Sonogram today

"But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, whose hope is in His unfailing love." Psalm 33:18

Not really a whole lot of change today, which I guess is good. They saw a good pocket of fluid, but it wasn't much more than on Tuesday. But it's better than none, so yeah for that! Maggie is measuring rather small. I feel like I have been stuffing myself with high calorie foods for the past two weeks in hopes that she would get really big, which would be good if she is born premature. But my efforts seemed to be futile. As my doctor says, the baby is going to get what she needs and there is not much you can do to make her gain weight. So I am a little discouraged about that. But one thing that gives me  hope is that he said the sonogram measurements can be a little off because of the lack of fluid. So hopefully that is the case and she is a lot bigger than they think!

Instead of always focusing on the discouraging news I have been trying to think  more of the positive things that God has given us as reasons to hope:

1. I am put on the heartbeat monitor twice a day and all the nurses on the floor agree that Maggie's heart does not look like that of a 25 week old fetus, but rather a full term fetus. They are all amazed at how steady and strong it is, especially since low fluid usually causes more erratic heartbeats.

2. Maggie always has the hiccups, which put me in a good mood because I feel her bounce around in my stomach. But it is encouraging, the doctors say, because it  means her lungs are working overtime. They are being stretched out, and any kind of "stress" like that is good for them.

3. I am 25 weeks 3 days today. Every doctor and resident and nurse that has come to see me cannot believe that I have made it so far without going into labor and without getting an infection. They have never seen someone rupture at 14 weeks and still be pregnant at this point.

4. Maggie moves a lot. Everything you read about PPROM says that with no water it's difficult for the babies to move around and "swim" in the womb, which helps develop the babies muscles. Maggie is constantly moving. She may not be able to flip around but she is constantly stretching and punching and kicking. While doing the sonogram Tuesday, Maggie kept kicking the doctor and he said, "Wow, she is a strong baby."

So those are just a few examples of why we have lots of hope that Maggie is a fighter and has been given such strength, all of it we know from the Lord. Every time I feel her move or kick or jump, I am so encouraged and feel so thankful to be her mother and to be privileged enough to have her in my life.

We will keep praying for her to grow strong, for her lungs to be developed  perfectly and for no infection. Thanks to all who are praying along with us.