My Dr. called today after reviewing my ultra sound pictures to let me know how things look. She said the baby looks absolutely wonderful and seems to have quite long legs. I actually wondered because in the ultra sound pictures we got, the legs seemed very long to me... but I figured they all look that way. She said I'm still measuring perfectly for a due date of October 2nd, which is always nice to hear.

She did, however, pose a concern with me. I have a very common condition that's called Placenta Praevia. It basically means my placenta (what the baby is living in) is too far down low and just above the cervix. Its not supposed to be that way until you're due and the baby is preparing to be born. She did remind me that its very common at 20 weeks and usually by 30 weeks as the baby gets bigger and my uterus fills out, it will rise higher and not be a problem. She gave me a few warning signs to look for in the next 10 weeks and if I experience any of them, I was told to call her immediately. At 32 weeks they will do another ultra sound to see if its fix itself and if not, we'll go from there. Looks like what typically happens if it doesn't go away, is that I would be put on bed rest and then they would give me a C-section by 38 weeks.

I was quite worried until I did some research and realized its actually quite common and rarely causes major harm to the baby. So... please keep the baby and me in your prayers! We'd really appreciate it.

We had our 20 week ultra sound today and everything went very well! It was so fun to see our baby on the screen and to see lots of important body parts growing normally and looking "beautiful" as the technician said. :)

We did end up finding out what the baby is... We're having another girl! We're thrilled. We honestly would have been happy with either gender, but if we had to pick we both agreed we would have picked a girl this time. And we admitted that before the ultra sound. :) I loved having a sister very close in age to me and I think Rachel will as well. 

Ethan now officially thinks he has a private link to God, since he first asked God that I would get pregnant and then he asked for another baby sister and he's getting one. He's very matter-of-fact about the fact that he's getting another sister -- "Well, that's what I asked God for." I've been explaining to him a lot today that we love any babies we have and God only gives us what He feels is best and not everything we want.

Our daughter looks quite healthy. As a matter of fact, she's been named our future soccer player and gymnast. The Tech was quite annoyed with how bouncy and active she was. I remember Rachel being the same way in the womb, so I'm not too worried. :)

Anyway, thank you all so much for your continued prayers! I know I don't post about the pregnancy that often, but probably because its going so well. I'm feeling quite normal and relaxed and enjoying it as much as I can. We only have 4 1/2 months until we meet our new girl and we know that's going to fly by.

Her name will be announced at her birth. :)

Ezekiel Matthew is here! Our friends Sam and Jessica Smitts welcomed their 1st little blessing into God's world this morning and, one day before his due date! What a good boy. 

 We rejoice with you both on his birth and can't wait to see pictures!

Much love, Jason & Stef

Pictures: 

Today was a very big and exciting day for us... we got to see our baby for the first time!! We brought both kids with us and the anticipation on their faces was pretty cute to watch. Ethan acted very comfortable in the room and seemed to know exactly what was going on, but Rachel... she wasn't so sure and I think she worried Mommy was being picked on.

--Oh, just to clear up any confusion... I am 13 weeks pregnant and no, this was not the ultra sound to find out the gender of the baby. That one happens on May 13th.--

The ultra sound was amazing and hearing that little (but fast!) heart beat... so awesome! Its funny, I do admit I kind of thought this would eventually become "old hat" or just very familiar with every child we had, but every time God amazes me with how incredibly wonderful it all is. And, how new it all feels! I think Jason and I would both agree that the blessing seems even more wonderful each time, because as our kids get older, we get to see how amazing being parents is. So as we looked at this little one on that monitor, the joy we know we're going to experience is just... indescribable.

We got to see the baby moving around a bit, which was SO cool! Near the end of my appointment the Dr. was measuring my tummy and felt the baby's movement quite strongly. Her response was "Good luck with this one, Mom!" We also found out we're just having ONE baby, which to Jason's surprise, he felt just as relieved as I did. There's nothing wrong with twins, but for us at this point in our lives, it would have been a lot to handle. 

Ethan is starting to flip-flop on what he thinks Mommy is having. Tonight he informed me that he's having a brother and "he will like legos and trucks." The Doctor said everything looks amazing. She was shocked when she added my calculations (last cycle and such) and then came up with the due date of October 2nd, which also matched my guess. Here's the the funny part... its apparently very odd for them to put the baby's measurements in the computer and have the computer come up with the exact same due date, but ours did! She said its often 2-3 days off. So, she said the official due date is October 2nd, no question about that. Though our dear friend Nancy Lawrence (at church) asked me to please "hold it in until the 3rd" which is her birthday. I'll do my best.

We cannot express how thankful to God we are for blessing this pregnancy so far and for this little bit of wonderful He's creating inside of me. As I told the Dr. today, we would not consider a baby with health issues to be any less of a blessing (at all) but its such a joy to know that things look well and to hear our little one looks "awesome in there!"

Thank you for your prayers<3

Many of you have been wondering why I never posted about our baby's ultra sound; hearing the heart beat, etc... that's because we haven't been able to hear/see it! I don't like to get u/s done too early in the pregnancy and so by the time I finally go around to calling (10 weeks along) they were slightly booked and so we've had to wait longer. Anyway, we're finally going in on the 25th and after that, we'll post about it. The kids are very excited to come along and see their baby on the computer.

Thanks for your excitement. We love you all.

We have very exciting news to share... Ethan and Rachel have a new cousin!! Ross and Alyssa's baby was born via C-section this afternoon.

Jack Lewis Pytlik ~ 6 lbs, 7oz. 18"

His blood sugar level was normal, so that's a praise since it was a pretty big concern the Dr's had. Alyssa is also doing very well.

Praise the Lord for this little miracle of life!

(ps... bragging moment... another gender Stef guessed right!)  

I recently posted about my friend Sara Wood's new baby Audrey. She has officially been diagnosed and their family would greatly appreciate your prayers. Below is the post her Dad sent out.

Diagnosis

October 12, 2007

Yesterday we officially learned what we had suspected (and feared) was the case. Audrey Maria has Trisomy 18 – which is “a genetic disorder associated with the presence of extra material for chromosome 18”. It explains the health problems she has endured thus far – and also means her time with us will probably be very brief.

Today she is being transferred back to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek so she can be closer to home. (Because of her condition, no surgeries will be performed which was the reason she was moved to Children’s.) It is possible she may come home in a few days. We will be working out those details with the doctors in the next day or two. Sara and I continue to be appreciative of your prayers – and all of the assistance we are receiving from family and friends. Email is probably the best way to communicate as we can then read and reply when we are able to do so.

There are difficult days ahead – but we continue to move forward in faith, finding comfort in our Father’s perfect love, knowing His hand is upon our family. We are grateful for Audrey, for who and what she is, and we are grateful that we have been blessed to have her as a part of our family. -Samuel

We'd like to congratulate our friends the Doug & Brooke Sauder family, on the birth of their little baby girl, Kerrigan Grace

She was born this morning (apparently Brooke wasn't even at the hospital for one hour and after 3 pushes, she was born!)

Baby Kerrigan weighs 7 pounds 9 ounces and is 20 inches long.

Congrats to you 5! We love you guys and are very happy for you!

Jase, Stef, Ethan & Rachel

We have MORE baby news, here on jastef.net!! Our good friends Abner and Jennie (Bliss) David are expecting their 1st baby!! We're very happy for them and have promised our prayers for this pregnancy and a healthy delivery and baby. Please keep them in your prayers as you remember.

We love you guys and are so happy for you! J&S

We'd like to congratulate our friends Nick and Krista Sobrak-Seaton on the birth of their new son, Elijah David. He was born at 7pm last night (April 10th) and weighs 7 pounds 11 ounces and is 19 inches long. Krista and Eli are doing very well and she had a pretty smooth labor and delivery.

For those of you that don't know, this is kind of a fun fact... baby Jack Lutz and Elijah are cousins; born only a couple weeks apart!

God bless you guys! ~ Jase, Stef, Ethan & Rachel