An update!

Weeks ago, Michael sent out an update to our church family after appointments at both the regular OB and the specialists at Maternal Fetal Medicine. Instead of trying to improve his update, I'll post it here. Nothing has changed since the email was sent out, except that baby is two weeks bigger than he/she was then--we'll take it!

 We truly do have much to be thankful for, and as our little one's arrival gets closer and closer, we are getting excited to find out whether Eli will have a brother or a sister, and to welcome this little one in our family with gratitude and joy.

Hello Everyone,

 

Thank you all so much for your ongoing prayers and support for Anna and our baby.  Please allow me to take a moment to update you on where we stand today…

 

God, in His mercy, has seen fit to see us through several weeks of uncertainty.  Anna is now 28 (now I am 30) weeks pregnant and both she and the baby are doing great.  The medication that Anna has been on for the past month and a half seems to be working magnificently, and with each passing day the light at the end of the tunnel gets a little bit brighter.  We had the unanticipated opportunity to go to the beach last week.  After receiving conflicting recommendations from several different doctors, we finally received the green light provided that Anna took it easy and that we knew the location of the closest hospital should something happen.

 

We went to both of Anna’s doctors this past Monday- regular and high risk OBs.  We received much encouraging news that day, and two pieces of information stick out in our minds.  First, Anna was told that she does not have gestational diabetes.  After failing her first glucose test, we were both thinking, “figures!”  But the Lord was merciful, and we now have one less thing to worry about.  The second piece of encouraging news came from our least favorite physician at Maternal Fetal Medicine (high-risk OB ).  Upon walking in the door, he sat down and said, “28 weeks…if your baby is born now it has a 99% chance of survival.”  While we want this little one to “bake in the oven” as long as possible, this statistic- after so many that were negative- was music to our ears.

 

We still have a little while to go, so we ask that you all continue to keep us in your prayers.  Specifically, these are the requests that are dearest to our hearts:

 

• That the baby would grow safely to term in Anna’s womb;
• That the Lord would strengthen us against worry;
• That the baby would continue to move frequently (words cannot express the peace we feel when this little one wiggles around);
• That we would be able to go to the doctor as infrequently as possible (Maternal Fetal Medicine is not a fun place to be);
• That the Lord would care for Anna during her appointments through:
  • Allowing the doctors to find a heartbeat quickly (we discovered we had lost Thomas during a Doppler scan, so these are never easy);
  • Allowing the ultrasounds at MFM to yield positive news of the baby’s development (this baby has been measured from head to toe far too many timesJ)
• That the Lord would prepare our hearts to be parents to another child