Ready or Not!

We are sharing this journey on the very wise suggestion of my friend Amy Zoch, who realized keeping everyone updated on the goings on may get a little overwhelming, and somehow you just can't say in a text message everything that needs to be said!

So here we are, soon to be family of three, which normally would have us jumping for joy other than the fact that our sweet Reagan is only 32 weeks along.  Now for anyone who has twins, or knows of a "micro-premie" that may not seem too early, but for this momma, 8 weeks is early enough to make us thoroughly nervous. 

I always knew that this child was coming early, I just had no idea it would be this early.  My physician has been telling me to take it slow and for the most part I have been doing my best.  Larry has been super husband/dad, painting the babies room, doing most of the chores around the house and catering to my every need.  Before he left to go on his annual dove hunting trip with his friends he was nervous about leaving, which I thought was completely ridiculous.  Of course it was safe for him to go...or so I thought.

I made a quick trip to Houston Friday night to pick up the artwork for Reagan's room, grab a fabulous dinner with Rachel Tonick at Hugo's (definitely recommend) stay with her for the night and use her mompertise to help me finish registering for baby shower's and such.  After dinner at Hugo's I began having these sharp stabbing pains in my abdomen for which I quickly passed off as gas pain.  OK....for those of you that know in more detail my medical history...WHEN WHEN WHEN will I learn that its NOT gas pain!  Ha!  My kidney stones were NOT "gas pain," my acute appendicitis was NOT gas pain and premature labor is....NOT "gas pain."  Well maybe someday I'll learn that lesson.

Anyway, because I had a busy day Friday I decided to take Saturday and Sunday completely off until my mom and brother got into town for the A&M/SMU game (WHOOP!) and my dear friends Dana and Sheila came for a quick visit.  I will spare the more graphic details, but basically my water broke around lunch time Sunday and I didn't really have an idea until it became much more obvious Sunday night.  Although I acknowledged it as a possibility, the thought that my water broke so early, especially with Larry out of town, was just too much to wrap my head around.  Because I wasn't having any contractions I decided to go to bed and call my doctor in the morning.  Well at 4 in the morning it was very obvious that it was time to go to the hospital.  I woke up with a strong conviction from the Holy Spirit that I needed to go in and with the encouragement of my mother we were out the door

The Lord has been so gracious and planned this out perfectly.  Praise Him that my mom was here already and that Larry was in such close proximity that he could get here quickly. 

So what the doctors are saying: 

• I'm on antibiotics to prevent infection which is our #1 enemy right now.  Because my water broke we are at a higher risk for infection so I'm on around the clock dosing and will be as long as we are waiting for her to get here,
• I have received one dose of steroids to help Reagan's lungs to mature, which is our #2 enemy.  Ideally we'd like to get two of these doses in before she comes with about 12 hours on the other side of the dose, so if Reagan can just hold on till tomorrow morning that will be a big win
• This hospital does a lot of premature twin births, so my 32 week baby is not a huge deal to them...very comforting.  Survivability isn't even in their vocabulary, they are not worried about that one bit.  Her length of time in the NICU is what is a big question mark is right now and the closer I can get her to 34 weeks the shorter of an NICU stay it will be and her risk of being intubated goes down dramatically.
• When she will get here...the other question mark.  80% of the women in my situation give birth within 24 hours of water breaking.  We are approaching that deadline so it looks promising that I'll make it further along....no way of knowing how long though
• When she'll go home...this will depend on when she comes and what kind of problems we'll face when she gets here.  Before leaving she must:
• Regulate her own temperature without the need for heat lamps
• Eat all of her meals from me
• Gain weight
• Not need supplemental oxygen

The Lord has spoken such beautiful words of encouragement and comfort through our friends and family.  I can't thank you all enough for being His vessels.  Every story, encouraging scripture and prayer have strengthened us beyond anything we are capable of alone.  We are hoping for a very uneventful next couple of weeks.  Thank you all for your love and support.  We plan on keeping everyone updated via this blog as long as we're able.

I'll leave you with some scripture that friends have shared that have been especially comforting:

"For I know the plans I have for [Reagan]," declares the Lord,
Plans to prosper [Reagan] and not to harm [Reagan], plans to give her hope and a future..."  
Jeremiah 29:11

God will supply all your needs from His GLORIOUS riches in Christ Jesus

Philippians 4:19

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God

Philippians 4:6