The final countdown

At 5am this morning I wake up for the umpteenth* time, time to roll over (more challenging than you think!), unfortunately not in labor!! So I grab my laptop, which I had wisely brought to bed with me, and start playing games. (I've realized I sleep better during the day at the moment, and for some reason only on top of the covers do I not get constant heartburn!!!)

As you do in the wee small hours (yes, some of you may think 5 am is the start of the day, not the middle of the night as I do!), I started to get thoughtful and think about the monumental event about to befall us. I suspect we are naively optimistic about how smoothly we will deal with things (aren't all new parents, after all, if you weren't you probably wouldn't get pregnant in the first place!!). Thankfully (!) there are plenty of people only to ready to tell you that you will never sleep again, have a moment to yourself or stop worrying for a second! True? Probably, but not necessarily for sharing!!

I realized it has been 18 weeks since the pregnancy went from routinely nerve-wracking to "hit by a bus" nervousness! Can it really have been that long? Apparently and I'm glad to say with hindsight it has gone pretty fast. We've run the gamut (sp?) of emotions during that time, not to mention a range of prognosisisisisis.

I moved to the kitchen to feed the growling beast (my stomach, not the baby!) Emma confirmed my decision that it was time to get up by lodging her foot in my ribs, her favorite daytime position! As this blog is somewhat my journal I thought I'd jot down my thoughts!

Let's recap!!

The initial "diagnosis" was a "hernia".
That was corrected the next day to either gastroschisis or omphalacele.
That was a Friday. On the Tuesday (yes, we waited 4 DAYS!) they confirmed gastroschisis. That was the lesser of two evils so we were vaguely relieved.
4 weeks later the gastroschisis was confirmed at Children's hospital, however there were additional complications suspected.
We agreed to an amniocentesis because Emma was over 2 weeks behind in growth and there were other soft indicators suggesting it may be genetic rather than "just" a birth defect.

Praying wholeheartedly throughout this time, I have never experienced such peace about such a chaotic emotionally-challenging situation. My faith in Jesus as the source of peace and joy was greatly strengthened!

The longest week ever passed and we were told there were no genetic abnormalities found in the screening. Furthermore Emma caught up on the weeks she was behind (clearly a good sign for future school work!!)

Since that point Emma has been growing and has surprised us all with her determination.

As I look back it would be impossible to say that there has been no purpose to all this. I've shared a few of my thoughts on this, but I can't say enough what a bittersweet blessing this has been! Scott and I personally have grown stronger as a family and Christians.

We have been able to connect with so many people during this experience and hopefully have encouraged them. Our friends and family have been so supportive and loving, we feel like we have an army behind us!

And then there is Emma! She has quietly stuck with us through all this! Not giving up and thriving on the junk I've been eating (!). We already feel like we know her personality a little and it will be quite odd for her not to come out with a full vocabulary and give us her take on the past few months! (Plenty of time for that I'm sure!)

Hopefully you have seen the power of God at work in us and through your prayers - it should be hard to explain it any other way. Faith is more than "opium for the masses", it is more than an intellectual comfort. God is real and so is his strength, and just like you wouldn't believe how hard babies kick unless you've felt it, so is being under God's loving hand.

I'll sign off now, I'm sure you've got 101 other things to do today!! Thanks for reading and allowing us to share this wonderful time with you.

* Umpteenth is a British expression expressing too many times to count! In a sentence: "For the umpteenth time, will you please clean your room!"