Happy Thanksgiving! This year we’re thanking God for our little baby girl and for helping us know when to come to the hospital, so she could continue to live in the womb. We’re praising God for the safety He has given our little girl so far and praising Him for His continual hand in our lives.

Baby J has had a rough Thanksgiving. She’s had several major decelerations and talk of delivery was in the air. The picture (right) of the heart monitor strip shows what a “decel” looks – the top graph is the baby’s heartbeat.  (When the line disappears, that doesn’t mean the heart isn’t beating, just that the monitor isn’t picking it up — perhaps because of movement.) I’ve been given oxygen twice today, had my iv restarted, and was put back into the Trandelenburg position for about an hour. The doctor was called in around 2pm and has decided that if Baby J has another bout like she has had the past 4 hours, we will have to deliver. Presently the baby’s heart has stabilized and she seems to be content. We continue to thank God for His control in this situation and look forward to seeing His hand work in all our lives.

(The picture collage above: top left – Trandelenburg position, top right – Thanksgiving flowers from Steffanie, bottom left – trying to use the computer while lying down, bottom middle – reading the newspaper a elderly man [hospital volunteer] brought by, bottom right – oxygen.)

I decided to make a door sign for my room, since we’re going to be here for a while.  Here’s a picture of the sign I put up yesterday. I also had a diabetes test this morning. Last night they put a sign on my door to inform people that I was not allowed to eat or drink after midnight. I decided to put up my own translation for the sign.

Here’s an update Josh wrote on Tuesday, after our follow-up visit with the perinatologist.

The perinatologist (maternal fetal health specialist), Dr. Goldaber, came by this afternoon.

The sonogram showed that the amniotic fluid is about the same as last Tuesday. Amy’s had a couple decelerations today, and when Dr. Goldaber looked over today’s chart, he said, “Those are some very significant decelerations.” Right now the cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck, which may explain why some of the decelerations today have been deeper than we’ve seen for a little while.  The baby is breached, which I suppose doesn’t matter much right now, since a natural birth is out of the question anyway. Then again, if the baby turns and gets her head out of the cord, there might be less pressure on the cord.

Dr. G. said he anticipates an early delivery, and wants the IV port hooked back up now so that Amy will be ready whenever the time comes. But at least she doesn’t have to be hooked up to the whole IV until it’s time to deliver.

Thanks all for praying. Dr. Moseley, Amy’s primary OB, said today, “You have a lot of people praying, right? Well have them pray that your amniotic fluid goes up.” So there’s one prayer request. And the other is that Baby J can keep cookin’ inside a while longer. And keep praying for Amy’s health.

My dear husband continues to take excellent care of me. Here’s a picture of him traveling back to our apartment to do some laundry and transport some more things back to our new home.

We are in our 6th full day in the hospital (I’m not sure yet if I should count last Monday or not).  On Friday the doctor decided that I could have my iv removed…having a free arm was a wonderful present! The baby has been doing well. She had a rough morning on Tuesday and the possibility of an early delivery was “in the air,” but since then she’s been doing much better. She has heart decelerations every day, but the doctor is pleased with the heart accelerations she has as well…it’s a sign of a “healthy baby.” I’m monitored all the time and a nurse usually comes in a couple times a night to have me shift my position to help decrease the decelerations she sees on her screen. My OB has been great – she comes by every morning and usually at night as well to check on me. She also stopped by on Saturday and Sunday. Today we’re waiting for a specialist to come in and do an ultrasound on the baby. He is stopping by on his way back home from the airport from a trip to Mexico.

We’re continuing to adjust to our new lives in the hospital. Josh has made the place quite homey and the nurses and doctors seem to like the atmosphere of our room. Josh was able to purchase a portable computer desk and has brought his computer over to the hospital. Now he’ll be able to do both his school work and web work from my room at the hospital.

We’ve enjoyed getting visitors and appreciate encouragement we’ve received. Baby’s favorite gift was the edible fruit basket she received from Uncle Sam and Aunt Ashley. The chocolate got her so wound up that it took the nurses over and hour to find her heart beat with the monitor! Micah and Anna Martin came over for lunch today and we had a wonderful time visiting with them.

I am now living in Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital – for an indefinite time period until our baby girl is born.

Here’s a clip from the email Josh sent out Tuesday night:
“Yesterday around noon, I took Amy to the hospital because she’d noticed decreased fetal movement for a few days. (We had called her OB in the morning, and the doctor had recommended we go in to the hospital to check things out.) After a few hours monitoring the baby’s heartbeat and doing a sonogram, they decided to keep Amy overnight to have a specialist check her out. The specialist determined today that because of an abnormally small amount of amniotic fluid, the baby’s at high risk of pressing too hard against the cord, resulting in a dangerous decrease of blood flow. So they want to keep Amy in the hospital until delivery — which may be at 34 weeks or before — to constantly monitor the baby’s heart rate.

“We’re very thankful that the baby is healthy, with normal development and a strong heartbeat. We’re also thankful that Amy noticed the decreased movement so things could be checked out. Please pray that the Lord would give us grace for this unexpected change. Naturally, Amy won’t be teaching any more this semester. Please also pray for the baby’s health, and for Amy’s.”

Except for getting up to use the bathroom, I’ve been confined to the hospital bed. I’m hooked up to an iv on one arm and a heart monitor on the other hand, as well as the baby heart monitor and contraction monitor, both on my tummy…and I get some fancy leg wraps that fill up with air to prevent blood clots in my legs and increase circulation while I am in bed all day.

Josh has been the most amazing husband in the world. He’s taking very good care of his girls and I daily thank God for giving me such a wonderful man for my husband.

More updates to follow.