Answered Prayers

Well, I had (3) doctor's appointments this week so I just waited to give an overview of all of the information we received rather than overwhelm everyone with too much medical information.

On Tuesday, I had what will now be a weekly stress test at Kings Mountain. He passed with flying colors meaning that his heart rate was stable for about 20 minutes and he's moving well....very frequently, in fact.

On Wednesday, we went to Chapel Hill. I was very anxious about this visit. I had prayed that Dr. Wolfe, the radiologist, wouldn't be there. I just hadn't taken to her bedside manner during my first visit with her. Travis said I shouldn't pray for people to be out sick, but I said she could be off Christmas shopping for all I cared. Well, she was there, but she didn't come in my room after the ultrasound....thank the Lord for the small prayers He answers. It relieved the whole day for me so much. The ultrasound shows that my fluid levels are somewhat high (which we expected to start at some point), but not at a dangerous level at this point, but there is no indication of hydrops which would mean that the baby was holding too much of this fluid and it would be building up around his heart or abdomen. Hydrops would be one problem we may encounter that would cause us to need to deliver early which we really want to avoid. The baby is also somewhat small for his gestational age. All the doctors assured me that it isn't at a dangerous level, but we are praying that his growth will pick back up to a normal rate. If he can continue on a normal rate from here and make it to 39 weeks, we expect him to weigh around 8lbs.....which would be wonderful!! They also noted that he was performing fetal breathing movements which is like "practice breathing". That was a very promising sign that he is getting whatever lung he has prepared to work.....very thankful for that news as well.

Also, I had discussed with the baby that I didn't want him letting the ultrasound tech look at his feet. Last time we were there, she had thought she saw and extra toe and although Dr. Wolfe couldn't confirm it, she presented it to us as if she felt much more certain that he had a genetic disorder. At that point, we had had about (6) ultrasounds and all had counted 5 fingers and toes. I chose to dismiss their diagnosis, but I just didn't want to go through it again with them. Regardless of what all they think is wrong with this baby, I want them to give him the best shot at survival. The more evidence that they can find leading them to believe his chances for survival are slim, I'm afraid they won't give him their best effort. So, when my little man kept kicking the ultrasound probe when she got near his feet, I knew he had understood my instructions.....just hope he'll keep listening as well.

On Thursday, I saw Dr. Chamberlain in Kings Mountain for my now weekly bio-physical profile. Much more of the same news except Dr. Chamberlain said that he thought the fetal breathing movements he saw were d*** impressive!!! I was so proud of the little monkey!

So, for the moment, the following are my main prayer requests:

1. Baby's growth rate will increase to put him back in the normal range
2. Amniotic fluid levels will remain within the normal range
3. Hydrops will not begin developing around the baby's heart or abdomen
4. We will continue to see God's hand in this situation so we can easily rely on and trust in Him
5. Pray for the other families whose children have already arrived and are fighting to get stabilized and go home. It will be a difficult Christmas for those still in the NICU. You can see the attached links to check out their progress.
6. Begin praying for January 21st- my scheduled delivery date. I am praying that I make it to that date and that God will restore my child to full health.

I'll at least keep everyone updated weekly (I hope)! Love to you all!