Long Update From Janet; Short Update From Me

I hadn't heard from Janet since Saturday, so I was praying that "no news is good news".  So I emailed her today--and sure enough--no news is good news!  But she still needs prayers.

Here is a quick recap from her long email:

• Today marks 24 weeks and 1 day, and Madison is still inside (yay!)
• Doctors gave her the first round of steroids on Saturday, and second round on Monday, so she is very hopeful that they have begun to help Madison's lungs and brain
• She's currently still on bedrest at the hospital with the NICU, and will have another ultrasound on Thursday to see how things look
• Every doctor has a different opinion--and most are more "liberal" and want to send her home after the ultrasound on Thursday to wait things out at home
• Although most doctors prefer to take a more "liberal" approach, the "Head Doctor" and her "Original OB" are both advocating for a more "conservative" approach...so they will all meet on Thursday to decide the best course of action
• Janet wants to stay on bedrest at this current hospital with the NICU until at least 28 weeks (she's afraid that she would have a 40-60 minute commute to this hospital from her home; or a 5-10 minute commute to the original hospital...but the original hospital doesn't have a NICU)
• She definitely feels God's presence--within one hour she received a call from her "Original OB" to check in on her, a social worker stepped in to offer assistance in intervening between the "liberal" and "conservative" doctors and to voice Janet's concerns, and the hospital chaplain just happened to stop by to pray with her--all within just one hour when Janet needed it the most (in her own words:  "It is too much by coincidence this all happened within an hour or so.  It is truly God helping Madison and I.  I never felt such powerful motherhood instinct to fight for my daughter growing in me.")

She also asks for the following prayers:

• That the doctors at Brigham (with the NICU) will allow her to stay here until it is safe to leave (ideally 28 weeks)
• Wisdom to speak the right words when she meets with the coordinator tomorrow, who is supposed to advocate for her
• Relief from cramping, heavy pain "down there", lower back pain, and the stress from all of the conflicting opinions

So, she has passed the first milestone (first round of steroids), and the second milestone (second round of steroids)...and now she's praying for the chance to stay on bedrest at the hospital with the NICU as they prepare for Madison's arrival--which could be any day...but is hopefully at least four weeks from now. Please keep her and Madison in your prayers.

As for me, I went in for my glucose screening test yesterday.  I haven't heard the results yet, but I've been trying to be careful about my sugar and gluten intake since...well...this time last year (though I've definitely reintroduced more whole wheat products into my diet during this pregnancy).  I'm still on the Metformin, which my doctor says will help my results (but assures me that I'm "not cheating").  Also, since we'll be on vacation, I had to reschedule my next appointment and push it back a week.  So instead of a three week wait to see our Baby Girl...I'll have to go four.  Eek!  I can do it--I know that I can.  Like I said previously, the time goes by a bit quicker now that I feel her kicking on a day to day basis.  So by my next appointment, I'll be at 29 weeks...and I would imagine that they would start seeing more more regularly at that point. 

Today's blessing (or perhaps I should say "last night's blessing") was sleeping through the entire night without coughing.  Hooray!  I'm still congested, cough on-and-off throughout the day, and sound like I swallowed a frog--but it was so great to sleep peacefully last night.  I literally woke up thanking God for such a good rest.