Update

I'm sorry for not updating sooner. Actually I haven't talked to Jerri today so I'm not sure what the current info even is. But I will pass along what I do know.

Liam is still in the NICU, struggling with his lungs. He is still on the CPAP with forced air but no additional oxygen has been necessary. The nurses were able to feed him (via a tube to his tummy) some of Jer's colostrum that she had pumped and his tummy handled that well. However, when they tried formula (since Jerri was struggling to pump anything since her milk hadn't come in yet), it simply sat in his stomach, undigested. So please pray that Jerri's milk will come in quick and strong! A tidal wave would be nice. (Just kidding Jer!)

When I spoke to Jerri on Monday she had managed to get some sleep the night before thanks to some better drugs. I'm hoping that her sleep has only gotten better since then. It is rumored that she might be coming home today. I'll be calling her later to find out for sure.

She hasn't been able to access the Internet in her room at the hospital... that's why you've been stuck with me. That also means none of your comments have been approved for posting. Sorry! I tried to get the blog to let me but it only wants Jerri. Keep the comments coming though, she'll love reading all of them when she and the Internet have been reunited. She knows you are all praying for her and Liam and she's very thankful.

Please pray for her milk supply to be what it should be for Liam. For Liam's lungs to adjust quickly and that he can come home soon. For Jerri and Dave that they will be able to easily coordinate getting to and from the hospital after she's discharged. And of course that Jerri's c-section would heal quickly and easily also.

Thank you for your prayers. I'll update again when Jerri and I connect...unless she beats me and gets here first.

Updates

First of all, my info on his time of delivery was off. He was born right at 1pm. Sorry about that.

Jerri is doing well and in recovery still.

Little Man has just been taken to the NICU (4pm) as his breathing isn't as good as the doctors would like. It doesn't sound like anything huge as it took them 3 hours to decide that. I'm assuming he's just needing a bit of oxygen to keep his levels up. Please be praying that he adjusts quickly and is back with his mama, happily nursing, soon.

~ Jenny

News Bulletin...

It's Jenny again. =0)

As I understand it, for the last 24 hrs Jerri has been having an incredible amount of stomach pain and taking strong narcotics to keep it barely under control. Most of you know her stomach has been a battle almost the entire pregnancy. The doctors decided this morning that since her stomach condition wasn't getting better that they preferred to go ahead and deliver Liam today isn't of giving him two more days of Jerri's pain meds. This way there will be less in his system that he has to deal with that might exacerbate any other issues he might have. They were going to take her in a couple hours which I assumed to mean 1pm.

So he should be here now! Praise the Lord! Still waiting to hear the news and will update you when I do. Please be praying, I know it's a little late but God knows the desires of our hearts even before we do. "Post" prayers still count!

I had waited to update you all because I wasn't sure if Jerri would be coming on here herself to do it. We didn't think to discuss it during our brief conversation and I didn't want to bother her by calling her back after I thought about it. So I apologize but I didn't want to jump the gun and steal her thunder.

Stay tuned....

Hanging on...

Sometimes, it is all we can do.... just hang on and allow God to hold us. Monday's disappointment was pretty hard to take (pregnancy hormones thank you so much!), but I am feeling much better now. I have been blessed by visitors each day this week (thank you all!) and that has been a great encouragement and comfort to me. Thank you all for praying for me and baby, that his lungs will finish what they need for his grand entrance next week, and for my family at home, who were expecting me to come home this week.

Being told it is "just" one more week over and over again (I know everyone means well) is quite difficult when you are feeling you can't do even one more day. Not from boredom, mind you. I just miss being together with my family, being at home with them all and taking care of them. Coming to the realization, for like the millionth time in my life, that I can't do it/can't do one more day, is absolutely correct. I cannot. But, God can. All I have to "do" is yield... float, instead of struggle. This is what it truly means to "rest in God" or have the "peace of God", in any and all circumstances...right?

The plan right now is to do the c-section on Monday, 10/27 @ 9:30 AM. FOUR DAYS TO GO!

Thank you for all your prayers. We are praying for:

a safe, uncomplicated c-section, despite all the "risks" the doctors are talking about because of the placenta's position and the likelihood of excessive bleeding, etc.

that Liam will be healthy and not have to spend any time in the NICU

that I will recover quickly, not only from the surgery, but to gain my strength back after 3 months of bed rest

that I won't have any trouble with lactation (having milk come in easily, which has been a huge problem with the last 3 deliveries due to blood loss) and that Liam will be a terrific nurser despite being a bit early.


I can hardly wait to see and hold my baby boy... but more than that, I long for the day he and I come home and I can crawl into my bed, with my husband laying beside me and my children surrounding us on our bed..... and just inhale that moment for as long as possible.

Amnio Results

Hi everyone, it's Jer's sister, Jenny.

The amnio went well today. Liam is doing well but his lungs are not quite "done" so the doctors have decided to wait another week. His lungs are close enough to be ready that they won't repeat the amnio, they'll just schedule the c-section. Jerri doesn't have a date or time yet but she'll be sure to pass along the info when she does.

Keep her in your prayers, especially tonight and the next couple days. It's difficult to adjust to having another week of hospital bedrest when you thought the end might be in sight. Well, it's still in sight, just pushed a little out of reach.

35 weeks

We have made it to 35 weeks! Yeah! Below are the only baby bump type pics I have. We had a birthday party for our daughter, Emma, in my hospital room last night. Everything has stayed quiet in the placenta previa realm, praise the Lord! The plan is to do an amnio on Monday of next week, when I "turn" 36 weeks and if the lungs pass the test and are mature, schedule the c-section for the next day.

Lord willing the next post on here will be baby news! Praying for another week of no complications and for those lungs to be ready!

34 weeks

Hi everyone! Praise the Lord, baby and I have made it to 34 weeks. Today was day 16 in the hospital and things are nice and "calm".

A BIG thank you to those of you who live locally and have come out to visit me in the hospital. It always brightens my day to have visitors! And, helps that day go by faster. I know this hospital is way out of the way for most of you and that makes your visit all the more dear to me. And, those of you who bring me Starbucks, well, those are some yummy days for me to say the least. Hospital coffee is NOT a Starbucks white chocolate mocha, that is for sure!

Thanks also to those of you who have helped out making freezer meals, helping out with the children, and taking the kids to your house for a play day. All these ways of helping us blesses us so much and is helping to make this time I have been on bed rest and this extended time in the hospital bearable for the whole family.

One last thank you to those of you who have sent gifts for the baby from our registry, sent cards, sent or brought flowers to me, etc. I feel so encouraged and blessed by your gifts of love and helping us be ready for this little boys arrival!

Here is the latest news as of today, Tuesday. If things stay "calm" and there are no more bad bleeds, they will do an amnio on the 20th, the day I am 36 weeks gestation, to check on the baby's lungs. If they are deemed healthy/mature, they will deliver him by c-section on the 21st.

Plans can change in the blink of an eye, but this is what the plan is today. I believe most of the high risk doctors are on board with this plan, so that is good. There had been some talk of doing an amnio next week, but we have all talked about it and decided that giving the baby an extra week will give the baby a better chance of having his lungs ready and more developed over all.

Please continue to pray for baby and I here in the hospital. And, for David and the children at home. We now have web cams set up so I can see and talk to the children every day, which is really nice!

Lord willing, baby Liam will be born two weeks from today!

Hospital Bed Rest ~ Day 10

The high risk OB who did rounds today (there is a different doctor every day which is frustrating), came in and actually said I should probably stay here till the baby is born. I told him he is the FIRST of all the docs to say this (the other keep giving me a vague amount of days till I can go home). He seems very practical minded and was all "it just makes sense" for numerous reasons. I said PLEASE write this in my chart because tomorrow will be another doctor and they all seem to think something else! He agreed, both to write it up and about how the different doctors have different approaches. He said that maybe what we would do is when I reach 35 weeks (that is 12 days from now) if my blood levels are where they should be (today's hematocrit was 28 point something... up from 26 point something last week, so it is slowly improving... they want is at a min. of 30 before a c-section) they would do an amnio to check on lung maturity and if it was good they could go ahead and do the c-section at that point.

Well, I have to say that was encouraging to hubby and me. Stay here about 2 more weeks and deliver the baby who will be 35 weeks and should be able to come home with me. This OB today was so practical, which I can really relate to, about how the longer I go the more risk I have of more bleeding and I am already a high risk to lose a lot of blood during the c-section, so the risks start to outweigh keeping the baby in a few extra weeks. What an answer to prayer today and addresses both mine and David's concerns!

We continue to appreciate your prayers for an uneventful 12 days, that my hematocrit comes up and a good report on the lung maturity. Of course, things can change without notice and his lungs might not be ready, but it is so wonderful to have a plan in place! We have been in limbo for 10 days now and it was getting old. God is so good!

~jerri

9/26 Update

Just a quick update and many, many thanks for all your prayers for the baby, hubby, kids and me.

I have had a little more spotting today, and am feeling a bit dizzy when I get up out of bed. The labs on my iron count show that even with three days of iron therapy via an IV drip, my numbers have not gone up. So, the plan is to do an iron therapy today (Friday), Saturday and Sunday and then re-test my blood on Monday. And, of course keeping an eye on the spotting. If my iron comes up to where they want it to be and the spotting stops for more than a few days at a time, I could go home, on very, very strict bed rest. We aren't there yet. And, things can change in the blink of an eye. So, we just continue to take one day at a time.

Baby boy is still doing well. =)

I did get permission for a 15 min. wheelchair ride per day. Woo hoo! I'll finally get to see what is outside my door! I am hoping to get my first ride when David stops by on his way home from work tonight. =)

If nothing changes through the weekend I probably will not update till Monday or Tuesday.

Oh, my *orthodontist sent lovely flowers for me, with large fragrant lilies! Isn't that so nice? David had taken two of the boys to ortho appts on Wed. and the staff had asked about me and so that is how they found out what is going on.

Happy Weekend,
jerri

* For those who don't know, I was in braces for 3 years leading up to extensive jaw surgery for TMJ.

9/24 update

Just a quick note to say things are stable. Hubby brought the kids to see me yesterday. Pardon the totally unflattering pic of me. I don't think anyone can make a hospital gown look good, especially while lying down in bed. lol. And, bed head, argh!




Thank you all for your prayers for me, baby and hubby and kids at home. This isn't easy, but God is getting us through each day. Small prayers, like having a great nurse for the day, to bigger ones like having a great perinatologist as my doctor yesterday. Several people came to visit me yesterday and that encouraged and humbled me.


Even things like getting a better bed and an egg crate mattress on top of it... a "write in" list of things that can be put on the daily menu order (for when nothing on the printed list looks any good), all have blessed me the last two days. And, all your comments and suggestions to "amuse" me bless me too!



I still don't know how long I will be here. My OB gets back from vacation tomorrow, so I hope he will call or come by and he will then be in the "loop" again and we'll start getting some of these questions answered. Until then, things staying calm, baby continuing to do well, are all wonderful. One day at a time...

32 Weeks Today!!

And Baby Boy is still safe inside Mommy!!

Jerri had her in-depth ultrasound this morning but is still waiting on the results. She's been moved to another hospital in her area. It's better equipped to care for Jerri and especially Baby Boy. We're thankful that there was time to do the move before birth and that Baby Boy didn't have to be whisked away to this hospital right after being born, leaving Jerri at the previous one.
She should be seeing a high risk specialist this afternoon or evening and is expecting to hear results from the ultrasound then. I'll be sure to pass along the information as soon as I get it.

Thank you again for all your prayers. So far, Baby Boy is doing well and for that we are sooo very thankful. Every day counts and your encouraging words and prayers help to keep Jerri's spirits up.