I Will Trust In You

In my last post I told you about the clot and bleeding that I was having. I had an ultrasound after that on October 9th and Praise God, the clot was gone! And I'm excited to say that I haven't had any bleeding for over 3 weeks! At my last ultrasound on the 9th we did possibly discover another complication. On the ultrasound it showed that my placenta was low lying, near my cervix, and in two sections. One of the sections was larger and on the right of the cervix, but there was a smaller portion on the left. The pieces must be connected by vessels, which were running across the cervix. This is called a vasa previa. It's very high risk and results in bed rest at home followed by hospitalization around 28 weeks. You have to deliver via c-section and it's usually around 35 weeks because they don't want to risk your water breaking, which would rupture of the vessels of the placenta. The placenta is the powerhouse for the baby, it's nutrients, oxygen - everything. My doctor said we'd know more at my next appointment.

So for the past 3 weeks I've been restless on bed rest. Well today was my next appointment and my 19 week ultrasound. From the beginning many people have been praying along side Ryan and I, but last night I had incredible doubt. I had this fear that I wouldn't be coming home from the hospital, or if I did it would be on strict bed rest. In the medical field it would be a miracle for the placenta to move across the cervix and become one with the other portion. I was thinking "God, can you really do this?" I know that we serve an awesome God but satan was whispering in my ear saying "are you sure you believe your God can perform miracles?" So I went into the appointment not knowing what to expect.

Well satan is wrong, my God can perform miracles, and He did! Not only was there no vasa previa, my placenta also migrated up my uterine wall away from my cervix! There are absolutely no complications, nothing wrong. The baby is measuring a few days ahead and looks absolutely perfect! Everything looks completely perfect! My doctor even said that everything looks like a normal, healthy pregnancy, finally!

Ryan and I have trusted in the Lord from the very beginning of all this, no matter what. I fully surrendered everything to Him, no matter what. I knew that He would use me and our journey in the lives of others, but I had no idea how. I prayed the worst wouldn't happen, but also prepared myself in case it did. Today God said "yes I'm going to use you in the lives of others, but in an amazing way and I'm going to bless you abundantly, in a way you didn't expect!" Our Pastor has been preaching on praying boldly and how God doesn't think the way we do. Today sure was a testimony to that!

I've been leaning on the following scripture:
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful

God is the ultimate physician, the ultimate healer. Our God is faithful, He is real, He does perform miracles and we will continue to put our hope and trust in Him.

1 Chronicles 16:8 - Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name, make known among the nations what He has done.

The McHone family is growing by 2 little feet!

We're excited to say that we are adding to our family, we will be a family of four!!! I'm currently 15 1/2 weeks making the baby due on March 22nd!  We are all very excited for the new addition!  Brayden often asks various questions like "mommy, what's the baby doing in there?" and "mommy, is the baby naked in your tummy?"  All very valid questions a 3 1/2 year old would ask!  He also says it's a girl but calls it a he, so he's just as sure as we are about the sex!  But as soon as we find out, we'll let you know!  This pregnancy has been a little bit different from Brayden's.  There have been a lot of days on the couch so far and a lot of rest.  As some of you know, there have been some complications along the way.  I've been spotting and bleeding off and on since about 9 weeks.  It's been called many different things - retro placental bleed, abruption, subchorionic hemorrhage.  Basically, I've been bleeding every few days which has created a clot between the layers of the placenta and my uterine wall.  I believe this clot/bleed has been there for awhile because we saw a pocket of fluid on my very first ultrasound around 6 1/2 weeks.  It's causing a portion of the placenta to be detached from my uterine wall, which means that portion of the placenta is unable to give the baby any nutrients.  Thankfully it appears that its just the tip of the placenta that isn't attached and prayerfully the clot won't get any larger - which is one of the reasons I've been on modified bed rest for the past 3 weeks.  I've started quite the photo album for baby #2 because every time I go to the doctor (1-2 times a week) I get an ultrasound!  And Praise The Lord, the baby looks good, he/she is very active and measures appropriately with my due date!  Ryan and I are resting in The Lord and His Will for us and the baby.  We believe in prayer and the power of prayer.  When I first found out I had this condition, I went to one of my doctors partners on a Monday September 17th and he told me that it was a medium sized clot that could cause the placenta to pull away from the uterine wall at any time, which would mean that the baby would no longer be here, but in heaven.  It was a pretty scary prognosis, but Ryan and I trust in God and prayed and asked our family and friends to pray.  And when God's people pray, things happen.  That was on Monday, on Wednesday September 19th I went in for another ultrasound with my actual physician and the clot had shrunk to a very small size, so small he had difficulty locating it!!!  Praise God!!!  Unfortunately, the clot is still there and still bleeding occasionally, but not as bad.  I know that we serve an amazing God.  A God who heals.  A God who is faithful.  We trust in Him, this is His child.  He gave us this precious little baby for a reason.  Is it to show how great the power of prayer is?  Is it to prove His faithfulness?  We don't know, we just trust that everything is in His unwavering, almighty hands.  "He guides me along the right paths for His name's sake."  I'm currently on a medication called progesterone that hopefully will boost my placenta to stop the bleed and absorb the clot on it's own.  I go for another ultrasound on Tuesday October 9th.  Until then, we'll be praying, will you please pray with us.


Psalm 23

Braydens Bathtime ABC's

Long time no post

Hello!
Well, the semester is over and I'm finally on Christmas break! It was a difficult semester - 5 classes, working 24hrs a week, being a mommy & wife, but I did it! And I only have 2 semesters left, Praise the Lord!!! It's all been such a blessing and God continues to open doors and things just keep falling into place! God is SO Good!!! And thank you for all of your love, support & prayers during these past few month - keep 'em comin! :)

Enough about me, lets talk about adorable little Brayden! He's getting ready to turn 2 January 7th and I can't believe it! Where has the time gone??? He's talking up a storm and growing like a weed! It amazes Ryan and I how fast he learns things and applies them. Right now we are working on his name and who he is. I pat him on his chest and ask him who he is and his response is always "baby" and my response is "yes, you are my baby and always will be!" I guess we probably didn't pick the easiest name for a child to pronounce, but I like it way better than the name Bob (no offense)! He loves to read, color, play with playdoh, building blocks, and play with any type of ball. We sometimes play a miniature version of baseball in the living room and he goes crazy! He's thinks its the funniest thing to watch us hit the ball and to throw it back and forth! He just laughs and laughs!!! I love being a mommy, he's filled with such innocent joy!!!

We put our tree up this past week while Bray was at Grandma & Grandpa's and it is so funny to see. There are no ornaments on the bottom 1/4 of the tree and then on the next 1/4 are all felt, non-breakable. All of our other breakable ornaments are on the top half. Bray has been pretty good about it... well except for taking his baseball bat to it... and pulling the ornaments off... and throwing toys and balls into it - but other than that, he's been good! :)

I'll try and upload some pictures soon so you can see his cute, joyous little smile!!!

Brayden and the Dirt

Dad here. I guess it is easier for me to just put a video up, so here ya go!

Finally a new post!

Since Brayden will be 21 months this week I thought we should have an update. Tiffany is in full swing with school and still working 3 days a week... she's a trooper! So, I (Ryan) thought I would share this video.

Temper tantrum...

I believe we saw a glimpse of a temper tantrum tonight. On our way home we saw a Little Tykes basketball goal at the end of a driveway that said free. We've been wanting to get one for Bray so this was perfect! So we stopped, loaded it up in the minivan, and took it home! We put it back together, grabbed a ball and shot some hoops with Bray. He loved it!!! Well, not only was it past his bedtime, he also needed a bath. So we brought him in and boy o' boy was he upset! I took him upstairs and put him in the bath, much to his dislike, and gave the fastest bath I've ever given! :) While still crying, we took him into our bedroom to try and get his jammies on him and he was crying so hard that he threw up, twice. He kept going to the door and crying, he wanted to get out and play with his new goal so bad. Ry and I have never seen him act this way before. We tried to sooth him but nothing would help. Finally, we got him calmed down with a bottle and I sat and rocked him back and forth while patting his back. Wow I sure hope this isn't a glimpse of the terrible two's, it stressed both of us out! Poor Bray, he wanted to play so bad! Tomorrow... all day long :)