Home Safe and Incubating 3-15-07

Home Safely and Still Incubating :-)

Hello dear friends!

Your comments and prayers have been a balm to my soul! Thank you! Sometimes things happen and you don't understand the timing or the purpose behind them, but despite that you trust that God is in control and often through those times friends and family such as yourself stand up and come through in amazing ways...you all did that.

I feel the only way to start this update is to praise the Lord:

1) I made it home without any major episodes. I had a few contractions here and there, but NOTHING like in VA and other than that, the drive was uneventful.

2) I did not have the baby. Obviously...huge praise. At this point it is not a matter of would the baby survive or not, but he would be hospitalized for weeks still and if I had had him, he and I would have been stuck down in Virginia for who knows how long. Praise the Lord for modern medicine and for my labor stopping!

3) My professor was extremely supportive and accommodating. She is graciously allowing me to still receive the credits for this class as long as I am able to finish the exams and the final project by May 13. In light of everything else, this seems somewhat insignificant, but it was a burden on my mind. I did everything the hard way for this class in an effort to save money and to think it would have all been a wash would have been extremely discouraging.

4) I went straight to my doctor yesterday before I even went home. She checked me out and while she was concerned bc the baby had changed position so drastically (as in a week ago he was head up and high up and now is head down and engaged...way low) everything else looks ok. She tested me to see if I am at high risk to go into labor in the next week and it was negative...so it looks like I should be good for at least another week! If it would have been positive I would have been put on immediate bedrest. Praise the Lord for this result! We don't have family really close by and I really don't know what we would have done...so now we are praying that the following tests will come back clear too. But every week is a huge milestone and one less to go. Praise the Lord.

5) My doctor is giving me an oral prescription for the shot they gave me in the hospital so that if the contractions return I can take the meds at home in hopes that I won't have to be hospitalized again and in hopes of stopping it early.

6) I had one friend that I knew in VA and she stayed with me the entire time at the hospital. I met another friend in my 2.1 days in class that has become dear to me. All of my classmates prayed for me and called to check in on me. You all rallied around me like I cannot believe. Marla put the request out for me. Kimberly drove over to Marla's to check on me. I feel loved and cared for and supported and cherished and I could go on and on. Thank you all for caring so much about our unborn baby and myself and my family. You are a blessing and I praise the Lord for you.

So as you can see, things are starting to go right side up again. While in the hospital in Virginia I simply did not allow my mind to wander to the possibilities. I tried, with everything in me, to keep focused on the moment and deal with events as they occurred. At the end of it all, two things were on my mind...the baby and getting home to my husband and house and hospital. I have never wanted to be home more than I did that day. It was a feeling of desperation and since the doctor down there offered no advice or help to me, I did what I could to make the best decisions. I am so incredibly content to be writing this to you all from my family room couch. I will not be leaving again for a LOOOOOOONG time  I just never in my wildest dreams thought this would happen. I am still extremely confident that this baby is going to make it full term, but regardless of if he does or not, I praise the Lord for you and God's incredible provision. The day before this whole thing happened I was talking to my classmates about how stability and good times in life often breed mediocrity in my life. I have been there for a long time. When things like this occur, that are so much bigger than yourself, it brings you back to your knees where you have no other option but to entreat and depend on the Lord. I am happy to be in that place this morning.

So, I suppose for the next few weeks I will be taking it easy. No more lifting my biggest baby (Landon...not Jon  ) and probably no more walking on the incline on our treadmill. And other than literally feeling like this baby is going to fall out, and having a ton of pressure in my lower abdomen if I stand for more than 3 minutes, I am unscathed and most importantly, the baby is still incubating. Jonathan is back to waiting on me hand and foot just like when I was so sick and Landon will adjust to the differences...and we will wait with great anticipation for the day that God has chosen for the arrival of our little baby. Thanks again friends...thank you!