Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Updates

Pregnancy Update: I had my 36 week check-up y-day. Everything looks great. Baby is still head down. He is measuring well.

Nesting Update: I am seriously nesting. I think it is because I know that I am only going to get more tired as the weeks continue. So, I am still putting up food in the freezer for later. I had Paul get my non-maternity clothes from the attic, so that I could pack some in "The Bag." And, of course, I have started packing The Bag. My non-maternity clothes are now hanging in my closet. I am SO excited by all the clothes I have to choose from in a few weeks (I always get back into my normal clothes right away). After having only a few maternity outfits to choose from, my normal closet looks excessive! 

School: I have not been scheduled in my schooling lately. Our regular routine has flown out the window. But, we read every day. And, we read out loud every day. Rebecca's reading is VASTLY improved! I am so excited by her progress. Even Grandma was surprised by her improvement when they came last week. The only thing that holds Becca back, I believe, is the impatience of grown ups and older children. Since Becca has learned/is learning to read phonetically, she has to sound out words. And, often grown ups finish her words, assuming that she doesn't recognize it. This has been frustrating for Becca, because I have labored hard to force her to sound out words until she is certain that she knows them by sight. And, the crazy thing is, the only words that Rebecca is reversing now are the three letter words! "Bat" may be "Tab," but she would never reverse "Israel"! She is able to read the Bible for our family worship fairly well. She is able to follow along in the Psalter fairly well. And, she is reading baby books to the younger kids. She can read a lot better than she thinks she can! She is afraid to read new things, even if I know that she could. She hates to fail... she is a bit perfectionistic like her mother. So, we just keep pushing her to try new things.

My health: I know that many of you are very concerned about my disability... will it come back with the cold weather, will I be able to labor with and deliver a baby, am I in remission??? I ask some of these same questions. However, I can tell you that I feel great (for a nine-months pregnant lady). In fact, I still think that my perspective of what real disability is has made this pregnancy better than any other! I cannot think that vomiting, nausea, or fatigue is really all that bad compared to a real disability (not being able to walk, button my shirts, wash my hair, dress myself, etc). 
When the weather started changing at the end of September, I did have a lot of pain and fatigue (beyond that of pregnancy). But, Paul asked me to raise my dose of Vitamin D to 5,000IU/Day (doubled what I was taking,) And, I take that with my cod liver oil pill, to improve its absorption and effectiveness. Now, I have no joint pain. And, I do not even have to take a nap every day. Am I tired? Of Course I am! I am pregnant with Baby Number 5! Any pregnant woman this far along will be quite tired, but I do not think that this is at all disability related. So, maybe I am in remission... maybe God is healing me through the use of Vitamin D... maybe God is giving me only what I can handle at this point... only time will tell.
Keep the prayers coming. God answers prayers, and he is using my brothers and sisters literally all over the world to bless me with strength and healing!

As you can see, we still have internet access. We are afraid to call and see why they have not yet disconnected us, for fear that they will see their mistake at once and cut it off immediately. Though the home phone is not terribly important to me, I sure will miss home access to the internet... that is, when they get around to disconnecting it.

3 comments:

Mama in Uganda said...

Eryn and Rebecca sound very similar. Although Eryn began reading at five years old, she progressed slowly. Not to mention, we just realized that she needs reading glasses--thus the reason for so many tears while reading the Bible, she could not read the small print. As of late her reading is amazinig. And yes, our school schedule sounds quite a like too. Although we do "school" every day, sometimes I just throw out "sit down, book work" for more reading of "living books." Yesterday one of my four years old said, "mom, we did not do school today." (because we never sat at the desk)--However, we had played learning games all morning and I read a slue of books out loud all afternoon/evening. Let us always be teaching our kids!! And what a great blessing to hear that your health is in remission, mine is too. All glory to God.

Anonymous said...

Ah, formal school days tend to go out the window near the arrival of a new family member! Not to worry, their still learning, it's just not from "books", learning life skills are pretty important too - Glad to hear from you, first of all and glad to hear your doing well!

Bethany W. said...

Mama in Uganda,
I am SO glad to hear that you are feeling well! I believe in the power of prayer. And, I was expecting great things to come from the elders having prayed over you! We cannot go wrong doing what God's Word tells us to do! We do have a lot of similarities, for being so far across the globe from one another! I am blessed to know you, sister! Oh, funny story, that I know you will appreciate! Last night, Rebecca asked me, "Mommy, what color will the new baby be?" I told her that it was a very precious question. And, she was only a little disappointed to learn that mommy and daddy are limited to having only white babies. I praise God that my daughter loves people of all "colors."

Kimberly,
Thanks for your encouragement! I need to hear from you homeschooling veterans! I need to hear that I am normal, because I am too hard on myself (as you have likely noticed). I need to be realistic about my abilities at this point... but I have such high expectations for myself!

Bethany