to have and to Holder: Baby

So, I'll admit from the time we knew we were pregnant I had no idea of a name (male or female) for our second child. Even after we found out a few weeks ago that he is going to be a boy, I really still had no idea. I did know, however that I wanted him to at least have a first name that is Biblical.

The first inkling I had regarding his name was after we had the Parvovirus scare. I went from fear and trembling (literally) praying before the Lord to do His will with our child (which let me tell you is terrifying when all you want to pray to the Lord is for your child to be completely healthy) to rejoicing in the Lord for His kindness and mercy in protecting our son.

In my joy the story of Hannah came to me, and her joy at having a child, and she named her son Samuel, "Asked of God; heard by God." I knew God had heard our prayers (and still does), and it made me start to think, "Samuel....hmmmm...We could name him Samuel."

So, as Josh and I talked about names, we realized that Josh's dad, Richmond, whose mother was called Pat, had a father named Samuel. So, we talked it over for a few weeks, and it seemed like a good fit. For his middle name, continuing the trend of family names, we decided on William. My father's name is William, and he was named after his mother's brother...William. Josh's dad, Richmond, whose father is Kenneth, had a father named William.

So, after thinking about it a few more days we decided to name our boy...

I am glad to report that he is still healthy and growing (these are from yesterday).

His face

Him hiding his face with his hands, which he seems to do a lot of during ultrasounds.

His foot

I should add that when I was a little girl my mom told me the story from I Samuel 3 when God kept calling Samuel's name, and Samuel would run to Eli thinking it was him calling. My mom said that at the end of the story I almost tearfully told her, "If God called me, I would answer." I've remembered that story through the years.

My prayer for both Benjamin and Samuel is that when God speaks to each of their hearts, that they they each respond to Him, "Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.”

Fifth's Disease. Parvovirus B19.

As someone who has worked with preschoolers for over 15 years I've seen it many times. It typically starts off with fever, runny nose, headache. It's basically like having a cold. That is unless the child then turns up with the next symptoms which are rash including the characteristic "slapped cheeks" look that many children (who have now been contagious for days) tend to sport.

Thing is, adults who catch parvovirus may never exhibit a rash.

I was sick right before Christmas. Josh, Benjamin, and I were in Sevierville for a few days, and it felt kind of like I was getting the flu. I spiked a 101 fever, I was chilled, achy, and I had the worst headache. The right side of my head felt like it had been beaten to a pulp. I managed to kick the fever, rest for a day, and then except some continued sinus pressure and continual headache I was back to myself. A day or two later we were back in Cleveland, and I went to the doctor. I had an awful sinus infection. I never had a rash.

Christmas came and went, and we went on another trip to Sevierville, this time with Josh's family. Josh came down sick with a virus that seemed similar to mine. Except for some lingering tiredness from the sinus yuck, I seemed to be fairly well. My joints were quite achy, and I decided that I had been too lethargic on our trips and that I needed to walk more. So I did. It helped.

Christmas vacation passed oh too quickly, and I was back at work. I started hearing about more and more and more cases of Fifth's Disease (versus the isolated case or two I had heard about before Christmas). I decided last Wednesday that I should call my OB and see if I should be concerned about exposure. They told me to come in that day for a blood draw. So I did. Apparently Fifth's disease has been heavily making its rounds in the schools and daycares around our area. I knew of the isolated cases that I wasn't directly exposed to before Christmas, and then the increase in cases since then, but I honestly thought that several years ago I had caught the virus as a daycare director and successfully developed an immunity,

They told me they wouldn't know anything until Monday. Halfway through Monday (two days ago) I got curious since I hadn't heard anything from the doctor's office. I took that as good news. I decided to call to confirm, and the person on the other end checked for me to see if they had my results. She said, "OH, it looks like they have the results back. Ummmm....Let me check with a nurse to see if they need you to do anything else."

And then I was on hold. And, I started to panic. That was not the answer she was supposed to give me. About five minutes later (with a quick check in to let me know that she hadn't forgotten me), Dr. Wolf was on the phone. By then I was shaking. Terror. Shock. Disbelief.

He explained that there are two antibodies that they test for regarding parvovirus. One shows if you have been recently infected. The other one shows if you have developed an immunity to the virus. My antibodies were both high which means that I did indeed have Fifth's Disease recently. He said that there are such a small amount of cases where they baby is harmed by the virus, but the risk of anemia and/or heart failure in the baby is enough that I needed a high risk ultrasound to check on the baby's health. They don't mess around with this virus.

I shook. I cried. I couldn't figure it out. I never even had a rash. And then I looked it up on the internet and educated myself. And then I realized what that mystery virus at Christmas was, and I realized adults don't always get a rash, and then I worried. And I started praying. I had been sick with a virus that could attack my baby, and even though that literature said less than 5% of the time babies develop complications, I worried. My doctor's office was quick to schedule my appointment, call me back, and let me know I had an ultrasound the next day at 1:30. I tried to convince myself that everything would be fine, and that they baby was just fine because I could feel movement off and on, but the anxiety burrowed down to my core. I prayed.

Let me tell you about my God, the peace bringer. as I left work for the day, I had Benjamin with me, and he wanted to listen to a VeggieTales cd. I hadn't had much opportunity to be alone until then, and my emotional dam burst as I drove. About that time "God is bigger than the boogie man" came on." And God said, listen:

Junior: Oh, God is bigger than the boogie man,
And he's watching out for you and me.
Monster #1: So are you frightened?
Junior: No not really!
Monster #2: Are you worried?
Junior: Not a bit! I know whatever's gonna happen, that God can handle it!

And I cried, and I laughed some at crying at a VeggieTales song, and I cried some more. And I was reminded that Jesus, my Lord and Savior, died on the cross for my sins, and death has no hold on Him. I prayed, and I cried as I realized how difficult it is to pray for God's will for my unborn child when all I wanted to do was tell God to protect my baby and keep him from harm. My Mommy heart broke as I thought back to Hannah in the Bible, and how she gave Samuel to the Lord after He answered her prayers. And I prayed, and I praised God for comforting me.

I talked to God a lot Monday night, and He gave me continued reassurance that He does care about my babies. Benjamin came to me that evening carrying something that he dropped in my lap, and he asked, "What's this?" It was a wasp that had gotten in our house. I would say I have no earthly idea why it didn't sting him (seriously, the thing was angrily squirming in his little 2-year-old hands), but I know why. God was saying, "Look, I protected Him. I'm in control."

The next morning at work dragged along as I looked at the clock waiting to drive to Chattanooga with Josh to go to the doctor. We managed to get there 30 minutes early, and the doctor was backed up because it was another entire hour before I was called back for the ultrasound. My quick little trip back to the lab for weight, etc. showed my blood pressure to be HIGH. No surprise there. As we began our ultrasound we found that our sweet little baby does not like ultrasounds and was very difficult. We were able to find out that he, yes, he, is a boy. He was measured, and all of his anatomy was checked out, and he kicked and squirmed and covered his face and found very difficult positions to stay in so that they couldn't get good pictures of things like his heart. I just sat there and watched him move. He had a heartbeat, he was moving, and I breathed deep breaths as I shook quietly waiting for a verdict.

The things that they needed to know regarding the nasty parvovirus were if there was any sign of heart failure like excess fluid, swelling, etc. Also, they needed to take a doppler of an artery in his brain to see if there was an increase in blood flow. If a baby becomes anemic then the body sends more blood to the brain automatically, and it would show with an increases flow. Anemia would be caused by the virus attacking something that helps the baby produce red blood cells.

Over an hour they tried to get all the pictures they needed. I laid there and shook like it was 30 degrees in the room. He was spine up under my belly button and stayed there despite our efforts, and two different ultrasound techs and the doctor herself couldn't get everything they needed, but they got enough. Our baby was perfectly healthy. To God be the glory.

HOWEVER, in case we wanted to stop thinking about Fifth's disease, we can't. Rare cases can have babies show up with complications as much as 6 - 8 weeks after the mom has the virus. So, to take every precaution my baby and I will be going to ultrasounds once a week for at least a month. The doctor seemed pleased with their findings, and she eased my fears enough to help my shaking eventually stop.

So, if you made it through my entire BOOK of a post, I thank you for your continued prayers. When people have asked if I wanted a girl or a boy, I've said it 50 times if I have said it once, "I just want a healthy baby." I'm ecstatic about our healthy baby boy, and I look forward to seeing him once a week. Introducing our baby boy...He looks a bit like an alien, but we'll ooh and ahh anyway. :)

Peek-a-boo! Get that ultrasound away from me!