27 Weeks today!

Carrie and the babies are at 27 weeks today, praise the Lord!  She's had a really relaxing day-- the first in several days where she did not get significant unwelcome news.  Many have asked about visiting her.  She would love to see people in the afternoons and evenings.  Just get in contact with me via email or the blog if you would like to see her.

While Carrie's parents were here, they also got a chance to tour the NICU and see firsthand how prepared they are for us.  We also saw a baby born only 2 days ago at 25 weeks and it was incredible to see how tiny and fragile he was.  I'm glad we were able to see him so we can be prepared for the birth of our babies.  We know they're not going to look like full-term babies, but seeing the reality is good preparation for us.  

Blood work

Carrie received disappointing news this afternoon that her blood work shows that the preeclampsia is increasing.  It is still a mild case and her blood pressure is remaining ok, so the doctor is going to wait three days and do blood work again on Monday to check the progress/regress of the condition.  The doctor and NICU really hope to be able to make it to next Saturday (28 weeks.)

Please continue to pray with us that God will reverse this trend and allow those babies a few more weeks in their cozy little home.

Thank you for all the emails and the outpouring of love, care, and prayers for us!

Today's Prayer

The doctors have confirmed today that Carrie does have mild preeclampsia. It is a mild case and her blood pressure is still low, so at this point she and the babies are ok and the doctor is content to keep the babies in the oven. If her blood pressure does end up rising, which the doctor expects within a week or so, then they will likely have to deliver the babies.

We are almost at 27 weeks and we would absolutely love for Carrie to get to at least 28 weeks, but why not ask God to keep this preeclampsia at bay and let her go even longer? He might just say no and choose to glorify himself some other amazing way, but I'm going to ask.

Carrie is still feeling well and the itching has abated a good bit, allowing her to sleep pretty well last night, praise God!

A good sleep!

Carrie had a good night's sleep last night, praise the Lord! She is using a special cream that has stopped most of the itching except for on her hands and feet, so that is a huge relief for her. Her spirits are much better today, especially with Isaac visiting her again!

Itchy

It has been confirmed that Carrie does have Cholestasis, which is causing her severe itching.  It is a mild case and the doctor thinks the babies will be just fine.  She has doubled Carrie's medication that should help the condition and therefore the itching.  Unfortunately it can take up to even two weeks for the itching to go away completely.  It also seems to get worse at night (evidenced by the last two nights in Carrie), so that is really hard on her.  They are going to try some medications to help her sleep tonight, but we'll just see how it goes.

Carrie's spirits are pretty low today, especially with the prospect of possible poor sleep for some days to come.  It is really "only" the itching that is hard for her right now, but it's from head to toe.

Afternoon request

Carrie's itching is still pretty bad and she's miserable.  She and I are more concerned about the babies, though.  It looks like she might have a condition not uncommon in pregnancy but still potentially harmful to the babies called Cholestasis.  Please pray that the medications have their effect and that the blood work is definitive regarding her problem.  We know we and the babies are lying in His everlasting arms and He is good all the time . . . and He still loves to hear from us!  

In Him,

Gavin 

Carrie's itching like crazy!

Carrie just called me from the hospital to say that she had a pretty miserable night.  She is itching from the top of her scalp to the bottom of her toes and it has kept her from sleeping and is basically driving her crazy.  Please pray with us for her and the doctors and nurses as they try to figure out what to do.  She had the itching the previous night as well, but Benadryl took care of the problem.  Last night, though, nothing they tried made any difference until they basically knocked her out with Demerol.  Good rest and good eating are very important for her right now, so this is tough for her and not the best scenario.  They are doing some blood work and have a few ideas of what may be the problem, but as of yet, no solution.  

She did have a very good day yesterday and was in top spirits.  The doctor is trying to keep her off as many monitors and IVs as possible to make it feel as much like home as possible.  For that we are grateful.  

Thanks so much for praying!