Two Feet!

We have some very exciting news! Noah is going to be a BIG brother! Baby Henderson is due May 3rd, 2014.

Please let me tell you that I am hanging on somewhere in between scared out of my mind and extremely happy. I have been experiencing lots of "morning" sickness as well as being so stinkin' tired! Oliver is so excited and tells me we are having a girl baby. He reads his "Big Brother Book" every night before bed. I love that he can understand the concept this time around. He was so young when I was pregnant with Noah that it pretty much went right over his head. He is already such an awesome brother to Noah so I know he will do great with the new baby. And I know Noah will love the baby, too. I've been babysitting a little 4 month old baby girl on Thursdays for the past few weeks and Noah just loves to hear her talk and laugh. He smiles so big when we put them on the floor to play together. He is such a sweet boy!

I am having routine prenatal care as well as seeing a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist. They are "high risk" doctors that deal with situations like ours. I am considered high risk for two reasons: Noah having a genetic condition and also for having preterm labor with him. We will be trying to determine gender fairly early, around 12 weeks at my next appointment. If we discover the baby is a boy we will be going forward with some invasive procedures to test for PMD. My doctor said the chances are overwhelmingly in my favor of not having another PMD baby since I'm not a carrier of the mutation. But if we want to know for sure we have to test.

Please keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers. This is a scary/exciting/emotional time for our whole family. But we have to give it to GOD because only He knows what the plan is.

Here is a post that I wrote right when I found out I was pregnant. Please read it and know where my heart and mind are set for this new life I am nurturing.

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8/23/13

I know I will not publish this entry for awhile. But I want to write it so I know exactly how I felt at this moment. Last night, August 22, 2013, I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. I was in immediate shock. I began to shake and had butterflies in my stomach. I honestly couldn't believe it. But it was such a clear, strong positive that I knew it was right.

I thought I should be freaking out. But I honestly wasn't. I have had the biggest sense of calm come over me in a way that I have never felt before. I said a silent, but lengthy prayer to God in Heaven. I told Him that I know this is His plan and I know He will make this make baby safe and healthy. That it my biggest prayer for this child. Healthy. Period. I know God knows what is in my heart. He knows my inner most desire for this baby. And I have complete trust and faith in Him that everything will be fine. Nothing goes unplanned by God.

I feel like this baby is a chance for healing. I have so much emotional trauma that haunts me from Noah's birth and this is a chance to mend my heart. I don't want anyone to think that I am "replacing" Noah with a baby that is healthy. That's not what I'm doing, by any means. I love Noah with all of my being. And I love Oliver just as fiercely. And this new baby will be a great opportunity for both of them. Hopefully for Noah, the baby will be his greatest therapist. As the baby grows and learns to do new things, maybe Noah will learn along with him or her. And for Oliver, he will have someone to play with and someone that gets how hard it is to have a disabled sibling. Also, if Nathan and I pass away, Oliver and his sibling will be able to share the responsibility of caring for Noah.

I love my children more than anything else in this world. And I love this new baby. This new, tiny, still only a few cells, baby just as much. I know it will be hard. Since when is having children easy? I know the challenges we will face. But I know we will get through the tough times together as family and become just a little but stronger each time.

If you couldn't tell I'm pretty excited for this new gift to our family. Nathan is excited, too. And just a fun fact for you: I have been pregnant every year since 2010. Woah! This baby is due May 3, 2014 :)

8 weeks