arm, and asked, "Which one do you want, Mommy?" She was playing with these colorful, little plastic rings and wanted me to pick one.  I stopped crying because I knew Addie didn't know what was happening and picked a color.  I then took her to the kitchen, made her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, had her sit at the table, and then I laid down on the couch.  Not long after, there was a knock at the door.  Mom looked like she had been crying.  Pops grabbed me, hugged me tight, and said, "I know how to fix a lot of things.  I don't know how to fix this." I started crying again.  I have the most awesome in-laws! 

Pops went to the table with Addie so Mom and I could talk in detail about what I was feeling, what was happening, and what it might be.  I was not experiencing any pain except for the initial pain when Addie leaned on me.  There wasn't anymore bleeding. 

Mom thought it might have been a cyst that burst. 

They stayed with us until Brian came home at 11:30.  The next day we all stayed home from church.  Everyone wanted me to lie down as much as possible and rest, and Brian said that since we keep Addie with us in the service there would be no rest during that hour.  We watched Rev. Creflo Dollar instead. 

Brian really made sure that I rested.  He got up in the middle of the night to check on Addie, he made breakfast and coffee on Sunday morning, he cared for all of Addie's and my needs, and he took Monday off and started all over again.  We had been told by the doctor to go in for blood work to check my HCG hormone levels (the pregnancy hormone).  We were also able to move my doctor's appointment from Tuesday evening to Monday afternoon. 

Once again, Mom came to the rescue.  She came over to watch Addie for us (since Addie was napping), and she told us that she was making dinner for us so I wouldn't have to make anything and we wouldn't have to be out longer than necessary so I could just rest.

At the doctor's, I was examined and told by the doctor that everything felt fine and that as far as he could see, everything was good and I was still pregnant.  He was just waiting for the blood work results.

Back home, dinner was amazing.  we had fall-off-the-bone ribs, seasoned potatoes, shrimp and cocktail sauce, and for dessert we had delicious cinnamon cupcakes.  She really outdid herself!  Thank you, Mom!

Around 8:00 p,m, we got a call from the doctor's office.  My blood work had come in and the levels were even higher than the doctor was expecting them to be!

Yesterday, I went in for an ultrasound to make sure that Squishy was fine.  I got to hear the heartbeat, and what a strong little heartbeat it was. The technician even showed me on the monitor where the baby was, and I could see the little flicker which was the heart beating loud and strong. I also asked the tech to check how many Squishies there were (twins run in our family), and she confirmed that there was only one. Titi Elsie stayed with Addie and even brought us dinner for a few nights so that I don't have to do much.  I am so blessed with so many people who are willing to help at a moment's notice.

God really kept this pregnancy in His hands.  We still have another round of blood work this morning to compare the HCG levels, and once again, Mom is caring for Addie while I get this done.  I am breathing easier today and actually enjoying the nauseous feelings and dizziness that this pregnancy has brought with it.  They are just signs that things are good!