Let the countdown begin...and the prayers continue

I apologize for the late update this week. This post comes to you from NW Iowa - I’m here for a very quick trip. My grandma Broek died early Sunday morning and the funeral is Thursday. It was providential that our appointment this week in Philly was scheduled for Wednesday. It has afforded me the opportunity to participate in the funeral and reconnect with my extended family. Jeanine is home again after our good friends Ron and Ginger made the trip with us. I flew out of Philadelphia and they drove her home.

So...you may have guessed, everything continues to hold steady with the twins. Spud still wiggles whenever they try to measure the heartbeat. And both babies continue to gain weight, DMan (aka Danny Manning, aka Baby A) now weighs in at 532 grams and Spud (aka Baby B) now tips the scales at 291 grams. Last week’s discordance was 40%, this week it’s back to 45%. But as they told us last week, so they told us again this week, everything is holding steady. The hearts are consistent, the amount of amniotic fluid is consistent, and the presence of the bladders is consistent. All good things. Of course, the words of caution from the doctor is consistent as well. At 22 weeks and 5 days, we are only 10 days from limbo. Once we hit 24 weeks, if something goes severely awry, the babies will be delivered. They’ll keep monitoring the same vitals each week, as I mentioned last week. But the monitoring will be done from North Jersey instead of CHOP.

What does it mean? Well, really nothing new. One more trip to CHOP next week Thursday at 1:30. At that point the babies will be 23 weeks and 6 days along, effectively putting us over the first hurdle. Then we’ll pray even more fervently for the next hurdle, which is the 28 week mark - August 7.

Prayer team, here is your challenge (and we continue to thank God for your acceptance of this challenge on our family’s behalf): 1) the growth and development of Spud and DMan. As God has blessed them with healthy hearts and bladders and weight gain we pray that he will continue to be faithful to our babies and help Spud close the gap. 2) the lovely lady on bed rest. It’s been a long haul for Jeanine already and Lord willing we still have 9 weeks to go. Pray for continued sleep at night, continued appetite during the day, and freedom from the aches and pains that go along with a consistently stationary posture. And finally, 3) peace of mind for both Jeanine and I. The anxiety rises every week when we get close to our appointments. Pray that we can rest well and trust in God’s wisdom and providence.

What a journey it’s been. What a journey it will continue to be. What a story we’ll have to tell. Love to you all.