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| 23 Weeks! |
I am continuing to have occasional round ligament pain, though it's still very mild. The biggest thing is that my belly feels stretched! Depending on whether or not I've eaten and how Baby Girl is oriented, sometimes it's difficult to do a few of my birthing class stretches.
At my sister-in-law's baby shower last Saturday, I experienced some back pain and a little fatigue. Most of this was caused by sitting in the car for long periods of time, and possibly related to the shoes I was wearing. When I woke up the next morning, I felt just fine! I know back pain and fatigue will come into play later on in the pregnancy, but lately it hasn't been much of an issue.
My appetite is slowly increasing. It's not often that I get really hungry, but over the last week I've felt like snacking a lot. I came home with the munchies after Bible study on Wednesday night, and ended up eating three boiled eggs, some chips and salsa, and a pickle. That was the first time I had a bedtime food binge, though it was just a small one. Something tells me that will happen again in the very near future!
A Few Thoughts
At my OB appointment on Thursday, we discussed the possibility doing of a fetal fibronectin test around 25 weeks. The test would check for a special type of protein that, if not present, means it would be very unlikely for me to go into labor in the following two weeks. If it does happen to show up at the time of testing, it doesn't necessarily mean something will happen, but they may suggest taking steroids to speed up the baby's lung development. As soon as my OB mentioned this possibility, my mind went back to the night I labored with Adelyn. We had just found out the seriousness of the circumstances, and a specialist had come in to tell me what the plan was. He said I would have to remain in the hospital bed on my back with my feet elevated above my head until 24 weeks (unless I delivered quickly), and that I would be given steroid shots during my stay to help Addie's lungs develop. A few hours after receiving that information, a nurse came in to administer the shot while I was having very strong contractions and painful back labor. She told me to turn onto my side so that she could give me the steroid, and because I was in the middle of a contraction, it was hard to change positions. I wished it could wait at least until the contraction had finished, but for whatever reason I didn't ask. As soon as I was on my side, she administered the shot. It wasn't a slow injection either because it hurt so badly, like fire under my skin, and I remember wishing I could just go back to the contractions because they were more manageable. G told me after we left the OB appointment that he knew I was remembering that moment, and that he was remembering it too. So although I will accept the steroid shots if it becomes necessary, I certainly don't have good memories associated with them. It's just something I'm going to have to work through, and if they end up doing the testing, I'll definitely be praying for a negative result so that I don't have to take that route again. Fortunately, my OB doesn't anticipate anything going wrong, and the perinatologist may decide that testing isn't necessary for my situation. My appointment with him is on Wednesday, so we'll probably discuss it then.
My next OB appointment is on April 30th, and I believe I will be taking the glucose test then. After researching the glucose test early on and learning what all is in the stuff you have to drink, I knew that I wanted an alternative if there was one available. Many OBs won't allow you to do anything else, but my OB said I could eat 18 Brach's Jelly Beans instead of drinking the sickeningly sweet and sugary beverage. Of course, the ingredients in hard candies aren't great either, but I feel like it will be easier to do than the normal glucose test. We'll find out in four weeks!
Last year, when I got pregnant with Addie, G and I decided to keep her name a secret until she was born. We weren't really in danger of a relative stealing the name out from under us, and though I was slightly concerned about being buried one day by a truck load of monogrammed baby things (my worst nightmare which thankfully didn't happen), that really wasn't the reason either. Both of us enjoy surprises so we decided to keep it a secret just because it was fun. We assumed we would keep that tradition with this pregnancy but after giving it some thought, we decided to go ahead and share our new baby girl's name with all of you. This is a significant week for this pregnancy because our sweet Adelyn Jane was born at twenty-three weeks and one day, so we thought it would be a fitting way to celebrate both babies' lives. So without further ado, say hello to Tessa Finley!
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| The only pictures we have of her so far are from ultrasound appointments (this is from the last one), and we're hoping we won't have any delivery photos - at least for a few more months. Here she is in the meantime, though! |
Names have always been fascinating to me. There are many biblical accounts of children being named and those names would often reflect the difficult or joyous circumstances surrounding the birth, the physical appearance of the child, or even a mother's prayer to God. Interestingly enough, some of the names turned out to be a foreshadowing of what that child would become, whether good or bad. For this reason, the meaning of a baby name has always been the most important element to me. If I can find a name with a great meaning that I also like the sound of, then I am satisfied.
When we found out I was pregnant with Tessa so quickly after losing Adelyn, I immediately went on the search for her name. I knew I wanted it to mean something significant, and for a long time I felt sure the name would describe God's goodness, faithfulness, or blessing (because He had chosen to bless us with another child). After I made a large list of names with their meanings, G and I sat down together to organize and narrow them down. An hour or two later, we had narrowed the list down to three names. One of them perfectly captured the mercy of God through its meaning, while the other two had great meanings also but didn't mention God directly. All three of them were names that we loved, and it was difficult to make a decision. G's favorite was Tessa Finley, and after thinking about it for a week, I woke up one morning and felt sure that this baby's name needed to be Tessa. I had been leaning toward a different name so I'm not sure what changed my mind, but regardless of the reason, I talked to G and we agreed. Here's what the names mean, and why we chose them:
Tessa (Harvester)
Although it doesn't directly point to God, there was a spiritual side that appealed to us. This verse quickly came to mind:
"Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.'" -Matthew 9:35-38
We chose "Tessa" to be the first name because we want the Lord to send her out as a worker into His harvest. Our desire is that she would live a life that points others to Christ, and that He would use her to reveal His love.
Finley (Fair Warrior)
Though I do believe that womanhood displays femininity, modesty, humility, grace, and submission (in the proper context), I also believe it displays courage, strength, intelligence, wisdom, integrity, and diligence (to name a few). We thought this name would encourage Tessa to rise up one day and be much more than just a lovely face or attractive figure. This is the verse we thought of when we considered this name:
"Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word. With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and stay alert in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints." -Ephesians 6:10-18
It's kind of funny that "Finley" ended up being Tessa's middle name, both because I liked it as a first name only, and G didn't like it very much at all. However, when we were pairing different names together, "Tessa Finley" seemed to fit nicely. The longer we thought about the name, the more it grew on us. We settled on "Finley" ultimately because we want her to be a spiritual warrior. We want her to boldly follow the leading of the Lord wherever He may call her to go, courageously doing whatever He may call her to do.
I can't say with any certainty what God's will is for Tessa's life. He may call her home quickly, like He did with Addie, or she may live a long life in our care. Whatever the Lord has planned, we trust Him. For now, we'll gratefully take each day as it comes.
"Look at the birds of the sky: they don't sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth more than they? Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don't labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that's how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won't He do much more for you-you of little faith? So don't worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:26-34
Happy Easter!
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