Our Baby This Week

Our baby is about the size of a kidney bean this week. Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from our baby's hands and feet, his or her eyelids practically cover his or her eyes, breathing tubes extend from his or her throat to the branches of his or her developing lungs, and his or her "tail" is just about gone. In his or her brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. The external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether we are having a boy or a girl (hence the use of his or her) but we are contemplating finding out this time around. Our baby is constantly moving and shifting, though I still can't feel it. And for those of you who are considering the twin issue, I looked it up and we have less than a two percent chance of having twins so I think we can safely rule out that possibility!

I have been experiencing much more of the so called "morning sickness" than I did with either Noah or Jonah. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I am still nursing Jonah. Please pray that I can stick it out for a few more months. I know this is a little TMI for some of you, but the plan is to allow Jonah to have my milk until he reaches one year and then try to switch him to either cow or goat milk, depending on which he tolerates better. When Jonah is one year, I will be about five months pregnant. Hopefully I will be able to keep my milk supply up until then and I will be able to tough it out and do what is best for both babies.

Granny Faye

LAST UPDATE

Granny has keft the hospital and has been staying with my Aunt Jeanine at the beach. She should be heading home Thursday, August 7th.

****UPDATE****

Granny has been moved to a room and is getting better. Hopefully she will be out of the hospital by the end of the week. Thanks for all of your prayers.

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As most of you already know, my grandmother had a heart attack while the boys and I were with her yesterday. Right now she is in the intensive care unit at Trident Hospital for observation. She has some damage to her heart and they are going to closely monitor her. Please be in prayer that the doctors and family will have wisdom in deciding what course of action is best. I just talked to Dad and he was in the room visiting with her. Dad said they may move her out of ICU and into the cardiac unit sometime this weekend. She seems to be in good spirits but is mad that they will not let her get out of bed. The nurses have relented and said she could have a cell phone. I'm not sure if that was for her benefit or for theirs! They probably just want to give her someone else to talk to so that she will not keep asking them questions about themselves trying to figure out if they are somehow related to her!

Where Does God Live?

Theology from Noah Travis Givens, age 4 1/2

Momma, I think you are wrong about where God lives. Heaven is not up in the sky, it is under the ground. God holds up the world and how can He do that if He is up in the sky above it? Nope, He has to be under it to hold it up. And when people die, we put them in the ground. Well, angels can't dig the people up and take them to heaven because angels have wings instead of hands. You can't dig with wings. So I think that God lives in the ground and when people die we put them in the ground to live with God. That is fine with me though. I think I would rather live in the dirt anyway than up on some cloud somewhere. Do you think they have backhoes and tractors in heaven? They should have them to move around all that dirt that is down there.

Our Baby This Week

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs. Our baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

A Mouse In The House

I have been seeing what I thought were the signs of a mouse for a few weeks now, but Joe kept insisting that I was imagining things. I never could find the mouse but I kept finding a "gift" from him here and there. Last night, I was sitting in the bedroom rocking Jonah in the recliner, when I looked up and saw the creature walk into my bedroom and under my bed! My mind knows that a mouse is tiny and scared and can't hurt me, but my body doesn't want to believe my mind. Joe and Noah were in the living room, but it only took them seconds to get to the bedroom after my screaming started. They looked everywhere for the mouse and of course could not find it. They decided to jump on the bed and see if they could not scare it out. At this point, I am standing in the recliner with my heart about to beat out of my chest. As Joe and Noah are having a grand old time jumping on the bed, I see the mouse run out from under the bed and into the front living room under the piano. AAHH! The screaming starts again and wouldn't you know it, I am the only one who saw the mouse. Joe and Noah now really think I am going crazy and seeing things. Joe suggests that it is the pregnancy hormones. They got out flashlights and looked under the piano while I stood on the couch directing them. Finally, Joe and Noah spot the mouse. Joe says, "It's just a baby, I can't believe you are scared of that little thing." Noah then chimes in, "Mommy please don't kill it, he is so cute, why don't you want little baby mouses to live?" I finally agreed that we would not kill it, but that it HAD to be out of my house. They blocked off all the exits around the piano except for one and tried to run the mouse out and into their trap (a cardboard box). Needless to say, it didn't work. Since it takes at least three strong men to move my piano, Joe and Noah could not get the mouse to come out. So now, there is still a mouse in my piano. If they can't get it out tonight, I am going to buy a trap, not a cardboard one but a big metal one that will chop off his head!

Morning Sickness

From Noah's point of view...

"I thought that only kids threw up. I didn't know that big people could do it too!"

MUSC

Jonah had his appointment with the pediatric gastroenterologist at the Medical University of South Carolina this morning. I almost cancelled the appointment because the puking had gotten so much better, but it took us three months to get the appointment so I decided to go ahead and take him. They were very nice and knowledgeable, but of course all they did was review his history and give us all of the options that we have already tried. I see no need in starting the whole process again since he seems to be doing better, so unless he reverts back to the way he was, I am not going to subject him to any more invasive tests for inconclusive results. He still has the appointment to see the dermatologist in August and then the allergist sometime after that visit. I think that route is going to give us more answers and from what I have heard, the testing for allergies is either a simple blood test or a skin test, so that will not be bad at all.
The appointment this morning was in West Ashley, so we did not pass Chuck E. Cheese. Noah was disappointed but the teller at the bank made up for it by giving him two suckers. I would rather deal with my child on a sugar high than a room full of other people's screaming children any day!

Our Baby This Week

Right now, our baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil bean. This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears are beginning to take shape. The heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute and blood is beginning to course through the body. The intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to the lungs has appeared. The pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of the brain, muscles, and bones. As you can tell, insomnia has also hit, hence the posting at 5:00am. Crazy huh?

The Pancake Song

This is the conversation that went on this morning as I was on the floor playing with the boys:

Noah: Mom can you help me teach Jonah the pancake song?
Me: What pancake song?
Noah: You know, the pancake song! You used to sing it to me.
Me: Sing part of it and remind me.
Noah: Pancake, Pancake, Baker's Man, Bake me a pancake as fast as you can!

I never could convince him that it was Patty-cake instead of Pancake. A word of advice...Don't argue with a four year old, (especially mine) he always wins!

Our Baby This Week

Our baby is about the size of a sesame seed, and looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. The big development this week: Our baby's brain is beginning to grow! It develops from the neural tube, a structure that will also spawn the baby's spinal cord, nerves, and backbone.

Pictures

Here are a few of the pictures from our long weekend at the river.

Noah is preparing for a kayak ride with Uncle Tj and Aunt Holly.

Jonah trying out his "big boy" chair! How cute is that?

Noah upset that his boat can't float in the ocean.

Noah kayaking with Aunt Holly and Uncle Tj.

More News

I know I promised more news and pictures from our fourth of July celebration down at the river, but I don't have any pictures yet. Hopefully my news will make up for the lack of pictures. Starting off with the little stuff, we did have a great time at the river. Noah and Jonah won 1st place in the parade and the fireworks out on the beach were amazing. We ate burgers, laid in the sun, and played in the sand all weekend.

Now to the other news! I'm sure you have noticed the tickers on the side of my blog. I have one set up counting down to each of the boy's birthdays and one for the number of years that Joe and I have been married. If you look again you will notice that I have added another ticker. Yep, we are pregnant! We are a little shocked, but very happy. I knew from the time that we brought Jonah home from the hospital that we would be bringing home another child soon. It is about four months sooner than I had planned on starting that project, but then again, none of my children have come when I planned for them. I have heard that the best way to make God laugh is to tell Him your plans. At this point, I think that God must have a great sense of humor!

Happy Fourth Of July

Hope everyone is having a good Independence Day. We are currently down at the river having a great time. Pictures and more news soon to come!