Sorry I didn't send an email sooner, I know some of you are worried
but I'm still here and everything is still the same. Had an
ultrasound yesterday and the fluid hasn't increased or decreased since
the last ultrasound 5 days before. That's a good thing. The Doctor
plans on giving me steroids at 26 or 27 weeks. He still thinks I
won't get past 28 weeks without going into labor but he did admit he
was surprised I made it this far. Only because of your prayers and
God's power. Thank you all who are concerned for us and continually
praying for me and my family. Please keep it up. If you could
specifically pray that there is enough fluid for Autumn's lungs to be
developing properly and that I will carry way past 28 weeks. I told
God this morning that if He'll allow me to, I can handle 3 more months
here in the hospital. It's going to be tough because of Keaton but it
will be well worth it for Autumn. The more time I'm here at the
hospital, the less time she will spend in the NICU. As uncomfortable
and inconvenient as this is for me, it's not as bad as the NICU will
be for her. That's what keeps me sane if ya'll were wondering. I
know some of you think I must be going nuts in the hospital and I do
sometimes but Autumn's health is what keeps it tolerable.
I had a dream last night that I delivered Autumn and they told me she
was 4 lbs but she looked like a normal newborn and she wasn't hooked
up to anything or in the NICU and I was walking around the hospital
with her and working on breastfeeding. I hope my dream comes true.
Thanks again to all, April and family
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Sept 17, 2007
Autumn and I have reached the milestone of 24 weeks yesterday. Here's
a little rundown of the last week:
12 Sept - had an ultrasound
The perinatologist found a pocket of fluid in front of Autumn's face
about 2cm. While that is extremely low, it's still fluid. She is
head down. She looks to be showing good breathing, a functioning
bladder and he estimated her weight at 1lb, 3 oz.
14 Sept - A friend of a friend is married to an Obstetrician and asked
his opinion on my situation. He said based on his experience with
PROM*, he expected I would go into labor in the next 1-2 weeks and the
baby would not survive due to lack of lung development.
The perinatologist came back that evening and dicussed the ultrasound
again. He said he was actually surprised to find as much fluid as he
did. She had her arms up near her face which is good cause it allowed
the pocket of fluid to be around her head. The doc said we have
reason to be "cautiously optimistic" that lung development is
occurring.
15 Sept - Approximately 3am, I was awakened to a substantially larger
gush of fluid than has been normal. I would estimate about 1/2 a cup.
I was very disheartened considering I had just had some reasonably
good news. At 6am that morning I woke up and couldn't get back to
sleep so I started reading my Bible and the Lord led me to this verse:
1 Corinthians 2:5
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
I let the nurse know about the increased leakage who in turn let the
perinatologist know and he came back that night to give me another
ultrasound just to see where we're at. Once again, better than
expected! He now found 2 pockets of fluid, one measured 2 cm and one
measured 3.2 cm. She was now lying diagonally with her head higher
than her feet which the doc said could explain the big gush early that
morning, she was changing positions and probably pushed some out. He
said that things are going as well as they could in my situation and
that he doesn't expect me to get past 29 weeks. Something about the
27-29 week timeframe of the growing baby inside a uterus that is
already ready to go into labor just makes women go into labor if they
haven't already. He said that's what happens most of the time but if
my body waits longer, that's even better. Considering the verse God
gave me that day, I immediately took it to mean, don't listen to any
bad news the Drs have cause they know nothing compared with God's
power. Last night and this morning as I was thinking about the verse,
I thought I should be praying for God to seal up my amniotic sac and
allow me to carry Autumn to term. All this time, I'm hoping for the
best possible scenario which seems to be an early preemie with a
decent chance of survival. Well God can do better than that even if
it is considererd "impossible" in my situation. So please pray with
me that God will reseal my sac and that Autumn will be safe and
healthy developing in there until at least Christmas!! (my due date
is 6 Jan).
John 14:13
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the
Father may be glorified in teh Son.
Psalm 27:14
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine
heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
17 Sept - I talked with the perinatologist today about steroid shots
as previously he had stated we would wait until I got to 24 weeks to
talk about steroids. He said since I show no signs of labor, he would
like to wait until 26 weeks to administer the shots as it is more
beneficial at that time or later. He said it would be optimal to give
the shots 3-4 days before delivery but as that cannot be predicted, we
must juggle the approximate "right" time to do it. If I show signs of
labor sooner, then of course I will get the shots soonest and try to
delay delivery as long as possible so the steroids might do their
thing.
Premature Rupture Of Membranes - if you want to learn more about my condition, I found a very informative website about it
www.kanalen.org/prom
April
Keep the prayers going, I know it's only the Lord who got us this far.
a little rundown of the last week:
12 Sept - had an ultrasound
The perinatologist found a pocket of fluid in front of Autumn's face
about 2cm. While that is extremely low, it's still fluid. She is
head down. She looks to be showing good breathing, a functioning
bladder and he estimated her weight at 1lb, 3 oz.
14 Sept - A friend of a friend is married to an Obstetrician and asked
his opinion on my situation. He said based on his experience with
PROM*, he expected I would go into labor in the next 1-2 weeks and the
baby would not survive due to lack of lung development.
The perinatologist came back that evening and dicussed the ultrasound
again. He said he was actually surprised to find as much fluid as he
did. She had her arms up near her face which is good cause it allowed
the pocket of fluid to be around her head. The doc said we have
reason to be "cautiously optimistic" that lung development is
occurring.
15 Sept - Approximately 3am, I was awakened to a substantially larger
gush of fluid than has been normal. I would estimate about 1/2 a cup.
I was very disheartened considering I had just had some reasonably
good news. At 6am that morning I woke up and couldn't get back to
sleep so I started reading my Bible and the Lord led me to this verse:
1 Corinthians 2:5
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
I let the nurse know about the increased leakage who in turn let the
perinatologist know and he came back that night to give me another
ultrasound just to see where we're at. Once again, better than
expected! He now found 2 pockets of fluid, one measured 2 cm and one
measured 3.2 cm. She was now lying diagonally with her head higher
than her feet which the doc said could explain the big gush early that
morning, she was changing positions and probably pushed some out. He
said that things are going as well as they could in my situation and
that he doesn't expect me to get past 29 weeks. Something about the
27-29 week timeframe of the growing baby inside a uterus that is
already ready to go into labor just makes women go into labor if they
haven't already. He said that's what happens most of the time but if
my body waits longer, that's even better. Considering the verse God
gave me that day, I immediately took it to mean, don't listen to any
bad news the Drs have cause they know nothing compared with God's
power. Last night and this morning as I was thinking about the verse,
I thought I should be praying for God to seal up my amniotic sac and
allow me to carry Autumn to term. All this time, I'm hoping for the
best possible scenario which seems to be an early preemie with a
decent chance of survival. Well God can do better than that even if
it is considererd "impossible" in my situation. So please pray with
me that God will reseal my sac and that Autumn will be safe and
healthy developing in there until at least Christmas!! (my due date
is 6 Jan).
John 14:13
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the
Father may be glorified in teh Son.
Psalm 27:14
Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine
heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
17 Sept - I talked with the perinatologist today about steroid shots
as previously he had stated we would wait until I got to 24 weeks to
talk about steroids. He said since I show no signs of labor, he would
like to wait until 26 weeks to administer the shots as it is more
beneficial at that time or later. He said it would be optimal to give
the shots 3-4 days before delivery but as that cannot be predicted, we
must juggle the approximate "right" time to do it. If I show signs of
labor sooner, then of course I will get the shots soonest and try to
delay delivery as long as possible so the steroids might do their
thing.
Premature Rupture Of Membranes - if you want to learn more about my condition, I found a very informative website about it
www.kanalen.org/prom
April
Keep the prayers going, I know it's only the Lord who got us this far.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Sept 10, 2007
Well I'm 23 weeks, 1 day as of today. By Sunday, I will be 24 weeks!
That's the magic number. The very minimum that I need to get to for
any chance of survival. God has been such a comfort in this time
along with His word. God can do anything, even the impossible and my
situation is not even impossible. I feel in my heart that Autumn is
in God's hands and is there any better place to be? Thanks to all who
are praying for Autumn and our family, I truly believe in the power of
prayer and I do feel it. It's very encouraging to hear about or from
people I don't even know who are praying for us. Thanks again to all.
Just wanted to update you guys so you didn't fear the worst.
April (and K.J. and Keaton and Autumn)
That's the magic number. The very minimum that I need to get to for
any chance of survival. God has been such a comfort in this time
along with His word. God can do anything, even the impossible and my
situation is not even impossible. I feel in my heart that Autumn is
in God's hands and is there any better place to be? Thanks to all who
are praying for Autumn and our family, I truly believe in the power of
prayer and I do feel it. It's very encouraging to hear about or from
people I don't even know who are praying for us. Thanks again to all.
Just wanted to update you guys so you didn't fear the worst.
April (and K.J. and Keaton and Autumn)
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Sept 3, 2007
REMINDER: This was an email I sent out 2 years ago today.
So I thought I'd just write an email so some of you I haven't talked
to weren't wondering. I'm still at the hospital, everything is still
the same. I'm leaking very slowly, hopefully slowly enough that
enough fluid is being regenerated each day to keep up with the leak.
Like the doctor said it's like filling up a bucket that has a hole in
it.
I'm on 2 antibiotics given by IV, Unasyn is given 3 times a day and
Zithromax is given once a day. The antibiotics are to prevent
infection which I'm very susceptible to since I'm ruptured. I am also
given Indomethacin by pill twice a day. That is to prevent
contractions/labor. Autumn's heartbeat is in the 150's, normal range
is 120-170. I also still feel her kick and move.
I'm not counting statistics cause God can really do anything, but this
is what I found surfing the net.
______________________________________________________
http://www.meriter.com/living/preemie/survivalnew/survival.htm
Completed Weeks of Gestation at Birth
(Using last menstrual period) Survival
21 weeks and less 0%
22 weeks 0-10%*
23 weeks 10-40%
24 weeks 40-70%
25 weeks 50-80%
26 weeks 80-90%
27 weeks >90%
30 weeks >95%
34 weeks >98%
Most babies at 22 weeks are not recuscitated because survival without major disability is so rare.
A baby's chances for survival increases 3-4% per day between 23 and 24
weeks of gestation and about 2-3% per day between 24 and 26 weeks of
gestation. After 26 weeks the rate of survival increases at a much
slower rate because survival is high already.
__________________________________________________________
So as you can see, the longer we can keep from delivering, the better
so No News is Good News.
April
So I thought I'd just write an email so some of you I haven't talked
to weren't wondering. I'm still at the hospital, everything is still
the same. I'm leaking very slowly, hopefully slowly enough that
enough fluid is being regenerated each day to keep up with the leak.
Like the doctor said it's like filling up a bucket that has a hole in
it.
I'm on 2 antibiotics given by IV, Unasyn is given 3 times a day and
Zithromax is given once a day. The antibiotics are to prevent
infection which I'm very susceptible to since I'm ruptured. I am also
given Indomethacin by pill twice a day. That is to prevent
contractions/labor. Autumn's heartbeat is in the 150's, normal range
is 120-170. I also still feel her kick and move.
I'm not counting statistics cause God can really do anything, but this
is what I found surfing the net.
______________________________________________________
http://www.meriter.com/living/preemie/survivalnew/survival.htm
Completed Weeks of Gestation at Birth
(Using last menstrual period) Survival
21 weeks and less 0%
22 weeks 0-10%*
23 weeks 10-40%
24 weeks 40-70%
25 weeks 50-80%
26 weeks 80-90%
27 weeks >90%
30 weeks >95%
34 weeks >98%
Most babies at 22 weeks are not recuscitated because survival without major disability is so rare.
A baby's chances for survival increases 3-4% per day between 23 and 24
weeks of gestation and about 2-3% per day between 24 and 26 weeks of
gestation. After 26 weeks the rate of survival increases at a much
slower rate because survival is high already.
__________________________________________________________
So as you can see, the longer we can keep from delivering, the better
so No News is Good News.
April
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