Judah Update

I had my doc appt. on Tuesday and another ultrasound for a biophysical profile of Judah. I have not changed as far as dilation and effacing are concerned--crazy, since I am sick and have been coughing a lot! I was surprised! But, that's good...he needs to come when he's ready and I sure don't want to deliver when I'm sick. He passed with flying colors again! 8 out of 8. It's getting crowded in there, though! :0)

We had trouble getting some good pictures of him on 3D. There has to be plenty of fluid around the object you are trying to see when looking in 3D and there's just much more of Judah than fluid.

Hand and foot--his hand is tucked under his chin

Open hand

Every day we are getting closer to his arrival. We can't wait, but are glad that he's not coming too early. We want him totally "done" at arrival--LOL!

Judah

Judah got an 8 out of 8 on his Biophysical Profile today! Thank you, Jesus!

I got to see him breathing.....which is a great sign that the lungs are functioning.

I got to see him open his little mouth and drink in a little amniotic fluid.

He weighs 5lbs. 14 oz. based on the calculations. That's a good weight.

It was awesome. Tears just rolled down my face watching our little miracle from God!!

Look at this precious little blessing from the Lord! I did not know we'd get a 3D photo--isn't it awesome? Now I really cannot wait to see him in person. He looks a lot like Hannah did.


Thanks everyone for praying!

Another Pregnancy Update.....

Well, today has been an eventful day! On Saturday, I started feeling bad.....fatigued and out of breath more so than usual. Sunday it was worse and then today was still like Sunday. My mother-in-love, Esther came up to the house today to help me vacuum and do a few things for me (she's so thoughtful and sweet!). She told me to call my doc and let him know what was up....I didn't want to, so she said she wasn't leaving until I called him. So, I did. Of course, he wanted to see me, but did not want me to drive. So, my Father-in-love, Orval drove me, Hannah and Caleb to the doctor's office. He stayed in the waiting room with the kids while I saw the doctor. Dr. Jarrett was concerned about my symptoms. My lungs were clear, but the mucous development and the panting out-of-breath had him concerned. The only way to know if I was having pre-eclampsia symptoms or just coming down with a cold was to do blood work. It would be a couple of days before results were in, if he had the bloodwork done there, so he sent me to Labor & Delivery at the hospital for a complete work-up and fetal monitoring. He also told me that if the bloodwork came back that the symptoms were from pre-eclampsia that he would be delivering Judah tonight. So, off we went to the hospital. Oh, and in the midst of all of this I realized that I did NOT have my cell phone with me (of all the worst times for that to happen :0) ). I was able to use the doc's phone to call David and tell him to meet us at the hospital. We got to the hospital around 4:00ish. They admitted me and put us in a room in Labor and Delivery. David finally got there around 4:45. I was able to use his phone to call my mom, our pastor and another friend....then his phone began to beep--battery low.

Anyway....They took about 6-8 vials of blood at about 5:30. We got the results in a few minutes before shift change at 7:00 p.m. and all came out negative for pre-eclampsia. Yay, Jesus!!! My blood pressure was really high when I got there and they made me lay on my left side and told me that would help my pressure go down--I didn't know that! But, it did! I was 135/77 when they let us go home. The nurse called my doctor and told him that the monitors were picking up some contractions, so he had her check me for dilation and effacing. I am 50% effaced and dilated to a 1. No big deal at almost 35 weeks. I'm not feeling the contractions because of the blood pressure medicine I am on. Judah looked very well to the nurses on the monitors while we were there. So, all is well. Still have the Biophysical profile tomorrow. And, now a follow up doc appt. on Thursday. He said they'd be keeping a real close eye on me from now until Judah comes. They told us tonight at the hospital that if we can make it another week and a half (36 weeks), Judah would probably do very well. Another 3 weeks (38 weeks) and that would be fantastic.

I am so thankful that Jesus is watching over Judah and me! I was scared today thinking that he might need to be delivered tonight, knowing it's too early! The Lord really sustained me and kept me from worrying.

Please continue to pray with us! Thank you all!

Pregnancy Update

I am currently 34 weeks. I saw my doctor on Tuesday. I am still having high blood pressure readings and am beginning to swell in my hands, legs, and feet. My doctor is concerned about what this is doing to Judah, so he has scheduled me for an ultrasound on Tuesday the 19th. The ultrasound will give us a biophysical profile of Judah. They are measuring several things and I don't know them all....the nurse said they would be things like breathing and movement, etc. He will get a score based on them. The highest is 8 out of 8. If Judah's score is low, I will go back on Wednesday for an appointment with the ultrasound doctor. Then he/she will consult with my ob-gyn about whether to induce labor and bring Judah into the world, early. If this happens, Judah will stay in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) until he is a healthy weight and his lung function is good.

We are believing (please pray and believe with us):

that my blood pressure will come back into the normal range
that I will stop spilling protein into my urine which is a sign of pre-eclampsia
that the swelling will stop
that Judah will stay in-utero until 37 weeks

Our God is a BIG God and he wants us to be healthy and whole! Is. 53:4-5 & Matt. 8:16-17

Thank you for your continued prayers for us!!!