Greetings,

Tomorrow, I will be 27 weeks pregnant.  It has been 3 weeks since our last post and we have been BUSY!!!  Our little girl has been kicking around the clock, and it is truly the best feeling in the world.  God has given me the most wonderful gift of pregnancy and I love every minute of it.  Each and every day that we have with our baby girl is a blessing, and we have been trying to celebrate every chance we get, by taking her everywhere!

First up since our last post, was my birthday. My wonderful husband surprised me with two huge pots of mums (my favorite Fall flower) and took me on a date night.  Of course, our little baby girl came along with us.  However, God’s blessing of having my first birthday with my baby girl was the best gift of all.

Next, was our little girl’s first photo shoot and she was perfect! She laid just right as if she was posing for the camera.  She looked straight at us during the 3D ultrasound.  However, the placement of the placenta made getting a clear shot virtually impossible. All of the “cloudiness” you see surrounding her head is the placenta. I think she has the cutest little face and looks exactly like her daddy. I am in love!!!

Last night, we took our sweet baby with us to see her older sister, Annie, cheer at her JV Varsity game. Two of her older sisters came along with us – Camille, who was home from North Georgia for the weekend and Bridgette, our 9th grader.

Several weeks ago, we connected with a couple who has a little girl with full Trisomy 13. This morning, we had the priviledge of meeting Jerry, Sara and little Nora for breakfast. Nora is absolutely beautiful. She is 19 months old, and is thriving. Although she has been through a lot, she smiles and laughs, and snuggles.  Nora is a happy little girl, and brings joy to all who meet her.

 

 

Jerry and Sara are an amazing couple, and have been so kind to help us know how to best prepare for the road ahead – should our baby be born with Trisomy 13. We are thankful to God for them.  Both Andy and I came away from our time with them feeling refreshed and knowing that whatever God gives us – whether our baby is born healthy or with Trisomy 13, that we can do it and we made the right choice.  Our little girl’s life has a purpose and God has blessed us.

Though the odds are not in our favor, we continue to pray that the Panorama test gave us a false positive result. We also pray that if she does, in fact have Trisomy 13, that God will heal her and she will be born a healthy baby girl.  However, we pray that His will be done and we will accept His will no matter what that may be. And of course, we will love our little girl and will fight for her no matter what.

We have been told to prepare to fight for care for our baby once she is born. We have been told that the standing protocol for Trisomy 13 and Trisomy 18 children is to provide palliative, or comfort care. We think this generally holds true. This is not a course that is acceptable to us. Our desire is that all measures be taken to save and prolong her life.

This week we met with the head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital where we will deliver. He was so very gracious, and spent over an hour with us. He never checked his watch or looked at his phone the entire meeting. He reassured us that they would honor our wishes and fight to save and prolong our baby’s life. I can’t tell you how relieved we were to know that we weren’t going to have to fight the hospital staff to get life-saving care for her.

We do have an important appointment this week. We are consulting with a pediatric cardiologist this week. He will do an echocardiogram this Thursday October 9^th at 10:30 AM. This is a very focused ultrasound of our baby’s heart to look for any potential heart defects. Since most Trisomy babies have heart defects, we requested this referral to the heart specialist. So far, we are very thankful that our perinatologist has not seen any abnormalities in her heart or anywhere else in her little body. We would greatly appreciate your prayers that her heart and her little body will continue to be healthy and we will get another perfect scan.

We still will have our regular 4-week ultrasound, which is already scheduled with the perinatologist for later this month.  However, it will be done during the 29^th week versus the 28th week of pregnancy because the doctor will be out of the office.   We will post about that appointment when it gets closer to time.

We still continue to have days in which we are scared and anxious, but we know that God is in control and He has a plan for us, and that His plan is for good.  We are receiving fresh grace each day. The scriptures are a great refuge during times of fear. Below, I have posted a few that have helped encourage me and keep me grounded.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice…Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me -practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.           Philippians 4:4-9.

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23.

Andy and I are so thankful for each and every one of you that are praying for us.  We love reading your comments on our Facebook page and blog and we can really feel your prayers.  God has been so kind during this time.

Please let us know if we can pray for you.  We would love to add you to our prayer list.

Jennifer