He Grew!

We had some good news at the ultrasound today. He's gained about 9 ounces and weighs about 2 pounds, 6 ounces now, which is not enough gain to get me off bed rest, but much better than none. He is still very small, they're saying less than 3rd percentile, which could be bad if he's fallen off the 3rd percentile growth curve. But we're praising the Lord that he's shown at least some growth over the past 2 1/2 weeks. I do have a few new questions and concerns, but I see my doctor again on Tuesday and will be able to pick her brain a little more. Again, thank you everyone for praying! Here are a few pictures.

Baby Update

Yesterday morning I went in for my Non-Stress Test, and then to see my doctor in the afternoon. The NST went well as usual - his heart looks great. When I went to see my Doctor, she measured me, and I'm measuring between 25 and 25 1/2, which is a good 4 cm smaller than I should be. There is a little bit of growth since last week, but not as much as she wanted. I see the specialist for another ultrasound tomorrow, and based on that we need to start talking about where I'm going to deliver. She really wants to see some significant growth on Friday, or they'll consider giving me steriod shots to help his lungs develop, and probably deliver me early, which means I'll deliver over where I've been seeing the specialist since their nursery there is better equipped for things like this. I'll be 30 weeks on Sunday. We'll know more on Friday after the ultrasound.

Little Stinker

Cole came over to play a few nights ago, and this is pretty much how the whole night went: Shiloh stealing stuff from Cole. Cole's poor feelings were so hurt, but I think they can still be friends...

Good News this Morning

I had my weekly appointment with my doctor this morning, and had my first fetal Non-Stress Test. They just strap a monitor to my belly for about 20 minutes so they can chart his heart rate. Everything looked great there, and I've even grown a bit since last week, so that's great news. We won't know until my next ultrasound on the 29th if it's the baby, my fluids or both that are growing, but anything is good. I go again on Friday; she wants to see me twice a week for the Non-Stress Tests, and I'll always see her after so we can talk it over. Anyway, it was an encouraging visit, since any little bit of growth is wonderful.

You Are Near

When the trials come and sorrows fall on me
You are my strength, the ground beneath my feet
When temptation calls to worry about my life
I will place my hope in the cross of Jesus Christ
And joy will be my song
Yes, joy will be my song

For You are near, near to me
You still my anxious thoughts
And You bring Your peace
You are near when I call
You drive out all my fears
And calm this troubled heart
You're near to me

You told me to rejoice in every circumstance
And trust in you alone and in Your sovereign plan
You beckon me to come and bring You my requests
You promised that Your peace would come and bring me rest
And joy will be my song
Yes, joy will be my song

When I don't hear You, You're still near
When I don't feel You, You're still near
When I think that You have abandoned me
You're still near, You are near
You'll never leave me
You're still near

Sovereign Grace Worship

Precious Thoughts

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from you Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,'
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you."

Psalm 139.1-18

Cute Little Man

Shelley - this is for you. :) The top one is the clearest; you can see his little nose sticking up in the air. The 3D ones didn't print very well, so this is just a regular ultrasound shot.

More Baby News

Well, we finally made it to the specialist yesterday. It was actually a really long day, since I had my Gestational Diabetes test in the morning, then the other one in the afternoon. I do have GD; they tested my blood 4 times this morning, and my numbers aren't too high, so I'm sure it will be easy to control. I just have to go back to the specialist to learn how to change my diet and test my blood sugar.

We got ok news at the other appointment. The ultrasound tech was wonderful, and she spent a lot of time explaining things and answering our questions. Then the perinatologist came in and looked around more with the ultrasound. My fluid levels are up; they're at 11.1 now, instead of the normal level of 15, which they said was "mildly reduced," but better than before. They are still worried about the baby because he's very small. He's in the 3rd percentile, and the Dr. said she was baffled as to why he's not growing. Usually as soon as she looks at the ultrasound she knows what is wrong, but she said in this case everything else looks good, so she couldn't tell us why. They checked the blood flow to the baby and everything was working well, so they're not sure why he's not growing since he seems to be getting what he needs. They have diagnosed me with Intrauterine Growth Restriction, even thought they don't know what's causing it. I go to the specialist for another ultrasound in 3 weeks, and to see my Dr. once a week so they can monitor the heartbeat, etc. She mentioned the possibility of chromosomal abnormalities (like Down's Syndrome), but I had a blood test for that at about 16 weeks and everything came back normal. Plus I'm low-risk for things like that - young, healthy, no family history, etc., so she said that was on the bottom of her list of concerns. She said they would re-evaluate at my ultrasounds how they want to handle things, like whether they will need to induce early, etc., but for now I'm still on complete bedrest.

Oh - we did get to see his perfect little face in 3D - it was very cool, and he's beautiful. :)

Again, thanks for all the prayers and offers to help - it means SO much.

A Little Update...

We got a letter in the mail yesterday with our appointment to see the fetal specialist. I thought I might lose it having to wait the weekend, and maybe I was right and that's why the Lord decided to let us know on Saturday. :) I go see my doctor again on Wednesday, and then to the specialist next Tuesday, the 12th. It seems a little far away; we were hoping to get in faster, but we're praying that it just means that when the doctors there looked at my records, they decided they didn't need to rush me in.
The little man is still kicking up a storm - which really helps me. And he seems to have pretty strong little legs! :) My wonderful Mom goes home tonight since she and Dad leave in the morning for another trip to Ecuador, and my wonderful sister-in-law, Jenni, flies in from Branson tomorrow to stay for the month.
I'll be honest, bedrest is a little rough, especially since I feel fine and Shiloh really doesn't understand why Mommy can't pick him up or play ball or take him to bed or chase him around the house, but I know that even this is in God's hands and in His timing.
Thanks for praying with us.