No news was good news!

Today I had a baby check up, and was given the good news that the Prednisone (steroids) are working!! On Friday the 13th my platelets had dropped to 46000 and that is when I started my drugs... But by Monday my numbers were up to 84000!!!!

All the other test results turned up nothing wrong! 

Blood pressure is good, sugars are good, and head is down... So as soon as Matt is home from Colombia, I'm giving Erik the OK to come! 

No news is good news?... here's hoping! :)

 Baby Erik News Update...

Friday I had blood drawn, and they said if there was a problem, they would probably make me come in today... but so far I've not gotten any urgent calls to come be seen again... so here's hoping that no news is good news!

Today I went back to the lab to have more blood drawn (5 more vials... will I have any blood left before delivery?!)

They started me on steroids on Friday, so hopefully the tests drawn today will show some improvement!

They also have me monitoring my sugars... which is totally not cool!  Pricking my finger 4x a day is so not my idea of fun! :-P

Tomorrow at 1:45 I have my regular baby check up... and should hopefully hear how the results from today were... Praying my platelets have increased!!!

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In other news....

Matt and Kitkat arrived in Colombia safe and sound!

Kitkat threw up on both flights, but seems to be in good spirits.

Today starts the work on the camp kitchen, so pray they mesh well as a team and that all the needed work gets done before they have to leave!

Also please pray for safety and that all the team stays healthy!

So, that's all for now... I'll update more as I know more.  :)  

Thanks for reading (and for prayers!)

Platelet Problems with Pregnancy #5...

My last post included a blip about my platelets dropping... I'm back to inform you that they have gotten worse. :(  I've been back for multiple blood work, and appointments, and phone calls with the doctors... as they are trying to figure out what to do with me!  :)  At this point they know nothing more than my platelets are dropping, and they don't' know why.  So based on that information, this is what is happening to me currently...

Thursday (the 15th) I got a call that they wanted me to come in that day, but I was not available, so I they told me to come in on Friday morning if possible.

Friday (the 16th) I went to the lab to get blood drawn (at 7:45am) then upstairs to my appointment to talk to the doctor, (who was delivering a baby... so I had a LONG wait). Meanwhile, they wanted MORE blood work done, so I was sent back down to the lab to get a second set drawn.  Back up to the baby doctor... to continue waiting for the doctor... FINALLY saw the doctor at about 11:30 (if my memory is correct) at which time she went over all kinds of stuff... my mind was a bit overwhelmed and I was SO THANKFUL that my sister (who is a nurse and understood all the mumbo-jumbo) was there to take notes and explain to me in simpler terms, what I had to do!

So...
Friday, I had to pick up a prescription of Steroids and start them immediately.
Saturday, just take the steroids.
Sunday, start a 24hour pee catch (gross) & begin testing my sugars (that finger prick thing that I always thought looked so scary...4x a day!)
Monday, take pee to the lab, get more blood drawn for more tests, and do the sugar/finger prick thing (4x a day again)
Tuesday, back to the baby doctor for another check-up and to go over all the test results...

Soooo.... Steroids should bring my platelet count up in time for delivery!  But... they can affect my sugars, and apparently make me very hungry (so if I look super strong, you know why! LOL)
All those other tests are to "rule out something more serious"...

They are planning to make decisions about me on a week by week, test by test basis...
So... it's like a crazy waiting game... sigh... not my idea of fun.

HOWEVER, thru all this... Baby Erik Rolf (that's the name if I haven't mentioned it before) seems to be doing well!  He is very active and I'm sure will be as crazy as the rest of them... and for that I'm very thankful!!

I do want to include that I'm SO thankful for the support of my family and friends!!!
Shout out to ...
Matt... for being extra helpful and supportive.
Mia... babysitting ALL THE TIME for me! and making me food!
Lydia... for coming over in the evenings after working with kids all day... to help me fold laundry and put my kids to bed.
Esther... sitting for hours after working all night to help me with these extra appointments and understand what they are talking about.
Rachel... for checking on my test results and checking in with me to explain stuff and be encouraging.
Ruth... gonna help me with that finger checking thing that I dread so much!
Amanda... giving me the gift of several pre-ready meals for Christmas!
Brooke... randomly making me food, making a busy day, just that much easier.
Heather (friend)... making me food, with plenty of leftovers.
My mom & Mother-in-law... for being available for random "can you babysit" calls.
Faith... even tho she is also super-pregnant like me, and sick a lot, has jumped in to help with lots of babysitting.

I'm sure there are people I'm forgetting.. and I know that many more people are praying!
I honestly believe, that all the prayer and support I have received, is the reason I have not had a total meltdown! :)

So, thank you for reading!  I will attempt to keep this blog updated, as best as possible.. but meanwhile, I thank you for prayers!

Me and my sister Faith <3

5 weeks and counting...

So, baby Erik should be here in 5 weeks (give or take). While I'm definitely excited to meet him, I'm also excited to stop having him kick my insides all the time!  Dustin calls him "ninja baby" cuz he is constantly kicking and moving.

So to update you all, I've been having extra doctor appointments and blood work done, because I my platelets have been dropping at an unusually fast rate. And at the rate they are dropping, I will be out of them before I am ready to deliver this baby (not good!).

For those of you who (were like me only about a month ago) have no idea what I'm talking about or what platelets are... they (in simple terms) help your blood clot... so... if you have a baby, and don't have the ability to clot blood... umm... you get the idea. :)

I met with a specialist last Tuesday, and today I had a bunch of blood drawn... so now I am just waiting to see what my new tests reveal...

They also ordered a bunch of extra tests to "rule other stuff out"... whatever that means.  I guess to make sure it's not more serious than just pregnancy hormones gone wrong. :-)

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The rest of life is pretty much normal... Normal meaning slightly crazy of course!

Kitkat is trying to stay focused on school, while also getting excited about a missions trip to Colombia she is taking with Matt in just over a week.  She has also been really enjoying taking Guitar lessons this year. She has been faithful in her practice (without nagging!) and has begun playing beautifully!  I really enjoy listening to her play!!

Cede continues to do Kindergarten in between playing with all of her new little toys she received for Christmas and her 6th birthday.  She is usually one that can play for hours alone, and be perfectly content. (As long as Dustin or Vance don't come and "mess up her stuff"... which they do, just to hear her scream.)

Dustin is working on his Pre-K stuff... sometimes, but I am not worried, that kid is a smarty pants when he wants to be. :)  He loves electronics, but I limit that because he gets really mad when I make him stop.  He has lots of energy enjoys playing hard with Moka around the house.

Van has begun the "terrible two's" and is testing my patience daily, and testing to see if I will indeed make him do what I asked him to do... Yup...(I may be 8 months pregnant, but I'm still the boss!!)

He is also still doing therapy every week. On Monday he has Physical therapy and Occupational therapy (which consumes 2 hours of our day) and by the time they are over, he is tired and cranky. Every other Thursday, he has speech therapy, which he enjoys a lot more.  He is still my snuggle kid and loves to be held by me. 

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Well, that's all my brain can think to write for now. Hope you all enjoyed the update!

~Anna