I'm Pregnant...

Me...and my little pregnant belly 

It’s quite a story. Definitely one worth telling. As many of you know who read My Twin Story Part 1 and Part 2. I had a rather rough delivery (lost somewhere between 1500 and 2000 ml of blood) followed up by postpartum cardiomyopathy (kind of like congestive heart failure but temporary and specific to pregnancy). So, I didn’t exactly have plans to have any more kiddos. Although, once I caught the baby bug I rather wanted more. Still, an OBGYN and a cardiologist advised against it. So, due to their advice and some abnormal cell growth I was scheduled to have a hysterectomy. I cleared it with the cardiologist, scheduled it with the OB surgeon, and my mother-in-law bought a plane ticket to come to Texas. A date was set. It was a done deal. The cardiologist just requested that I have one more echo-cardiogram to confirm there were no problems (I no longer had symptoms.) Still, I had doubts about the hysterectomy. It’s one thing to mentally decide not to have more children. It’s another thing to entirely unplug all the plumbing. So, like everything else, I prayed. I asked the Lord to open the doors that He wanted opened and to close the doors that He wanted closed. I submitted to His will.

The Nibblittes and I just a few days ago (the teens don't like being photographed :-(

Within a few days I heard that the cardiologist had changed her mind and would now, no longer, sign off on the procedure. Instantly, I assumed that the echo-cardiogram was bad. But low and behold, it wasn’t. My EF was greater than 55%, which is a strong normal. At that point, I knew the Lord had simply closed the door and I permanently dismissed the idea of a hysterectomy from my mind. Still, I assumed my child-bearing days were over. 

A few months later I felt led to take the twins to see my Internal Fetal Medicine doctor. After all, he had known them as “Baby A” and “Baby B” on a weekly basis throughout most of my pregnancy. He needed to meet them in person! I also felt led to talk with him about Christ so I hit the road to Abilene. It was a great visit (Turned out he did know the Lord :-) While I was there he gave me a little bit of information that has been quite valuable. There’s no increased statistical risk of future pregnancies if the cardiomyopathy is healed within a few months of an initial diagnosis. Now, this wasn’t medical advice, simply a friendly conversation, but one that gave me quite a bit of peace. 

Add to all of that one more little incident. I was sitting on the floor of our bedroom reading my Bible while the girls slept. I glanced down to read the notes at the bottom of the page and noticed the word “Corban,” a gift to God. I thought to myself that must by why my friend had named her oldest son Corban. Then, I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me, “You will have a son and you will name him Corban.” Even though I didn’t have any plans to have more kids I tucked it away in the back of my mind. Months past. Then, unexpectantly, in September I became pregnant with a little boy - Corban.