A little scare...

When Chase went back to work in Texas we really missed him. You never realize how much you depend on a person until they leave. It was nice to have Emily there at the same time to keep me company but it just wasn't the same as having Chase and Patrick with us. Many phone conversations later we had to convince Sadie that even though she missed her Dad, it was WAY better to be in Utah with 80 degree weather than Texas where it was so hot in the 100s that we couldn't even go outside.

Of course when Chase left, doing it all on my own was hard on my body. After Wheeler farm, the zoo, and This is the Place park, I was exhausted from all the walking and lifting and actually ended up having a little scare on Em's birthday. I noticed that I had started bleeding a little bit where you aren't supposed to bleed when your preggers. This had never happened with the previous pregnancies so I was completely hysterical and thought for sure I had miscarried at 14 weeks.

The first thing that popped in my head was wanting an ultrasound IMMEDIATELY to let me know the baby's fate. I had to know either way. I started thinking of where I could go in SLC with out actually having my doctor there. I called urgent care and was informed they didn't have the equipment to do ultrasounds. I was about to go wait for hours in the emergency room when it popped in my head to call Connie. Aunt Lori (her sister) has a son in law who happens to also be a OBGYN out at the hospital in Murray. I called Connie and I'm surprised she could even understand me on the phone because I was crying so hard. Somehow she translated through the sobs and called Lori right away.

She called me right back and told me Dan's office could see me ASAP and that I could head over there immediately. Jim and Connie were literally on their way out the door. They were packing the car to drive up to Vancouver to meet Cate for a harp festival. I was amazed at how they literally dropped everything to not only call the office but also offered to drive me over there when they really should have been on the road by then.

Connie drove me to the hospital while I cried the whole time in the passenger seat. I had so many mixed emotions. It's amazing how attached you can become to a little person you haven't even met. I kept thinking of how utterly devastated I would be if I had lost the baby and also kept thinking of how hard I had worked to get to this point. My first trimester was a nauseated mess and the thought of having to do those three months over again was just too much to bear or even think about.

Connie talked to me about the several miscarriages she had when trying to conceive Curtis. It broke my heart to hear about all she had been through and it also put things into perspective for me. If others can handle multiple miscarriages, I certainly could too. In retrospect I am grateful for the experience because it hopefully will make me more empathetic towards other friends and family that have and will miscarry in the future.

Still, I was very emotional and borderline hysterical when I walked into the office. I tried avoiding the eyes of all the other patients in the waiting room and through tears and gasps of air I told the receptionist who I was and that I was told I could have an ultrasound right away. They immediately whisked me into the backroom and away from the gawking reception area to a dark room where I heard that GLORIOUS heartbeat and burst into tears all over again. The baby was alive, had a strong heartbeat and was the most beautiful living creature I had ever seen on screen. Connie was right there holding my hand and it was so amazing to have her there to comfort me. It was also fun for her to see the ultrasound as I believe she never saw them with her own children.

While they were checking everything to make sure the baby was ok, I asked if they could tell this early on what the sex was. They said they would try and apparently it wasn't too hard to notice that there was another little BOY in the there!!!! So amidst all the chaos and hysterics, we found out that we had another son on the way and that he was as healthy as can be. I was told to "take it easy" and also that I had to return the next day to get a rogham shot to prevent any further problems with my O negative blood type.

Those two days were just full of needles. That morning before I had started bleeding a nurse came to my parents house to do a physical for our life insurance policy. She had to draw blood for that and I got to hear all about her nasty divorce and dating again at 40. Poor thing! That afternoon after the ultrasound I had to get my blood drawn again (in the same arm mind you) for preparation of the rogham shot the next day. No fun at all!! The next day I went back for the rogham and it hurt!!! I don't like needles but at that point I was so happy that the little man was alive I would be willing to take a shot wherever they wanted to poke me.

Through the whole experience I learned many things but overall that I have AMAZING in laws. They have always taken such good care of all of their children and spouses and you could never deny their love for all of us. As you can see, nothing is inconvenient enough than to help one of us out. I was so overwhelmed with their kindness that I couldn't talk about it with out crying. They exemplify Christ in so many ways and I feel so fortunate to have them as part of my family. Connie and Jim....we love you!!!