Ultrasound and Belly Pictures

We went to see my regular doctor today. I have lost 2 pounds during this pregnancy. The one time in my life I actually want to gain weight and I am having no luck! I have read that with multiples, you need to gain weight early because it is hard to gain later in the pregnancy. I guess I need to eat more ice cream!
I went in this week because I had been having some pain in my ribcage area-it was really bad on Sunday/Monday, but has gotten better throughout the week. The coughing that I have been doing during the entire pregnancy is no fun and hasn't stopped yet! She said it sounds like pleurisy-hopefully it will be taken care of soon!
She also said we will have an ultrasound at every visit from now on.
Here is a picture of our sweet Baby B-the heart rate was 148.
And here is a picture of my "losing-weight-but-my-pants-don't-fit-and-my-belly-is-big" self.

Thank Yous and Prayers

Psalm 26:7 "...I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works."

Things I'm thankful for:

*An amazing God who loves me and is able to do more than I could ever imagine. The knowledge that NOTHING on this earth is a reason for me to be anxious but to have peace in knowing He will care for me (Phil. 4:6-7).

*A pretty awesome husband who loves me, prays for me, and takes care of me (unless I am pregnancy sick, but I guess maybe I'm asking too much!).Thanks to Brittany Richmond for the photograph above!

*An awesome church family that stretches far across the state, country, and world-who love us and pray fervently for us-whether they know us or not.

*THREE beautiful babies.
I am particularly thankful for this baby below-who is (so far) perfectly healthy and doing great.

Baby even looked "at us" during our ultrasound on Thursday.
(Pretty cool-even if he/she looks like an alien right now!)

(I'm not sure why those ultrasound pictures are different colors....that's irritating the OCD part of me, but I need to learn to adapt!)

*Medical professionals here and at Vanderbilt who have the knowledge and experience to help our babies stay as healthy as possible.

*The staff at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital who were so good to us Thursday during a visit that ordinarily would not have been a pleasant experience.

*A wonderfully kind and smart (I really needed her to be smart!) doctor who spent over an hour with us Thursday discussing our babies' development and plan to keep them as healthy and safe as possible. We will be returning to see her every three weeks through sometime around week 28 for monitoring (after that, we will go every two weeks, then every week).

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Philippians 4:5-7 ^"6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ⁷And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Things I am praying for:
*Our other two babies who are not expected to survive long after delivery.
*That Baby B will continue to develop in a healthy and safe manner and will stay in the oven as long as is needed!
*Strength for us to have faith in God and know that His plan is perfect.
*Peace.

We have countless brothers and sisters in Christ who love us and have prayed for throughout this journey to become parents. It has not been easy and doesn't appear to get any easier anytime soon, but we know that God's plan is perfect for our lives.
Thank you for loving us and showing your love to us in so many ways.

We love you,
Wesley, Denise, and three Skelton babies!

Camouflaging the Belly!

Dressing for warm weather hasn't been too much of a problem. I have several shirts that are loose fitting and are that style that's maternity-ish but not maternity. That combined with the wonderful invention called the Belly Band (thanks, Jaina!) have made dressing comfortably without looking pregnant super easy.
Then, cold weather struck! It was in the 40s yesterday morning and this morning. Apparently, my warm clothes are too snug. Yesterday, I put on this pretty purple sweater that I love...looked in the mirror....then marched out to Wesley and said, "I don't guess I can wear this, huh?!"
Plan B was a looser top combined with a scarf to hang down and divert attention from my stomach!
This morning, I put on a black top-black is slimming, right?!.....See for yourself below....
Our two "large plums" were not hiding very well! I am totally all about the baby bump and loving the baby bump.......when everyone is actually supposed to know about the baby bump!For now, I am camouflaging the belly....maybe people will just think I ate too many M&Ms! :)
The picture below is what I actually wore to school today.