Up All Night- The Growing Prysocks

We saw the doctor this morning and have amazing new to report: everything with Gideon looks completely fine! We know that God answered all the prayers lifted up on Gideon's behalf and we are so grateful for each of you that took time to pray.

As I got ready this morning, I opened up my Bible app on my iPhone to start my daily devotional.  The verse of the day was Psalm 139:13, 14:

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well."

I was so encouraged that God brought this verse to my attention today and I quickly showed David. We were both so encouraged and went to the appointment feeling so much peace.

We had the ultrasound at 8:30 this morning and felt so blessed to be able to see Gideon again.  We heard his heartbeat {which is always my favorite part} and even watched him suck his thumb.  We only had two ultrasounds with Jonah the entire pregnancy, so we aren't used to being able to see some of those sweet moments. It was wonderful.

When the ultrasound was almost over, I asked the technician if the amniotic band was still visible because we hadn't seen it yet.  She said that, no, she did not see it. She guessed that it was pushed up against the side, but admitted she honestly wasn't sure.

We waited to see Dr. Lawson, and she was elated when she came in. She said that she had to run back and see the video for herself to make sure, but that Gideon was completely free from the umbilical cord! She was amazed at how he had completely changed positions from last week.  She mentioned that he was breech today, but quickly commented that he has plenty of time to wiggle into the correct position {Jonah was also breech around this stage, so we aren't really concerned about this}.  She told us that it was incredible how much he moved and we told her that we'd had so many people praying for him.  She agreed that it was definitely an answered prayer -- and commented that we would have two very busy boys in a few months!

We asked specifically about the amniotic band and she commented that, right now, Gideon has all his fingers and toes.  She said she would let our midwife know that we could come in for a follow-up when I'm 32 weeks, but that it was less likely now that he would get wrapped up in his cord.  She also told us that, originally, the amniotic band looked considerably worse and that it's gotten much smaller throughout these weeks. 

 Honestly, we are so amazed by God's hand in this situation.  Gideon was so tiny when the band was first discovered and, according to the doctor, it could have been a very serious case.  But He kept his hand on Gideon before we even knew it was a problem.  And the cord could have become a more serious issue as Gideon got bigger, but God completely answered that prayer as well.  We have been amazed and humbled at His works and at the outpouring of love we have received through this time.

We'd still love your prayers that the amniotic band remains non-threatening and that baby Gideon would be safe. 

Thank you all!

Oh, Sweet Boy, we love you so much. You're 22 months old and we love you at this stage.

We've had a lot of sweet moments this month.  One night at dinner, we hadn't said the blessing and you reached out to hold our hands and said "pay". It was precious and brought such joy to our hearts!  You also saw a picture of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in the manger and pointed out Jesus completely unprompted.  I'm so glad that some of our teachings are already making an impact on you! We pray God would continue to use our imperfect methods to bring you closer to Him.

We also went to visit Grammy and Pappa in Oklahoma this month.  Sadly, you were {really} sick almost the whole time, but we still managed to make a trip to the Tulsa Zoo and take you fishing.  You loved seeing Daddy catch a fish, but you weren't too sure you wanted to touch it.  You got brave quickly, however, and talked a lot about the fish you saw!

You still love all things musical, Buddy.  You enjoy playing your harmonica, banging on your drum and anything else that makes music.  You've also figured out how to make Mama's phone play music and you love that as well.  The other day, you and I were driving around running errands and you said "Music, Mama?" You also frequently request for us to sing "Star" {Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star} and "bitty spider" {The Itsy, Bitsy Spider}.

We told the world about your baby brother this week.  You've known since the beginning and it's been fun to see how your relationship with him has developed already.  At first, you insisted we were having a baby girl. "Bay-bee sisser" was what you said every time we asked you about it. When we told you Gideon was, in fact, a boy, you had a hard time adjusting for a few days but now love talking about "bay-bee brudder".  We set up his cradle the other day, and you talked about him all day and always mention him when you see it.  You love to lift up my shirt, pat my tummy and say "bay-bee brudder" or "bay-bee Gee-yon".  {You've lifted up Daddy's shirt looking for Gideon too...which didn't go over quite as well}. We've taken you to every midwife appointment and whenever we hear his heartbeat you say "bay-bee soun" {Baby sound} and, when you're ready to go, say "all done, bay-bee brudder". It's pretty precious and I love that you seem to understand a little about what's happening.

You know a ton of your letters.  18 at last count!  A few still trip you up, but you surprise us every day with your ability to distinguish them out in the real world.  You're also trying to start counting and it's stinkin' adorable.  You were "counting" blocks yesterday and I overheard you say "tree, four, six, nine, talking..." I couldn't help but laugh.  You know every number name {one through nine}, but definitely don't associate them with anything or know their order yet. Still, I love hearing you practice and I'll probably miss this adorable phase when you actually learn.

You love being outside lately and ask to swing or play with bubbles almost every day.  You aren't content with me blowing bubbles for you and insist on doing it yourself.  You've gotten pretty great at it!  You still like building castles in your sandbox and like 'visiting' the neighboring puppies.

You also still like to read.  "Me too" and "Cwiff-ord" are still favorites, but you'll be happy reading anything.  More than once, you've brought me one of Daddy's Halo books or our Greek New Testament. I hope this love of reading continues, sweet man!

You like helping Mama in the kitchen, too.  The other day, you got out some plastic bowls and spoons and declared that you were cooking! It was so cute and I loved having a little helper.  I try and find things you actually can help with in the kitchen.  Typically, that means that I chop things up and let you add it all together.  You seem content with that role for now, but I bet your independent nature will prefer more pretty soon!

You're a great helper in other ways too.  You still like to be the one to feed Beesly in the mornings and you love adding the laundry detergent to the washer each time.  You also like to "help" load the dryer, which usually means you press the light on/off button repeatedly while I move all the wet clothes over.  This month you also picked up all your toys without even being asked! It only happened once, but wow. It was amazing.

One of my favorite stories from this month was when we went out to eat with your Great-Grandma, Papaw and Great-Aunt Linda.  We were at Crackle Barrel for breakfast and you were incredibly excited about the berry pancakes you and I were sharing.  You kept asking for "pey-cake" and could not understand why it wasn't in front of you yet.  I leaned over and said, "Buddy, it's coming! But they have to cook it first." {which is my typical response when you're impatient about food at home} and you started pushing me away, saying "Cook! Cook, Mama! Pey-cake, cook!" Obviously, we don't eat out a lot, since you think that Mama is the ONLY one that can cook {we'll have to work on that}!

You're still wearing size 18 month clothes mostly and don't have any new teeth yet.  You were sleeping pretty great {12 or more hours at night, two hour nap during the day}, but lately you're sleeping less and less.  Your naps tend to be less than two hours and you're sleeping less at night {maybe 10 1/2 hours}.  I'm not sure if this is a phase {teething, perhaps?} or if you just don't need as much sleep anymore.  I guess time will tell!

Things Jonah Loves at 22 Months

Elmo

Word World

Me Too books

Clifford books

Swinging

Cake

Cookies

Baby Gideon

Reciting letters

Beesly

Kicks ball forward {attempts.  you've done it a few times, but aren't the best at it}

Follows two-step requests (e.g., "Get your doll and bring it here") {oh yes}

Does simple puzzles {yep! you love puzzles!}

Draws a straight line {not on purpose. you aren't the biggest fan of coloring.}

Names several body parts {yep! Nose, ears, hair {"air"}, tummy, bottom, leg, knee, toes, fingers, hand {"and"}, eye, mouth {"mouff"}...}

Puts on loose-fitting clothes {you help me every time and have gotten pretty good at it, but I'm not sure you could do it completely unassisted}

Might be ready for a big bed {you haven't attempted to climb out of the crib yet. until you do, you're staying in there!}

Understands opposites (e.g., tall vs. short) {I have no idea how to check this. I know you do NOT know the difference between hot and cold...but you do understand the different between lights on and lights off...}

Jonah Matthew, you are a complete joy.  You're personality is coming out more and more lately and we are so honored to bear witness.  You're independent, funny, and amazingly compassionate.  You're also manage to be both shy and outgoing.  You love to laugh and rough house and be tickled.  You are endlessly entertained by games like hide and seek and love it when Daddy wrestles with you and tosses you onto pillows. I can't begin to describe how much we love you. We pray God continues to bless you, sweet boy.  We pray that He continues to grow you into a man that loves Him with all of your heart.  

David and I are so overwhelmed by the incredible response we've gotten concerning Gideon.  We are so blessed to know each of you and honestly cannot express how deeply moved we are by your love and how much we appreciate your prayers.  

God has been so faithful since our appointment Thursday morning.  Baby Gideon has been moving like crazy {such an answered prayer}, which has kept us calm.  He's given us so much peace throughout this situation and we know that, regardless of the outcome, He is good.

We've received a few questions from people after our last post.  Sadly, we don't have a lot of answers at this point, but I'll try to answer a few.

What's next?

We have an appointment Thursday morning {5/16} for a follow-up ultrasound and an appointment with Dr. Lawson.

What happens Thursday?
Mostly we'll be there to see if the cord is still wrapped around Gideon's neck. We'll likely also be checking to make sure the amniotic band is still not a concern. Last time the sonogram gave us information about the blood flow through the umbilical cord and the overall amount of water in the amniotic sac {which determines room for movement}. We hope to get updates on these two factors as well, since they affect the overall situation. But, honestly, we're not really sure what to expect. We were so shocked when the doctor came in to speak with us, that most common sense questions escaped us. We should have more information on Thursday.

Are they going to do any surgical interventions?
Right now, nothing is planned. Dr. Lawson mentioned that, if the cord is still wrapped around his neck, she'll consider giving him steroid shots to promote lung and brain development in case he does need to be delivered early.  She also mentioned the possibility of hospitalizing me, but we aren't sure exactly what that would look like.

Are you still having Gideon at the Birth and Women's Center?

Again, we aren't sure.  Our midwives are amazing.  They're both Certified Nurse Midwives with years and years of experience and we trust them so much.  We're grateful that they referred us to Dr. Lawson, who has been so open to working with them and who is so kind.  We honestly hope that everything looks perfect on Thursday and we will be cleared by both the doctor and the midwives to continue with the BWC.  That's where Jonah was born and where we are most comfortable.  But our main desire at this point is for Gideon to be born healthy. And if that requires us to be in the hospital, we'll happily transfer care.

Again, thank you all so much for your prayers.  We're so humbled that so many people {those we know and those that we don't!} would lift us up to the Lord.  We'll do our best to keep the updates coming!

Tomorrow: Jonah's {belated} 22nd Month Post!

David and I found out on December 31st, 2012 that we were expecting our second baby: due September 5, 2013. Elated doesn't begin to describe how we felt.  We love being parents and felt so honored and blessed that God would entrust us with another little soul.

The pregnancy was different than Jonah's: much {much} more morning sickness. More fatigue. But, honestly, I had it pretty easy. We decided not to tell anyone until I was 12 weeks along, and keeping it between us for those first few months was tough, but such a sweet time as well.  We told Jonah right away, and he's been talking about the "bay-bee" ever since.

We had our anatomy scan ultrasound in early April, and were so happy to find out everything was going well.  The ultrasound tech said the baby was "beautiful" and everything "looked perfect." When she told us that we were having ANOTHER boy, we were so excited.  People asked if we had a preference, and we always replied that God knew so much better than we did what we needed.  We'd love to have either! We know Jonah will love having a baby brother and I know they will have amazing adventures together. We decided to keep the name a secret, mostly for fun.

When we went in for our 22 week appointment with the midwife on Wednesday, we were a little surprised to find out the doctor had a concern about the ultrasound and needed us to come back in. Something about an amniotic band in the amniotic sac.  The midwife didn't seem too concerned, so I didn't think much of it.  We asked for prayers from a few friends and scheduled the follow-up ultrasound for the next morning.

Then I googled what an amniotic band meant.  And that's when David and I started to become pretty worried.  Apparently, it's like a string going from one part of the amniotic sac to the other and, since the baby isn't fully developed, it's easy for that tiny string to become wrapped around the baby. Severed digits and limbs aren't uncommon.  With that, we asked for more prayers, prayed together {a lot}, cried {a whole lot} and buckled down to wait until morning.  It was a really tough night, but we were both grateful we didn't have long to wait.

At the doctor the next morning, the ultrasound tech {a different one this time} couldn't even find the band that originally had caused such a fuss.  When she finally did, she said that it was far from all his limbs and he looked great.  We thanked her profusely and asked to talk with the doctor, just to make sure this concern was behind us.  However, when the doctor came in, she had a whole new list of concerns.  Though she wasn't as concerned about the band, she informed us that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck twice.  She threw out words like "stillbirth" and said that we could be looking at delivering him as soon as possible.

The next course of action is for me to be doing kick counts every single day starting now.  He has two hours to get 10 kicks.  I also need to be looking for signs of labor to make sure that he is not in distress.  Also, I was instructed not to allow myself to get stressed. {no problem, right?} Dr. Lawson said there are a few things on our side: (1) the umbilical cord is very long, (2) he's very active, (3) the blood flow through the cord looks great, and (4) the fluid in the amniotic sac is abundant. She's hopeful that he can wiggle himself out, but is considering hospitalizing me if he can't.

Please join us in praying for our baby.  We're sharing the name, because we'd love for everyone to be praying for him by name: Gideon.  It means "mighty warrior" and we pray that our little guy would fight hard during these next few weeks.

We need prayers.  We have such amazing friends and we know that God has His hand over this situation.  This is not a surprise to Him at all.  He knits us together in the womb, and He can remove the cord from around the baby. He can ensure that Gideon is healthy and happy and goes full-term.  He can give us peace during this time.

Thank you all, sweet friends.  We love you and so appreciate your prayers.