Thursday, January 05, 2006
Bittersweet Wednesday
So, yesterday was a bittersweet day. Praying for Susan and knowing they are feeling a loss. And on the same day, I had my Dr. appointment. My first ultrasound (besides on my heart and legs for swollen legs last year). I was able to see the baby's heart beating. All seems to be well. My placenta is low, so they say I'm "marginal placenta previa." This means I'll have another ultrasound in about 6 weeks to make sure the placenta moves up as the uterus expands. It also means I'll get to find out the sex of the baby. I'm not as in-tune as the rest of you, and I don't have any idea what I am having. I kept calling it "she" for the first 2 months, then "he" for a month. Now I'm going back and forth between "he" and "it." My insurance only covers one ultrasound unless a second is "medically necessary." Now it is. And, I won't really worry about the "previa" until the next ultrasound when they actually know something. I'll just be a little more careful. And to Dave & Susan: I just keep thinking how blessed and brave you are that you agreed to provide a body for a precious spirit that was so faithful he didn't even need to spend any time on this earth. What a sweet addition to your eternal family.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Darcee, we are soooooooo very excited for you. Blessing the life of one of Father's children is amazing.
ReplyDeleteAnd, thank you for your prayers. May I give you some info concerning your comment about the late Artaxerxes/Joshua? I admit to not knowing much about the pre-existence and when babies are quickened and all those mysteries. But Susan and I are not sure the body was ever quickened with the spirit--we aren't certain that a he or she was ever really there.
And I realized what a huge blessing and comfort the knowledge of the plan of salvation is. It doesn't matter! If the body was quickened, then the child now belongs to us and we will get to know him or her later. That will be great. If not, then someone may still be waiting to join us. It will be great to finally get to know them here. If there are no more, then we have done as Father commanded and feel enormously blessed to serve 6 truly terrific people. In the broad view of things, there is no downside--it is all good.
Please also know that all prayers have been answered. Susan is doing very well and isn't even taking a pain killer. After many tears of sorrow mixed with some frustration and fear, she is happy and doing very well.
Isaac and Andrew are the two that seem most effected right now. Isaac seems especially concerned about the struggles of his mommy. Andrew was oblivious until something hit him and he started asking "why da baby die, huh?" over and over. We have had some long and sweet conversations.
I don't know if this is really doctrinal or just tradition, but I had a seminary teacher who said that babies who never took a breath on their own are not considered to have been quickened by the spirit, thus temple work need not be done for stillborn children. It is with that first breath of life, that the spirit and body become one eternal soul, according to him.
ReplyDeleteI found this really interesting when later in human anatomy class I learned that a babies heart makes a huge and sudden change when the baby takes it's first breath.
Oxygenated blood in the womb is coming from the umbilical cord, not the lungs, thus an infant in the womb has a hole between two ventricles, allowing oxygenated blood to return and feed the lungs (in essence flowing backward) all of the babies life comes from the mother.
At the instant the infant inhales for the first time, a flap of flesh swings into place and closes the hole, and within a few hours, the hole is completely filled and a normal heart exists. At that critical first breath, the blood between the heart and lungs reverses it's flow and the infant begins supporting it's own life. It is really an amazing and miraculous process.
I dunno if those two things are related, but somehow in my mind it makes sense.
There are lots of anatomy articles online that talk about this event, just in case you think it sounds too amazing to be true. Also, most congenital heart defects result from incomplete closure at that first critical breath, or at least that is my understanding.
I always knew we don't know exactly when the spirit enters the body, so i just kind of guessed around heartbeat time, but the first breath thing makes a whole lot of sense.
ReplyDelete