2-3-15

This is a post I never imagined having to write. However, I want to be vulnerable with you all who have been so faithful to pray so that over the next few days you can continue to pray for Jordan, myself and our families.

I will start from Tuesday morning February 3rd. I woke up around 8 starting to feeling what I knew to be Braxton Hicks contractions. My uterus was tightening, but I wasn't in any pain. But by 9:00am, it started to feel more uncomfortable than normal. So, I called my nurse in to let her know what was going on and she decided to put me on the monitor. At this point, I wasn't that worried so Jordan left to get ready for work and mom would be walking in right behind him. For about an hour and a half, I was feeling the contractions but they weren't unbearable, so my nurse wanted to keep me on the monitor since she was picking up more than normal. I began to pray, Lord please not now. Liam still needs more time. He is going to be so small. Lord, please stop my contractions. Around 10:30am, she wanted to call my doctor to just let him know what was going on. Thankfully he was in the hospital and was able to stop by my room right after the call. The first thing he did when he walked into the room was look directly at the heart-shaped chain we had hanging on the wall counting down to Feb 13th and our next milestone of 28 weeks. He went ahead and told the nurse to get some medicines to help stop the contractions. Over the last weekend, Jan 30, I actually got another round of steroid shots as a precaution for his lung development. We were all thankful that I had gotten that shot in hopes that Liam's lungs would be able to handle the help they could give him in the NICU.

After my contractions started to become more regular and uncomfortable, we called Jordan immediately and told him to come right back. Praise the Lord that he was in town. He was scheduled to be traveling for 3 days starting Wednesday the 4th. While this was not my ideal time to be showing signs of labor, I am so incredibly thankful that Jordan was not out of town.

Around 11am, the contractions started to pick up and become more painful. I had been hooked up to an IV receiving fluids, magnesium (to help neurological function and hopefully slow down contractions), and penicillin in case of infection. I could tell that my nurse was concerned about how frequently I was contracting. However, they weren't showing up on the monitor as often as I was feeling them, because I was feeling them more in my back. These contractions continued for a couple more hours. By 2pm the contractions were getting so bad and so painful, they started to prepare to take me down for a c-section. This was it. Today was the day we were going to meet our son. Today was going to being a journey in the NICU where our son is going to have to fight for his life.

When the labor and delivery nurse came in, she began to tell me more about the c-section and what all was going to happen. We asked her if she knew our friend and fellow labor and delivery nurse Lauren, who goes to church with my parents and has become a sweet friend through my stay at the hospital. We had her text Lauren that I was going into labor, and she was able to make it to the hospital to help. I was thankful to have a familiar face there.

Getting prepped for the c-section was not easy. I was starting to get sick on my way down to the operating room, and I was still in so much pain when contractions would come. Having to sit still for them to place the spinal was no easy task. Thankfully, they were able to place the spinal and the pain started to go away. Jordan was let into the operating room after they prepped me, and we waited to meet our son. As I waited for them to tell me that Liam had been born, I don't remember a lot of what I was thinking other then "please let his lungs be developed enough, please give him strength to fight."

Liam was born at 3:40pm and weighed 1 pound 12 ounces. He was kicking his legs, probably thankful to be able to move them, and they said he looked good. The NICU doctors were already in there and got him on a ventilator. Before they even left the OR, they could tell he was having trouble on the ventilator so they needed to get him on another one. As they pushed him by me so I could see his face, I will never forget how beautiful he looked. His eyes were wide open and he was so small. I couldn't wait to go and hold his hand and tell him to fight with everything he had in him.

When we got to recovery, I remember being so happy. I was bragging on how big Liam had gotten and that the doctors seemed extremely positive. They said the first week was a crucial week, but if they can get him past a week he should be able to thrive. I hoped with hope I have never had that the Lord would give Liam a good week. Jordan was able to go and see him as they took me to my post-partem room. I was told that as soon as I could get up and sit in a wheelchair that I would get to go meet my son. When Jordan got back, Liam was doing ok. He was keeping his oxygen levels up, but it was going to be a hard week on him.

After not eating all day and the combination of pain meds I was on, it was hard for me to keep anything down. I knew I needed to wait a little longer before going to see Liam. I didn't want to get sick when I was down there or not be able to sit up for very long. So around 7:30pm, I was able to sit up longer and make the trek down to the NICU. At my first sight of him, I was instantly in love. He was so small, yet looked so much like our perfect baby. They informed me that his oxygen levels were a little lower than they would have liked, but they were going to give him some more medicine and turn up the levels on the ventilator. I didn't want to overdo it, so I didn't stay down with him longer than 20 minutes or so. I knew I needed rest, and that if I woke up in the middle of the night, I could come see him whenever I wanted.

Jordan and I finally made it back to our room and wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible. I just wanted to be rested to spend the majority of the day next day at Kosair. At 11:30, we immediately knew something was wrong when Liam's doctor walked into the room and sat on the bed. He told us that the medicine they were giving Liam wasn't helping his lungs the way it was supposed to. He said we had some hard decisions we were going to have to make. Jordan and I called our parents right away to tell them they probably needed to come back to the hospital. As I got off the phone with my mom, I sent her a text simply saying "I'm so scared."

We got down to where Liam was at in the NICU, and I could tell his numbers were much lower than a few hours before. When they have babies on ventilators, they like their oxygen levels to stay in the high 80s and the 90s. Liam's numbers were in the 40s with the ventilator as high as it could go. I just held his sweet hands and begged him to fight. Once my parents arrived, they took us into a private room to discuss our options.

We decided that it was best to not put Liam through more pain and suffering than he needed to be. We would hold him while he was still alive and the doctor would hand pump oxygen for him as long as we wanted him to. Around 12:30, they brought our son into the room all dressed up with a shirt and a sweet handmade hat and blanket. I finally got to hold him and he was perfect. He had my nose, Jordan's hair, hands and feet. I have never felt a love so deep.

We were able to hold him for about 2 hours, then they took out his tubes and cleaned his face. Even more beautiful. Liam lived for about 40 minutes with no assistance. From the very beginning, Liam always had a strong heart so I was not surprised by how long he held on. Our sweet boy went to be with Jesus around 3am on February 4th.

Please do not send flowers. We would like to honor Liam with a donation to the Baptist Health Foundation to support the NICU and other premature babies at Baptist Health Louisville. We are planning to have a small memorial service this week, please pray for our families during this time.

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. 

2 months

It has been almost 2 months since this whole journey of waiting and not knowing started. I cannot believe that. Some weeks seem to fly by, while there are some weeks that seem to drag on forever. Time usually goes slower the day or two before I have an appointment. 

Once again, the day before the appointment held some challenges that I am not sure I will ever get used to. For the majority of the day on Monday I had very little leaking and was resting a lot. It was around 3:00 that I went to the restroom and once again saw blood. I immediately just laid on the couch, called Jordan to tell him and prayed. My doctor told me that unless there was a significant amount of bleeding and cramps, I didn't need to worry too much about the blood. Easier said than done. I began to think any pain was a cramp and constantly went to the restroom to see if there was more. While, there were some cramp-like pains, the bleeding had stopped before I went to bed. Jordan and I were just hanging out that night watching TV, I tried so hard to not think about the possibility of the worst. When I let those thoughts into my heart and mind, I would immediately start crying and worry about what the next day’s appointment had in store. Trying to go to bed that night was not easy, but I was finally able to get some rest. 

I tried to sleep later than I normally do in hopes it would make the day go by a little quicker. My mom came to hang out and eat lunch with me so that I wasn't alone and worrying the whole day. It is surprising how fast a day can go when you are distracted with a mom and Gilmore girls. Three o'clock was here before we knew it. My mom dropped me off at the appointment and Jordan was met me there. Thankfully, they were running on schedule and we didn't have to wait too long to be called back. They had us go into an examining room first, which was different than the weeks before. The doctor used the Doppler to find the heartbeat first and his first words were "Well, there's Old Faithful!" He was immediately able to find a strong heartbeat. I asked if we would be getting an ultrasound, and he said they would send me back there after he examined me. 

At this point, I was reassured that everything looked good and sounded good with the baby's heartbeat. So, the ultrasound would be just for us to see the baby and get some pictures. Susan, our now sweet friend, was still talking about last week and how our baby had flipped from head down to breeched. She told us the heart rate was 153, good and strong! This wasn't a full diagnostic scan, but she just looked around to make sure everything still looked good. Our sweet little babe was wiggling around in the little room it has. So, we were able to watch that for a little while which was a sweet blessing. 

After the ultrasound, we went to our doctor’s office to ask some questions and talk about the next step. Now that we are getting so much closer to the baby being able to survive outside of the womb, there are a few things that I wanted to know more about. I will be 20 weeks on Friday, so if I can make it 4 more weeks we will start doing more to help the baby's lung production and do whatever we can to keep this baby in as long as possible. My doctor also wanted me to go ahead and start seeing a specialist that deals with more high-risk pregnancies. I will start seeing the same specialist I saw the first time my water broke. (I am sure he is going to be shocked to see me since he told me there was only a 1-2% chance this baby would live.)  

 From this point on, I will be going on modified bed rest. So, I will be staying at home doing lots of sitting, laying down and resting. I am still able to walk around the house and get ready, but the majority of my day needs to be spent sitting or lying down. After the holidays I will for sure be taking up some new hobbies and doing lots of binge Netflix marathons.

 I don't think I can say thank you enough to all those who have been asking, praying and loving on me, Jordan and this baby. We continue to hear some amazing stories of how this blog has touched so many people’s lives. I thank the Lord that He led you here, and I continue to pray that our child's life will be a testimony to many people.

18 weeks

18 weeks. By this point, I thought I would be deciding a theme for the nursery, picking out our girl or boy clothes and starting our registry. I also thought for sure that people would be able to tell I was pregnant. I know that all those things could still happen; but, my timing just isn’t quite the same as the Lord's perfect timing.


In most pregnancies, there are several milestones in the second trimester.  At sixteen to seventeen weeks you find out the gender, and twenty weeks is the half way point until you get to meet your sweet babe. But for me, each week (sometimes day) is a milestone.  I thank the Lord every day that I don’t see blood, feel pains or have a fever. Each milestone means we are one day closer to this baby being able to survive.


If any of you knew me when I was growing up, you knew I was an emotional little girl (my family can attest to this).  I cried all the time. All the time. About everything. I probably didn't grow out of this until high school. My emotions were how I dealt with any problem or situation. However, as I got older I learned to control these emotions so that they don't come out as often or in the wrong place/time. With the current situation, its not that I haven't been emotional; because that first weekend was pretty rough. But, I definitely have noticed a different strength and peace. A strength and peace that can only come from the Lord. Ten years ago, if you would have told me that this would all happen I probably would have guessed that I would be an emotional wreck. I probably would have not been able to get out of bed. However, because our God gives us what we need in the time that we need it; I have been able to continue living my life with hope and certainty that God has this all under control. I will confess that there are days that I don't always believe that this is going to have a happy ending or I doubt what God is trying to teach me through this. But, when those thoughts come, I combat them with truth. Psalm 139:16 "all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." 
 


Wednesday was one of those days. I woke up from a pretty terrible nights sleep, and just felt the anxiety of going to another appointment and the uncertainties of the day. It was a good thing my appointment was at 11:00 because I don't think I would have been able to make it until later that afternoon. I was so thankful Jordan was here this week and able to go with me to the appointment. This was the appointment where we were supposed to measure the baby and found out the gender. So, it was a little bittersweet knowing there was a chance we wouldn't be able to know the gender but our main concern was that the baby would still have a heartbeat. My name was called and we walked back to the ultrasound room. Susan was scheduled to do my ultrasound again. I am so thankful to have seen her so many times because she is starting to get to know us and is really cheering us on! We were immediately able to find the heartbeat again. This little baby is a fighter. She looked a little surprised when she noticed the babies placement. She asked me if the baby was head down last week, and I said yes. However, the screen was showing the baby head up! Susan was so intrigued by how the baby could have flipped in just a week with no fluid. Once again, evidence that our God is bigger than all of this. She did a more in depth diagnostic study to see how the baby was growing. Everything she measured was in between 17 and 18 weeks which she thought looked very good. The baby weighs about 8 oz. I asked Susan if she could see what the gender was, and she tried really hard. But, with the butt being down and there being no fluid, it wasn't the day where we would get to find out. The last thing she looked for was fluid, and unfortunately there wasn't any in my uterus this week.
 


I left the appointment happy that we made it another week with a living and growing baby, but also discouraged that the fluid that was in there last week was gone.  
Everything within me just wants things to start moving forward at every appointment and not take any steps backward. But, we had to celebrate the fact that the baby still had a strong heartbeat! 

I went to hang out at my parents after the appointment. Not too long after getting home, I went to the bathroom and saw something I haven't seen in close to a month...blood. I immediately called my doctor, and he told me to take it easy the rest of the night, and call him the next day at lunch. I walked around as little as possible, took two Tylenol PMs and went to sleep. I took the following day off work to recuperate and process everything that had gone on the day before. Thankfully, there was no more blood, no fever or pains. My doctor was encouraged by that, but definitely suggested moving as little as possible. So, this weekend in my free time (which is almost all day) you will find me on the couch, watching Christmas movies or Gilmore girls. 

Please continue to pray that the fluid will stay in my uterus and that this sweet baby continues to fight and grow. 

Answered Prayers

Wow! I am not even sure where to start except a HUGE thank you to all those who have been praying for Jordan, myself and this little blessing. All your prayers were felt, appreciated and ANSWERED!

This past Monday was my weekly appointment. I was pretty anxious about what the ultrasound might tell us. Jordan's job required that he had travel out of town for the week so my mom went with me to this appointment. Over the weekend, my prayers were desperate for a heartbeat because I don't think I could handle any more bad news with Jordan gone. I woke up Monday morning with a pretty terrible headache (as I am very familiar with during this pregnancy), and decided that I should probably stay home from work to avoid staring at two computer screens all day and stressing about work. I tried to stay as busy as I could throughout the day to take my mind off the anxiety that was creeping into my heart before this appointment.

Before walking into the building, mom and I prayed for peace and that His will would be done. Since all of this began, I have definitely learned that waiting is going to be a major part of this pregnancy. Waiting for my name to be called, waiting to see if there is a heartbeat, waiting to find fluid. God is teaching me a great lesson in patience.

Susan was scheduled to do my ultrasound again. She got everything ready and started looking around. It was almost immediate that I could see that little heart fluttering away. She brought the sound up and measured the heartbeat. It was a strong 145, Praise the Lord for an answered prayer. She continued to look around at the spine, brain and other organs and said everything was looking just as it should. She pointed out the bladder and the stomach and could tell there was fluid inside both of those organs, which is evidence that the baby is taking in fluids. As she was looking around, I was looking at the screen and saw some black spots indicating fluid. I asked if that is what it was and she found a little pocket of fluid. Another evidence of answered prayers.

After the ultrasound, we were led to a room to wait for my doctor. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face! The doctor walked in and had a totally different demeanor. He asked how we were doing to which I responded "really good now!" He responded back "I hear we have some good news today." He asked if I had any questions before he gave me some information. With all the good news, I couldn't really think of any new questions that I wanted answered. He proceeded to tell me to continue increasing my fluids, resting and making sure I am not getting a fever. From this point on in the conversation, he was cautiously optimistic about the future of my pregnancy. He spoke about what the next couple of weeks could look like, but he also didn't want to think too far into the future. He told me how impressed he was with how I was handling the situation by being very positive and hopeful but also realistic. It was at that point during our conversation I was extremely thankful to have the strength of the Lord.  I know that I wouldn't be able to have the outlook or attitude I have had the past few weeks without the strength and peace of the Lord.

I would like to pause and say thank you to all those who have prayed, sent sweet messages, and walked along with us during this crazy time. I have been so encouraged by everything.  God has brought some incredible women into my life through this situation who have had similar stories or just loved Jordan and I well. As another soon-to-be momma shared with me, Baby E already has a testimony and God is already using his or her life to reach others for God's glory. What a sweet thought to hold on to as we wait...