Dear family and friends:
Angie is resting peacefully at the moment. Today, she received the second and final round of steroid shots and continued receiving magnesium sulfate (the medicine that both reduces contractions and protects the baby's brain) and prophylactic antibiotics, among other things. She began feeling quite weak -- really wiped out, in fact -- over the course of the day and experienced difficulty breathing, sitting up, or standing for even a second, so they reduced the magnesium sulfate drip by a third. She seems to be feeling a lot better as a result, and the contractions seem to remain under control. There are no signs of infection, either. The baby's heartbeat remains strong. Last night at about the same time, he seemed to be very active; the nurses said he was really having quite the "play time in there." He seems to be active again right now. I guess the evening is fun time for him.
Tomorrow at 1:30 pm, the steroid shots will be fully effective in promoting lung development, and they will take Angie off the magnesium sulfate. Then, we will continue waiting and hoping to push off the delivery as long as we can. The latency period (the period of time between the rupture of the membrane and delivery) in such cases varies dramatically. For some, it is a matter of hours or days. For others, it can be as much as 10 weeks. The mean is two weeks. As I mentioned, every day that passes is beneficial. The survival rate in the 23rd week of pregnancy increases by about 1.5 to 2% every day that passes over the course of that week. He is a little larger than his peers at this point (707 g as of a day and a half ago) and otherwise healthy, both of which also help.
We are taking it hour by hour, day by day. We appreciate your prayers and continued support, including all of the offers to watch the kids, bring over dinner, and help in any way possible. We can truly feel the love.
Jarrett and Angie
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