Another Week in the Books!

I'm kind of in shock as I write this, but here we are at 25 WEEKS!! 25 of them...with four babies in my belly. I seriously can't believe it. Also totally unbelievable? We're actually really stable for now! The babies all still have strong heartbeats, my preeclampsia labs and blood pressure remain good, and weirdly, all is well for now. Every morning between 7:00 and 8:00am, Dr. Jackson and his entourage (seriously, this morning it was like 7 doctors) come in and wake me up (lucky for them. They're all showered and make-upped and looking like real human adults, and I'm just drooling on myself with hair matted to my face and barely coherent. Have I mentioned how pretty pregnancy makes me feel?!?) with the news that all is well for another day. Which at this point is so weird and wonderful, all at the same time.

Now that we've reached 25 weeks, Dr. Jackson talked to me today about his latest thoughts and plans moving forward. We aren't going to do a "big" ultrasound again until next week. I get a quick one every day to make sure the babies have good heartbeats and are moving, but the "big" one is what I call the one where I go to the clinic, and they look at fluid levels, blood flow, and measurements. The reason he's waiting one more week to do another big one is that the margin of error will be smaller if the ultrasound measurements are further apart, and we can get a better idea of whether the babies are actually growing or not. So, no wheelchair trip to the other side of the hospital today, but I can totally wait if it means we will get a better idea of how the little nuggets are doing. After next week, we will probably start looking at blood flow more regularly (I can't remember if they said daily at that point or just weekly), as we might be at a point where all four of the babies could survive outside the womb, and if Lena is in distress, we may be able to deliver them all and have a good chance of survival for each of them. However, that would still be a really hard decision to make knowing that it may not be what's best for all four babies, so please continue praying that it never comes to that. If we can get all four of them to 28 weeks, Dr. Jackson said it would be more of a no-brainer, and we could deliver all four in good conscience medically, knowing that they all have a really good chance of survival. So, please pray for at least three more weeks!! I'm still holding out hope for getting to 30, but at this point, I would take 28 too. That's just three more weeks! THREE!! That's it! We can totally do that!!

Speaking of weeks, it's kind of surreal that I've been on bedrest for nine of them. Nine weeks of laying in bed, and I haven't even lost my marbles yet! Everyone keeps asking if I'm so bored, but truly, I'm not. I've received so many encouraging texts and Facebook messages, had sweet visitors who've dropped by the house (and now the hospital), and my amazing mom has been here quite a bit to help keep me company (she and my dad thought they retired so they could be footloose and fancy free and maybe travel a bit...haha! Isn't that so cute?! Luckily they are perfectly content for their travels to be back and forth between Mid-Missouri and Wichita!), so I really can't complain. And now that I'm in the hospital, it's practically impossible to be lonely. The staff has taken such amazing care of us and are in and out of my room all of the time making sure I don't need anything, bringing me meds, checking my vitals, getting me fresh water (they have Sonic ice here, so basically I'm living the life of luxury!), etc. Honestly, the last week and a half have flown by, and I'm confident the next three or four will as well. I'm just so grateful to still be pregnant with all four babies, and every time I'm overwhelmed or uncomfortable or think I can't do it anymore, I'm reminded of what a miracle this whole journey is and everything seems more manageable.

In other miraculous news, Lena is still fighting the good fight, and I'm feeling more hopeful about her situation than I have in six weeks. Dr. Jackson told me this morning that after he looked at her ultrasound report last week, he was really impressed with her blood flow, and it didn't look as bad as it did the Friday I was admitted!! She's also been really wiggly the last three days when they've looked at her, her heartbeat remains strong, and in my mama opinion (which amounts to a hill of beans, medically, but brings me comfort nonetheless), I think her fluid level looks better and she looks a little bigger this week than she did last week. It's truly nothing short of miraculous...here's lookin' at you, prayer warriors, encouragement givers, and Lena lovers. Please keep praying. I truly believe God is hearing us and doing amazing things in this little girl's life. As I mentioned in my Saturday post, God is good and no matter what happens with this tiny peanut, I pray that her life - no matter how long or short it may be - brings Him so much glory and that people would know His goodness because of her.

Now that we are nearing the end of this pregnancy, we're turning the corner emotionally to think about what happens when the babies get here. We met with the neonatalogist and the social worker from the NICU the day we got here, and have since met with a NICU nurse and visited with the social worker several more times. To be honest with you, it's completely overwhelming to think about. There are so, SO many things that will be stacked against these babies when they get here, but everyone we've met with from the NICU has been incredible and encouraging and has assured us they will do everything they can to help these kiddos thrive. Starting with proper staffing of the delivery room. Each baby will have their own doctor and team of nurses, which means there will probably be a total of about 40 medical staff in the delivery room with us between each of their teams and mine. Apparently there's a flow chart somewhere of who's doing what when that time comes, which is so weird to me, but also super comforting that they have such a detailed plan already laid out for our care. I'm telling you. These people are wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

After the babies come, they will swoop them off to the NICU to intubate them and get their care started immediately. In addition to their lung and brain development, one thing I hadn't considered is that their skin probably won't be ready for the outside world and will make them highly susceptible to infections. The neonatologist explained the intricate balance of heat and humidity that they will monitor in their isolettes to accommodate for their underdeveloped skin and said it will probably look like we're growing our babies in terrariums, and we'll have to wipe the condensation off of their tiny glass cages to see them. Precious little reptile babies, :) The other thing he told us that was really helpful to know is that the chance of any of them coming home before their "due date" (I use that term loosely, being that we've never really had one, but had this been a singleton pregnancy, November 25 would have been it) is slim to none. So, we at least know now that we are looking to start the process of bringing them home at the end of November. In the meantime, we will get to come visit and spend the days with them as often and as long as we'd like. Once they are big enough and stable enough, Nick and I will get to begin kangaroo care with them (skin to skin holding) to further help with their development. Although they did tell us that kangaroo care is a 1-3 hour commitment since it takes so much work to get them out of their isolettes and unhooked enough for it to be comfortable for them. Oh, bummer. Snuggle my babies for hours at a time. Twist my arm. I mean, if it's what's best for them, I suppose we'll do it. :) We've learned a million other things, but I should let Nick do a guest post for that info...he's a sponge and soaks all of that in and can regurgitate it like a champ. I, on the other hand, barely remember what day it is right now.

That's about all we know right now, but before I end this post, two things -

1. Another belly picture for those of you who've been asking (which I can't believe I'm putting on the internet...know that I love you since I'm doing this sans make up, hair undone, and in my jammies). You're welcome. :)

2. Last, and MOST importantly, A VERY happy birthday to the first baby who stole my heart. My incredibly smart, fun, athletic, hilarious, beautiful niece, Natalie turns 9 today.  Natty Girl, if Mavis and Lena turn out anything like you, I would be the luckiest mommy in the whole world. I'm so proud of you - your tender heart that loves Jesus and others so very well is amazing. I hope you've had the best day ever and know that Uncle Nick, Auntie Em, Jeremiah, and the babies are celebrating you from afar today!

(um, please note that I did not take this beautiful picture, but my brother and his family's dear friend, Tonenia from Faith-Inspired Photography, did and if you're in the Wichita, KS area, you should absolutely look her up! And in the meantime, I should really look up copyright things, because now I've stolen song lyrics and a picture without permission. I'm married to a lawyer...you'd think I could get my act together enough to figure these kinds of things out...)