Check--up...

We had our check-up at the hospital today. Everything went well! The urine and BP tests were normal- 125/80. The fetal monitoring was normal- his heart rate was upper 140's. It's always nice to sit back and listen to his heart beating. It also fun to watch him kick against the devices. I found myself wanting to just zone out while listening to it all and to take a little nap. My physical exam was normal- no changes noted. Then we did an ultrasound and found that little Jakub's head remains up high under my ribs on the right. I could have told them that without our looking, but I think we all hoped we might see something different:) I was so tuned in to seeing that head there that I forgot to ask them about his size. Oh well, he's a healthy size, that's for sure. If he's stayed on track with how he's been doing so far, then he should weigh around 6 1/2 to 7 lbs now (of course it's still a guessing game at this point... we'll see what he's really like when he comes out:). So, the doctor said we'll leave it until next week and we'll see how he's doing then. Our appointment will be next Wednesday at 1130. If he remains breech, then we'll also schedule for next week an appointment with the surgeon and anesthesiologist to ready ourselves for a c-section. There will be some pre-surgery blood tests to do and information to go over. They don't know when that surgery date might be scheduled because it will be up to the next appointments results and then the surgeon if we have to meet with him. We'll just wait and see how next Wednesday goes.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers for my friend. She had her little boy by c-section last Wednesday night. They are home as of today and doing well (common to stay in hospital here for 5-7 days after a c-section). He weighed 6.9 lbs and is beautiful. I can't wait to visit them soon! Here, people don't often visit anyone in the hospital when they have a baby because everyone wants the Mom to get as much rest and peace and time for adjustment as she can before she goes home- that's really a good idea probably:) It's been a special journey to share in our pregnancies together and she's helped me learn a lot about their system here.

Thanks, also, for your prayers about our moving situation. We found a new home to move to and we picked up the keys and began the contract today. It was a quick process and we're still adjusting to the fact that we have a new place to live. We knew God would take care of this situation, and of us, but it's always amazing when he takes care of things in what seems the sudden blink of an eye. Yesterday morning we weren't sure at all where we would be living 2 weeks from now, and we were still viewing apartments, and by the end of today we have keys to a new place. We'll stay in our old place for a while to finish packing up and such, but it's such a blessing to have found this new place. Please pray this will be a good home for our growing family for a long time to come! I'll have more details and pictures in the next few weeks.

English class

I don't think Sarah K. and I have ever managed to take a picture with any of our friends from our English class we teach for young Moms and their children. This week (though, sadly, Sarah K. is away in the states right now) we finally managed to take one together. Our good friend Petra, who is due 2 weeks before me, wanted a picture of all of us before she's gone for a while having their little boy. Next week will be her last time with us for a while. She, and her daughter Klara, are on the far right. We also didn't have all of our Moms there this week, but that rarely happens anyway with the way schedules can change in an instance with small children. I'll be finding that out soon, myself. We had a good time together, though. Klara, who has been in our class the longest of all these kids, knows many of the songs and stories well by now so, it's always fun to see her doing the motions and trying to say the words. Her parents speak a lot of English with her, so she is learning the vocabulary very well. It's a wonderful group and Sarah and I are blessed to know around 10 different Moms and kids who come off and on to this group we've been offering since last winter/spring. We're always glad when they tell their friends and invite new Moms to join us. Many seem excited about the possibility of having a warm place to go this winter with their children. The days here can be so cold and dark, for so long, that it's nice to offer a place they can get away to and have the children play and learn, and they themselves can meet other Moms, be encouraged, and have some hot tea:) I pray it will keep growing and that Sarah and I can continue to share our faith and lives with them, even as we go through some major changes of our own over the next few months. These Moms are a great support system for us as well and are always trying to help us in any way we need. I just wanted to share some about our group with you. Please pray it will continue to grow, and that Sarah and I can be good friends and examples to them of Christian women and mothers.

First Hospital Visit

We had a good, but rather short and uneventful trip to the hospital yesterday. It was for a routine check-up. I will go there now for the rest of my appointments. The fetal monitoring went really well. I was able to sit up more for it, which was great, because at my regular doctors office they often had me lay down pretty flat and that was starting to make me feel sick. The heartbeat was normal. We were able to see one mild contraction on the strip. That was neat! I've been having a couple/few irregular ones during the daytime now. The exam went well- no changes noted. We won't do the next ultrasound until next week and that was disappointing:) I've grown accustomed to seeing him each week! Maybe we'll see that he's head down next week. Otherwise, everything is going along well. My BP was normal and so was my urine test. Thanks for your prayers and keep them coming!

Please also pray for a friend of mine, here, who will be having her baby by c-section tomorrow. I can't wait to meet him and to hear her stories. She's delivering at the same hospital as we will deliver.

On a fun note- we had our first snow last night. It was so much fun to see. It was too warm to stick to anything, really, except some cars and bushes, but it was pretty to see. Maybe it will do it again tonight. It's been a very cold, windy, and overcast day today. Feels pretty good to me, though, I have to admit.

I wish you all could see him now- he's moving like crazy and making some really fun shapes. I've definitely been feeling more tired recently, and a little crummy during the day time. Sleep is a little harder to come by, but still a lot better for me than what I hear from most pregnant women at the end. I've begun to have a little bit of a stuffy nose and the faintest trace of heartburn when I lay too flat. All good signs that the end is really coming and that I'll be ready for it when it does:) I'm still enjoying the pregnancy, though, and it will be a strange feeling when he is no longer tossing and turning inside.

Oh, and did we tell you we picked the name? It will be Jakub Eli. These are both family names for us. We will spell Jakub as such, because it's also a favorite Czech name of ours and we would love for it to work in both languages for him. We will pronounce it as the typical "Jacob" when we speak English, it will only be spelled a different way. In Czech it will be pronounced "ya-koob." For short (they shorten all baby-related things here) they/we will call him Kuba or "koo-ba" in Czech. I hope that's not too confusing for you. We also really love the name Eli. We'll have to work that in some as well:)