Passing the Time....

I am on day 8 of my hospital stay and so far it seems to be going by pretty fast. There are a few updates to report that have occurred since the last posting. The first and probably most important is that my OB Dr. A has extended my stay and therefore Charlotte's birthday by one week to August 3. As you can imagine this was a big blow at first. I was getting really excited that her birthday was approaching so quickly but now it looks like we will just have to wait a few more days. Dr. A has very good reasons for extending the time. There are two major things that we will avoid if we make it to August 3. First, we will avoid having to do an amniocentesis. This is a test that is done by extracting amniotic fluid from the womb. It is the only sure way that the doctors can determine if her lungs are fully developed. If we make it to August they can pretty much guarantee her lung development so the amino will not be needed at that point. Second, Charlotte will avoid a stay in the NICU. This would mean that she will not have to have a feeding tube or oxygen support. It also means that she would be ready to come home when they discharge me. I am trying to not get upset about the extended stay. I have to keep reminding myself of the amazing award that I will receive once all of this is over. I want to give Charlotte the best start at life that I possibly can and if that means living at Northside for a month then that is what I will do.
In the mean time I am trying to stay occupied. I have to thank Julie for her weekly lunch visits. What a great friend to spend her lunch break at a hospital! I also have to thank my sister for coming and spending the night with me. She even convinced the nurses to let her take me on a wheel chair ride outside so that I could get some fresh air and vitamin D. It was the first time I had been outside in a week! Yesterday was the day of visitors. My mother in law and father in law (Cindy & Larry) brought me lunch and spent the hour with me, Brent and Lindsay Lanier paid a visit after work and brought books, and DVDs, and flowers, and last my mother in law Dianne came after dinner with dessert. I feel very blessed to have so many people who care.
I will continue to update the blog periodically. My next big appointment will be Monday with the perinatal specialist. At this appointment we will get an update on Charlotte's growth and we will also get an official delivery date.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!