We met Dr. R today! Well, we actually had met her one other time very briefly during our hospital stay, but she was in and out of our room within 5 minutes early one morning, so that doesn't really count. Either way, whether we met her for the first time today, or the second, we really liked her and feel comfortable with her as our doctor going forward from here on out. The appointment today was pretty brief, but she was very responsive to our questions and was patient with us in explaining everything, so we really appreciated that. Here is what we learned today:
Delivery Plan: We have nailed it down as best as we can at this point. We discussed this in pretty good detail, so we are comfortable with it, at least as comfortable as you can be this close to the due date... We have confirmed we will expect a normal delivery, and we have confirmed yet again that it is our intent to do everything possible to give Thatcher the best chance possible during delivery and following. (still don't understand why this is even a question...). She wants to wait till Whitney goes into labor naturally then have us take the hour trek down to the hospital and we will set up for a normal delivery while watching how Thatcher reacts very closely. Since he had "beautiful accelerations" (her words) when we were in the hospital 2 weeks ago, she's fairly confident he will handle a normal delivery. Whitney is planning on going natural, and feels even more passionate about this than before. One of the "possibilities" is Thatcher will have difficulties breathing and Whitney doesn't want to chance him being affected by any sort of medications during delivery making it even more of a struggle for him to breathe or stabilize his own body. Dr. R was very understanding of our reasons and said she was there to support us in every delivery decision we made (which was awesome and made us feel like we could trust her even more) At the same time, the first sign of distress we see we will head straight for a c-section. The whole point is to get Thatcher here as safely as possible, so if that means c-section, we won't even think twice about it. There will be no induction date unless we go beyond March 14th, his due date, so we are looking at March 28th as the latest possible induction date if he doesn't come sooner on his own.... come on baby!
Non-Stress Test: We did not do a non-stress test, Dr. R seems comfortable with how Thatcher is progressing based on the last two BPP's (bio-physical profiles), and how much he is moving, so she did not feel that it was necessary to do this test. A plus from today, Whitney felt as if her water might be leaking so Dr. R did a very quick scan (ultrasound) and we got to see Thatcher breathing, and moving again today, wahoo! Oh and Whitney's amniotic fluid number was fine, so they aren't concerned.
We prayed for answers and clarity for the next couple of weeks, and we got just that! We prayed the meeting with Dr. R would be positive, and it was. We prayed that God would be present and we would be allowed opportunities to shine God's love and we felt there were, from not getting frustrated when we had to wait 20 minutes to check out because the couple in front of us couldn't get things figured out, to not blaming the doctor when she couldn't answer our neurological questions with more than speculation and the all too familiar "we won't know till he gets here". We definitely felt God in our appointment and Dr. R was able to physically see (with the scan) that Thatcher is doing things he is not supposed to be able to do! Today was yet another physical reminder that God is present with us and He is in control.
The only outcome from today that was unexpected was Thatcher's ultrasound for next week was moved from Tuesday to Friday. The nurse tried to do the same thing this week, but Dr. WCS put a stop to it saying ultrasounds need to stay on Tuesdays so we can have a consistent 7 days between them and have more accurate readings. Today, Dr. R said Thatcher has looked awesome on his 2 BPPs (ultrasounds) and looked great today so adding 3 more days before his next bpp won't be a problem at all. This should comfort us because they would only lengthen the amount of time between two BPPs if the baby looks good, but it makes us nervous. First, it's not what we agreed upon when we figured out our "plan" for the remaining weeks until delivery and that means we have a week straight of "in between days" for Satan to prey upon us. Yes, we are trying to focus on being thankful for today, and not worry about tomorrow, but it is does bring out this ominous feeling for this next week and all the extra time we will have just to sit in silence with our own thoughts. However, it also provides more time to rely on God, more time to get into His word, more time to pray, more time for Him to show us who He is until we get another glimpse of Thatcher at our next BPP. Our prayer for ourselves is that our focus will remain on God, and that God will provide wisdom in the coming days and weeks as there will most likely be decisions that need to be made quickly, we just pray that we remain in His will. We are beyond thankful and humbled for the daily miracles that God is providing for us on this journey, and how God is using Thatcher already. We pray for healing for Thatcher, as we serve a God who is able, and we pray for God to be glorified through Thatcher. We pray that Thatcher would have a courageous spirit like that of Caleb, we pray that he would have a servant's heart, that he would seek to put others before himself. We pray that he would pursue an intimate relationship with God the Father, and that he would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's presence and gentle nudges and be obedient. We simply pray that Thatcher would know God, and God would continue to shine through him.
We know we have a long road ahead of us, but we find peace in the promise that as long as we are seeking God, He will fight for us.
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." - Exodus 14:14
(Well, so much for a short post...)
Delivery Plan: We have nailed it down as best as we can at this point. We discussed this in pretty good detail, so we are comfortable with it, at least as comfortable as you can be this close to the due date... We have confirmed we will expect a normal delivery, and we have confirmed yet again that it is our intent to do everything possible to give Thatcher the best chance possible during delivery and following. (still don't understand why this is even a question...). She wants to wait till Whitney goes into labor naturally then have us take the hour trek down to the hospital and we will set up for a normal delivery while watching how Thatcher reacts very closely. Since he had "beautiful accelerations" (her words) when we were in the hospital 2 weeks ago, she's fairly confident he will handle a normal delivery. Whitney is planning on going natural, and feels even more passionate about this than before. One of the "possibilities" is Thatcher will have difficulties breathing and Whitney doesn't want to chance him being affected by any sort of medications during delivery making it even more of a struggle for him to breathe or stabilize his own body. Dr. R was very understanding of our reasons and said she was there to support us in every delivery decision we made (which was awesome and made us feel like we could trust her even more) At the same time, the first sign of distress we see we will head straight for a c-section. The whole point is to get Thatcher here as safely as possible, so if that means c-section, we won't even think twice about it. There will be no induction date unless we go beyond March 14th, his due date, so we are looking at March 28th as the latest possible induction date if he doesn't come sooner on his own.... come on baby!
Non-Stress Test: We did not do a non-stress test, Dr. R seems comfortable with how Thatcher is progressing based on the last two BPP's (bio-physical profiles), and how much he is moving, so she did not feel that it was necessary to do this test. A plus from today, Whitney felt as if her water might be leaking so Dr. R did a very quick scan (ultrasound) and we got to see Thatcher breathing, and moving again today, wahoo! Oh and Whitney's amniotic fluid number was fine, so they aren't concerned.
We prayed for answers and clarity for the next couple of weeks, and we got just that! We prayed the meeting with Dr. R would be positive, and it was. We prayed that God would be present and we would be allowed opportunities to shine God's love and we felt there were, from not getting frustrated when we had to wait 20 minutes to check out because the couple in front of us couldn't get things figured out, to not blaming the doctor when she couldn't answer our neurological questions with more than speculation and the all too familiar "we won't know till he gets here". We definitely felt God in our appointment and Dr. R was able to physically see (with the scan) that Thatcher is doing things he is not supposed to be able to do! Today was yet another physical reminder that God is present with us and He is in control.
The only outcome from today that was unexpected was Thatcher's ultrasound for next week was moved from Tuesday to Friday. The nurse tried to do the same thing this week, but Dr. WCS put a stop to it saying ultrasounds need to stay on Tuesdays so we can have a consistent 7 days between them and have more accurate readings. Today, Dr. R said Thatcher has looked awesome on his 2 BPPs (ultrasounds) and looked great today so adding 3 more days before his next bpp won't be a problem at all. This should comfort us because they would only lengthen the amount of time between two BPPs if the baby looks good, but it makes us nervous. First, it's not what we agreed upon when we figured out our "plan" for the remaining weeks until delivery and that means we have a week straight of "in between days" for Satan to prey upon us. Yes, we are trying to focus on being thankful for today, and not worry about tomorrow, but it is does bring out this ominous feeling for this next week and all the extra time we will have just to sit in silence with our own thoughts. However, it also provides more time to rely on God, more time to get into His word, more time to pray, more time for Him to show us who He is until we get another glimpse of Thatcher at our next BPP. Our prayer for ourselves is that our focus will remain on God, and that God will provide wisdom in the coming days and weeks as there will most likely be decisions that need to be made quickly, we just pray that we remain in His will. We are beyond thankful and humbled for the daily miracles that God is providing for us on this journey, and how God is using Thatcher already. We pray for healing for Thatcher, as we serve a God who is able, and we pray for God to be glorified through Thatcher. We pray that Thatcher would have a courageous spirit like that of Caleb, we pray that he would have a servant's heart, that he would seek to put others before himself. We pray that he would pursue an intimate relationship with God the Father, and that he would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's presence and gentle nudges and be obedient. We simply pray that Thatcher would know God, and God would continue to shine through him.
We know we have a long road ahead of us, but we find peace in the promise that as long as we are seeking God, He will fight for us.
"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." - Exodus 14:14
(Well, so much for a short post...)
So happy for you both that you got answers to some very important questions. Thank you for sharing with everyone so that we can pray more specifically. Do not let the "father of lies" steal your peace and joy. God bless you all.
ReplyDeleteYay! I think all your readers are just as anxious for Thatcher's arrival as ya'll are! Sounds like he is continuing to amaze the doctors. That's wonderful!
ReplyDeleteAnna Marie said it all!!!! Just know that we are all praying for your Precious Family, especially Baby Thatcher!
ReplyDeleteWill be praying for the Lord's hedge of protection be built even stronger around Thatcher so the darts of the evil one cannot touch Whitney or Thatcher.
ReplyDeleteWhitney and Eric, the Haynes' family has been praying for you ever since Kirbie informed us a few weeks ago of what was going on..just know that you are in our thoughts and prayers daily.
ReplyDeleteAnna Marie always says it all! We have been praying and will continue to pray with the other thousands throughout the world for you and your entire family! Virtual hugs to you.
ReplyDelete