24 Weeks

(19 days in the hospital)

Eight weeks ago, I had little faith that I would make it to this week. The majority of information that I heard from doctors was that there was little I could do to help my son survive or get to this point of "viability". Viability is loosely defined in the medical world as the point at which they can consider the baby able to survive outside of the womb. So, making it to this day is truly a miracle! When we looked forward to this day 8 weeks ago, we were in a mindset of hope. Hope that we could make it this far and that our baby would grow how he is suppose to. But now that we have reached 24 weeks, we can move out of living in hope and move into living in reality. There is now a better chance that our son will survive when he is born and that is exciting but also scary. Sometimes living in hope is easier than living in the reality of a tough situation. But, I know that God will continue to give me His strength as we enter into this new phase of pregnancy. 

Over the last week and a half, there have been some ups and downs. I have had a little more bleeding, and some other pains that have continued to make me thankful to be here in the hospital. Even with all the downs, there have been some pretty good ups. Friday the 9th, was the first ultrasound that I had where I really believed that there was a great chance that our sweet boy was going to be ok. It happened to be my dad's birthday, and he was here eating lunch with me and some family. They hadn't done my ultrasound yet, so I asked the nurse if it was possible for her to squeeze us in before my dad left to go back to work. This was the first time my dad was able to see our boy and it made a great birthday present for him. She started to look around and we saw that he had the hiccups! This is a great sign because it means that his diaphram is working correctly. However, the best part of this ultrasound was that she was able to find a pocket of fluid big enough to measure! This is the first time since my water broke that we have had measurable fluid! Every time they find a pocket, they would like for it to be between 1 and 2 cm deep, and on Friday it was 1.69! Praise the Lord! 

The next Monday rolled around and this week I was going to get 3 ultrasounds (which is one more than usual and one more day I get to get up and walk to the ultrasound room...about 20 extra steps more than my walk to the bathroom). To sum up the week a little quicker with my ultrasounds, each time we went in there was always a pocket of fluid to measure, but the size varied each time. Monday I only had 0.5cm, Wednesday there were 2 pockets each measuring 1.0cm and Friday I only had one pocket that measured 1.2cm! Each time we go in, they also look to make sure there is fluid in his stomach and bladder (they are almost always full which is great!). I have been trying hard to not focus so much on the centimeters of fluid that they find, but more so if there is even a pocket to measure. So this week I consider to be a good week fluid wise! 

Friday they were able to get some measurements on our boy and he has certainly grown in the last 2 weeks! He now weighs about 1.2 lbs which is equivalent to 528 grams! Even though we have now made it to 24 weeks and weight over 1 lb the next big goal is for me to be able to make it to 26 weeks and for him to get over 2 lbs. The longer this boy can stay inside and growing the better chance of him doing much better outside of the womb. 

One of the biggest reasons why making it to 24 weeks was such a big deal was that I would receive a round of steroid shots that will help our boys lungs to grow. Since there is still very little fluid in my uterus, he needs all the help he can get to help those lungs get big and strong. Depending on how much longer until I go into labor, I will get another round or two of shots but that all depends on how much longer he can stay in! These shots really can make the difference in how he will do when he is born, so I am incredibly thankful for all the advances in medicine that make it possible for babies to survive at such a young age. 

For the first time in almost 3 weeks, I was able to get out of the wing that I am living on and go for a wheelchair tour through the NICU at Kosair. I was so thankful to be able to get out and see other parts of this hospital, but mostly for getting to see and meet some of the nursing staff that will be caring for our baby. I know that as soon as he is born, he is going to be in some of the best care. We were able to meet and talk to a few of the moms that were there with their little ones and I was so encouraged. Everyone was so sweet to tell me a little about their story and give us some good advice. 

On a different note, Jordan and I are still working out some things with sweet boys name, but we have decided on his first name! Our sweet boy will be William Ellis, but we will call him "Liam". So happy to finally be able to call him by name. 

Prayer requests:

-Liam's lung development

-More fluid pockets

-My heart. As we get closer and closer to Liam coming into this world, I have just gotten a little more anxious about our future in the NICU and for his health. 

-Sleep! I am starting to have some trouble staying asleep, which makes the nights I am here alone pretty hard. 

Thank you so much to all those who have prayed that we could make it to this point in our pregnancy.    We continue to ask for your prayers as we go day to day from this point on! 

 

Part 2 with some exciting news!

Sunday night brought some more fear into my mind. Once again, I had another bleeding episode. Except this one was accompanied with what felt to be some cramps. I tried not to think the worst and just tried to sleep and hope the next morning brought better news. However, that was not the case. Monday morning there was even more blood and I immediately thought this could be the end. We had a tough decision to make at that point. Would we go straight to the hospital or go to the new specialists office to get a second opinion? After prayer and talking to Jordan, we decided that it would be best to see the specialist and get his opinion on what all this meant. Because we weren't sure what the outcome of the appointment would be, mom and dad came down with Jordan and I for the appointment.

I was taken back for an ultrasound where they didn't see anything different than what I have seen before. There was still no fluid, but the baby still had a really strong heartbeat and seemed to be doing ok. After that, we were taken to the doctor's office to wait for him there. After our conversation with him Sunday night, I was already at ease because he had already showed more compassion and understanding for my situation. He explained everything we had already heard once again, but in a much more gentle and understanding tone. After explaining to him what had happened the night before and that morning, he thought it would be the best thing to put me in the hospital for bed rest to be constantly monitored. So, we walked right on over to the hospital across the street and into my new home.

This all happened so quickly, but after being here for 8 full days I can honestly say that this has been the best thing that has happened. They take my vitals multiple times a day, they check the baby's heartbeat every morning  and night, and I will get an ultrasound 2 times a week. My doctor will stop in and see me and answer questions every day, which is such a comforting thing since things can change so quickly. God has been so incredibly sweet to us by providing some pretty incredible nurses and staff during my stay (I even had one french braid my hair).

I definitely can't say this is going to be an easy thing, but I know this is what I have to do for me and my baby. I have still had some bleeding episodes, but being so close to nurses and doctors that can help and answer my questions has been a blessing. I am so thankful to have a mom who can be here and hang out with me during the day to make them go a little quicker. Its a major bonus having your parents and family live so close when hospital food doesn't sound good or you need to play games instead of watch TV all day. I also have to majorly brag on my husband. He has been such an amazing servant to me and so helpful in making this transition a little easier. He has slept in a reclining chair every night so far and spent so many hours making sure I have everything I need. I am truly blessed to have this man by my side.

Now for some really good and big news... Jordan and I are excited to announce that sweet baby E is a BOY! We are still working on the name, but we are so excited to welcome our little boy into this world. The best part about the ultrasound yesterday was that my doctor confirmed that there has to be some fluid in my uterus for them to be able to see the gender! It might not be a measurable amount, but it means there is enough for them to tell what we are having. So thank you so much for all your prayers for fluid and continued health for me and our baby boy. 

Please continue to pray for us as we are on this new journey. We have a short term goal of making it to 24 weeks, but myself and the doctor would love it if our boy can stay in until Valentines day or even longer! Thank you again to everyone who has been continuously praying for us. I truly believe that God has a bigger plan for our baby! 

Part 1...

I am not sure there are many of us who would say they wanted to be like John the Baptist. He lived in the wild, wore camels skin and ate locusts. But, after reading one of the devotions on shereadstruth during this advent season, we should all reconsider wanting to be like John. Not so much in the physical ways he lived, but in his love for his calling and His Lord. Zechariah, John's father, prophesied about John's life  in Luke 1:76-77 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins". John was going to be a "way-paver" for Jesus Christ. The writer of this devotion questions whether John the Baptist ever lamented his calling or wished his could have "passed the torch" to someone else. 

After reading this days devotion, I could understand if there were days that John the Baptist wanted pass the torch to someone else. I have had that same feeling many times in the last 2 months. I do not say this to make anyone feel sorry or pity for me, but I do want to let you all in during this hard time. While this pregnancy has not be what I pictured my first pregnancy to be like, I know and believe that God has something bigger planned. A verse my mom has recently been sharing with me has been 2 Cor. 4:18 "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,  but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." This verse has come up on more than one occasion in the last two weeks. 

Last Monday was my first appointment with a specialist. Jordan had some meetings at work, so mom and I went to this appointment together. I was really looking forward to getting some more information and hoping for a doctor that would help us get to where we needed to be in this pregnancy. I am not going to go into a ton of details about this appointment just to be respectful. But, there was a miscommunication with some of my records not being sent over, and why exactly I was at this appointment. I was being treated like a first time patient and not at all like I have a high risk pregnancy. There were lots of frustrations and we left with a lot more questions that we went in with. However, I was told by the doctor that the least amount of movement and travel the better. So, my modified bed rest became a little more strict. I could still get up and use the restroom, but I didn't need to take any stairs or drive anywhere. Thankfully this news came a day after we were able to travel to Lexington to celebrate Christmas with Jordan's family. We were also able to stay with my parents house over the holidays which was such a blessing. I didn't want to have to miss out on Christmas or worry about having tons of family in our small condo. It was also nice to have some more help since I really couldn't walk around and get things for myself. 

After Monday, the following days were pretty uneventful. I would pray every night to just have a few good days during Christmas so that I could enjoy my family and celebrate the coming of our Savior.  The Lord was sweet to answer those prayers. But the Friday after Christmas I had an episode of bleeding that was more than I had seen before. I wasn't having any cramps or a fever, so I just laid down in bed and prayed that everything would be ok. Thankfully the bleeding slowed down, but I was still so worried what the next few days had in store. I took it even easier than before the next couple of days and tried to increase my fluids as much as possible. 

Throughout the week, Jordan and I looked into getting another specialist's opinion but weren't quite sure where to look. We have some good family friends that knew another specialist here in town and he was able to get the doctors phone number and set up a time for me to call him. So, Sunday afternoon we called the doctor and he wanted me to come in first thing Monday morning. 

After this appointment, things were about to change drastically. Part two coming soon with more details about the events following Monday. 

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and sweet messages I have received.