29 weeks

I can't help but remember what was going on at this point in my pregnancy with Austin. For those who are interested, I will give a little history. Conveniently, the days of the week coincide exactly with this pregnancy's dates, so I will give you a rundown of the events that led up to Austin being born at 29 weeks, 2 days gestation (which would coincide with this coming Saturday).

Monday 9/18/06: Routine doctor's appointment- My blood pressure was a little up, and I was having contractions pretty frequently. I was set up with an appointment for the next week. I stayed home from work that day and was terribly sick all night long.

Tuesday 9/19/06: I went in early that morning to visit the lab and asked if I could see a doctor since I was feeling very ill. At this point, my blood pressure was 150/100. The doctor surprised me with the information that I was developing preeclampsia and had two possible outcomes: #1 I would be monitored for a little while in the hospital, go home and spend the remainder of my pregnancy on bedrest, or #2 I would have to deliver this baby prematurely. As you can imagine, I was in total shock. I was dressed in office attire and planning on going to work after my short visit to the doctor's office. Instead, I was taken down to the labor and delivery unit where the real drama began.

Not only was I dealing with high blood pressure, I was also having pretty frequent contractions. This was of concern to the nurses who were hooking me up to monitors regularly throughout the day. That evening, my contractions were about 3 minutes apart, so they gave me several doses of a potent drug called terbutaline, which is designed to stop contractions. This drug had the terrible side effect of making my heart feel like it was going to race out of my chest. Little did we know that it was doing far more damage to my body than good.

Wednesday 9/20/06: My mom came up to be with me in the hospital since Joseph had to work at night. I don't remember anything about the events of that day. I think they told me I would probably go home within a few days and be on bedrest. However, that all changed in the middle of the night when it became obvious that something was not right. I had been having a strange feeling in my chest all day, but the nurses never could detect anything wrong with me. Finally, late in the night, I was feeling really out of breath and terrible, and one of the nurses checked my blood oxygen levels, which apparently were dangerously low. Thus began the scariest night of my life. I was rushed around the dark and quiet hospital on a stretcher in the middle of the night for various diagnostic testing to see what was wrong with me. They had an oxygen mask on me, and I seriously thought that there was a possibility that I and my baby were dying. God was gracious to me, though. He comforted me with the words of a hymn we had been singing at church. I believe it was A Mighty Fortress is Our God. I know I sang what I could remember of the hymn, though I'm not sure if it was audibly with my lips or quietly in my heart.

Thursday 9/21/09: I was very sick all through Wednesday night and Thursday. The doctors decided that I had developed pulmonary edema, basically fluid in the lungs. This caused my oxygen level to drop, which obviously had a negative effect on both my body and the baby's. I continued to need oxygen, and my blood pressure continued to rise, although nobody really told me how high it got. I was also on a diuretic medicine to get rid of all the extra fluid in my body and in my lungs. The pulmonary edema could have been caused by the severity of my preeclampsia or as a side effect of the medicine they had given me to stop contractions the night before.

Friday 9/22/09: I don't remember anything about this day except that Joseph's parents came into town to see me in the hospital. They brought a ton of baby shower gifts that had been given to us by a Sunday school class at their church. I remember that it was fun to open the gifts even though I was stuck in the bed. I think it was probably on this day that they told us our baby would need to be delivered soon- probably within the week, maybe a little longer. We talked with a neonatologist, who gave us the statistics for a 29 week preemie. He had a great chance of survival and only about a 10% chance of a serious problem like a brain bleed. He said that once you get to 28 weeks, the baby usually does pretty well.

Saturday 9/23/09 Austin's Birthday: I was actually feeling pretty good on this morning. I was able to get out of bed for the first time, and I remember eating a good breakfast of milk, eggs, etc. (You know, all the food you shouldn't eat before having surgery.) My labwork was looking pretty grim, however, so the doctor said they would be doing my labs every 12 hours or so and if they got bad enough, they would need to deliver the baby. Immediately after the doctor left, the nurse charged into the room in a frenzy, put me on oxygen and said that somebody needed to contact the baby's father because they were rushing me to the operating room. Austin was going into distress and needed to be delivered by emergency c-section immediately! Joseph was actually at home sleeping since it appeared that I was doing better earlier that morning. Somehow he managed to shower, get gas in the truck and race over to the hospital (through a flood at that) and make it in time for the surgery. I think it was like one of those scenes from a movie where they are scrubbing the dad up as he runs down the hallway to the delivery room. If he had been a few more minutes, my mom would have been in there for the delivery. I am so glad Joseph made it, though. Austin was delivered by c-section and rushed up to the NICU only moments after they allowed me a very quick glance at my new baby. For the next 24 hours or so, I was restricted to my bed again since there is a risk of seizures if preeclampsia gets too advanced. The only thing I can remember about the rest of that day is that God comforted me through some scripture verses I had recently memorized. I remember reciting them to my mom immediately after the surgery when they brought me back to my room, and I asked her to read scripture to me. Looking back, it is encouraging to remember God's graciousness to me.

The Next 2 1/2 Months: Austin had been born at 29 weeks gestation weighing 2 lbs, 8 ounces and was 14 inches long. He stayed in the NICU for a total of 72 days and he needed oxygen for about a month after he came home from the hospital. We spent many long days at the hospital visiting and caring for our fragile little son, but God was faithful to us during that trial. Austin is now 3 years old and has been relatively healthy for a preemie. He hasn't had any serious developmental problems and the spinal surgery that he faces next week is completely unrelated to his being premature.

Pregnancy #2 with baby David Noah: The doctors told us there was a risk of me developing preeclampsia with subsequent pregnancies but that there were measures they could take to reduce that risk in my case. As such, I have been on a baby aspirin and extra folic acid and have had more frequent appointments and ultrasounds than is typically routine. I am happy to say that I have made it to the point where Austin was born and am now entering uncharted territory. Every week that David Noah stays inside of me is vitally important. If Austin had been born even a week later, his stay in the hospital could have been half as long. If he had been born a month later, he would have been home in just a few short weeks. 35 week preemies sometimes even go home from the hospital when their mothers are discharged a few days after delivery. We are very encouraged with this pregnancy and are trusting that God is sovereign over the course of events that will lead up to the birth of David Noah, hopefully a scheduled c-section the end of January. Whatever happens, God is in control of the events of our lives and our hope is in Him.