Greetings,

Wow! I can hardly believe that I am 32 weeks pregnant! The last 3 weeks have flown by and we have been so busy!

 

First, our baby girl celebrated her first Halloween with 2 of her older sisters. Annie and Bridgette dressed-up as a popular comedian on YouTube, named Miranda Sings. Check out that bright red lipstick!

 

Next, she attended her oldest sister’s senior recital at Reinhardt University. Maggie plays the violin and her baby sister LOVED it! She was very active during the entire recital. She also enjoyed visiting with all of her sisters, brother and all of her grandparents. It was a great night.

You may remember an earlier post where we talked about meeting Nora. Nora is a little girl with Trisomy 13. We connected with Nora’s parents after we learned that we were potentially facing the same diagnosis with our baby girl, and they have been a tremendous help and resource. This past Friday, we met with, and selected a wonderful pediatrician that Nora’s parents recommended. He treats two Trisomy 13 children and they are both doing great!

On Saturday, Andy and I attended a childbirth class offered by our doctor’s office that covered various aspects of childbirth. It was very informative, but did not cover breathing exercises or breastfeeding – two very important areas where we felt we needed help. However, God was so kind to lead us to a wonderful couple who is willing to give us an accelerated course in the Bradley breathing method and in breastfeeding next Sunday afternoon! This couple’s life is very full, and we are so grateful that they are willing to help us.

Another highlight of the week was meeting with a wonderful friend who took me shopping on Sunday, and showed me the products I need for when our baby arrives. It is hard to imagine how many products are out there for such a tiny little baby. It was very overwhelming, and I was so thankful she was there to help. The final highlight of the week has been the baby’s nursery.  Given the uncertainty that we face, we have been struggling with how best to prepare, and how far to take our preparation. We made the decision to get the nursery in order, and this week, we completed the painting.  It has been really exciting to see our baby’s room come together!

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 11th at 10:30 am we have our 32-week ultrasound with the perinatologist. We ask that you all please pray for our baby girl as we go to this appointment. Please pray for clear ultrasound pictures, discerning eyes and wisdom for the doctor, and a normal scan. These appointments are exciting and scary at the same time. They are exciting because we get to see our precious baby, but scary because we don’t know what they might find. However, we know God’s plan is in place. He has already prepared the way. Though we have had many moments of anxiety and fear, our confidence is in God. As I write, I am reminded of God’s promise to Joshua:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go”. Joshua 1:9

We have 8 more weeks to go. As of now, we are still on track with an estimated due date of January 5, 2015. We are praying for a normal delivery. We have been relieved to find our doctors (and the hospital) very supportive and committed to helping our baby. We understand that this is not always the case with Trisomy babies. The doctors will be closely monitoring our baby girl before and during birth and we will have a full team of specialists, and most importantly, God, in the delivery suite with us. We continue to pray for a healthy little girl.

In times of uncertainty, it is so easy to search for answers, and to put one’s hope in doctors, in technology, and in statistics or odds – you name it. All of these things are “shifting sand”. We need an anchor… a shelter from the storm. So, we place our hope in God. He is our anchor, our shelter. We certainly don’t walk in the good of this truth perfectly. Sometimes, we worry and give-in to fear. But, we find that when we orient ourselves on God as our hope, He steadies our soul.

We just want to thank all of you who have been so kind to pray for us. Here is a little look into these next few weeks:

Next week, we will be meeting with the pediatric cardiologist again for another echocardiogram. Then, starting Thanksgiving week we will be meeting with both the OBGYN and perinatologist every week until the baby is born. We will continue to keep you all updated.

Please pray for complete healing for our sweet baby girl. I’d also like to ask for your prayers for me, as I have had a great deal of swelling over the last few days. Though some swelling is to be expected, mine is a bit more than what is normal, and the doctors would really like to see the swelling reduced.  The good news, is that my blood pressure and other tests are reading normal.

Again, thank you so much for your faithfulness to pray for us. We will be sure to post an update after tomorrow’s appointment.

Jennifer & Andy