Dustin can officially tell you. You pack everything you own into your huge car because you are pregnant and irrational. Have I ever mentioned what a patient man he is?
We were supposed to be at the hospital at 10:00, but it was kind of hard to say goodbye to Eli and Landon, so it was more like 11:00 before we got here. Leaving those boys was definitely the part of the day that I was dreading the most. They have such tender hearts. And they know that things aren't normal...they've been extra clingy and extra needy and extra "mama's boys"... (and extra bad, but we won't go into that). They were very happily going with Nemo to her house for the rest of the weekend, which made things a little easier. I have a lot of confidence that they will be very
Speaking of Eli and Landon...
We are in the antepartum floor of the hospital, where I was admitted the day before they were born as well. While looking around, Dustin noticed that their picture is being proudly displayed on one of the bulletin boards here. I don't even know where they got this picture!
They quickly got me admitted and we were off to the amniocentesis by 11:40. I don't do well with needles. Dustin really doesn't do well with needles. He tried to leave the room and I had to inform him that being a coward was not a luxury that he could be afforded today and he needed to get his rear by my side to hold my hand. He reluctantly agreed and neither one of us opened our eyes until the whole thing was completely over and all of the evidence was gone. It was relatively easy and painless and the whole thing took just a few minutes.
We didn't get results until about 2:30. Basically, there are two tests that measure lung development. The numbers that indicate lung maturity are 50-55 on the first test and 50,000 on the second test. Harper's levels were 22 and 17,000... a far cry from being mature. They are giving me another round of steroid shots and now we wait a little longer. Dr. Atkinson was already gone for the day, so we didn't get to discuss the results with him. I am anxious to see what he says tomorrow when he comes by.
I didn't expect her lungs to be mature, but I was a little surprised by just how low her numbers are. I don't know enough about the situation to even know how to feel, but my first reaction was relief. I'm relieved that they won't be delivering in the next few days and I hope and pray that she decides to grow a little with this extra time she has. Her extremely slow growth definitely indicates a problem somewhere, but because everything else looks so good (fluid, blood flow, heart, structure)...I feel like she's not in any immediate danger. This is, of course, my own supposition with absolutely no confirmation from anyone in the medical field, so maybe I should just wait until tomorrow before I "feel" one way or another.
In any case, I've had a lot of people ask me how I'm doing and I must say that I'm actually surprised by how calm and at peace I am about everything. Don't get me wrong...I'm scared. I'm worried. I'm anxious. I'm sad to be away from my boys. But more than that, I'm hopeful. I'm prayerful. I'm excited. And I know that God can and will take care of us.
Plus...I get to spend two whole days with my good friend, Dustin. It's kind of like a little get-away :) They are keeping me until at least Monday to monitor Harper several times a day and then hopefully they'll allow me to go home to wait it out there.
Dustin took a three hour nap today (nothing like quality time with your husband...I shared a narrow hospital bed with his 6'4" snoring self while I watched an NCIS marathon) so I'm assuming he'll be up all night watching whatever war show he's currently found. I, however, am going to try and get some sleep.
Thank you so much for all of the encouraging texts and for your continued prayers. Hopefully I'll have a better handle on the situation tomorrow afternoon when we've had a chance to visit with Dr. Atkinson.
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