26 Weeks!

Well, the good news keeps coming. Sunday I was officially 26 weeks, which is fabulous! Monday was a big day, full of tests for the baby and I. I'm happy to report that we BOTH passed them all!! They are going to be monitoring him more closely now, so they started with a baseline biophysical profile checking several things like breathing, movement, and fluid. {Which is now to 14 by the way!} He has to meet certain requirements within a designated amount of time in relation to his gestational age. He had up to 90 minutes... he passed in about 5 minutes, so that was wonderful! The next test for him was being on the fetal heart monitor for 20 minutes, and once again, he passed in that first time block and therefore was able to come off of the monitor. They call it a non stress test and will do that one every day, and apart from that, as long as he continues to pass it daily, they won't need to do any further monitoring. Not bad for a lil' one who has faced many challenges with " the cards" stacked against him already in life! The test I passed was my glucose tolerance test... guess I can keep having those desserts! haha I have to say, I really look forward to Thursday lunches... hamburger, fries, and a lemon bar! Spoken like a true pregnant girl huh? Actually, I guess that's a fairly normal meal. My affinity for that good ole' American standard bursting with saturated fat has never wavered. I'll let you know if I start indulging stranger variations like ice cream and pickles or chocolate covered cheese balls... any takers?

Today, Stella is coming for another visit, and will be here until Sunday! I'm so excited to have extra time with her. It's been extremely painful to be away from her and from Ryan, but I'm really thankful for the time we get as well as how incredible our family has been through all this. My mom is staying in St. Louis full time with me and has done so much to make me feel at home in my hospital room and to keep my spirits lifted. Meanwhile, Grammy Jean and my Dad have been keeping Stella while Ryan works. I'd say she's had a great summer so far, lots of play time and cousin time, which is her favorite, she just LOVES her cousins!

No doubt, your prayers and messages are continuing to strengthen us! I think often of Psalm 139:13-14 which has always been a favorite. "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful; I know it full well."

With love,
Kristin