Question...What are your thoughts?

Aloha peeps! THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!!!!! Anyone else feeling that way today? This weekend is sure to please! Ours will be filled with lots of cooking!! I've really started to love cooking on the weekends! I cook completely different food than I do during the week. Typically on weeknights it's quick, 30 minute meals. On the weekend, we spend at least on hour just on Saturday morning brunch. Doc and I cook together, blaring some worship music, and letting Jordan go back and forth from Saturday-Morning Cartoons to dancing like a crazy person for Jesus. And it doesn't stop there....on the menu this weekend we have a Honey-Glazed Ham, Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, Garlic-Sugar Green Beans, lots of fruits and veggies for snacks, and plenty of Crystal Light Pink Lemonade! (Ok ok....as well as Caffeine Free Diet Coke....if I close my eyes for a second it almost tastes as good as regular Diet Coke!) I hope you all have a blessed weekend!



So.....I have a question for you all. I am so lucky to have such a plethora of wise, wonderful people in my life to give me their opinions about things like this. I've already made my decision, but I'm still curious as to how other people view this. Here goes...



While at my Dr.'s appointment last week, the Nurse Practicioner brought up the testing for Down's Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, etc. At Tripler Army Medical Center, these tests are optional. They were mandatory at the hospital where I delivered Jordan, but they are optional here. When she asked if I would like to have the tests, my question to her was this: "Do the results of this test change, in anyway, the delivery process, or provide information for things that need to be done in the delivery room or immediatley after the birth?" Her answer was "No." That was all I needed to know, and I declined the tests. She went on to tell me that she would not take such a hasty answer, and insisted that I think about it more. I asked her what the benefit to these tests would be, and her answer was "Well, for you to knowingly bring a child into this world with something like Cystic Fibrosis you need to KNOW what that means....a child that won't live past 30, that will be in a constant struggle, with mucus filled lungs, and special costly care, etc." Now...this may be my crazy pregnancy hormones, but I took this as her saying that I need to know before I DECIDE to have this baby. I told her again, with gusto, that I would like to decline the testing, and she again refused to write down my answer. She said that technically she doesn't need an answer until my next appointment, and that she insists that I think about this a little more. I don't know if she truly wants me to think about it more, or if she truly just doesn't like my answer.



In my household, abortion is not an option. It's never discussed, because it's simply not an option. It is our sincere belief that God creates babies, and we don't, regardless of the circumstances. We would have this baby regardless of anything that could be wrong with it, because it's God's will. Not because we think it would be easy to raise a child that required special needs, but rather because it is asked of us by our Lord.



That being said, I know plenty of people who feel the exact same way about abortion/creation, but DO think it would be a good idea to go ahead with the tests, just to have a "head's up" of what's to come. For me, I truly don't think I could go through the rest of my pregnancy with the same excitement and joyous wonder if I knew that after the delivery things would be completely different than usual. I feel ashamed for feeling that way. I would certainly not give my praying knees a break if I were to find out something like that, but I would have the advantage of being able to prepare. And that's another thing, how DO you prepare for something like that? We pray for a healthy baby, knowing that it may be God's will for us to have a child with Special Needs. We continue to tell Him our hope, and we continue to say "Your will be done" at the end of each prayer.



How do you feel about this? These tests? Do you think the advantage of knowing is something that everyone should have if they were about to have a child with special needs? Do you think it's crazy to not want to know? Do you think it's crazy to want to know? I don't really think anything of either choice, I just feel what I feel for my personal situation, and I know this is different for everyone. I see up's and down's with each choice. What do you all think?


Thank you for listening to me ramble about this! And thank you in advance for your feedback! I appreciate it! I hope you all have a great weekend!!!!