Anemia rears its ugly head

Hi all!

 I'm actually feeling well enough to sit at the computer and do something productive, praise God and THANK YOU for your prayers! Please keep them coming. :) And be assured that if you have shared prayer requests with us we have written them down (and in my case, put them above the kitchen sink; ironic because Gavin has ended up doing most of the dishes, but I still see them a few times a day) and we pray for you, too, even if I haven't written back to tell you that.

In an odd way, I'm glad to have something else to blame for my extreme low energy: turns out I have severe anemia, something detected only after I asked the nurse to please check my blood at the start of yesterday's appointment. I guess it's something that normally isn't checked until later in singleton pregnancies, but I really felt like something else was wrong in addition to just having five babies to "grow." I take massive naps and am still exhausted by bedtime and sleep in in the morning. Thank God for my WONDERFUL husband and sweet son who love and help me so much! Gavin's sense of humor, optimism, and excellent fathering skills (e.g. wrestling, bike-riding, homework-supervising) are a huge blessing.

Due to the nausea and other gastrointestinal issues with which I already struggle, I can't take iron like normal people. The pharmacy had to special order a liquid form that passes through the stomach unchanged before being broken down lower in the digestive tract. If that iron preparation doesn't work for some reason, I'll have to get injections (reputed to be agonizingly painful). So please pray that it works and that I can tolerate it well. :)


I have to get up once or twice at night to eat a hefty snack/meal because I'm so hungry my body won't let me sleep any longer! That seems to be true no matter how much I eat during the day. (I hope I didn't bring back anything unwanted from PNG - I've got my stomach full enough as it is with our own five rapidly growing and beloved "parasites!")


After a bit of a scare on Tuesday with many contractions, cramping and lower back pain brought on by doing laundry, I finally gave up the idea of this ever being like a normal pregnancy. In consequence, a dear friend of our family from Colombia days is doing our laundry. Thank you, Aunt T.! In addition, a dear friend of mine from PNG is coming to help us clean the apartment before moving out (thanks, K.K.!), another friend from PNG has set up a meal list (thanks, B.!) for which people from both Colombia and PNG have signed up; a fun intersection of two worlds. And these acts of service don't include other very generous gifts of my favorite foods, used baby stuff, several packs of diapers, donations towards baby supply costs and doctors' bills, and much more. We are humbled and overwhelmed! Thank you God and thank YOU, dear friends - you each know who you are.

I should add that the aforementioned scare didn't cause anything to change with the babies or me. Everything looked great (aside from the anemia) at my appointment yesterday. Unfortunately, no ultrasound until next week. :) I sure can feel the little bodies rolling around, though! So different from a single baby, when I felt nothing at this stage. These little rollings happen independent of each other - it's fun to be reminded that they are each from a separate little person!

With love and gratitude, and all glory to God,
Carrie