3/31 Update

I'm going to steal my mother-in-law's wording from Facebook because she summarized it very well:

"Maggie is doing very well. She came home from the NICU yesterday. They will recheck her bilirubin level again today. She is eating, sleeping, and pooping! She is very alert when awake. There are no signs of viral infection of the liver or brain. Her discharge diagnosis was prenatal perforated bowel. Bowel contents caused the infection and fluid in her abdomen. This condition has healed without medical intervention. We have a healthy baby girl thanks only to God's marvelous grace. I give Him all the glory!"

(Her bilirubin levels were still good today so we will not need to check again until next Monday.)

Back in the NICU

Well unfortunately Maggie is back in the NICU. This time it's due to her bilirubin levels. They are elevated to the point that they wanted to get her in for phototherapy. They don't seem overly concerned but it's something that they wanted to address right away. Feeding, peeing, pooping, and hanging out under the light are the things that will bring her levels down the fasted. We'll be in overnight for sure, but hopefully this stay won't stretch out for days.

Papa T and Nana D got to meet Maggie for the first time today! They pulled into town just in time to meet us at the hospital...theygot to hold her for just a couple of minutes before we had to whisk her away to the bili light. Pray Maggie comes home quickly so she will get more snuggle time with them before they have to head back home!!

Pictures and Visits

PICTURES:

Click here to see Maggie's Birth.

(My birth photographer and her daughter had influenza so she was unable to attend. My mom took over the job.)

VISITS:

A lot of people are asking when they can stop by and visit...I would LOVE to have visitors and show Maggie off, but just make sure and text, call, message or email me first to let me know when you would like to stop by so I can make sure it's a good time. I also want to make sure I don't have too many people showing up at once so I get to spend time with each person who visits!  -Amanda

PS...click here for Baby Maggie's Journey's Facebook page.  "Like" to follow our posts on FB.  I am much more timely on posting updates to Facebook than I am to the blog.

3/27 Update

We were in the "rooming-in" room of the NICU last night since Amanda was discharged but they wanted to keep Maggie for a tad more observation and testing. These are bigger rooms that are designed to be comfortable for the parents (queen-sized bed, microwave, minifridge). It's awesome that they have these available. She slept really well and allowed us to get some good sleep as well. We hope that's a sign of things to come! She had her vision/eye screening this morning and that came back with good results. Since the last update a few other tests and screenings have come back with positive results as well. The doctors are satisfied and Maggie and Amanda get to come home today! After she's home she will have the typical appointments and exams with her pediatrician and some more of the slower lab results will continue to trickle in. We couldn't be happier and or more excited to get her home. We ended up with the very best of the best-case scenarios and we know it was due to all the prayer and love from everyone who has shared in this with us. I also can't say enough good things about the care she received while in the NICU. The doctors, nurses, and staff are all amazingly skilled at what they do and it's clear that they have a love for these NICU babies that need their care.

Another 3/25 Update

Another 3/25 update: We got a few more results back this afternoon. An MRI was ordered earlier today as part of the process of ruling out or detecting signs of a viral infection. Even though their suspicions have since changed, that order was left in place. The results came back clear. They didn't see anything abnormal on the MRI that would cause them to suspect viral infection. We also received positive results with the upper GI that was done earlier today. Nothing abnormal was noted. They did note that Maggie is not a fan of barium, however.

Thanks again to all of you who continue to keep Maggie in your prayers. While you're praying for her, please also say a prayer for the other babies who are here in the NICU, and their parents. We pass them daily in the halls and it's a constant reminder that we are surrounded by a lot of heartache and medical issues that we will never know about. -Jon

3/25 Update

Update: We just had a visit with Maggie's NICU doctor this morning. They're completely switching gears in terms of their thinking on what may have happened to Maggie. They're moving away from their focus on a possible viral infection and focusing instead on the possibility that Maggie suffered a bowel perforation...one that may have already healed itself (best case scenario). There are several factors that are pointing them in this direction, but they'll continue to rule out viral infection. This is good news because the prognoses are far better for this scenario than those for viral infection. Testing for this new route of thought begins now, starting with an upper GI series. This will lengthen Maggie's NICU stay by a couple days, but, like I said, it's even better news, so we'll take it!

She's Here!!

Baby Maggie was born at 10:52am!! She weighs 7 lbs 7 oz and is 20 inches. She's looking great and got to spend some time with us before she headed to the NICU. Mom is doing great as well!

Headed to the Hospital!!

FINALLY!!!!  We are finally headed to the hospital!! :)  Please pray for another quick labor and for me to have the mental and physical strength I need to make it through my last natural birth.  Pray that Maggie is healthy and that we get to spend some time with her before they take her to the NICU for testing.  Also pray for the grandparents to have safe trips to KC to meet their granddaughter.

Thank you all for being a part of this journey with us!!  I can not possibly express how excited I am to get the chance soon to announce that Maggie has finally entered the world!! :)

First Day of Spring...10 Years!!

Today is the first day of spring...and it is also our 10 year wedding anniversary!!  I cannot even believe how fast 10 years have gone!!

We have done a lot together in 10 years.  We have had the opportunity to laugh together play together and have a lot of fun together.  We have traveled to Hawaii and Alaska together.  We have eaten a lot of amazing meals together because we both love to eat! :)  We have supported each other through several different jobs.  We bought our first and second houses together.  Jon went back to school and changed careers and we supported each other through that time together.  We experienced 3 heartbreaking years of infertility together.  We experienced the joys of having our first child together.  We experienced the heartbreak of losing a child to miscarriage together.  And then we shared the joy of having our second child.  We have experienced the struggles and joys of being parents to our precious boys together.  We have experienced the heartbreak of being told that our third child would not be likely to survive.  We have grown in our faith of an amazing God together.  We have shared the overwhelming joy of seeing miracles happen right in front of us.  We are about to share in the joys of having our third child and our first baby girl.  What a ride these first 10 years have been!!

Jon is an amazing person and he amazes me more every day.  He is a strong person who is confident in what he believes and what he wants.  When he decides he wants to do something, he dives right in.  He's loyal, trustworthy and kind.  He does not let his emotions rule him.  He is always taking steps to better himself.  He's always seeking to learn how to be a better father, husband, pilot, employee, boss, financial steward, and athlete.  Anything he does he gives it his all.

I have learned so much from him and have grown so much stronger as a person because of him.  Because of him I am more confident in who God made me and worry less about what other people think of me.  He has encouraged me to be confident in my decisions and in myself.  He has taught me how to make a decision and dive into something I want to do instead of analyzing the decision for years and never actually getting around to it.  He has taught me to not let my emotions control me and my decisions (as much...haha).  He has encouraged me to better myself in any and every area I can.  He gets under my skin and pushes me, but in the end the push is usually what I need.  I love that we grow better and stronger together every day.

Marriage is a symbol of Christ's love for His church.  My prayer is that we are and example of this.  Nothing is more important than our relationship with Him and it is my hope and desire that our marriage will point others to a relationship with Him.  We are not perfect.  We have a long ways to go.  We screw up...A LOT!!!  But my prayer is that Jon and I continue to grow in our relationship with Christ, keep Him at the center of our marriage, and that this already beautiful marriage will just get stronger and more amazing.

I love you with all of my heart, Jon!!  I am so glad that God made you for me and that we get to grow stronger together for the rest of our lives!  Happy Anniversary!! :)

39 Weeks!!

I am 39 weeks along today!!  I have to admit, I was pretty convinced that I wouldn't make it this far...I really thought Maggie was going to come sometime in the 38th week!!  But, although I'm VERY impatient to meet this baby girl that 20 weeks ago we were told we would most likely never meet, I'm just grateful that she is doing so well no matter WHEN she comes.

I am actually feeling amazingly well for this far along in pregnancy!!  Usually by now I am miserable and in sooo much pain (not to mention I was a crazy WRECK only a few short weeks ago).  But this time around I'm feeling pretty good, minimal pain, calm, rested and ready.  God has lifted me out of the craziness and brought me back to a peaceful place.  "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:30, 31 NIV)

Thank you to everyone who pitched in and helped us when I was "weary" and "stumbling"!!  Thank you to those who offered words of encouragement, who prayed for me and my family, who brought us meals (they have been delicious and have helped so much!), who have helped me around the house (another lifesaver!!)...thank you all for being there for us and caring enough to make a difference in our lives.  I would not be back to such a peaceful place right now if it hadn't been for all of your help and prayers.

I am ready to DO THIS!!  Come on, Maggie...mommy desperately wants to meet you (and so do a lot of other people)!! :)

38.5 Week Ultrasound

Well, Maggie managed to make it to another Monday for another biophysical profile.  She passed the biophysical profile like she always does, but her heart rate was really high (170's instead of her normal 130's or 140's) so they went ahead and hooked me up to the monitor anyway to see what might be going on.  I was on it for quite a long time and her heart rate kept going up high and then down near normal over and over.  They didn't seem TOO concerned (said since she's so active that could be raising her heart rate, just like when WE are more active, OUR heart rate increases) but wanted to keep monitoring her until the heart rate calmed down so they wouldn't have to send me over to labor and delivery for more monitoring.  They said they would be much more concerned if it was high and stayed high, but since it was up and down everything was probably fine.  At one point I started having some slightly intense contractions and it felt like how Jack's labor started.  I started thinking that my labor might be starting and since my labors go fast I was concerned that if kept waiting around on the monitor that I would possibly get stuck delivering at KU Med (although they would take great care of us, it would mess up my "plan" haha).  So I told her that I wanted to make sure I could get to OPR in time if I really turned out to be in labor so she said as long as I would be okay that I could go ahead and leave.  I told her I was fine but wanted to make sure MAGGIE was fine and that it wouldn't hurt anything for me to leave.  She said everything was fine and they weren't concerned.  So I rushed out of there and...well, everything went back to normal.  False alarm!!  (No pictures today...she was hiding!!)

37.5 Week Ultrasound

Today's biophysical profile went well again and we will do another one next Monday (if Maggie isn't here yet).  We got a couple pictures but the cord was all scrunched up in front of her face so they weren't quite as good as some in the past, but still pretty cute! :)  I can't wait for the day that I'm posting to let you all know we are heading to the hospital!!  And I have pretty quick labors so hopefully there will be a picture of our precious Maggie 4 or 5 hours later! :D

37 Week OB Appt & NICU Consult

Well, I added Maggie's name to my mother-in-law's grandmother bracelet, so now we are officially ready for her to come any day now!! ;)

I had an OB appointment yesterday and I was dilated to a 1 and 50% effaced...we are on our way!

Jon and I also had a NICU consult with an OPR neonatologist, followed by a tour of the NICU.  It was a very informative meeting that gave us a very good idea of what to expect initially when she is born and we are both very comfortable with the facility, level of care, and the extent of involvement and visitation we will have from the beginning and throughout her care.  We are very excited for her arrival!

36.5 Week Ultrasound

Maggie is head down again!!  Yay!! :)  Everything looked good again so we will have our next ultrasound in a week.  The cord was laying across her face so we didn't get any pictures today.

Maternity Photo Session

My good friend and neighbor took these maternity photos today...love them!!! :)

36.5 weeks