Pleased to meet you!

Hi! I'm Baby Linhart and I'm 8 weeks and 5 days old. I'm currently the size of a Goldfish Cracker (about 3/4 of an inch) and I am just starting to grow my arms and legs. I have a nice strong heartbeat of about 167 beats per minute and I live in my mothers uterus which is currently a little bit bigger than a tennis ball. I'm planning on staying nice and safe here until sometime around April 5, 2007. After that I'm gonna be born and I would love to meet all of you again and get some cuddles and kisses. You'll probably get another glimpse of me in about 10 weeks when my mom goes in for another ultrasound. Maybe then I'll even reveal my gender to you all! Thanks for praying for me!

Noah the Baker

We made cupcakes today for some friends' birthday party. Noah was in charge of pouring, mixing, and M&Ming. Don't they look yummy?

3 Things

1. Ultrasound scheduled for 1:45pm on Tuesday, August 29th. Pray!

2. Thank you, Cindy, for the sea sickness bands--they are working great!

3. I was babysitting Andrew today and he said, "Lets pretend we're teenagers. And we can't eat meat." Because seriously, who didn't try to be a vegetarian between the ages of 13 and 19?

Doctors Appointment Part 2

I just got back from the second half of my first appointment. I had a full physical exam and my doctor says everything looks great. We couldn't hear a heartbeat with the Doppler, but that is okay--it's still early enough that we don't have to be worried about it. I did get to hear my placenta, though! Also, my doctor said that my uterus is definitely enlarged and she agrees with me that the baby is probably somewhere in the 6 to 8 week range. She's ordering an ultrasound and I can call to schedule one for any time next week.

Still feeling queasy. I might look into getting some sea sickness wrist bands to help with that.

In other news: We had our first parent meeting for Noah's preschool and we got to meet his teachers and see his classroom. He's gonna love it! I'm planning on taking him to meet his teachers next Thursday and give him some time to get a feel for the school grounds and classroom. We bought him a folder last night and this week we'll work on getting his earthquake kit together. Also, I need to buy that boy some pants! He's been wearing shorts all summer and today when I put pants on him, all of them were waaaaaaay too short. I mean, I know his name is Noah, but does that mean he has to dress like he's prepared for a flood??

Doctors Appointment

My appointment today was good but uneventful. I had my blood drawn and answered about a million questions about my health history and previous miscarriages. They took some extra blood just in case there is a chance they can test for my progesterone hormone levels. If it is low, my doctor might decide to have me take a supplement as a booster. We're wondering if my previous miscarriages were because my body wasn't producing enough progesterone to sustain a pregnancy...I'll let you know as soon as I find out. I have another appointment for a full exam on Thursday. I guess I'm kind of a special case and my doctor could only squeeze me in for so much time today but she wanted to make sure to see me sooner than later. Dedicated doctor, huh? She's really great and I'm glad to have her taking care of me.

Oh, and on Thursday she'll order an ultrasound so we can date the baby. I'm super excited about this, but also really nervous. The ultrasounds were always what confirmed that I was going to miscarry. I'm just praying that we can see a heart beat and a healthy baby!

One thing that is really giving me (and my doctor) hope is that I have felt soooooo nauseated. I had morning sickness big time with Noah, but not at all with any of the other pregnancies. I'm thinking nausea=good things happening in there. Geary has been awesome at taking up the slack around the house and he hasn't complained once. I'm so grateful for my loving and supportive husband.

In related news, Noah has decided to join me in this pregnancy by announcing that he has a dog baby in his tummy. Sometimes the dog baby makes him feel sick and then all he wants to do is lay around and watch movies. Sounds good to me!

Updates and Word Pictures

I have been so touched and so blessed by all the comments and emails and hugs of support we've recieved since announcing this pregnancy. I have my first doctors appointment tomorrow at 9:20 am and my doctor told me on the phone that she wants to send me for an ultrasound soon to figure out the due date and make sure the baby is healthy. My cycle has been so messed up this year that we have no idea what the due date is--we're guessing late April/early May. This time around I have been feeling very nauseated and have even thrown up a couple of times. This is a symptom I did not have with any of the babies I miscarried. It's a little odd to feel so sick but be so happy about it. Every wave of nausea gives me hope that something healthy is happening in my womb.

Geary has been praising me for my boldness in telling others about this pregnancy so early on. This boldness that I have for asking for prayer for this baby, and for exposing my fears can only be from God. I have been so blessed and amazed to see how he has been using people to encourage that. I feel like I am standing naked before everyone, but with every word of comfort and with every promise of prayer, these strong and beautiful vines are covering me and wrapping around me and making safe and strong. So thank you. Thank you for extending your beautiful vines and entwining your prayers with mine. I feel safe in a growing hammock of love and I'm so honored to have you all be a part of that.

Please keep praying for us and please keep celebrating! I cannot tell you how freeing it is to daily give thanks and praise to God for this and all his blessings. He truly is good.

Laundry Talk

Grandma and Grandpa Bob brought back World Cup t-shirts for all their grandchildren. Noah wore his yesterday and proudly declared, "This is my soccer shirt!" Geary said, "Yeah, that's your Germany soccer shirt." Noah examined his shirt for minute, sniffed it, and then said, "No...it's not germy. It's clean!"

What the Body Looks Like

I want to share part of an email I wrote to my sister-in-law who asked "How excited am I allowed to be?"

Dear Sister,
I want you to have a baby to cuddle and hold and love on, too. This is the reason it's so important for me to have you rejoice with me now. I can't let this child be just MY child. I want us to be wildly-over-the-top-can't-thank-God-enough excited for this little life. My last two pregnancies I spent so much time worrying and expecting God to take something away, that I never thanked him for his blessings. I never thanked him for allowing my womb to hold life, even for a short time. This baby is a miracle and she deserves to be celebrated. And if, for any reason, she doesn't live before I can hold her and cuddle her, yes, my heart will break. But the cracks won't be as deep, because you and so many other people will have offered their hearts to share the burden. Just the thought of so many people already loving this baby gives me so much comfort and hope. Even if I miscarry again, that love won't be gone and it won't be wasted. Who knows why God does what he does? All I know is that if he planted this seed in me right now, its my job to exault him and overflow with praise for his incredible blessing. So, join me! I don't believe this is a time to guard our hearts. (are you crying yet? Because I am. *smile*)

Thank you, Friends and Family, for your love and support. We are being the body of Christ right now! What an awesome gift to have so many people cheering this little family on. Thank you! And please, keep praying!

Get on your knees!!!

Tonight I peed on a stick. This is what I saw: (+)

Oh. My. Word. A flood of emotions is going through me right now. I'm so happy!!! And...I'm so scared. I'm so freaking scared of losing another baby. So please, please, let's all be like the persistant widow and start beating God's door down. Please ask him to protect this little one in my womb. And ask him to protect my heart and to keep my eyes on him. Ask him to ease my fears and help me to rest. And thank him! Thank him for seeing me. Thank him for hearing me.

More updates soon!

The REAL difference between boys and girls

On the way to the Johnson's house Noah informed us that he is a boy and his cousin Analia is a girl. Geary asked, "What's the difference between boys and girls?" Noah looked at the back of Geary's head with disbelief, "You're joking me, Dad!" Geary chuckled and then asked again, "No, I'm serious. What do boys have that girls don't?" Noah rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "Boys use chapstick and girls use lipstick."

It's all about WHO you know

As I'm sure you're aware, Noah is very into Thomas the Tank Engine. For several weeks he's been pestering us about "needing" two of the characters, 'Arry and Bert. I told him that he would have to prove that he could listen and obey and not have a whiney attitude before I would consider buying him more toys. A few nights ago Noah decided to pull out the big guns. In his bedtime prayer he said, "Dear Jesus, thank you that I'm gonna get 'Arry and Bert tomorrow..." and then opened his eyes, looked at me with a sly smile, and nodded as if to say, "See...Jesus is part of the deal now so you have to get them for me." I interjected, "If you listen and obey." Without missing a beat, Noah continued, "And please help me to listen and obey so Mommy can see that I really need them. Amen."

Walmart & the Quotable Noah James

I did some shopping at Walmart and when I got home Noah was anxious to see what was in the bags. So I said, "Noah, this what I bought for you!" as I pulled out some Curious George bandages and some hand soap for kids. He gave me a big grin and then said, "Can I put my new soap in the bathroom?" A few minutes later I saw him heading toward the kitchen with a bottle of Bath and Body Works soap that was about two thirds full. He held it over the trash can and said, "Okay, Mom, I put the hippo soap away--now we just gotta get rid of this stinky soap!" (Don't worry, I didn't let him throw it away)

After the soap situation, Noah grabbed the box of bandages and informed me, "I need to use one of these right now because I have a little crack in my knee."

Pre-School Worries

Yesterday, Noah and I were talking about pre-school.

Jeana: Are you excited to go to big boy school?
Noah: Uh-huh! I can do letters, and numbers, and blocks! But...Mom? I have a question...
Jeana: What's your question?
Noah: Do they have a bathroom at big boy school?
Jeana: Yep. You can go potty at pre-school just like you do at home.
Noah (on the verge of tears): Do I have to take bath there? I don't want to take a shower!
Jeana: No, you can just take baths or showers at home, okay? No baths at school. Noah...why are you scared about baths at school?
Noah: 'Cause I don't want other kids to play with my bath pirates!