Well, I'm now 34 weeks along and this little girl seems to be chugging right along. The last few doctors appointments her heart rate has been somewhere between 60-63 beats, which I've very happy with. If she can maintain this rate until we deliver then I think we are doing really good. It's always funny to watch the sonographers and nurses when they see such a slow heart rate. You can tell that they are trying not to panic but think we are crazy when we are excited about a heart rate of 60. If they only knew how many doctors appointments we had been to and how familiar we were with this. They now have me coming in twice a week for biophysical exams. I've never had to do this before. I asked my doctor the reasoning behind this and he said it something he has all his patients do. So, now everyone in the office knows me by my first name. I told the office clerk yesterday that I probably broke a record with as many doctor appointments I've been to, she laughed and agreed. I've decided that our lives now and will for a long time revolve around doctors appointments. If all goes well after this little girl is born then we will probably be flying to Texas every 3 months, for at least the first year, to see the electrophysiologists that the boys both see.I am having some issues with my amniotic fluid levels. I've never had an issue with this before. I've been told not to try and be "supermom", which is hard, and drink a gallon of water a day. I found an app on my iPhone that allows me to track my water intake and I literally drink a gallon a day, which means I'm up all night!
On another note, we have made the decision to come back to Texas to deliver this baby girl. Since we know the routine and our family is there, we felt that having that support was the biggest thing when delivering this baby. So, I'm scheduled for the morning of April 16th, which is about 2 weeks early.
In dealing with everything we have the past 5 years with our children some of our biggest support has come from our family and friends. We've also had to rely on God more than we ever expected. But, I feel so blessed that we've had all that support because I don't know how you would get through this without any of that. I think what makes this time seem so much harder, is that we are so far away from those people who have given us so much love during these hard times. However, God has placed some friends in my life out here in Nevada that have truly helped make things a little easier. I never dreamed I would find such good friends so quickly.
I think this has been so much more emotional for me because I prayed so hard from the moment I found out I was pregnant that this little baby would not have this heart condition, and of course for a little girl. I knew it would be a long shot since my odds were not good, but there's always a chance. I struggled there for a couple months after we found the heart block just trying to understand why this had to happen again. Isn't third time a charm? Haven't we been through enough? And you would know that as soon as those questions surfaced in my head and the anger set it, we visited a church and the message was about suffering. While I was sitting there listening to this message in Romans 8, I felt like I was the only person in the auditorium with the pastor speaking directly to me. It's funny how that seems to work out. I think I cried the entire service. That's still one area I tend to struggle with. I question, "Why me?". Yet I feel so blessed because I do have these beautiful children.
