Sigh.... no other words for tonight. I miss him
Dear family and friends:
Dear family and friends:
Yesterday, the third full day in the hospital, was a good day. After hearing the great news that Angie remains free of any signs of infection and that the doctors ordered the continued administration of the medicine that keeps contractions at bay, the day was largely uneventful, apart from several nice visits.
My parents and Angie’s mom and aunt brought the kids in the morning to visit. We announced the name of our baby, Noah James. It was something of an emotional conversation as Angie explained, in terms kids can understand, where things stand, where things could go, and the importance of praying for the health, safety, and well-being of Baby Noah. Gabriel and Michael, being older, seemed to understand and were visibly concerned and affected. Isabelle, for her part, certainly misses Mommy. The only way we can keep her from crawling up into bed with Angie is to put on “Frozen” on the room’s TV. She doesn’t like to see Mommy with the IVs and monitoring equipment all around her, saying “Mommy, no band-band” (bandages) to indicate her wish that Angie be free of such things. We again try to distract her as she is carried out of the room. This is the family picture we took while the kids were here:
Thankfully, the kids are staying quite busy this week. The boys have Kyrene Summer Academy in the morning and VBS and swim team in the evening. Isabelle has swimming lessons (she’s in the “shrimp” class and is happy to be there – a very enthusiastic swimmer indeed!) just before VBS. They spend the rest of the day with our family members, who have been keeping our household going – and giving the dog some attention – in our absence. Some dear friends have also devised some system for sending meals to our house. Our friends and family have showered us with offers to watch the kids, shuttle them around, bring meals to the house, bring food and items to the room, and so many other things. I cannot omit to remark, for it is so often on our minds, how very blessed we are to have so much love, support, and kindness around us!
Finally, here is a short video Angie made this morning from the room:
Angie had an ultrasound and a blood test just a few minutes ago. We will attempt to provide an update later today.
Jarrett and Angie
Part 2:
Dear family and friends:
The fourth full day in the hospital is coming to a close. We are thankful to be at this point. When we got here, we were under the impression that delivery would be imminent. We had no idea that a baby could continue to stay in utero after the premature rupture of the membrane, and she was experiencing contractions only a couple of minutes apart at that point.
Angie had some blood work and an ultrasound performed today. She had previously had a white blood cell count of 24,000, which was in part a reflection of the steroid shots administered one and two days earlier. (A "normal" range is approximately 4,000 up to 10,000 cells per microliter.) The white blood cell count may indicate the presence of infection, which is what we hope to avoid. Thankfully, her white blood cell count dropped to 13,000 in the last couple of days, so it is trending in the right direction. Apart from having too little iron (she takes a supplement with her prenatal vitamins), her blood work looked good. The doctor ordered an ultrasound to look at how the baby was doing. The ultrasound, which didn't take long on account of its limited scope, showed Noah's somewhat cramped circumstances (he is positioned pretty low), but also showed his beating heart, his lungs functioning as he breathed, and the presence of some amniotic fluid in his stomach (meaning that he is still receiving and drinking at least some). He also wiggled and moved a bit during the short time his picture was being taken.
Angie remains free of signs of infection, and continues tolerating the magnesium sulfate well. Visits from friends and family are greatly appreciated, particularly when Angie is feeling up for them. It is great catching up and finding out what is happening in the great wide world. It also really does help pass the time and has the added benefit of keeping our minds off other matters. With the gifts we have received from hospital visitors in recent days, we have quite an assortment of food (snacks, fruit, candy, you name it), reading materials, playing cards, personal care items, and so much more.
Our family, recently initiated into our hectic world full of children's activities (they walked into the single busiest week of our summer activity-wise), has completely picked up the slack at home. It helps that there are now, since Monday night, more of them so that they may split up tasks/shuttling the kids around and have some time to visit us here. The boys are also being helpful at home. When my parents arrived at the hospital today, I went home to shower and get some fresh clothes. When I got there, Gabriel was actually putting Isabelle down to nap. As I walked in, he was tucking her into bed, putting her favorite blankets on her, and he motioned for me to be quiet so as to not disturb her. I heard him say "Now get some rest, Isabelle, and you can go swimming later," as he backed out of the room. Wow.
One final note for tonight: as I type this, we just finished listening to Baby Noah's heartbeat on the monitor. His heartbeat was strong and exhibited the variability that they wished to see. We also heard him moving about. It was wonderful.
We appreciate your continued support and prayers.
Jarrett and Angie
Part 2:
Dear family and friends:
The fourth full day in the hospital is coming to a close. We are thankful to be at this point. When we got here, we were under the impression that delivery would be imminent. We had no idea that a baby could continue to stay in utero after the premature rupture of the membrane, and she was experiencing contractions only a couple of minutes apart at that point.
Angie had some blood work and an ultrasound performed today. She had previously had a white blood cell count of 24,000, which was in part a reflection of the steroid shots administered one and two days earlier. (A "normal" range is approximately 4,000 up to 10,000 cells per microliter.) The white blood cell count may indicate the presence of infection, which is what we hope to avoid. Thankfully, her white blood cell count dropped to 13,000 in the last couple of days, so it is trending in the right direction. Apart from having too little iron (she takes a supplement with her prenatal vitamins), her blood work looked good. The doctor ordered an ultrasound to look at how the baby was doing. The ultrasound, which didn't take long on account of its limited scope, showed Noah's somewhat cramped circumstances (he is positioned pretty low), but also showed his beating heart, his lungs functioning as he breathed, and the presence of some amniotic fluid in his stomach (meaning that he is still receiving and drinking at least some). He also wiggled and moved a bit during the short time his picture was being taken.
Angie remains free of signs of infection, and continues tolerating the magnesium sulfate well. Visits from friends and family are greatly appreciated, particularly when Angie is feeling up for them. It is great catching up and finding out what is happening in the great wide world. It also really does help pass the time and has the added benefit of keeping our minds off other matters. With the gifts we have received from hospital visitors in recent days, we have quite an assortment of food (snacks, fruit, candy, you name it), reading materials, playing cards, personal care items, and so much more.
Our family, recently initiated into our hectic world full of children's activities (they walked into the single busiest week of our summer activity-wise), has completely picked up the slack at home. It helps that there are now, since Monday night, more of them so that they may split up tasks/shuttling the kids around and have some time to visit us here. The boys are also being helpful at home. When my parents arrived at the hospital today, I went home to shower and get some fresh clothes. When I got there, Gabriel was actually putting Isabelle down to nap. As I walked in, he was tucking her into bed, putting her favorite blankets on her, and he motioned for me to be quiet so as to not disturb her. I heard him say "Now get some rest, Isabelle, and you can go swimming later," as he backed out of the room. Wow.
One final note for tonight: as I type this, we just finished listening to Baby Noah's heartbeat on the monitor. His heartbeat was strong and exhibited the variability that they wished to see. We also heard him moving about. It was wonderful.
We appreciate your continued support and prayers.
Jarrett and Angie
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