March 2009 Newsletter

Our most recent family newsletter has been uploaded to Googlepages and is available for viewing. Click here to download. In the interest of keeping family, friends, and other interested parties up-to-date on our journey towards life and ministry in Angola, our newsletter will now be a quarterly publication.

If you would like to receive our newsletter via email, please contact us at rustyandlaura AT gmail DOT com. We would be happy to add you to our mailing list.

Getting Ready for Baby Dois

With 15 days to go until my official due date, we have been busily preparing for the arrival of Baby Dois. The cradle has been assembled and is standing in our room... baby clothes and blankets have been laundered, folded, and put away... diapers have been purchased... the infant car seat has been installed in our van. We also attended our last Bradley method childbirth class last week; and on Sunday, we took our hospital tour. And of course, there have been the doctor's appointments, which always seem to take the better part of a morning, or an afternoon.

So, pretty much the only baby-related thing left on my "to do" list is to pack my hospital bag. There are some other things I am hoping to take care of before he decides to make his appearance, though... before I am consumed by nursing and newborn care once again, and the fog of those early weeks postpartum descends on my brain. Everyone assumes that I want him to be "early," and I do, but now that the threat of induction is past, I wouldn't mind if he waited until after the first to decide to be born!

Alex has been eager to help as we prepare to welcome his little brother. Here is a picture of him and Rusty putting together the cradle:


And of course, after it was all put together, he had to try it out! He doesn't exactly fit in it quite the way he used to. Nothing like a picture like this to make you realize how much your "baby" has grown in three years:

Almost 37 Weeks

I will be 37 weeks pregnant tomorrow. This is another big milestone, because it is considered "full-term." So, it is pretty much a waiting game at this point. Will Baby Dois be early, as Alex was? Or will he decide to stay where it is warm and comfy a few days longer?

I continue to feel fine, although I tire easily and find it more difficult to sleep comfortably at night. I have been having some issues with low amniotic fluid volume, so they will be monitoring that from here on out. This means I have to go into the office twice a week for an ultrasound and a non-stress test. I have also been given orders to rest as much as possible and drink lots and lots of fluids. There was talk last week of inducing labor if fluid levels continue to drop. I do not want to see it come to that, so I have been downing the water and the Gatorade -- and running to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so! Today when I went in, my fluid level had jumped from a 6.7 all the way up to an 11, putting me back in the normal range. My doc is happy -- and so am I.

Please pray for a healthy conclusion to this pregnancy and a safe and short delivery of Baby Dois!

Three Years Old

Alex celebrated his third birthday during our recent trip to Arkansas for a team meeting. It is funny to think that for every single birthday he has had so far in his young life, including his actual "birth" day, he has been in a different city -- born in Mito, Japan; first birthday in Portland, OR; second birthday in Memphis, TN; third birthday in Little Rock, AR (and I guess we should count Livonia, MI too, since that is where he had his party). It is a testimony, I suppose, to the fact that we are truly global nomads. I wonder where we will be for #4?

Anyway, back to the birthday boy. His Aunt Teague made him a caterpillar cake out of cupcakes, which turned out super cute (see pics below)! Alex enjoyed everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to him, and blowing out candles for the second time. He also had a few presents to open. It is fun to watch him really get into the whole birthday thing -- he seems to really understand what it is all about now.

Happy Third, my sweet boy! I have been so blessed to be your mama these last 3 years.