Over 2 weeks ago, (before the Shelter-in-place order in South FL) we received the results of our 4th baby’s gender and were able to do a tiny gender reveal with our parents and 2 of our siblings. In the midst of everything happening in the world, we were able to share our joy with our loved ones via FaceTime and Skype (thank God for technology!). And now we are able to share it with you all – thank you for all your love and support. Watch below what our 4th bundle of joy will be:
Pregnancy Complication: Placenta Previa
For the first time in a pregnancy, I experienced a complication. I’ve kept it to myself and waited to post about it because I wasn’t ready to share. I was about 20 weeks pregnant when I received a call from the doctor’s office. It wasn’t the usual call to confirm my next appointment, instead, they wanted to speak to me about my ultrasound results. Now, everyone knows that if everything is fine with the results, you usually never get a call to discuss anything over the phone, so when they said they wanted to inform me about my sonogram results, time suddenly stood still and I could hear myself breathe heavily – the kind of breathing that makes you hear your pulse beating right in your ear. Then, the nurse assistant uttered the words: “The sonogram shows that you have Placenta Previa.” She went on to list a few things I had to limit myself from doing along with signs to look out for such as painless bleeding, which she explained, could be a premature labor. To be quite honest, she assumed I knew what Placenta Previa was but this was the first time I have ever heard of such a term. Once she stopped speaking, I finally asked her, “What is Placenta Previa and how does it affect the baby and me?” She tried to explain it in medical terms or perhaps my mind went blank in shock, hence, I could not comprehend what she was saying. She finally hung up, and there I was, home alone with my toddler boy, Caleb and baby girl, Olivia staring at me. My mind was boggled and I began to do something I normally do not do while pregnant – search Google for answers.
I have always advised pregnant women and new mommies not to search the internet for answers because sometimes information out there tends to be negative, thus leading us to create movies in our head and overwhelm us. But there I was, doing the one thing I oppose and surprise surprise, I started filling my mind with worry and fear.
My body began to feel heavy and I was counting the minutes to my babies’ nap time so that I can have a moment alone to collect my thoughts and feelings. I finally put the babies down for their afternoon nap and I turned on the hot shower, hopped in, and began to sob. I tried to pray but I was stuck. The words from the nurse assistant replayed over again in my mind, “painless bleeding can mean premature labor, if you see blood when you pee, head to the hospital immediately.” and fear started to overtake me. As I knelt in the shower, I finally started to pray and told God that I was afraid with the news and did not know what to do or think. As I prayed, God took me to sing a new song of worship and as I sang I felt fear unwrap its arms around me and fled the room. I started remembering God’s promises for my family and I quickly felt the warmth of His assurance that He is in control of everything in my my life and I should not worry. And in a matter of minutes (though it felt like hours) I had peace in my heart and total trust that everything will turn out fine and it did! At my 32 week ultrasound appointment, the doctor confirmed that my placenta had moved and I was no longer in the danger zone – I no longer have Placenta Previa!
What is Placenta Previa? It’s when the placenta is partially or completely covering the cervix and can cause severe bleeding during pregnancy and delivery or perhaps premature labor if certain tasks are not avoided. As your uterus grows, the placenta can slightly move up as well (my case!).
I received this miraculous news right before Christmas. As you can imagine, I was ecstatic and filled with gratitude! This was my Christmas miracle! If you are going through a pregnancy complication or pre- or postpartum complication, hand your worry and fear to God. Understand that when things are out of our control, He can take it into His hands and work a miracle. Remember, you are not alone! Message me – I would love to pray for you and send you my love and support.
Disclosure: This blog post is sponsored by PinkBlush. I have been gifted clothes by PinkBlush as part of being a brand ambassador. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.
South Florida Blogger Awards 2018 Semi-Finalist for a 2nd Year in a Row!
Woo-hoo!!! A Raad Story has been nominated again for a 2nd consecutive year as a Semi-Finalist for Best Parenting Blogger 2018 at the South Florida Blogger Awards and we cannot thank YOU enough for reading post after post and following our adventure year after year. The winner will be announced early January and we can’t wait!
I started this blog with new moms in mind but it has developed into a lifestyle blog for not just adult women but everyone who wants to embrace parenting and marriage in general. It has been quite the journey and has evolved as we grow and learn.
As a family with God as our rock, we have continued to enjoy all the stages of parenthood as well as the good days and “not-so-good” days and are so excited for what 2019 has in store for us all. We will soon be welcoming our 3rd baby and we hope you continue to join us as we soon become parents of 3 under 3!
THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN! God Bless!
Gender Reveal: Baby No. 3 Is A…
We are almost at the halfway mark and finally did our gender ultrasound for our third baby on the way! This past Sunday we decided to go with the “black balloon filled with confetti” reveal (which is inexpensive and practical). We asked our ultrasound tech to hand us the results in a sealed envelope and my husband and I had no clue what was inside. We then took it to a party store and told the cashier to please re-seal the results so that upon pickup, we will not see them until our gender reveal gathering.
I was “team blue” (Caleb’s little friend) but my husband was “team girl”. However, quite frankly we would have been happy with either sex. Finally, the time had come to find out in front of our loved ones. We did a 10 second countdown and POP! PINK CONFETTI EVERYWHERE! I was shocked because I thought my symptoms were similar to when I was pregnant with Caleb. And we shouted and jumped for joy! What an honor to welcome our second princess! Baby girls barely run in our family, which is why we can’t wait to spoil this bundle of joy! Having a sister is the sweetest of gifts – my sisters and I are best friends and I can’t imagine life without them. I am so grateful Olivia gets to share her life with a sister who will be so close in age. And Caleb now has his hands full with his 2 baby sisters to protect and love.
Thank you to our dear loved ones who share our joy! Special thanks to Dinorah from Hello Baby Ultrasound – the first mobile ultrasound service in Miami who was able to come to our home for a personal sonogram experience. Below are a few photos and video from our gender reveal.