Oh, the irony of it all!

When Mike and I first got married I was quite insistent that we wouldn't even start trying to get pregnant for the first year; I wanted time to develop our relationship and enjoy some time as just the two of us. However, I prayed alot about our family planning and, after four months, felt strongly that we would have problems and it would be best to get started soon. So, following that impression I went off the birth control. In the subsequent 2 yrs I had 3 miscarriages, numerous fertility treatments and drugs, and we spent alot of money. The upside was, my headaches and migraines were finally properly diagnosed and effective medication was prescribed.

It took 2 1/2 yrs, but we were finally blessed with a wonderful son, Andrew. Expecting the next child to be just as difficult, we never prevented anything and still required a surgery, multiple treatments and drugs, lots of money, and 2+ yrs. But, eventually, Rachael was conceived and born.

We now felt like we had the routine down and knew how to prevent the miscarriages (2 injections of heparin per day) and we just needed patience as we tried for the 3rd child. Lizzie's conception was quite a surprise, but not entirely unexpected. She was born 2yr and 5days after Rachael.

After Lizzie, we felt like we needed a break. I didn't want to leave anything up to chance, so I got on birth control. Andrew and Rachael are both "high-spirited" and require alot of energy. Lizzie, thankfully, is quite mild and happy. She was the break I needed, and an answer to my prayers. I decided that, maybe, sometime in the distant future I could possibly handle a 4th child, maybe.

So... can you guess the irony? Yup, 3mo after Lizzie was born I got pregnant while on birth control. I didn't know it for 7wks and was so tired without knowing why that I empathized with all the parents who call it quits with 3 kids. I took a pregnancy test just to prove to myself that the exhaustion was more mental than physical. I was so convinced that the test was negative that I almost threw it away without confirming the results.

Anyway, I always said I would be most happy with lots of boys and no girls. So.... I just found out today that I am having a 3rd girl. Oh, the irony. Heavenly Father sure loves to laugh and play jokes!

The due date? Well, Lizzie was born on March 4, 2009. This child will be born no later than March 3, 2010. I have to be induced because I have extremely precipitous labors and because I have to be on blood thinners which need to be stopped 24hrs before delivery or I could have bleeding issues. So... I have gone from one extreme to the other - first unable to have a child, now unable to prevent the next child from coming. Oh, the irony of it all.

Crawling

Lizzie turned 7mo on Sept 4. She is so different from Andrew or Rachael. One main difference is how very big she is - she's wearing 12mo clothes that Rachael wasn't wearing until she was 15mo. Today was momentous, though, because she took her first tentative crawling steps. She's been close for at least a week, but it finally happened today. YEAH!! She is so proud of herself - let the adventure begin!