Prayers

Rob leaves in the morning for almost three weeks.  He heads to Guam for his two-week annual training (made almost three weeks with the addition of travel) where he gets to go support the guys who support our submarines (and by our I mean the US not ours personally).  If you’re the prayin’ sort send some up for us.  It is always hard when he’s gone so long though I have to remind myself we did it for a year when he was deployed so this should seem easy, right?  I hope and pray that time flies and that we feel safe and emotionally and spiritually secure while he is away and that sleep will be abundant for all, it makes such a huge difference.  And so do your prayers.  I can feel them.  Thanks!

Hopefully The Last Pregnancy Update

I told myself I wasn't going to write another one since things keep changing but one more (I hope the last) to just let people know what is going on.

My midwife got the report from Dr. M (the specialist who does my ultrasounds) and talked with Dr. S (the one who will do the c-section if it's needed) and then she and I met yesterday and we have a "plan". It's not much of a plan as it doesn't actually plan for much but that's what we'll call it. :)

So MW (midwife), Dr. M and Dr. S are all comfortable with watching and waiting at this point. I will see my MW twice weekly for non-stress tests which lets us know that baby is doing well and she will likely peek to see what baby's position is. Yesterday the baby passed the NST with flying colors and, guess what, is head down. No longer breech or transverse. (We all speculate that Gideon stretched me out so much being 10 1/2 pounds that this one has tons of room and just lies however s/he wants to.) I will also see Dr. S once a week. We will monitor placenta, cord and baby closely and wait.

If I go into labor on my own I'll go to MW and she will check everything one last time. If things look favorable I can stay with her at the birth center. If not, I get transferred to Dr. S for a c-section right then.

If I don't go into labor on my own by June 22 (I'll be 39 weeks that day) I go to Dr. S and he checks everything out. If placenta, cord, baby or any combination thereof look unfavorable we do a c-section that day (though that day could change depending on the Dr's schedule, I'll know for sure on Tuesday when I meet him for the first time). If EVERYTHING looks good he'll send me home and I just wait to go into labor on my own and keep seeing MW.

So really, we don't know what is going to happen until it happens. But there is still time to hope and if I do end up with a c-section I'll know for absolutely sure that everything was done that could be done to avoid it and that it really was the best birth for Baby D.

Unless something drastic or new pops up (Good Lord, I hope not) then this will be my last note until I am writing a birth announcement. Really looking forward to that day. :)

Thank you everyone, so much for your prayers and support. This has been a crazy pregnancy and your kind words have meant so much.

Pregnancy Update

I SO expected to be giving a grand report of how my ultrasound went today! Oh my, I was so ready since the placenta had nearly moved far enough out of the way the last time and a few weeks ago the baby had turned head down and things just really seemed to be lining up.

Alas, it is not to be so. :( I'm so bummed. The placenta is clearly too close to the cervix to risk a vaginal birth. The baby has turned breech again and now has the cord wrapped around his/her neck. I'm not overly concerned about that last bit, it happens. The baby is too big for the doctor to see how the cord attachment looks. The big IS really big. Still running about 2 weeks and 3 days ahead which puts him/her at 9lb 11oz. I'm very excited to hear that. At least one thing we were told was a concern (the cord condition causing growth restriction) is not a worry.

It seems that it is pretty much final. No water birth for me. No natural birth. No vaginal birth period. I haven't had a chance to talk to my midwife yet so I don't know all the details yet as far as the plan, likely tomorrow I'll know more.

Keep praying for us. I told God that I would trust He would have this baby born in the way that s/he needs to be for health and safety but it's still very disappointing to me. It's like I've planned for the last nine months to vacation at the Ritz and ended up at a Holiday Inn. Still a vacation, but not near what I'd imagined and hoped.

And not only for my peace and mourning my hopes for this baby's birth but also because c-sections carry such a higher risk. People tend to be rather cool about them these days because they happen so commonly but that doesn't mean they are risk free. I'm not afraid, not assuming something WILL go wrong but I'm not naive to the problems with breathing and breastfeeding not to mention risks for the mom who is being cut open as well as other draw backs.

I will, of course, keep filling you in as I know more. Thanks for your prayers so far. They have meant a lot.

Pregnancy Update

I had my follow up ultrasound today. The doctor was checking for growth and position. We were hoping to find a nice growing baby - check! and a head down baby - not check. And, sadly, the doctor told me that this ultrasound shows that the placenta hadn't moved as much as they thought and is still too close to the cervix for a vaginal birth. Whoooooooooosh! That's the sound of my car rushing onward on this roller coaster ride of a pregnancy.

The doctor was confident that the placenta would still move enough for a vaginal birth but I am having a hard time feeling that enthusiastic since this feels like a step backward. At least the baby is growing well and is even more ahead on the chart than before measuring 2 weeks 3 days ahead. They guesstimate that s/he is 4lb 4oz already which is in the 8th percentile.

Baby D was also a big squirm bucket and kept moving away from the technicians wand so at one point she switched to a 3D wand in order to get what she needed. I've never seen the appeal to spending extra money on a 3D ultrasound which is usually how mommies get one so I've never seen one of my babies this way. One look at those chubby cheeks though ... aw, I'm so glad to have it.

So I have another ultrasound in 6 weeks to check for growth, placenta and position. Keep praying for us that everything will be perfect and that we'll be back on track - again, for a natural birth. Thanks so much!

Baby's In Da House! (Not really.)

OK, baby's been in the "house" for a while. I don't know what inspired that title, sometimes I just go with whatever comes to mind first and sometimes that can be a little odd.

I have been meaning to post a picture or two of the baby up for a while. I finally remembered today to run upstairs and put one on the scanner so I could do that. So, without further ado...

Our new little one's profile picture at 24weeks 6days and measuring two weeks ahead (I am 29 weeks and 3days today)!

I've got a little over a week to go until my next ultrasound and as much as I like seeing my little babe I kind of hope it's my last ultrasound. I have no idea if the specialist will want to continue monitoring his or her growth because of the cord issue or not but if the baby is still ahead in size I wouldn't be disappointed at all if the next time we laid eyes on him or her it was at birth. There is the whole breech issue though. Keep praying with me that the baby will also be head down at the next visit. That would be another huge relief and answer to prayer on the long list of answered prayers this pregnancy.

Pregnancy Update

Today I am exactly 19 weeks along. Nearly to the halfway point. Yesterday I got to go to that half-way ultrasound where they check the measurements and organs, chambers of the heart, peek at the brain and all that. The kids got to see their new baby sister/brother. They were more interested in the variety of equipment in the room than the blob on the screen though. That's OK, I didn't expect them to be as fascinated as Rob and I were.

The baby looks great. S/he is right up in the 95% for this age. Rob and I both turned out heads when the u/s (ultrasound) tech checked out his/her nether regions. We still want to be surprised.

We did come away with some news that has us lifting up some extra prayers. The doctor who evaluated the u/s has named two conditions that he discovered.

1) placenta previa - this is where the placenta is so low in the uterus that it covers the cervix. As I said during the visit "the Fire Department would not approve, the exit's blocked". Yeah. Hard to deliver a baby when there's no way out.

2) velamentous cord - Someone should just disable Google for pregnant women. Follow my advice, don't research this. There is nothing comforting to be discovered online. I believe reality is less scary. I also believe that God is still in control and knows all about this and how it's going to pan out. So basically, what this means is that the cord, instead of being attached in the center of the placenta (which is kind of shaped like a pizza) it's attached precariously at one edge.

Typically this means that the baby only gets to take advantage of 1/2 to 2/3 of the placenta which results in low birth weights and premature delivery. Well, as I mentioned above my babe is in the 95%. Go baby! The baby is so big that the doctor suggested bumping my due date up by a week. I mentioned that an u/s done at about 8-9 weeks had the baby spot on for size at that date so he left my due date alone.

In regards to problem #1, this is something that often rights itself by delivery. When the uterus grows and stretches the placenta gets shunted to one side and the exit has been cleared. One possible problem with the placenta moving is that this could cause the cord to be compromised. As much as I'd love to have a natural delivery at my local birth center I'd prefer to give birth to a live baby in a non-emergency situation. So BIG prayer there. If that placenta decides to move, it REALLY needs to take that cord with it.

For the time being, the next 6 weeks to be precise, I'm on "pelvic rest" (nookie is a no-no) and forbidden to lift. Anything. Yeah. I laughed too. I am eliminating what lifting I can but it would be impossible, without having a personal lifting assistant with me all day, to eliminate it entirely. Shhh, don't tell my doctor. I really am being careful and also reminding myself that God can guard my little one as He has so far.

If nothing changes than most likely I will be delivering by c-section, possibly as early as 35 weeks to prevent spontaneous labor which could be extremely detrimental to me and my baby. In 6 weeks we'll have another u/s, that's lots of time to pray. :)

The Fair, The Great and the Terrible

The Fair - Gideon woke me up at 4:30 this morning having such a hard time breathing I was mentally preparing to take him to the ER. He was staying pink and seemed in good spirits otherwise so I waited the few hours to take him to our pediatricians urgent care clinic instead. They confirmed my suspicion that he has croup and sent us home with a prescription of prednisone to take down the inflammation. So we spent half our Christmas decorating day in the doctor's office but it could have been worse. Gideon should be right as rain in a few days and in true Gideon style he hasn't let him bring him down at all - and, we still got our tree today (the house smells fantastic!) and got a start on decorating.

The Great - Rob and I got to get away tonight to our church's Christmas dinner which included a performance of It's A Wonderful Improvised Life by the Taproot Theater Touring Company.

It.

Was.

AWESOME!

I've always wanted to be on Who's Line Is It Anyway? and this was my chance! The players were just great and I really did shout suggestions to their requests and they acted them out and it was hilarious. The real It's A Wonderful Life will never be the same again. I will never forget that in our version George saved Harry from dying by tap dancing on a light bulb, that Mr. Potter wanted to turn the Savings & Loan into a skinny jean factory and that every time a doorbell rings an angel gets it's wings.

The Terrible - The only thing that brought our special night down was that my thoughts kept turning to a friend of my sister's who I have also gotten to know. She is the gal who generously offers her property to host Jameson's birthday party every year. Sadly, tonight when she and two of her daughters returned home they discovered their house was on fire and their dogs perished within. I am waiting to hear from my sister the extent of the damage, how long they will be out of their house and what their needs are. Please pray for Carol and her family and the heartbreaking loss of their home and pets.

Prayers for Noah

A little prayer request. My friends Brian and Bethany have a son named Noah who is the same age as Gabe (they also have three other children). Little Noah recently started having seizures. Lots of them. Of many different kinds. My heart has been breaking for them but it only occurred to me today to pass on the prayer request for this lovely family. Bethany has started an online journal here The Strongest Gilpin. Please feel free to visit and read about Noah. You will have to sign up as a member but it's free and it's worth it. So prayers please for little Noah and his family. Thank you.

A Loving Reminder

...to keep praying for us. Not that I think y'all have stopped but I just thought it was worth repeating. We are down to two months until Rob's return home. I'm starting to feel butterflies every time I think about it, we are ALL so excited. That said, Rob got really, really sick recently and had to spend a few days in bed and receive fluids via IV. Apparently a possible stomach bug or food related illness is to blame as he is not the only one to have fallen ill. This happened at a time when I was just starting to breath a sigh of relief that possibly we here might actually be healthy for more than two days straight. Poor guy. I feel OK sharing this with you since I heard from him this morning and he is back on his feet and feeling better.

A few nights ago here it is very likely that we had an unwanted middle of the night visitor of the sort who is looking for things to carry off. After hearing noises and seeing that our back shed was open I called the local Sheriff's office which is only minutes from our house and three wonderful officer's searched our yard and found no one. Whew! I guess I should be glad that I don't have that shed organized enough to actually store anything in it. Ha ha on them.

And if you've been reading my blog for very long you've seen that our family is going through it this year and that's not even counting this surprise deployment.

So if I could ask that you could continue to pray for all of us, our health, safety, that we would thrive and not just survive during this time of separation and whatever else God puts on your heart.

Prayer works and if you have any doubt I'd like to remind you about my friend Lawanna. A little over a year ago I blogged that she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She and her family opted not to treat other than with prayer, at that time the doctors gave her about 6 weeks to live. A few weeks ago Lawanna stood up in front of our church to declare that her tumor had shrunk from the size of a golf ball to the size of a pea. How awesome is that?! Yeah, pretty awesome! God is good!

Prayer Request

We found out last night that my Dad called an ambulance for my Mom and she is in septic shock. They have sedated her to let her rest and put her on antibiotics. She is already so weak so this could be very bad. Please pray. Thanks!

Update: My mom is being kept sedated and intubated to let her body rest and for the antibiotics to work. My Dad has said we shouldn't worry and not to visit since she won't know we're there - and two of the kids are sick and have fevers. Yippee.

You Know You've Done Something Right

It's no secret that I can get a bit stressed when I'm packing us up to go away for a few days. The to-do list seems too big, I have to pack for four people, remember diapers and wipes and baby stuff, I'm nearly always leaving the house in some sort of disarray, I have to set up the animals with food and water for days and a clean litter box for the cats, and often Gideon is screaming because I won't hold him and Zion is screaming because she is excited to see Tantie and wants to leave NOW! The other day was no exception. I fell going down the stairs, fell going up the stairs, banged my elbow, banged my back, the dog food bag fell over and spilled dog food underneath the dryer, one of the goodies for Christmas was stuck on the cookie sheet, I had packages to get ready to mail, a car to load and I haven't even packed yet. In the midst of this chaos and my running back and forth through the house and being a bit short with the kids Gabe stops me and tells me he's sorry that I'm upset and, get this, asks "Mama, would it help if I said a prayer for you?" Screeeech!!!! Talk about putting on my brakes and filling me with a sense of peace. He does pray and it's a great prayer and suddenly I can go about calmly again and I am amazed with him and the knowledge that somewhere, sometime, I did something right with that one. Thank you, God.

Miscellany

Yesterday dawned with such promise. My water aerobics class at the Y, Nora bringing Isaac over for the boys' preschool lesson, I had lined up a babysitter so that a friend and I could go take a knitting and crocheting class. Yep, it was going to be great! Going to be until Zion threw up all over my love seat while I was making lunch. SCREEECCCHHH! That's the sound of the brakes being put on my great day. Nora was great and finished making the lunch while I striped Z naked, wrapped her in a towel and scrubbed the couch with a towel and hot water. Wow! How did so much come out of someone so small. I mean, that was ridiculous! I made all the calls to cancel with the babysitter and my friend. Such a bummer! The angel of the day turned out to be my friend Deon who braved the Amazing Puke-Master (or would that be Mistress?) and chose to babysit anyway. What a gal! My class turned out to be loads of fun. Maybe knitting will stick this time, I've tried to learn twice before. Sad, huh? I got home and my kiddos were in bed - sweet! And she said they all went down without a peep and that Zion hadn't been sick again. Whew!

OK, that last part only lasted until I got up this morning and found Zion practically wading in a pool of mostly dried vomit complete with undigested pasta and meatballs. It covered her sheets, bed skirt, P.J.s, and some of the rails and even part of the floor. Too much information? Sorry. I've been stuck at home all day with little interaction with the outside world. I did order pizza though and boy do I hope I don't catch her bug because I ate half a taco pizza (a small one, but still).

So that's what we've been up to and I haven't felt much like posting the last couple of days. I do want to update you on Laura and Joe. To make a long story short he is home, she is taking care of him and his surgery is scheduled for the first week in December. They have a need for seasoned firewood as it is their main source of heat right now. If you live close and know where they can get some let me know.

An Update

I received this e-mail from my friend Laura this morning regarding Joe. His surgery has not occured yet, she'll explain:

Sorry this took so long everyone, life has been on overdrive since this discovery! Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes I truly believe in the power of prayer and ask you to keep forwarding these messages to anyone who will pray for us. I know the lord still has big plans for us and I am so thankful he gave Joe the power to become sober last year, I can't imagine where we would be right now with out that. Joe is doing well. He is at home with me on steroids until H* Hospital (I edited out the hospital name) is ready for him ( it was decided by the neurosurgeon @ TG to have the Surgery performed by the Univ of WA neurosurgical team beacause it is a very complicated surgery that they do not see often but the UW guys do). We are hoping they will have finished reviewing his films and be ready for us by this Tuesday, we are playing the hurry up and wait game now and have been told not to expect a phone call before Monday. Once we are at H* they will conduct their own tests and make final desicions about surgery. Surgery will definitely happen just the type and time could vary. The steroids are helping to regulate his appetite ( he had none since Monday) and sleep schedule (he's like Colton now...if he doesn't get 2 two hour naps and a full nights sleep he gets grumpy!:) ) it is also helping his memory although he is still very confused and only remembers bits and pieces of what is said after it is said ( a good example- the DR said if everything went as planned after the surgery he would go home in 2-3 days for the rest of his recovery. Joe then relayed it to his boss that he was being discharged and would be back to work in 2-3 days!!!:) it's ok guys if we can't laugh we will cry!) HE is in pretty high spirits most of the time and I am glad to have this precious family time.

These are the notes from the TG Neurosurgeon DR N*, once we are at H* I will keep everyone updated through their webpage you will be able to go there, put in his patient ID and read msgs His folks and I will post, both Chrissy and Sharon, Joe's sisters, are driving up to be here for the surgery so between all of us we will be able to keep everyone informed. The growth ( a CRANIOPUARYNGIOMA)is officially a Cyst because it is filled with a fluid the consistency of motor oil. It is the size of a ping pong ball and has a hard ball floating inside of it the size of a grape. It is considered a low grade tumor but will not spread as it would if it were cancer. It is very slow growing and has probably been there many years. Because it is near the pituatary gland it is considered a very complicated surgery and will have some after effects that will be kept in check with medication and maybe a thyroid replacement. They will go in with an ear to ear insicion and remove as much of the cyst (after draining it) as possible without damaging tissue, after they are done they will give a one time radiation treatment to try and destroy any of the cyst wall that had to be left behind. It is probable that the cyst will regrow and so he will have scans every three months after the surgery to monitor it.

Corrick is going bonkers- he wants to email people to so I will go for now- I hope this made some sense- love to all God bless- Laura

Back to me. I hope that you will once again take a moment to pray for this family and the doctors who are caring for Joe. Thank you!

Prayer Request

Good morning folks! I just got an urgent e-mail from a friend and I would ask you to stop for a moment and pray for her and her husband. I've removed the names because I'm not sure if she wants them posted but the rest is intact.

HI all bad news J* has been having headaches and blurred vision, we thought he need glasses then in the last 96 hrs he was really ticking me off (oops) because he wasnt paying attention and sleeping a lot and couldn't remember anything. Well today it scared me enough to force him into the emergency room. He has a growth on the front part of his brain, it has a name but I'm too wound up right now to even try and spell it, it is pushing on his brain making him tired, blurred vision, etc. He was admitted and they have started steroids to reduce the swelling around his brain so they can operate on it. It has a good success rate but if it is too close to important blood vessels they won't be able to take all of it and we will have to go through all of this every few years. I am beside myself, please start praying for us. I have to pack a bag so I can go nurse C* and get back to the hospital, he can't remember anything short term so I need to be there to tell him about every three minutes why he is there. Love L*

Edit 10:41AM - I spoke with Laura (she gave me permission to use their names), they are waiting on the neurosurgeon to give more details but this is what they know: Joe has a golf ball sized mass in his head behind his eyes. It is causing blurry vision, headaches, tiredness, and extreme short-term memory loss. They have him on a steriod treatment and after 24 hours they will operate to remove as much, hopefully all, of the mass as possible. Their two boys are with Laura's mom and Joe's brother and a friend are helping to take care of the household right now so they do have some support in place. Still keep praying about things (and thanks, Rachel for the tips!).

Baby Mia

If you've poked around my blog you may have noticed the badge for baby Mia on the sidebar. This precious little one has been so sick and waiting for a heart. I just checked in on the blog today and she got one, had her surgery and is doing great! Woohoo! Praise God!

If you would, send up some prayers for baby Mia, her family and for the donor's family. As we celebrate for baby Mia's new life ahead there's a family somewhere in mourning. As they say, joy and sorrow flow from the same spring and this is one of those situations that proves it. Thanks!

Oh Lord.

I hit the Trifecta of sleepless nights last night. Between Gideon, the major contributor, and the dog, who had what we call "fast poops" and had to be let out quite urgently at about 4AM, and Zion, who lost her paci and couldn't deal with the tragedy alone, I got very and I mean very little sleep last night. Already this morning I can tell that this is going to be very long day, not just because I'm tired but because I also have a very short rope with the kids. So, my Prayer Warriors, hit the mat for me (and my kids). Not only that we'd survive the day but that Gideon would start sleeping better - and soon! For some reason he is not convinced that he can go longer than two hours and also something is going on that is making him not go back to sleep once he does wake up and that is unusual for him. So please pray for us. Thanks!

ETA: Right after typing this post and publishing it the first time, I walked into the kitchen for a wet rag to clean up Zion after breakfast and - splat! Stepped in an enourmous puddle of dog urine. Yep. I don't know when it happened since he had already been out that morning but it wasn't from a cat or child and, though I've been known to throw a tizzy on occasion, piddling on my own brand new comfy squishy mat in front of my sink really isn't my style. The dog is so in the dog house and that is an understatement!

That said, I'm grateful that I wasn't wearing socks (yuck!) and that papertowels were within reach so that I didn't have to leave wet footprints through the house trying to find something to clean up with. I also managed to get us to the Y on time for Gabe's swim class (which he was crying about because he didn't want to go - long story). After a rather stressful night and morning I decided to leave both Zion and Gideon in the nursery instead of walking with Gideon like normal and went to the Fitlinx room by myself instead. I biked 4 miles on the recumbant cycle - yoohoo! I'm still tired but my energy level was given a boost by the exercise and I hope to go take a nap now. Zion is sleeping, Gabe was convinced to take a train and have quiet time in his room so it's just me and Gideon. Wish me luck!

Help Baby Mia

I got the the Y today for Gabe's swim class (more on that later) and discovered a big table covered with baked goods, tremendously yummy looking baked goods, and a board talking about baby Mia. Mia is the daughter of one of the teachers at the Y, she is about two months old (I believe) and was born with a congenital heart defect that requires she have a heart transplant. Friends of her parents are holding a bake sale all this week at the Mel Korum YMCA to raise funds for her transplant and other medical expenses.

Please visit the Y (even if you're not a member you can buy a cookie, the Snickerdoodles were awesome!) and give yourself a treat whilst helping a family in great need.

Or you can visit Baby Mia's blog and donate there.

Whatever you do, please pray for little Mia and her family and, should a donor be found, the donor's family as well.

Praise

Psalm 31:22 "...you heard my cry for mercy when I called you for help."

Boy does He, dontcha know? This has been one of the harder weeks for me since Rob left. I've been very emotional, both down in the dumps and frustrated. I've blown my top more than a couple of times and have had to ask the kids for forgiveness for my reactions to them. But God does know my needs and, in addition to a phone call and e-mail made by friends, He sent me Patsy. Thank you God for Patsy, that she listened to you when you told her I needed an angel. Thank you Patsy for the ever so yummy food you brought today and for taking Gabe to church for me. You knew exactly what this pent-up-with-sick-kids-Mommy needed. God bless you.

Prayer Request

I just got an e-mail from a friend, her little girl Virginia has a temp of 104.7 and is being rushed to urgent care. Please take just a moment to send up a quick prayer for Virginia and her mommy and daddy. Thanks.

ETA: Virginia is doing much better. Came home later that day after some meds that worked to bring her temp down.

A New Blog

I'm adding a new blog, actually two, to my list to the right. I've just learned of them yesterday and I hope that you'll visit them. The first is about the Nielson family, Mr. and Mrs. Nielson were in a small plane crash a few weeks ago and both were badly burned and need your prayers. I remember when my nephew was born and the doctors told my sister that he may die and they didn't know why. I was not angry at God or at the circumstances but for a few moments one day I was very angry with the World that people continued to shop and other such silliness when really what they should be doing was praying for my nephew. So let's keep reading updates on this family at c jane and pray for them continuously.

OK, so I guess I'm adding three blogs to the list. Scott and Carol Decker are right here in Washington and recently welcomed their second daughter into their family. Complications during pregnancy and delivery have resulted in some pretty serious medical issues for Carol. They too can use your prayers.

Thanks so much for your prayers, miracles still happen. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16