week 15

Tomorrow will see the beginning of week 15. I saw my midwife on tuesday and got to hear that heart warming galloping heart beat that you can never tire of hearing. It is reassuring to hear the little heart beat ticking as sometimes you begin to wonder if you are pregnant at all. It doesn't matter how many children you have had, every pregnancy is as exciting as the first plus you can relax and take it more in your stride with each consecutive baby. My midwife thinks all is in order and I will go for my "routine" scan in 4 weeks time. My midwives are not advocates for scans but respect the fact that some of us just like the reassurance and excitement of them. Maybe it is for selfish reasons as I am not going to abort a baby if there is a defect but at least you can have a bit of time to be mentally prepared.

David has been running a Biblical world view course at church on a tuesday night, according to feedback I have received he is doing really well. This does not surprise me as he is very funny and great at teaching. My point here though is that while he was away last Tuesday I sat on my bed with my feet raised (like every good pregnant woman should) and asked God to teach me something new, Well, did he what. David will never want to leave me on my own again now. My train of thought went like this: we are going to have a full quiver of children, wow, but is a full quiver 5 or 7 kids? I decided to look it up out of curiosity. My search brought up topics on "full quiver" a name for a group of people that share the same views on contraception or lack of. I began to read with my initial thoughts being, crazy, hippy, pregnant forever people but as I read on and went to various other sites I actually started to prick up my ears and take notice. I am getting some books to do some serious reading but from what I picked up it goes a little like this. The Bible teaches that children are a blessing, that husbands and wives should not hold themselves back from each other except for prayer ( not because you are fertile at that time). At present we have been natural family planners and the thought of having another baby after feeling so crook at the beginning of this pregnancy was not my idea of something to be even thought about at the moment so I was not out to hear this right then. I love the idea of more children but the first part of pregnancy, Yuck!!! My reasons are totally selfish. The Bible also talks about God opening and closing the womb.
As I said earlier, my friend is going to lend be some reading material so I will blog about this when I can speak with more authority on the subject. God is definitely keeping this close to my thoughts.
I know that it brings up lots of debates and controversy amongst christians but if the bible is clear on this then who am I to say no to God, do I know better than him? Should I be the decider if a new life should come into this world? Does God really rule every area of my life or only the parts that I think he should? Who knows best if my body or our finances or our family can cope with more children, God or me?
I am not turning into some fanatic, weird, home-schooling, home birthing freak although maybe I sound like it, I just want to be obedient to Gods word and if that includes more children and more pregnancies then bring it on. We seriously are a down to earth fun loving "normal" family but I'm sure some people have the first impressions I did. Investigate for yourselves as I did and maybe the pin prick of conviction may also fall on you.


P.S I don't really now Davids view on this yet so we will both need to investigate further.

14 weeks

What a great week. I am feeling good and the kids schooling has gone really well. I have put a new time table in place and we have achieved so much more. The girls have really responded well to it as they know exactly what is expected of them each day.

I see my midwife next week so I look forward to hearing a little heart beat.
It is a bit strange now that I am not feeling sick and not so tired, I almost don't feel pregnant, my belly is definitely bigger than it was but could easily pass as just putting on weight.( it's not exactly huge). I am not a big person (47-kg) so a little extra weight would not do any harm.
Sometimes I look at my tummy and ask "are you really in there?". I guess once I hear the heart beat it will make it feel more real.

I went to a mums night out last night and had such a great time. We all enjoyed just relaxing at a friend from Churches house and ordering pizza. Most of us still had to cook at home mind you so its not a night off but a good change. Miriam's place is so nice, she has a real flare for interior decorating and you feel like you have stepped into a Mediterranean style cafe. I also love what she wears, a bit like Darma of the Darma and Greg show, different but not gourdy.

Church has been great also. We are seeing a real out pouring of the Holy Spirit and it is really exciting. I have great respect for our Elders and I know that they are careful not to let abuse of Gods gifts happen. Its a learning curve for everyone and we are all waiting to see what God is doing. David and I tend to be a bit tentative as we have seen terrible abuse and false use of God's gifts, the big difference here is that we fully trust those in leadership.

Chinese influence

We have a number of Chinese people living with us. Xiaowen is our boarder and he has been away for 5 weeks over the holiday period and returns on Wednesday. We also have a flat attached to our house and a Chinese couple rent it out. This all means that I can stay at home with the kids and home-school them as the extra income helps us out. Fei from the flat has her mother staying for 6 months and she has really fallen for the kids and in particular, Caleb. She has offered to take him home to China for 1 year when I have this next baby, so sweet but so not going to happen. I could not even imagine entertaining the idea. The kids call her Ninine ( I don't know if that how you spell it) It's Chinese for Grandmother. She has been amazing, making food for us, hanging out and bringing in washing, looking after the kids. She does not speak English but we are both learning a little of each others lingo. Caleb is learning to speak Chinese, it would be great if he could keep it up. i must go now as I here Caleb has woken for the morning and is ready to get up.

2nd trimester 13 weeks

Its here, I am now officially into my second trimester. I managed to run up the stairs yesterday without feeling like I would pass out and I can stand again for periods of time without feeling the need to sit down all the time. I think I will now be able to begin some light exercise again to rebuild my strength. Before I was pregnant David and I were working out on our total gym each afternoon. It was great to do it together. I strongly remember one day feeling just so tired and I could not push my body any further, I later found out that I was pregnant and that was why. I had hoped to keep up the exercise but my body just wouldn't let me. It was hard just to get the washing out. I have never felt quite so fatigued with any other pregnancy as this one, maybe it's twins. ( I jest).
I have been dreaming about twins though and they do say that the older you are (32) and the more children you have had (no.5) the higher the chances. I love the idea of twins and would be really excited but ask me later on in pregnancy if it became a reality and ask me after they were born and I might answer differently. I also like the idea of 6 kids but for the first time in my life I can say that I really don't want to go though the first 3 months again so twins would solve that issue for me and make the extra vomiting and tiredness really worth it.
I don't think my belly looks like twins are on the way and they would need to be identical as there is no history in my family of twins. I don't even know why I am talking so much about it as it would be such a slim chance. Wishful thinking maybe!!!

12 weeks

I am feeling better all the time and my energy levels are definitely picking up now.
We have had a really busy last week with Brian staying and completing the deck (all but the finishing touches) It looks great and my parents and I finished painting the hall. We then had a full on weekend with a Lewis family reunion and various church commitments to fit in amongst it all. I must admit though that it has all caught up with me a bit this afternoon as I keep waking at 4am and not going back to sleep so I did sneak an hours nap this afternoon.

The reunion was great and the kids enjoyed meeting new cousins and just had a blast swimming at the beach and in a spa pool.

The end of my first trimester is fast approaching and I welcome it with open arms. I love the second trimester, I love feeling better, I love looking better and I love the fact that this little life inside is getting bigger and bigger and that there is now less chance of miscarriage. The next big step is reaching the 28week viability stage. Roll on 13 weeks.